Family and Fossils

Leaving the ranch, Spring City

Sherwood family reunions have become more frequent in the last several years which has been wonderful. It usually happens in June and at David’s brothers house in Eagle, Id which is near Boise. Sometimes we travel the hour up to Garden Valley to spend time in the mountains at Grandma and Grandpas house. This year we were planning on staying at Mikes or in GV or maybe even at an Airbnb with some other siblings, but our plans changed just a week before we left when we found out that Lucie’s seminary graduation was going to be that weekend as well. Unfortunately, it looked like Lucie wouldn’t be able to make the reunion as she was too busy with school and work, so we knew right away that we needed to make it down to her seminary graduation on Sunday. If we didn’t have a home on wheels this would have been a lot more complicated…,where would we stay? If we stayed in the same little cabin on the ranch that we did before, could we stay very long (no kitchen if I remember correctly), how would we eat? But alas! We didn’t have to wonder because we decided to just bring the 5^th wheel along! Yay! I quickly found a darling little RV park that was conveniently situated between Eagle and Garden Valley where we could stay for the 3 nights at the reunion. Then we decided we’d drive all the way to Ely, NV on Sunday for the graduation then continue to the ranch for the night. We would spend as many nights on the ranch as we could then head home but on the way since we pass the fossil dig place that we’ve been meaning to go to for a few months we’d stop there too.

So off we went! The drive to Horseshoe Bend, Idaho was about 9 hours…much longer than we ever would choose to drive at one time but today we were on a deadline. It wasn’t that bad really. The ‘Ole Rv park was great. The owners were what made it that way. Our rig was the biggest they had ever had up that road and as we were trying to back into our spot, he mentioned that it’ll be the last. But with their help, it turned out to be only a 10-minute job. And the view was worth it! So green and beautiful!

It is so fun to be able to take your home and park it at different locations. To see different views out your window…such a blessing. Staying with family or at hotels and airbnbs is fun too but there is something to be said about having your home instead.

The next 2 days were bundles of fun to be had with cousins and family. Mike and Nicole’s house in Eagle is soooooo dreamy. They have approximately 2 acres of beautiful trees, grass, gardens, swings, firepit, huge shaded patio…basically the perfect spot for entertaining a lot of people. I enjoyed the plethora of birds in the yard as I relaxed on the swing. There was a cotton candy machine, laser tag guns, super huge slip n slide which is now officially a tradition, amazing food and even better company.

We spent one afternoon in Garden Valley doing a hot dog roast and smores and enjoying Anita’s gardens. The smell of the air up there is something heavenly.

Brothers

Because we were headed straight down to Nevada where shopping was even more remote than Ephraim, Utah I spent a few hours grocery shopping in Eagle at WinCo. It was my first-time shopping there and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. WinCo is amazing!

Unfortunately, as it always happens, the time came to say goodbye.  After our last night in Horseshoe bend we had to wake the kids up (something we wouldn’t have to do in a motorhome – which is one of the many reasons we are trying to upgrade) so we could clean up and bring the slides in and get going. We had a 6-hour drive down to Ely. We decided to leave earlier than needed but boy am I glad we did because it was pouring rain until we got to Twin Falls and then once in Nevada it was very windy! As you can imagine, wind is not something you want to be in when hauling a 5^th wheel. I was driving 55 mph in a 70-mph zone! But that’s all I felt comfortable going. It was exhausting so we switched off quite a bit. But eventually we got there and decided to set up partially in the parking lot of the church where Lucie’s seminary graduation would be. We had arrived about an hour and half before it started so I had time to make a little dinner and to get everyone in their Sunday best.

Lucie’s seminary graduation was very cool. It was simple and heartfelt, but my favorite part was Lucie’s testimony. She said that she wasn’t worried about her future and making the wrong choice because she was sure that if she kept her covenants the Lord wouldn’t let her make a wrong choice but would knock her upside the head and say, No!

I wasn't sure if I should but I did anyway...I recorded her walking up to get her diploma. :) I almost clapped! Kind of silly that we don't but I guess because we were in the chapel we were supposed to be reverent and respectful. But way to go Lucie for 4 years of seminary! That is quite the achievement!

It was good to meet some of the people that love Lucie and to watch her siblings play with the boys.

We closed up again and made the 45 min drive to her ranch. We got there as the moon was coming up and were able to get water and power before bed. I loved this view out the door. Probably my favorite so far.

This place is incredible!

When I say incredible, I mean magnificent. There is something so special about it. I don’t know if it’s because I know it’s owned by our Church and run through inspiration or if it’s just because of how beautiful it is. It’s so strange driving out to it. You pass by miles and miles of dust and sagebrush and windmills and barren desert then all the sudden you see it…an oasis in the middle of nowhere. Huge, green pastures and beautiful big trees, springs, and ditches full of water everywhere. And as you drive past you look out in the distance and amongst the green you see a line of brown and black and know that there they are…the massive herd of cattle that all of this is about…god given and created for the benefit of man. A beautiful thing to behold.

The next morning, we went exploring and walking around the ranch. We saw Lucie occasionally as she was busy doing her chores around the ranch. Jenny, which is Lucie’s Mom had invited us to go back to Ely for a homeschool group activity which I really wanted to do but at the same time didn’t. Too much driving. So we didn’t. Instead, we all took naps which was divine and then we woke up and explored the ranch more.

When Jenny and her kids got back from Ely, the kids all had fun running around, making forts, feeding lambs, playing hard. They got along so well which was fun to watch. But why wouldn’t they? They are clueless to the dynamic of what’s going on and it’s better that way of course. They even had a sleepover that night at Lucie’s house and Lucie made them all pancakes in the morning. Henry kept calling them the cousins and we decided not to correct him because why not call them that?!

The next day was more of the same. The kids never wanted to come in to eat or sleep. There were pigs to feed, lambs to feed again, forts to continue, abandoned ranches to explore, night games to be played. This night they wanted to do the sleepover in the trailer so after the hot dog roast with all the missionaries and workers on the ranch they got their beds set up.

It was so fun to visit and be around everybody in Lucie’s life. The missionaries that serve on the ranch and the old cowboy from Vegas that comes to stay in the summer in a very secluded place near the ranch just to help out. I think he can feel it too…it’s just a special place.

Right after dinner Lucie came over and said, I have to go move some cows, wanna come? Yes!!!! This was by far my favorite part of the trip. We took off on the side by side through a series of gates and out into the open pastures. We were headed to the dark line of cows out in the distance! You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was just so beautiful! Lucie had to take the hot wire fence down and let the herd move into the next section of pasture. We were able to help by pulling up the stakes and driving alongside the length of the wire. It was a pleasure to see David and Lucie working together. Something that doesn’t get to occur very often. I was glad that Henry was there too to experience it too. The loud mooing sounds that were all around us. The setting sun and breeze and the 360 view of beauty and nothing but nature.

These are not edited! Aren't they beautiful!

After we got back, we spent some time meeting Lucie’s horse, Spur. Henry got to feed him and pet him and give him kisses. What a nice horse! And so soft! Lucie is going to be selling him soon which will hopefully put a pretty chunk of change into her pocket which she fully deserves! This was a horse she bought herself that was completely green. She trained and broke him herself and he is now an amazing roping horse or all-around good riding horse! I was wishing I had that sum of money to buy him myself!

I didn’t want to go to bed because I knew in the morning we would have to pack up and leave. We didn’t want to, but our tanks were getting too full and our window for a good fossil dig were closing. The next day was only going to be in the 70’s and the next several days and weeks  after that were in the 90’s! So we woke up and packed up. The boys literally had to be dragged out of the meadow of trees and grass where their cool forts were going up with a promise that we would be back sometime soon. Even if Lucie wasn’t there. 😊

It was so nice to be welcomed so warmly and feel like this could be a place where we could come as often as we liked. We are trying not to be sad that we didn’t come more in the past. But again, it was what it was because we had our home in tow.

I am grateful for the relationship I have with Jenny and that David and Jenny could be around each other (unlike many divorced couples) because of how pleasant it will make future events, ie: Lucie's wedding etc. I truly hope it only to get better and sweeter. I feel we are all grateful for how things turned out and that they did for the best and very best purposes.

Leaving the Cattle Ranch

The next and last adventure of our trip was the U-dig fossil place! We had seen the sign for it many times on the way out to Lucie’s, but it wasn’t until now that we were able to make it happen. It was a slow going 20-mile ride out to the spot but it was well worth it. We found the worker there to be extremely agreeable and helpful and the fossils to be abundant. I originally pictured myself to be alone at the trailer making dinner or writing or taking a nap while the boys dug.  It’s just never been my thing. But when we got there, I decided I should go in and be helpful with Henry. And do you know what? I really enjoyed it! It was so exciting splitting a rock open and seeing if you were going to find something that had never seen daylight before! A fossil that was over 500 million years old! It was quite grueling though and my wussy hands soon started getting blisters. 

It worked out perfectly because that was about the time that little Henry had had enough too so we made the walk back to the trailer to hang out with Apollo. I took a little nap while Henry listened to his music. We enjoyed a popsicle together and by that time the other 3 boys were on their way back, weighed down by their backpacks full of fossils!

Now they are proudly displayed on the table and their beds and have even been gifted to some cousins. They are already talking about going back and I completely agree with them. Although it will have to wait until a cooler part of the year because had it been any warmer than it was (about 69 to 71) then it would have been absolutely miserable. You are in the middle of a rock pile with no shade and nowhere to sit comfortably. It turned out perfectly for us.

As we drove the rest of the way home listening to a book (Ella Enchanted) and watching Henry sleep soundly in his carseat I felt very grateful for this long, exhausting trip that was made possible by this huge, heavy, falling apart 5^th wheel. Who knows how long we will do this but I was grateful for at least this week…these memories made possible by it.

Some of our finds

To end the trip we stopped at our favorite pizza place in Nephi, Utah, Nephi  Canyon Pizza Co. It is so delicious, and they have a very good gluten free crust! We ate it happily in the parking lot then piled back in the truck for the very last leg of the trip. We pulled into the Wind Walker ranch after dark and after pulling the slides out realized that not only had some things rattled apart on our drive but we had gathered about an inch of dust from the fossil dirt road! Oh goody!

This and many other reasons are again why we are looking to upgrade to a motorhome, not only a motorhome but a motorhome with no slide outs. Yes, they are nice because of the extra room they afford but after traveling like we have, realize that they are not worth the tradeoff.

So here we are back in Utah with no real plans to move the trailer again soon. Freeze drying and swimming are at the top of the list for the next few months so here we go! Come end of August we will start seriously planning our route to Michigan to spend a month there with my brother and sister-in-law and cute little niece who will turn one while we are there! Yay! I will try to not wish away the summer wanting that to come quicker…we are very excited for those adventures!

Pretty soon I might do a post about the darker side of living in the fifth wheel. I am pretty good at making things sound appealing and incredible when I want to but don’t think for a second that’s always how it is. Like the shirt I got in Florida says, happiness comes in waves. Yup…but Joy, which comes from Christ can be constant. I hope that to be the common thread of this blog...that yes, waves of happiness and sadness come and go but throughout it all, a constant Joy from Christ.