martin's cove.

we sure got our camping fix this month!

last weekend we drove to martin's cove with cory's family. we camped at missionary village. we drove in on thursday and put our tents up in 35 mph winds! you know you are in wyoming with winds like that! it was pretty comical. then on friday we drove over to martin's cove, dressed in pioneer clothes and pulled handcarts for the day.

it was an incredible experience, full of gratitude for our ancestors and the handcart pioneers. we just had a glimpse of what it would be like...minus the lack of food, warm clothing, pulling a heavy handcart, freezing temperatures, and crossing the sweetwater river with ice chunks in it. it was very humbling experience.

then on saturday before we headed home we drove to independence rock and found 2 of our ancestor's names carved into the rock.

the whole clan before we started the trek.

connor was a trooper and walked almost the entire way.

there was a point when we were walking around the cove, that connor got really tired and was pleading for us to stop. it broke my heart to think of the pioneer mothers who had nothing to give their pleading children. i'm sure many of the children were hungry, tired, cold and in many cases, sick.

it was tough to see this little one sit in the handcart.

when we first got to the cove, mabel was complaining her stomach was hurting. she laid down and fell asleep during the orientation and video. then when we picked up our handcarts, she immediately laid down in one. not 5 minutes later, she threw up all over! poor girl, it was so sad. she seemed to feel a little better after that, but made the whole trek lying down in the handcart. it was yet again, another reminder of how hard it would be to be a pioneer mother!

just about to cross the river. i thought it was interesting, we learned from the missionaries that the pioneers didn't usually get in, cross and get out of the river in a direct path. a lot of the times they would have to enter at one spot of the river and then walk down or up for a bit to find the easiest spot to get out. they crossed this river when it was freezing cold outside with chunks of ice floating in it.

j w crosby

(heidi's ancestor, i'll have to ask my mom how many great-gpa's he is)

p g sessions (cory's 3rd great grandfather)