Yellowstone and Jackson

We got the whole family together for a week in Yellowstone and Jackson, Wyoming. Here's all 18 and 1/2 of us at our little log cabins in Cowboy Village in Jackson. (We call this our "Miracle Picture." Do you know how hard it is to get a picture with 8 kids 4 and under?)



In Yellowstone we saw Old Faithful do her thing just about right on schedule (she was 10 minutes late.)



Craig and Colleen (alias Travel Arranger Extraordinairre)



On our way through the park we ran into a bunch of taillights...



caused by a very impressive herd of bison (according to the rangers in Yellowstone they are no buffalo, only bison. We couldn't tell the difference.)



They apparently think the road is theirs and take it over whenever they feel like it. (so if bison can drive on the right hand side of the road, why can't the English?)



It was a little crowded in the park and all the picnic tables were taken so we went exploring and came up with a way better picnic spot.



Then it was on to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. In a word... awesome!



Berton, Tiraje, Emerson, Adrienne (alias Sissy) and the new one due in October.



The three older ones did a workbook full of activities, answered an intense series of questions by the ranger, then received their Junior Ranger badges.



Another day, another picnic spot.



Allison, Matt, Jacob and Will (alias Baby Wiw)



Amanda, Seth and Kayla (alias Chubby Cheeks)



The Tetons, with the Grand Teton in the center, remain one of the most impressive sights anywhere.



We celebrated Sissy's Third Birthday. (evidently she's been oppressed at home because she kept saying she is now "free")



Brooke, Chris, Abigail, Craig and Delaney (alias Little Cutie)



We took the ferry across Jenny Lake and headed up the trail for Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.



The river was running high with this winter's heavy snow melt.



Here's the whole crew again at Hidden Falls. A magical week for all of us.

Pioneer Trek

Colleen and I helped with the activities on our Stake Pioneer Trek this weekend. Colleen looks the part, I had a hard time finding authentic western garb.



After the first night the families assembled for the Silent Walk through Martin's Cove.



The whole group was very reverent as we walked over the hallowed ground where many members of the Martin Handcart Company died.



At the top of the Cove we reflected on the events that took place there.



Then we picked up the handcarts and returned to the trail.



We reenacted the Crossing of the Sweetwater. After the punishing crossing of the Platte just a few days before, many in the company could not face the icy waters and had to be carried across.



Our experience was much milder than the conditions the pioneers encountered.



Standing in for Captain James Allen, I called out all of the men for the Mormon Battalion which left the women to pull the handcarts. (A little historical license was used since the Battalion occurred ten years before the Willie and Martin Handcart companies.)



We led the men to the top of a hill where we listened to a talk on Honoring Women. Then we lined the trail and watched in silence and respect as the women pulled that difficult hill. This was the high point of the trip for many of us.



We then reunited the families and trekked five miles into a stiff high plains wind to get some small sense of what it meant to be a pioneer.



Even with the wind, the land is beautiful this time of the year.

I did the trek in memory of Elizabeth Green, sister of Harriett Ann Green, wife of Mark Earnshaw. Elizabeth, age 23, was a member of the Martin Handcart Company. She survived the ordeal, arrived in Salt Lake in November 1855, married Henry Arnold in the Endowment House in 1857 and had a family of nine children.

More of England

Liverpool is England's Second City, once home to over 7 miles of docks along the Mersey River. At its height in the early 1800's, over 40% of the world's trade passed through Liverpool. Unique on Liverpool's skyline is the Royal Liver Friendly Society building. The twin clock towers are topped by two Liver birds. The female looks over the Mersey River to the sea (Our Prosperity) , watching for the return of the seamen. The male looks over the City (Our People) and some say, making sure the pubs are open.

When we think of Liverpool, most of us think of The Beatles. A museum at the Albert Dock documents their rise to fame. John, Paul, George and Ringo were all born and grew up in Liverpool.

In the museum you can see a recreation of The Cavern, a popular local club where The Beatles played 292 times. It is said that when the first Beatles album was released, local Liverpudlians refused to buy it, afraid they would lose "their" band to the rest of the world.

In Clitheroe, we stayed at Eaves Hall, a beautiful old English manor house. We stayed in the Waddington Suite which overlooks this picturesque bowling lawn.

If you want to eat well, find a neighborhood pub, preferably with a friendly owner.

Order the fish and chips, flavor with malt vinegar, and enjoy. It will fill your stomach and put a smile on your face.

One challenge of driving in England, of course, is remembering which is the driver's side of the car. I opened the door for Colleen many more times than usual to cover up for going to the wrong side of the car. It seems the English custom of driving on the left side of the road comes from feudal times when riders, most of whom were right-handed, wanted their sword hand on the side of oncoming riders. So now the whole country drives on the wrong side of the road because of a few guys with anger management issues.

The bigger challenge is navigating the narrow roads. When there is a stripe down the middle and one on each side, you have regulation-width lanes. When there is only a stripe down the middle the road is wide enough to pass - with care. (they put stone walls on each side to increase the level of difficulty.)

But when there are no lines, you're on your own.

Leaving Clitheroe we headed east across the breadth of England. Our first stop was Haworth, home of the Bronte family. We soaked up the ambience that inspired Charlotte Bronte to write Jane Eyre, one of Colleen's favorite books.

Our next stop was the beautiful Bolton Abbey park on the banks of the River Wharfe.

We walked in reverent silence through the majestic ruins of the priory, which dates from the 1100's.

Then it was on to Harrogate where we visited the Royal Pump Room museum. During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Harrogate was a popular destination for the English upper class and European nobility. They came to take "the cure," partaking of the mineral waters from the sulphur springs in and around the city.

We sampled "the cure" and found it quite awful. It must be an acquired taste we decided.



We ended our day in York, an ancient Roman city. The original Roman walls still surround the city center.



The Shambles is an area of narrow streets full of shops of every kind.



Many were busy like this fish market where people were lined up for the catch of the day.



The centerpiece of York is the Minster, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe.



It was near this site that Constantine, champion of Christianity, learned of the death of his father and was proclaimed Emperor of Rome.



We arrived in time to attend Evensong, the Evening Prayer service of the Anglican Church. The music of the choir was beautiful as it echoed through the cathedral.



The next morning we headed south as the GPS led us to Chatsworth House, a large country house on a huge estate in Derbyshire. Chatsworth House appeared as Mr. Darcy's house in one version of Pride and Prejudice.



We stopped for the night in Buxton where we stayed in a fine old hotel with a tiny room and an even tinier bathroom.



The hotel looked out on a beautiful park.



Across the park we ate dinner and then attended "The Poacher" which was being presented as part of the opera festival at the Buxton Opera House, built in 1903.



Next morning Josiah Wedgwood took me by the hand for a tour of his pottery factory.



We saw many of the craftsman working their magic to create the china masterpieces that have born the Wedgwood name for over 250 years.



After all we had seen, London was a disappointment. Having already seen most of the famous sites, we went for others. We had our picture taken in front of Buckingham Palace and then joined the thousands waiting with great anticipation for the Changing of the Guard.



To be charitable, it fell way short of expectations. In fact, it was quite boring and we left while some little man in a tall fuzzy hat stood consulting his clipboard and still hadn't relieved the poor guard who I'm sure was overdue for a bathroom break.



We made our way across town (thankful for our day passes on the tube) to the London Eye, otherwise known as the Millenium Wheel. If we had done our research we would have known that it has become the most popular tourist attraction in the UK, ridden by over 3 million visitors a year. Unfortunately a good part of this year's allotment was already in line when we arrived so we opted to skip it.

What is a visit to London without a show, or two? Any disappointment with London disappeared when we scored good seats at half price for Spamalot, the hilarious musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The next night we finished our trip in fine fashion with a performance of Wicked, the rest of the Wizard of Oz story.