Self Portraits

Dean and I in an Illinois cornfield.  It was 100 degrees outside!



This summer has just gone by way too fast.  Tomorrow is August 1st - I can't believe it.  I made a blog post the first part of July and I had committed to myself to be more active in keeping track of the events this summer.  Hmmm...I am a little behind.  In an effort to catch up, here is a shortened version.  We recently had two major family activities this summer - Mormon Pioneer Trek which was up in Wyoming at Muddy Creek and our family anniversary held a little early this year in Nauvoo, Illinois to see the LDS Church History sites and to visit Grandma and Papa.  I am trying to put together the photo memory books before the summer is over and that is proving to be quite a challenge.  However I thought it would be fun to share a family tradition that we have anytime we go somewhere - it is the family self portrait.  When we are at a location that we like, our family squeezes together as tight as we can get - and then one person will extend their arm with camera in hand and snap a picture trying to incorporate the family and as much of the background as possible.  It works really well when we get everything in one shot.  However - sometimes it takes a few tries and being that tight and close after ten or so tries - well let's just say the family love begins to lessen just a bit.  But we survive and the memories are great.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from our recent adventures...



Here we are at the Nauvoo, Il LDS Temple






Modeling our Prairie Diamonds from the
Nauvoo Blacksmith shop.

  

It's 9:00am and we are at the end of the Trail of Hope (tears) on the Mississippi River.
It is 95 degrees outside and it looks like it may be a bit too early in the morning for a self portrait with teenagers!



Self Portrait at the St. Louis Archway - and yes it is 95 degrees at 9:00am. 
This picture is after seven tries! We finally got one I liked!




Inside the Archway
waiting for our ride down







Here are a few more pictures to catch up with our summer events.  These bring back fun memories even though it was a short time ago!



Mormon Pioneer Trek - Muddy Creek Wyoming in June 2011



Kiss Me Dirty Mud Run girls only - July 2, 2011






C'mon how about a kiss?

  

We had to find a way to include the boys too! :)






One of my favorites - Dean and I as we look at the Mississippi River at the St. Louis Archway. 
A nice way to end the trip!

 There is a review of summer 2011 so far.  It has been fun and filled with a lot to do!  Hopefully I will be able to update things a bit more frequently now as we move into fall.

Catherine's Pass - Item 21 on the List

As the year progresses forward, I am slowly working my way down "the list." With each adventure, I find myself including family and friends into this journey - I love the company so I hope they don't mind that I drag them along for the ride.

The latest adventure was number 21 on "the list"- meaning that I was to hike from Big Cottonwood Canyon over to Little Cottonwood Canyon. For some reason climbing over a canyon seemed like such a daunting task that I wanted to be prepared. So as a family we have been taking practice hikes on the weekends. We have hiked up to Rocky Mouth Water Fall, Red Butte Peak, Titus Lake and Neff's Canyon. Last Saturday, my family, my brother and sister-in-law and Dean's brother and sister-in-law started out in the Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

What a beautiful hike . This area has such a history - according to the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles it states the following:

"Silver mining brought William Stuart Brighton to the upper bowl of Big Cottonwood Canyon in the 1870s. But he soon realized that a better living could be made feeding and housing miners than in actually mining silver. After spending three summers in a tent, he built a hotel in 1874 near the shores of Silver Lake and soon developed the area into a popular mountain resort. His wife, Catherine, would serve the trout she had caught in Silver Lake with hot buttermilk biscuits. Big Cottonwood's upper bowl contains a beautiful chain of glacial lakes cascading down the southern side. In a fitting tribute, William Brighton named the jewel of the upper Big Cottonwood Canyon after his wife. Lake Catherine is a perfectly inviting place for a rest or a relaxing afternoon."

For our hiking adventure, the morning was cool and beautiful - perfect trekking weather. The wildflowers were in full bloom. The hike was a gradual uphill with a series of switch backs. Rounding corner after corner until we finally made it to the mountain's saddle and our first view of Catherine lake. Wow. Deciding to extend our hike slightly, we started up to Sunset Peak (10, 684 feet). This was a steeper incline and I was wondering if I could make the trek. I am so glad that I pushed up the mountain, as the views were amazing - we could see all of the valleys and the cascading lakes. It was worth the extra time and climb to see the world from this vantage point.

Going down through the lakes and making our decent into Big Cottonwood Canyon was wonderful. A cool mountain breeze and wildflowers as far as the eye could see. How thankful I am to have the health and strength to enjoy the wonders of this beautiful world that our Heavenly Father has created.

Chile - The Last Day (and the cherry on top)

"Make voyages! Attempt them! there's nothing else" ~~Tennessee Williams

I think that life has provided me with the opportunity to travel and see so many wonderful and unique places around the world. And every place that I have been and the people that I have met have left a lasting impression on my heart and soul in some way. I have been asked what is my favorite place to visit - I can't really answer that because each place has given me something special that has added to or changed my life. This trip to Chile and Antarctica has been absolutely amazing but not quite in the way I expected. Our last day in Chile was what I would call the "cherry on top" bringing our trip to a close.

After Antarctica, we made it back to Santiago at about 1:30am on Saturday, February 13, 2010. After arriving at the bed and breakfast, Dean and I literally fell into bed. We were up again at 6:00am in order to get ready to attend the LDS Temple in Santiago. What a beautiful temple and a lovely morning.

As I have stated in earlier blogs, Dean served a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Santiago 30 years ago. With the help of our friends - Dean made contact with a gentleman that he had baptized - Armin. Armin was 14 when Dean last saw him - that was 29 years ago. Because the means to communicate and keep in contact with people were not as easy as it is now - it was really just a miracle to find Armin. We met Armin Saturday afternoon at the temple. Armin didn't speak English and Dean's Spanish had improved slightly during the week to the point that he could understand the language but his ability to speak Spanish was still rusty. Somehow these two men were able to communicate. We had lunch together and talked about families, the gospel and the long and short of the last 30 years. Armin has 3 children (2 close to the age of our children). He is in the Stake Young Men's presidency. It was the perfect end to our trip in Chile. As we departed company, these two men hugged and agreed to stay in contact. As Dean and I talked about this experience - I could see that he was truly touched. It made his heart happy and renewed his spirit to see that his service in the gospel had been so beneficial to someone else's life. And in return to see that Armin has grown in the gospel passing this service and work forward to many others. It was wonderful to me to see the joy that this meeting brought to my husband and that made this trip priceless!

Returning home was another adventure as our flight had been cancelled due to weather. Again, we were so blessed. An LDS missionary was on his way home to the same location and with the help of his translation services, we were able to get a flight home - just a few hours later than our original time to destination. That was a miracle since the airline told me it would be 4 days before I could leave Santiago due to weather and cancellations.

Dean and I have been so grateful for the opportunity we had to visit Chile and Antarctica. We are especially grateful for the people we have met and friendships we rekindled while we were in this wonderful country.

"My life will never be the same having seen the sun shine on the other side of the world!" ~ Joelle

Number 3 - Antarctica (Blog 4 of the Chile trip)

The trip to Chile was amazing. Each day presented a new gift to us as we explored this unique country. For me this trip had many purposes - it was a long awaited honeymoon for Dean and I. It was the opportunity to see where Dean had served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 30 years ago and see the world from his perspective as a missionary. It was also the chance to try to complete one of my life's goals of visiting all 7 continents on the Earth. So being in Chile was the achievement for me to visit continent number 6 during my travels and adventures.

In preparing for our trip, I had found that there is one company that offers flights from Chile to Antarctica. This trip allows you to actually be on the continent. Dean and I discussed all of the pros and cons of traveling to this remote place in the world. We both decided that we would take the risk and attempt the journey.

Before booking our trip I wanted to know more about this place we would try to visit. Here are some interesting facts: Antarctica is the Earth's southernmost continent and it is the fifth-largest of the seven continents. Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest and windiest continent and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland.

Knowing this information, I realized that weather would be the biggest factor in making the voyage. Wind plays a big role in the ability for a plane to land or not.

When we arrived in Punta Arenas on Monday (2/8/10), Dean and I had hopes that the flight to Antarctica would take off as scheduled on Tuesday. However the flight was cancelled. It is important to know that Dean and I had decided before we left for Chile that with such a tight schedule that we fly back to Santiago on Friday 2/12 in order to attend the LDS temple on Saturday before we left for home. The only flight I was able to book out of Punta Arenas back to Santiago left Friday at 12:30pm. I was told that was the last flight we could get out of Punta Arenas in order to be in Santiago on Saturday.

The flight for Wednesday was cancelled due to weather.
The flight for Thursday was cancelled due to weather.

As stated in the previous blog, we enjoyed Punta Arenas and its surrounding areas. It was cold and windy but very beautiful.

Thursday afternoon we got the call that the flight to Antarctica would go on Friday. We were told the weather broke and that the flight landing window looked good. We went to the travel agent and they excitedly explained the information to us. Dean and I looked at them and told them that we couldn't go - we would have to cancel the trip. The agent looked shocked and exclaimed "What?" He said if you cancel, you won't get a refund. We were to allow a 4 day window and opted for the risk with the 3 day window that our schedule would allow. We again expressed that we had to be in Santiago by 6am on Saturday and that we would need to cancel and we recognized that we would not get a refund. At that point - this gentleman who had been so unhelpful throughout the week looked at us and said "let us help you - we believe you can make the Antarctica flight and still return to Santiago for your 6am responsibilities. The agent found a flight out of Punta Arenas to Santiago at 9:40pm on Friday evening and there was space for us to make the change. We were very concerned that even if we made the change in flights there was still the possibility that the flight may not go to Antarctica if the weather were to change.

The flight to Antarctica did go on Friday morning at 7:00am and Dean and I were 2 of 8 people on the little 10 seater airplane. We were joined by a couple from Australia, a gentleman from Japan and another lady from the United States and our two pilots. Everyone except for Dean was in pursuit of the illusive 7th continent. The flight was 3.5 hours to King George Island. We got 5 hours on the continent and then 3.5 hours back to Punta Arenas. We had just enough time to check in for our next flight after the Antarctic adventure. Below is a summary of our Antarctic journey.

The air in Antarctica was chilly but there wasn't a bit of wind. We couldn't believe it. From the landing strip we could see the research bases, the water and an iceberg out in the water - our small group of travelers were just in awe with finally making it to this rugged land.

The first stop on the tour was to visit Villa Las Estrellas - the Chilean base, Bellingshausen the Russian base, the Russian Orthodox church. We also had the chance to visit the post office and a small store for tourists. Basically in an effort to protect the integrity of the environment, the living arrangements are as simple as possible - to me it appears as if everyone was living in ocean containers with windows cut into them. The interesting thing to note that the Russian Orthodox church was shipped in special and is held together by chains. It definitely does not fit the look of the land.




After a simple lunch, we headed off in a very small zodiac boat with our guide Alejo. Alejo decided not to follow the schedule and our small group of travelers were more fortunate because of his change of plans. Alejo took us to Collins Glacier. It is the most active glacier in the area and about 80 kilometers long. This part of the trip was absolutely amazing. After a 15 minute boat ride, Alejo steered the boat into an ice field and the pancake ice started surrounding the boat on all sides. We were now face to face with the glacier. I had seen pictures of glaciers but now being face to face with this mass of snow and ice was absolutely incredible. The color and size are indescribable. Then Alejo turned off the motor to the boat and what happened next was again something I had never experienced. There was complete silence and then popping (like gun shots), cracking and other similar sounds all of which were from the glacier's constant movement. Every once in a while large pieces would crash into the water and then dead silence again followed by the popping and cracking of this giant's slow yet steady movement. Also as we watched and listened, seals would pop up look around and then swim off. A few penguins would swim by to check out the strangers in their world. Again, the words that I have written can't even describe the beauty of God's creation. It was magnificent!

As time was running out we had to move on to the next spot - the penguin rookery. En route we passed ice berg after ice berg. The color and beauty of the massive chunks of ice were absolutely phenomenal. With the sun and blue sky it seemed to only make the ice formations even more stunning.


The penguins - I spoke about penguins in my last blog of how they live, mate and raise their young - but the numbers and masses here were three times the amount compared to what we had seen in Punta Arenas. Penguins everywhere. There were three types of these flightless birds - Barbijo, Papua, and Adelaida. Fluffy babies and parents as well - all moving around not really afraid of our presence. The penguin chatter filled the air - the noise was just as if we were in a bustling city in this foreign land. A couple of elephant seals had beached themselves on the shore after a long morning of eating.





After this - we headed back to the airstrip and caught our flight back to Punta Areans. Antarctica was breathtaking in its own way. A quote I found from Andrew Denton sums it up best:
"If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo. Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is something even greater; the only place on earth that is still as it should be. May we never tame it."

The journey is still not over . . .the best is yet to come. More to follow.

Chile - on to Punta Arenas and Beyond

Now that we are back to reality, after what seemed like the longest flight of our lives, Dean and I are finally settling into the routine of our home again. In the blog entitled Chile, I described our first couple of days in Santiago. Today's blog is a continuation of our trip after we left Santiago.

In the book Footprint Chile by Janak Jani, the author has made the following statement: "Chileans say that, when God had almost completed the act of creation, there was a little of everything left, so God threw it all down in a narrow strip of land and called it Chile. . .this is a fantastically diverse country when combined with the country's shape the geographical barriers rule out circular routes within the country - the choice therefore comes down to whether to go north or south."

We chose to head to the southern part of Chile - in fact the southern most city - Punta Arenas. Because of the limited access to this part of Chile, we opted for a four hour flight into this city. We checked into the bed and breakfast La Casa Escondida. This was a very nice place tucked away in the middle of a forest like setting and just a half mile from the Straits of Magellan. Pamela and Luis were the most wonderful hosts and were there to greet us upon our arrival.

We then headed into town to tour the city of Punta Arenas. In the center of the city, there is a statue of Magellan with a mermaid and two Fuegian Indians at his feet. According to local wisdom, those who kiss the big toe of one of the Indians will return to Punta Arenas. I wanted to make sure Dean and I followed in that tradition and I insisted that we kiss the Fuegian Indian's big toe. So many people touch and kiss this statue that I didn't want to take any chances - I whipped out my handiwipes and sanitized the Indian's big toe before we kissed it.
Also during our 5 day stay in Punta Arenas, we had the opportunity to see areas surrounding the city. We headed to the southern most point on the continent - Fuerte Bulnes and Punta Santa Ana. In 1843, Captain Juan Williams, the naturalist Bernardo Philippi set sail from Chiloe to the Straits of Magellan to plant the Chilean flag in this region before other powers could beat Chile to it. They chose a rocky promontory that dominated the strait and named it Fuerte Bulnes. Although the promontory was strategically appropriate for monitoring seafaring traffic, the location proved undesirable, and they pulled up the stakes and moved to Punta Arenas.

Next we headed to Seno Otway the site of a colony of about 11,000 Magellanic penguins. It was interesting for Dean and I to learn that penguins form lifelong partnerships and divide up their chores equally. Every morning and evening the penguin couples change shifts. One heads out to fish, the other returns from fishing to take care of the young. When this changing of the guard begins, the penguins line up and waddle to and from the sea. These penguins come from Brazil from October through March to hatch and raise their young. Another interesting thing that we learned - these penguins burrow holes into the ground where they lay their eggs and raise their babies.

One day we also headed to Tierra del Fuego. We took a 20 minute ferry ride across the straights. The weather was so windy making this short ferry trip rather bumpy! We had Commerson's Dolphins playing in the wake of the ferry during our crossing. These dolphins were black and white and almost looked like small orcas. Our time on Tierra del Fuego we spent on the northern part of the island. We visited the town of Porvenir and we drove the circut of gold road. During the late 1800s, gold was found in the rivers close to Porvenir. Primarily the Chileans and Croatians worked to mine the gold. The rivers never produced an amount of gold large enough to truly sustain and grow the city. Gold mining is no longer prosperous for this city. This area of the island is very useful for raising sheep. It was very funny to watch the sheep walk in the evening after feeding in the fields all day. They lined up and formed straight rows and walked back to their farm pastures. Guanaco (llamas) and rheas also roam free. The roads on the Chilean side of the island are all dirt which made driving very challenging. There were a couple of times that during our rapid efforts to get back to the ferry after having a long day of driving, that while manuvering the car, Dean "caught air" (all four tires were off the ground) as we were speeding over rough dirt roads - whew (deep sigh) I am glad we arrived back home safe that night.

As we would drive around to all of these different places, the song "It's the End of the World as We Know It" kept going through my head. We were truly at the end of the world. But what a beautiful place to be! Our journey continued beyond this city - more to come...