We knew there was a blue moon coming, (2nd definition) so we planned something we
only do once in a blue moon. We went to the Brigham City temple. (July 31, 2015)
only do once in a blue moon. We went to the Brigham City temple. (July 31, 2015)
Here's some details of the temple.
Peach blossom windows!
More peach blossoms.
Can you see any peach trees in this shot?
Can you see any peach trees in this shot? (Any guesses about a repeating theme?
Across the road to the East is the old Brigham City Tabernacle.
It has quite a story.
This is a detail shot.
Can you tell what it wrong with this picture?
(It is false advertising. That is the temple!)
Whew! Now that it better.
We meet four older ladies who were friends. All of them
were widows living in SLC. They had come up for the
day to do a session in the Brigham City Temple.
were widows living in SLC. They had come up for the
day to do a session in the Brigham City Temple.
One of them took this picture for us.
They were on the 12:00 noon session with us. :)
They were on the 12:00 noon session with us. :)
Next we stopped at the Brigham Young Memorial
Park to enjoy our picnic lunch.
Notice that this park honors the location of President Young's last
public address. It was given 99 years before Janna was born to the day!
Then we were on our way to the Gold Spike National Historical Site.
This painting depicts the meeting of the rails at Promontory Point. in 1869.
It was a race against the Central Pacific crew (from the west) that was mostly
Chinese immigrants and the Union Pacific crew (from the east) that was largely
frontier's men. They were racing to Odgen.The Union Pacific reached Ogden first,
but continued to lay track to where they meet at Promontory Point.
Note of interest: Parallel grade was built for nearly 250 miles across
the state of Utah, but no parallel track was ever laid.
I smiled when I saw the wood carved drip edge of the ladies restroom.
This is how I knew it was a very serious memorial park.
When we arrived there was only about an hour before closing time.
At first we were disappointed, but then we found out the trains were
warming up to be put away for the night and we were there to see that.
This is Grandpa in front of the Union Pacific's Engine 119 that came from the east.
This is me in front of the Central Pacific Engine, Jupiter, that
came from the west, over the Sierra Nevada mountains.
This is Grandpa on the back of the Jupiter.
This is me on the back of Engine 119.
Both engines are exact replicas of the originals.
Jupiter was a wood fired engine. This is the engineer's panel.
These "era dressed" gentleman drove both trains.
Engine 119 was steam driven. These are the engineer's panel.
Jupiter waiting to be parked for the night.
We walked inside the visitors center and watched the movie documenting
the building of this transcontinental railway and the effects it had a the country.
This original sign boasted an amazing feat for the men.
There was a little mini-replica of that historic day.
This is a replica of the original golden spike (which really was made of gold.)
This one was signed by Gov. Jon. Huntsman during the dedication of the visitor's center.
Finally it was time for Jupiter to roll away.
Off it went in a cloud of smoke and steam.
We bid the engines good evening and headed home.
Of course I had to document what a BLUE MOON looks like from the homestead.
These are the BLUE MOON before dawn the next morning.
Just for the record:
There
are two definitions of a Blue Moon- The correct, original definition is that a
Blue Moon is the third full Moon in an astronomical season
with four full moons. A normal year has four astronomical seasons - spring,
summer, fall (autumn), and winter - each with three months and normally three full
Moons. When one of the astronomical seasons has four full moons, instead
of the normal three, the third full Moon is called a Blue Moon.
Today,
it's so commonly used that it would only be fair to call it a second
definition, rather than a mistake.
The next BLUE MOON by the first definition is May 21, 2015. By the 2nd definition it will be Jan. 31, 2018. Start planning your adventure for the NEXT BLUE MOON!
LEVAN
HOMESTEAD NEWS---July 2015
Dad: At the first of the month we got new cabinets in
our bathroom and started putting things back together. It was a big project,
but we finished up over the July 4th weekend. We helped with the Ute Stampede on the 9th. I was in the cook shack and we put out about
1200 burgers that night. That was record
for a Thursday night. Then Mom and I went to the Stampede on Saturday for a
date. It was a first time ever for us on
a Saturday night. We had fun. The next day we had some friends over for a
visit and a barbeque in honor of Joyce Johnson’s birthday. That turned out great. I did pony cart rides for Steve and Paula
Bateman’s family reunion. They enjoyed
it and so did I. It was fun to be a part
of their family for a while. Mom made me
go to the Doctor twice this month. I
went to a hearing doctor who thinks I need a hearing aid for my left ear. He
says I have severe hearing loss in that ear for the higher frequencies of the
human voice range That means I can’t hear the grandkids as well. J I
haven’t decided whether or not to get a hearing aid yet. I had my left hip x-rayed and Dr. Holman
would like to carve on me again.:( I’m
thinking about doing it in early December.
I enjoyed having Caden for a fishing partner while he was here. We went fishing to my favorite fishing hole:
Mammoth Lake. In our hurry to get away,
I left the tackle box home. So…we only
had one hook to catch fish with and no chain to put them on if we did, but we
ended up bringing three nice fish home.
We had a take a break while it rained and hailed, but it was a good trip
in spite of the problems. We spent July 24th here in Levan. Katie and family joined us for part of the
day. My favorite part was watching the
kids catch fish from a pool with their bare hands. I also enjoyed the barbeque we had here at
home and the Indian Dancers at the park.
We learned some about their culture and beliefs and I thought that was
interesting. We concluded the month with
a Blue Moon day. I have wanted to take
Mom to Brigham City Temple since Andrea and I went while she was in
Mississippi. We had a good session and
then a picnic. We also went to the Golden
Spike Memorial Park. We were worried because we were later than we wanted to be
getting there. Luckily we arrived just
in time to see them put the engines away and that was pretty neat.
Mom: I
set a new personal record of attending the temple FIVE times this month: three
to Payson, one to Provo and one to Brigham City. (Dad joined me for three of
them.) Temple worship and attendance has
become increasingly important to me. (Ez. 47: 1-5) I have felt a
great need to better understand the symbols of the temple and as I go with
questions I feel the water Ezekial described rising a bit higher. I love that troubles and cares seem to dim as
I enter the doors. The dust and haze of
distraction settle, and I sense a feeling much like that of coming home after a
long, taxing, over-scheduled day. I
always leave feeling renewed in body and spirit.
I hate
to say that I like it when Tyler is out of town, but I have to admit that I
love to have Katie and the kids down when he is. We have lots of fun and I don’t ever feel
lonely. Both Luke and Leia are a lot of
entertainment. They say and do the
cutest things.
The
Maggie Baum series finally ended this month after more than 130 days. Her sentencing was on the 14th and
she was given 1-15 years in prison. It
was super sad because I consider her a friend. Without question, her crime was
not one of intended malice. My hope is to figure out how to visit her in
Draper. I’ll let you know how that goes.
(Dad said he’d go with me. J )
I had two days of bus in-service this
month. Aunt Kim does a great job
teaching, but I struggle with the micro-management that encroaches more each
year. I’m more of a “teach correct
principles and let people govern themselves” kind of gal. Luckily, I only have two years left.
We
loved having Caden here for three days.
I decided I needed to take him to a musical production because I learned
to love theater first--- from my Grandpa Davis.
It felt like a matriarchal responsibility! We went to “Tarzan” and I think even Caden
enjoyed it. I think each of the grandkids (eight years and older J )
should came one at a time for a few days because it was so much fun. While he was here, I traded Caden for
Haylie. Aunt Brenda took the boys to the
Provo Rec center and I took Haylie, Sarah-Jane and Aunt Bethany to the Hale
Theater production of Little Mermaid Jr.
All the parts were played by kids 6 to 18 year old and it was
delightful. The little girls loved it
and had a taste of musical theater ….with their grandma.
A
highlight of the month was a late night phone call from Uncle Jake, who is
underway in the Seattle area. We talked
for over an hour. It has been a long
time since I had a deeper more meaningful conversation with him. Just remembering brings me joy. There is only one Jake and I’m so glad we got
him. J
I
had a meeting with the Bishop on July 28th and knew I would be
released as R.S. President. It was
interesting to examine my feelings when I knew I only had a few days left. It was truly great AND dreadful. The one
legacy I left behind is a level table in the R.S. room. The table slanted and
when the glass top was removed, (I suppose because it was DANGEROUS.), nothing would stay on it. Dad took his skill saw and in no time--- it
was level for the first time since it was built! I’m certain my service in the kingdom is not
over and I knew it was time to pass the reigns, but this is the calling, above
all others, that I will always remember with fondness. Love you all
P.S. Perhaps no one else noticed, but we do not have a
single family birthday in July. Could
someone please do something about that?
Sister Andrea Kenison:
See andreaapril.blogspot.com
