Trek 2009 "Be Thou an Example Through Faith in Jesus Christ"

Well, we made it through another trek to Martin's Cove and Rock Creek Hollow this year. I think that this one was better than the one we went to four years ago. As much as I hate camping, (and I mean I really hate it) I still really enjoyed myself. Brooks and I along with another couple from our stake were called as the Grand ma's and pa's for the trek. Our main responsibility was to train all of the ward ma's and pa's. We started this task in January and finished in May. June was reserved for the unknown. Once we arrived at the Cove, we also had a few other responsibilities, mostly minor things, but it was a special opportunity for us to be able to mingle with the other families a little. We were also fortunate to be in the same camp ring as Kara and Phil's family, along with the family that we were a part of. We had tons of fun and the kids in our families were really great kids! We had some really great spiritual experiences and we were fortunate to have a choir and a lot of other pre-recorded music.

Here is Brooks and I when we first arrived at Independence Rock.

You can actually walk right up onto the rock and walk all over it. The group had a great time here.

Kara and Phil in front of Independence Rock.

Kara and Phil getting their handcart ready to go.

I thought that this was an inspiring picture of about one half of our trekkers making their way to Cherry Creek camp ground.

Kara, Phil, and Mark (our Pa) early the next morning getting ready for the days events.

Grandpa Brooks catching some last minute reading (along with a diet coke) in preparation for our testimonies in the Dan Jones Cove.

Kara was loading their cooler into the wagon to get filled with our sandwiches and lunch stuff.

Breakfast time. We were fed well. Once again, I'm pretty sure that I gained weight this time around.

Kara and Phil's family heading into the Cove.

Our family heading into the Cove. We tried to keep each family staggered so we could remain reverent and enjoy the spirit and beauty.

Me inside the Cove. The hair is starting to look bad, just wait until tomorrow!!

After a really fantastic eventing devotional and an okay nights rest we up early again with the buses loaded and ready to travel to Rock Creek.

We had 35 families and these are all of the babies that the families had to give up when they arrived. It was pretty hard on most of them, they weren't prepared for this event. (they did get them back after the devotional)

If you look closely, you can the see our group in the amphitheatre where we had our devotional. This was the end of our trek. After this, we had our lunch, loaded the buses again and headed for home. Today I finally finished up with the was and I'm starting to feel clean again!