A Wonderful Saturday

This morning I got up early and went on an exhilerating bike ride in the rain, complete with a huge rainbow that was framed against the Ochre Mountains on our west. I met the new neighbor and her 2 dogs, and had a nice visit before the rain started. She is a lawyer moving from Colorado. She is nice and is our ages so we will be good friends, I think. After the bike ride I went shopping and got lots of vegetables, because I am now a diabetic and have to watch everything that I eat. (I found out this week and I am going to a diabetic counsellor Monday morning and they will hook me up with test strips and the little machine thingy that tells me my glucose level in the bloodstream).(My sugar level was 142--before that it was 128--and both are over 120 so it is an official diagnosis of Type II Diabetes). (That really means my liver is encased with too much fat and it is secreting too much sugar into the bloodstream; the pancreas cannot keep up dispensing enough insulin to neutralize the sugar). My doctor says all will be well if I follow really strict diet plans and exercise. So the bike riding was great this morning. (Thanks to Grady's bike--mine has a flat tire). And so far today I did not cheat on food.
After shopping we went to see Jennifer dance in THE WORLD OF DANCE at the De Jong Theatre at BYU. It was just fabulous! The ballroom dancers, the Cougarettes, the ballet troupe, and the International Folk Dancers all were wonderful, along with wonderful music and stage props. Jennifer was in two dances--the Israeli one (and her photo is of the Israeli costume) and a North American (I think it was Canadian?) really fast paced one. Really fun to watch! Grady and I had her autograph our programmes when she was done. After we left Provo (and shot a pretty shot of the mts. in Provo with the leaves turning), we went to the Timpanogas Temple and had a wonderful time there as well. It was dark when we got out but I thought I would take some photos anyway. We ended the evening with Grady treating us to Pollo Loco, a new Mexican restaurant with fantastic chicken and side dishes that is inexpensive but great food! A wonderful Saturday after such a busy week. And my hysterectomy surgery is coming up on Monday, Sept. 29th (Beth's birthday)! I am starting to get a little scared.

Martin's Cove

Martin's Cove is a beautifully remote part of Wyoming, outside of Lander, and is an historical site complete with museum, visitor's center, and range rover transportation partway to the cove. Along the famous Oregon Trail and Mormon trail, it was where the Martin handcart company in 1849 sheltered during late October when 18 inches of snow had fallen, and caught the handcart pioneers off guard. They were stranded there for several days until help arrived from Salt Lake City and wagons rescued them on November 9. Many people died there and their bodies could not be buried because of the frozen ground and weak condition of the survivors. Bodies were hauled to one side of the cove and wild wolves would descend and fight for the flesh. It was a horrible thing. One woman made the men on corpse detail promise that they would put her fiancee's body in a tree trunk out of reach of the wolves, and she wrapped his head in her red shawl. She survived and lived to remarry and have six children in the future. Anyway, there were lots of stories told by the volunteers there and we thoroughly enjoyed our time. The Sweetwater River was crossed at least six times by these pioneers and it was a little river but could swell to a great size with the Fall/Winter moisture. One photo shows where the Sweetwater was crossed by the Salt Lake helpers, who hand-carried the stricken handcart pioneers across. The freezing cold waters caused great distress to the four young men who did the carrying. They did not die--but all suffered painfully for years afterwards from their efforts. Also in one photo is a little deer--this was the burial ground where the wolves ate--and if you look really closely, you will see the little fawn staring out at Grady and me. It was raining so Grady improvised with a bath towel for a hat (it was also a cold rain) and looks like a handsome desert shiek! We had such a good time on our trip! It is good to be home, though, and today is doctor visit day--blood draw at 8 am, gynecologist at 10 am, and mammogram at 3 pm. Fun, fun, fun. I had a uterine biopsy last week. They got me into see the specialist in record time, for which I am grateful. Hysterectomy, here I come!(hopefully)

Prairie Schooner