Breezy Gets Ready for the Pioneer Trek

This is about 3:45 am Wednesday. Anyone that knows anything about Breezy at all would realize that it is a miracle she is up, dressed, and nearly ready to go to the church. She is hard to wake up. I was afraid I'd have to throw her over my shoulder, lay her in the car, load up her clothes and drop her off at the church. Kathy T made Breezy's bonnet. Kathy made around 13 bonnets for girls and 'ma's' going on the trek. I wished I had a camera when I got to the church. The girls looked like true pioneers, and the boys were dressed up as well. It was quite the sight. A few of the Hispanic kids had their bandannas tied around their head. They looked like Apaches to me!

It took quite a bit of work to get Breezy ready for the trek. First, there were the clothes to sew, and then we had to raid Mr Wonderful and the Marine's camping gear. Most of her personal items were put in a 5 gallon bucket. It will keep everything dry, and she can use it to sit on when they stop. We picked her up a new cold weather sleeping bag. Most of the ones we had are for use in AZ in the summer. Breezy is a true Phoenix, AZ girl and has limited cold weather experiences to draw on. Phyllis C has been up at the area the kids would be walking and said it was very, very muddy. I had to MAKE Breezy take a second pair of shoes. I am afraid her hoodie and wool jacket won't be warm enough for her. Breezy and wilderness do not seem to mix. She gets sick very easily. I have been hoping she stays well, and I don't get a call saying I have to go pick her up at mile marker number such and such, or some area with only GPS coordinates.

I can see why anyone who goes on one of these pioneer treks is called a 'survivor.' I heard they would be walking 15 miles the first day. They did not expect them to get to their camp until 10 pm. She was up at 3:30 am. That is a tremendously LONG day. I spent that first day looking at my watch and wondering how she was doing with her trek family. The time from 9 pm to 10 pm seemed to crawl by. We have had Breezy and the other members of the trek in our prayers.

My dad's grandparents AND my mother's grandparents were Mormon pioneers. I do not know if they were handcart pioneers, but do have records of a couple of ancestors being sealed in the Nauvoo temple before leaving for the Salt Lake Valley. I am certain this trek will give Breezy some sense of the sacrifice her ancestors made; and how blessed she truly is. Both of my parents' grandparents homesteaded land in Idaho. They lived through some truly tough times. I think Breezy will be able to identify a bit with how tough it is to live so close to the land, and have family, but not much else in the way of earthly possessions.

The stake wanted all of the parents to drive up to Heber and be there for when the kids come in, just as family was there in the Salt Lake Valley to greet the new handcart emigrants. It is a three hour drive from here to Heber. I wasn't certain Mr Wonderful would want to go. Those that know him know he is working, or in his chair working with his lap top, or watching TV, doing Suduko puzzles, or North Dakota seeing his own family--nowhere else. When he heard Scott Estes was a cook and helping with the barbecue he was four square ready to go! We'll see, as he has been in Texas for work all week. He might be tired of traveling, and even barbecue and seeing Breezy won't blast him out of his chair. Can you even imagine the site of those 'families' coming into a meadow area after pulling or pushing handcarts, or just walking in mud for 3 1/2 days? Anyway, as of tonight (Thursday night), Breezy is more than half way through the trek. I can't wait to see her, and hear of her experiences. 'See' you Monday.