Monday, December 4, 2023

Winter travel to Vernal, UT

 After my Friday morning shift at the temple on December 1st, and because I got to leave a bit early, Mike and I headed up to Vernal. We knew it was going to be kind of dicey, weather-wise. And it was. From Cedar to Provo it was pretty good. But up the Provo canyon? Oh my--it was something. We saw trucks sliding, pick ups and  some cars going way too fast, trucks with trailers trying to brake inappropriately. Even we were kind of irregular as Mike attempted putting the truck into four-wheel drive high while he was driving. He thought he had done it before. But it insisted that we slow down to 20 mph or less to make the switch. Not an unusual request; however, when there are pickups hauling big trailers behind you, you don't really want to do a lot of slowing on an icy, slick, slushie road! And it was icy and slushie and snowy and cold.

Once we got out of the canyon, it wasn't too bad. Even up through Daniel's Canyon it was pretty tolerable. We had good visibility and did  not have much snowfall, and not wet or slippery roads! Same thing through the strawberry reservoir area. That area can be notorious for storms and wind and snowy roads. We were abundantly blessed and experienced none of that. We did make pretty good time getting there. Once we got to Joe and Jannae's house, we had a chance to visit with them before it was time to go to Marvin Capps's baptism that evening. Scott Liebhardt had called Mike a couple of weeks ago to say that Marvin Capp and his stepson were being baptized. Marvin and Mike and Scott and others hunted together for years and Mike was really, really tickled to hear that happy news. And he definitely wanted to be there! So I got a substitute for our Sunday Primary class and we headed up. It's a long drive. About six and a half hours on good roads. That's why we wanted to leave earlier in the day for a 7:00 p.m. baptism on Friday night. We wanted to make sure that if we had to creep along at 30 miles an hour in a snowstorm, or wait for roads to be cleared, that we would be there on time. We did climb through Provo Canyon between 30 and 40 miles per hour, but the rest of the time the roads were fine and we got there quite early.

Marvin has been married for about 4 years to his wife Nancy. She has three children from previous marriage, and this one son, whose name I don't recall, has some special needs. He is about 14 or so. He and Martin were both baptized Friday evening. Scott baptized the young man, and Koda baptized Marvin. They were both confirmed that evening after the baptism. Mike confirmed Marvin a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints. Mike was so tickled to be able to do that. Apparently, Marvin's parents, who have both passed away, were ready for HIM to be a member of the Church and help THEM get sealed together. And they let him know! I think the baptism was very well attended. Scott and Teresa's family have been good friends and supportive of Marvin during this time of his learning about the church, and deciding to be baptized. It was time.

Mike's other motive besides visiting with Joe and Jannae and attending the baptism, was to visit with other family members there. So that is what we did all day on Saturday. We saw my old roommate, Lynna Martin Kendall. And Gary, her husband. We also intended to deliver homemade apple cider to these folks, so we did that, too. Along with some raspberry jam. :-)



We had good visits with Scott and Teresa Liebhardt, as well as their son Koda, daughter-in-law Marlynn, a few of their kiddos. Ben and Kelly were working and away driving truck, so we did not see them but we did see Ben's wife, Tracey ,and delivered some juice. Those Liebhardt's have a farm/ranch. Chickens, pigs, cattle, sheep, dogs, cats. . . I did not take a single photo of THEIR pork and beef, but they kind of looked like this. 😊 Ha. All but the last Photos are compliments of the internet. We enjoyed seeing their animals. And we brought SUNSHINE from southern Utah with us. They hadn't seen sun for WEEKS! That, my friends, is one reason we live in Cedar-- no inversions and plenty of sunshine.


We got to spend a little time with Mike's sister Sally and her husband DeVere Ostler. We saw a nephew, Ren Anderton, and a few of his grandkids. We saw Mike's niece, Tara Jo. None of their kids, however.

We also passed along greetings from our current Temple recorder, William Jolley, who lived many years there and knows many of the same folks.


It was a lot of driving back and forth and back and forth across town, but we got to see quite a few. Missed a lot, too. But it was fun to visit with those that we did get to see.

We brought Chinese food home to Joe and Jannae and ate dinner with them Saturday night. When Mike initially called Joe to ask if we could stay there, he said we were welcome to stay there, but we would have to cook. He had just had his cast removed from a broken wrist the day we go there. And we were happy to accommodate their needs! Joe is single-handedly being caregiver for Mike's sister Jannae. It's been  2 years since she had her stroke. Joe said she is capable, but we can see that she does have many limitations. It was fun to visit with him in the evening. And I should not say " single-handedly". They have some wonderful children who do a lot of caregiving, too. Some live locally, some travel to be there with them for weeks at a time. They are good kids.

The next morning was Sunday, more snow storms heading in. Their Church wasn't having a regular sacrament meeting because it was their Stake conference. True to our family tradition-- Go on vacation, try to go to church, and it's Stake Conference! :-)

So we just got up, ate breakfast with Joe and Jannae, and drove to Nick and Kaylee's house in Herriman. We were very VERY blessed and avoided major snowstorms going in this direction, too! Wet roads, some flitting snow, but overall good roads and visibility . No ice or slush.

 Kaylee and kids had just come home from Church when we got there. Nick got home later. We played and read with grands, got to watch Rachel's community theater production of "Encanto" on DVD. Kaylee fixed a lovely chicken pot pie for dinner. More games, books, jammies and time for bed. Days go fast. 

Monday morning, Mike and I had tickets for the Orem Temple open house. So pretty!




Home to Cedar after stopping for lunch in Beaver at the Creamery. I can check that off my list now. We tried going there after the eclipse, but it was so packed and crowded. Ridiculously so! Today it was not at all.


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