Our mid-western adventure

September was a month of travel for me and Rick.  I'm now very much behind in many areas in my life, including blogging, but I enjoyed every minute of those trips and activities.

We enjoyed a visit from Chelsea's grandparents Ralph and Sandie at the end of August and we all got Andy and Chelsea loaded and ready to move to LA.  We hated saying goodbye to our kids because we have enjoyed having them in town and we have enjoyed our frequent visits and outings together. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to some tears being shed.  Even though I want my kids to get on with their lives and move on, I still miss them when they do!  It's such a happy/sad emotion.  We wish them well as they move on to their next adventure, but they will be dearly missed.

My sisters Ann and Carol came to town to attend and observe the trial of the year.  We entitled it the "tampon trial" and suffice it to say, it was a very interesting day in court as we started the day watching the jury selection and stayed well into the evening to hear the verdict.  It was so fun to spend that time with Ann and Carol.

Rick and I left for Kansas City on Thursday, September 3.  We took Frontrunner/Trax to the SLC airport and avoided the extra expense of leaving a car at the airport for nine days.  It worked out so slick and we will definitely do that again.

September 3
Arrived in Kansas City and had dinner with my friend Terri N. from my hometown of Rupert, ID
Enjoyed a delicious mid-western BBQ meal at Joe's

September 4
Drove to Lawrence, Kansas and visited KU Phog Allen field house.  It meant little to me, but Rick was very excited to see it.
Visited the fascinating Harry S. Truman presidential library.  I had just finished watching the 16 hour documentary by Ken Burns entitled "The War" so I was very interested in learning more about the part that President Truman played in ending WWII by authorizing the use of the atomic bomb against Japan.  In my humble opinion, it was the use of this deadly force that ended the war and was a necessary evil.  I'm so grateful that he had the courage to act.

Visited Independence, MO and saw the LDS and Community of Christ sites

I loved eating at some out-of-the-way places along the way
Saw Liberty Jail
Picked up Jake and Ellie from the Kansas City airport
Went to the Royals/White Socks  baseball game

September 5
Drove to Lincoln, Nebraska
Visited the state capitol

Attended the BYU-Nebraska game.  It was extremely hot and humid, but the Nebraska fans were so kind and classy.  Truly, they were amazing both before the after the game.  We had such a fun time with Jake and Ellie and met up with our Philipp friends afterwards.  Wow!  What a finish!

Drove to Omaha for the night after the game.

September 6
Attended church in Omaha, saw a young man from our ward who is attending dental school there, Richie L.
Visited Winter Quarters and saw the temple and visitors center
Crossed into Iowa, went to Council Bluffs and Kanesville and associated visitor's center and LDS church sites
Drove across Iowa listening to the Mormon Channel

Stopped at the Des Moines, Iowa state capitol building
Arrived in Keokuk, Iowa for the night

September 7
Nauvoo, IL
Finally!  I got to attended the Nauvoo temple!  What a great experience.

Went on a wagon and buggy ride around town
 to see the sites.  These missionaries were delightful.

I got to spend the rest of the day in Nauvoo by myself exploring and learning to my heart's content.  I pretty much had the place to myself. I only wish I had friend Tiffany T. to guide we around since she knows everything about Nauvoo.
Rick drove Jake and Ellie to catch their flight in St. Louis

September 8
Went to Carthage Jail
Drove to St. Louis, MO
Saw the spectacular Gateway Arch

I loved attending the visitor's center and learning
more about how this architectural  marvel was built.

View from inside the arch on the west side showing St. Louis

View on the east side showing the mighty Mississippi

Inside the little cars that took us to the top inside the arch.

Loved, loved, loved seeing this marvel.

View at night.  It looks black.

Attended the Cardinals/Cubs baseball game

September 9
Drove most of the day from St. Louis to Oklahoma City, OK
Crossed the boarder of OK and met my goal of visiting all 50 states!

 Relaxed that evening at the hotel.  Went swimming and hot tubbed.

September 10
Spent most of the day at the Oklahoma City bombing site learning more about what happened that fateful day in the heart of our country.  Heartbreaking.

and we visited the Oklahoma State Capitol building where an active oil rig was pumping oil on the capitol grounds

I love learning about Native American history.

Visited OU in Norman, OK
Drove to Wichita to spend the night and relax.

September 11
Left Wichita, stopped briefly in Topeka (a shout out here to Mark P., I finally made it to visit his home town!) and arrived back in Kansas City to turn in our rental car and catch our flight to return home.  We ended up putting almost 2400 miles our Nissan Altima rental car!  We listened to My Antonia by Willa Cather on CD while driving through the mid-western states and enjoyed that story set in Nebraska.

We got home just hours before Andy and Chelsea flew back into town to attend the BYU-Boise state game and pick up the Nissan.  Needless to say, we were very optimistic about the BYU football season with two big wins under our belts against Boise and Nebraska.  Little did we know what was in store at that time and that disappointment was coming.  Again.  We said good-bye to them the final time as they left Utah headed to CA.

We always like to chase after our visitors and
family members and say good-bye in this traditional way.

50 by 60

Hooray!  I've now visited all 50 of the states in the United States of America!  It has been an exciting goal to achieve and I'm so happy that I have been able to see so many beautiful sites in this great land of ours.  We have been impressed with the kind people we have met and the history we have learned.
This whole quest started in 2006.  We took Rick's parents to North Dakota so that they could visit their final state and get all 50 completed.  They were both in their 80s and wanted to visit that last state while they were still able to get out on the road.  The thought hadn't even occurred to me that I too might be able to visit all 50 states in the USA.  With their encouragement, along with Rick, we set out to finish visiting all 50 states.  We took inventory of how many states we had visited.  He had visited many more than I had because he had driven across much of the US on several occasions.  I had a LONG way to go.  We set our goal and hoped to achieve it by the age of 60.  Rick finished his goal by age 58.  

I've tried to reconstruct the years that I visited each state.  To the best of my knowledge, it went like this:

1.  Born in Idaho in 1955

2.  Visited grandparents in Utah that same year and every year thereafter.

3.  Went on a family trip to California to visit family in Menlo Park, CA when I was in third grade in 1963 

4.  Traveled through Nevada to get there.

5.  Visited Yellowstone National park many times in my childhood, going through West Yellowstone, Montana 

6.  and Wyoming during the 1960s. I traveled around ID, UT, and Yellowstone National Park in WY, MT for about 19 years.

7.  Flew on an airplane for the first time when I was 19 years old going to Oregon with my sister Janet in 1974.

8.  Traveled to Tucson, Arizona to visit my brother Gary and his family in 1978.

9.  In 1979, Rick and I flew to Colorado on our honeymoon, visiting Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder and Fort Collins.

10.  Flew to Hawaii in 1983 after my dad died with Rick, his mother Pat and my mother Mary.

Went to Hawaii again in 2011.

11.  Flew to Amarillo, Texas to visit my sister Mary Ann and her family in 1985 and drove to TX with our family in 1999 to visit our friends the Coils in Dallas for Thanksgiving.

12.  Traveled through New Mexico on that trip and stopping in Albuquerque (which would later become the home of one of our children.)

13.  Flew to Virginia in 1988 to visit my brother Gary and his family, with Janet and Dave.  

14.  Also visited the Amish country in Pennsylvania and Gettysburg, and Washington DC. 

15.  Rick and I flew to Florida in 1997 and took a cruise out of Miami to Key West, Cozamel, and Tulum, Mexico.

16.  Our entire family flew to West Virginia in 1998 to visit Rick's parents Pat and Vern who were serving an LDS mission there

17.  by way of Baltimore, Maryland.

18.  Visited places in Virginia

19.  Drove through Delaware

20.  Stayed in New Jersey and took the ferry to

21.  New York City.  Later drove to Palmyra and Niagara Falls.

22.  Rick and I flew to New Orleans, Louisiana in 2001 where I attended a convention with the Orem City Planning Commission.

23.  Went on a family trip in 2003, driving to NV, CA, OR and Seattle, Washington when Jordan returned from her LDS mission in Venezuela. 

24.  We went to a BYU football game at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana

25.  and visited Chicago, Illinois with our dear friends the Philipps family in 2005.

26.  Took Pat and Vern to South Dakota in 2006 to see Mount Rushmore and then on to

27.  North Dakota where we stayed for a short time, eating lunch and chatting with a few locals.

MADE THE GOAL TO VISIT ALL 50 STATES.  HALF DOWN, HALF TO GO!

We drove to Calgary, Canada in 2008 and passed through the entire state of Montana, seeing Glacier National Park among other sights.  Spectacular! 

28.  Went on a cruise to Alaska for our 30th wedding anniversary in 2009.

29.  We  took Rick's parents back to visit some of the sites they loved in the east where Vern had served his mission many years before and and visited Boston,  Massachusetts, New York City and Washington DC, driving around that beautiful country in the fall in 2009.   

MAKING PROGRESS, ONLY 21 MORE TO GO!

30.  Flew to Jackson Mississippi in 2011 to attend a BYU football game at Ole Miss with Jake, Jordan and Andy.  Rick and I then spent the next week traveling through the south in our rental car visiting sites in:

31.  Tennessee

32.  Kentucky

33.  North Carolina (little did we know we would be returning to visit another of our children who live here)

34.  South Carolina

35.  Alabama

36.  Georgia

37.  Arkansas, finally ending up at another BYU game at Texas.

38.  Another BYU football game in 2012 (funny how that worked out) took us back to Notre Dame where we also set out to visit neighboring Ohio.  We met us with Dave, Courtney, Jordan, Jake, Andy and Chelsea.  Rick and I then rented a car and drove to 

39.   Michigan

40.   and then on to Minnesota and 

41.  Wisconsin with Andy and Chelsea tagging along.  I was doing through chemotherapy during this trip and didn't feel that great, but I wanted to continue to see the sights in these neighboring states.

42.  In 2013, Dave and Courtney moved to Boston, MA and we decided to take that opportunity to visit more New England states.  Rick and I rented a car in Boston and drove around to visit more of New England including Rhode Island,

43.  New Hampshire

44. Vermont (Rick's 50 state and birth place of the Prophet Joseph Smith)

45.  Maine where we went to Acadia National Park.  Amazing!

THE GOAL WAS IN SIGHT!

46.  Coincidentally, BYU announced that they would start their season playing Nebraska in 2015, so plans were made to finish off my last five states by visiting the mid-west while also attending the game. How convenient!  Besides being a great game against Nebraska, (BYU won in the last second) we were able to visit some amazing places.  Jake and Ellie drove around with us in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.  We drove around to LDS church history sites.

47.  We flew into Kansas City, Missouri and rented a car and off we went to visit

48.  Kansas

49.  Iowa

50.  And finally, OKLAHOMA driving nearly 2400 miles in 8 days!!

Our goal criteria was that we had to set foot on the soil of any particular state, talk to a local and buy food or something else if possible.  Landing in airports didn't count.  We visited many state capitol buildings along the way, presidential libraries, national parks and other points of historical interest. We learned so much about the history and the people of our great land.  We listened to books on tape that were unique to a particular area and enjoyed passing some driving time that way.  

I've got to give a HUGE shout out to my husband who made this happen.  He bankrolled the trips with air fare, rental cars, hotels and food.  It isn't an inexpensive goal considering all the distances that must be covered traveling from state to state.  He really wanted us to enjoy our time together and to meet this goal.  I love and appreciate him for making it happen, especially because so many of our trips did coincide with BYU football games!  We ate wonderful local food, trying to avoid the national chains as much as possible.  We also shopped in grocery stores and found healthy food ready to eat much of the time. We bought a case of water and put it in the trunk of the car so that we always had a good supply on hand.  We used a Garmin GPS system early on and then reverted to Google Maps to get around.  The only down side to this much travel was the need to use so many public restrooms.  Not a fan.

There were a few states that we only passed through briefly that I would like to revisit.  We only briefly visited Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan and Florida.  I would love to return to visit more of those states and spend some more time in Maine.  Of the 25 largest cities in the USA, I would still like to visit Houston and San Antonio/TX, Detroit/MI, Tampa and Orlando/FL, Louisville/KY and  Cincinnati and Cleveland/OH and get off the beaten trail to see some other smaller areas in MN.   I've been to 20 of the 25 largest cities in the US and hope to get to see a few more. 

One very wonderful thing that comes from traveling around the US, is that now I can visualize what that area is like when I hear it mentioned.  I know where all of the 50 states are on a map and I know the state capitols and have visited many of them. 

Rick and I love to travel! We are proud members of The All 50 States Club! It was been absolutely a joy to meet this goal!

create your own personalized map of the USA

 or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

Taylor and Brian

A few weeks ago, my darling niece and her handsome man got married in the Logan LDS temple.  It was a beautiful day attending the ceremony with family and friends and then afterwards enjoying a lovely outdoor reception.  I'm so proud of Taylor and Brian for reaching their goals and being married in the temple.  Taylor looked stunning in her lace wedding gown and the yellow colors were perfect for a summer wedding.  I love them and wish them much happiness as they start their first home, attend school and work to continue to achieve their goals.  They are off to a great start. Their day was beautiful!

All of my siblings were in attendance.
We don't often all get together, so this was a special occasion.
  My sister Carol who is in yellow is the beautiful mother of the bride.  

Cute McKayla loved being a flower girl.

Praise to the man!

I'm so grateful to the prophet Joseph Smith.  I know that he was God's instrument in restoring his power and authority to the earth once more.  Joseph and his family suffered through unimaginable challenges and in the end, he sealed his testimony and his teachings with his own blood when he was martyred by a mob in Carthage, IL.  He was chosen as a pure, clean vessel in his youth and was schooled and taught through the power of God during the times of restoration when the authority of God was restored to the earth once again.  He and his brother Hyrum were faithful men who were true to their beliefs.

We recently visited the places where Joseph Smith and his family walked, talked, slept and lived.  It was a very moving experience for me.  I have heard about these places since my youth, but it was an entirely different experience to see, learn and experience first hand the places of the coming forth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the church of which I am a proud member.  I have no illusions that Joseph Smith was a perfect man.  He was human.  Some mistakes were made, but more things were done right than wrong.  Given the history in that time period, there are things that we don't understand in our more modern world.  I still give him tremendous credit and I am grateful for his exemplary life.  I also appreciate that the LDS church is being more forthcoming with information about the life of Joseph Smith and the early saints.  I have read these accounts and they do sled light on the occurrences of the early church organization and the events that took place there. There is so much negative information about Joseph Smith, but I choose to read the account from the sources that are credible and that build faith rather than destroy it.


Rick and I started out visiting Liberty jail in Liberty, Missouri

Hard to imagine four or more men
sharing this tiny space for four months during the winter months
 without proper food, clothing or bedding.

Independence, Missouri

The Community of Christ church owns
this land in Independence, MO.

The future temple site at Independence, MO.

The Community of Christ church in the background.

Winter quarters, Nebraska (with Jake and Ellie)

Jake and Ellie at the Winter Quarters visitors center.
We are all so grateful to our pioneer ancestors who came before us and paved the way.

So wonderful to share these great learning experiences with Jake and Ellie.

Beautiful Winter Quarters temple outside of Omaha, Nebraska.

The Winter Quarters temple grounds on a beautiful but very hot and humid day in Omaha after attending church.

Kanesville tabernacle at Council Bluffs, Iowa (with Jake and Ellie)

Ellie was ab out the same size of this little pioneer girl
who came west with her family to cross the plains.

Nauvoo, Illinois (with Jake and Ellie)

The beautiful Nauvoo temple that was rebuilt to replace
 the one the Saints left to destruction, fire and mob ruin.

A statue built to Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum as they
rode out of Nauvoo for the last time on the road to
Carthage where they were killed by a angry mob.

Attending the Nauvoo temple was a very meaningful
 opportunity and I will always remember how I felt there.
  Such a great spirit is present in this special temple.

The Mansion house where Emma and Joseph
 lived very happily for a time before he was martyred.

The grave sites of Hyrum, Joseph and Emma.

A beautiful statue of Emma and Joseph commemorating
 the organization of the Relief Society
and the beginning of charitable work.  

Carthage jail, Illinois

The side view of the Carthage jail.

The room where the killing took place.
  The prophet Joseph was shot andfell out of the window
 on the left and his brother Hyrum was also killed here.

Shots in the door still remain from the angry mob of killers.

A statue of Joseph and Hyrum the two brothers
 who died defending what they believed.

After spending the day in Nauvoo, I had the opportunity at the end of the day to sit alone by the graves of Joseph, Hyrum and Emma Smith.  Other Smith family relatives are buried on this site as well.  It is right on the edge of the mighty Mississippi river.  It was late in the day and as dusk was coming on, I sat on the bench and shed some tears of gratitude for the prophet Joseph Smith and what he accomplished in his short life.  I thanked Joseph, Hyrum, Emma and the entire Smith family for the trials they endured to help restore the church of Jesus Christ to the earth again.  I am eternally grateful to them and hold them in high regard.

"He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood; and so has his brother Hyrum. In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!" Doctrine and Covenants, section 135.

Passing the three year mark

I don't always think about it, but sometimes I do.  I was diagnosed with cancer three years ago.  I passed that ominous anniversary date last July 2, 2015.  My check ups with the doctors are becoming less frequent and everything looks great.  Once I hit the 10 year mark, I should be able to say I have been cured.
When I hear of other people struggling with cancer and I actually know some of what they are going through, I get a pit in my stomach.  The doctor visits, the new procedures, the waiting for results, the struggle through chemotherapy, the daily grind of radiation, the feeling of perpetual illness, the fatigue, the look of sympathy on the faces of others, the loss of appetite, facing the unknown, struggling to stay positive and hopeful, seeing the concern on the faces of loved ones who want so much to help, the prayers and pleading to God, seeing my body change and not be my own body anymore, facing complete and total body hair loss, facing the possibility of a painful death.
But I also saw great love and support, great faith and hope and so many kindnesses from people that buoyed me up and made the journey bearable.  People made the difference.  They usually do.  I also felt the love of God in my life and witnesses his goodness.  Regardless of the outcome, I knew he was there and that he loved me. My trust in Him never wavered.

I recently read the most interesting book called Not Fade Away about a man named Peter Barton who, at the pinnacle of his career and family life, got stomach cancer.  His observations were very insightful.  I marked about 15 pages of some of what he said in the book.  I laughed, I cried and I could relate. Not only for my own experience, but for the experiences I've seen my dear loved ones endure who have gone through a similar experience.  Here are some of my favorite thoughts:

• Mortality doesn't limit us in time.  It limits us, as well, in what we can ever hope to understand.
• Once my unproductive anger about this lousy break started to subside, I began thinking less about what cancer was doing to me and more about what it was doing for me.  I realized something sort of wonderful.  Cancer was giving me the opportunity to live more attentively, more wholly in the moment.  It was letting me be as free and as focused on the present as I'd ever been in my life.
• Luckily for me, I had, by then, done most of the hard work of separating my spirit from my physical self.  I could almost accept the notion of my body as a beat-up old car that simply wasn't worth repairing anymore.  I say almost, because readiness isn't something that appears all at once.  It's something you earn by increments, at the cost of much anxiety, and rage, and sadness.
• Well, one of the things I've learned from having cancer is that it's always worth it to continue.  Death will come when it's ready to; the bad stuff will end.  You can count on that- and I don't think it's morbid to consider it a comfort.  But in the meantime there continues to be good stuff, too.  Small pleasures loom large.
• Gradually, I had to stop thinking of my illness as a fight that I would either win or lose, and begin to understand it as a mysterious process that was bound to run its course.  My disease and I were not opponents, we were more like unwilling roommates forced to live in the same tight quarter of my body.  I had to accept the annoying truth that I was no longer in sole control.  My death would bring the death of my cancer.  It couldn't live on without me.  Ultimately, I would be the victor. It would kill me and I would kill it.
• Ultimately, though, all the wishes and all the rambling prayers come down to one unchanging plea for the health and safety and happiness of my family.  What else matters next to that?
• The thought of saying good-bye to my wife and children, however, is agony.  It's the one thing I just can't seem to get reconciled to.  I'm sorry to say this, but I think it's a sadness without an antidote. 
• We cut the cord at the start of each life.  In a different way, we cut the cord at the end.  We have to say good-bye.  
• And now my story is almost over.  Its two strands - the story of my life , the story of my illness- have nearly come together.  I've wanted to believe, I guess, that they'd keep running parallel forever, stretching like a pair of tracks toward a wide horizon that could never be reached.  But that isn't how it works in life.  In life, all story lines eventually converge.  Death is the completion.  Death is where the horizon finally stops receding.  Not a separate thing from life, but life's last resounding cord.  
• There's just one final thing I want to say.  It's simply this:  I really tried.  I did my best.

So on I go.  I'm still trying to do my best. For whatever reason, I was granted the gift of recovery. My wide horizon stretches before me because of modern medicine, trust, faith and prayer.  In my case, the treatments worked, but that isn't always the result. I wasn't appointed unto death.  Not yet anyway.  I came through it.  I feel great.  I've been able to do some things with my body that has recovered from breast cancer and from a total knee replacement. There were many times I didn't think it would happen, but it did.  I'm grateful, so very grateful and I do value the extra time I have been given.  Life is a marvelous gift and I appreciate the fact that I am still here to live my life and to try and help those around me to see the good in the world and all the marvelous possibilities that life affords.

Great cave, my first time exploring it

Hiking buddies John, Ann, Rick and Grant

800 plus stairs going up and down in the cave - no problem

500 foot climb, three miles round trip - no problem (thanks to Rick)

Beautiful Arches National Park, happy to be here
 and experience the beauties of the world!