Reflections

((Warning! About to enter third person...))

Emma moaned a little as she opened her eyes a crack, allowing her to see daylight. She tried to go back to sleep, but that tiny bit of light had done the trick and her mind – without her consent – ground into action.

Her first coherent thoughts were, “I wonder if I’ll have time to shower at this campground before we leave. I’ll have to ask Mom.”  She rolled on to her side. “I wonder if the showers here are nice, or like those ones that flash burning hot and freezing cold without anyone touching the controls.”

She sat up, realizing that such thoughts were fruitless, and that she might as well ask Mom before it was too late.

As she reluctantly opened her eyes, she looked around in surprise and bewilderment. Then as memory slowly returned, she moaned again and closed her eyes. 

She wasn't at a campground at all! She was in her own bed, for the first time in over a month. She had arrived home last night. Unbidden (but not unwelcome), the memory of the night before dominated her thoughts.

She and her family had been so excited when they entered Utah, and drove into their hometown. They had all piled out madly, running here and there to look first at the garden, the cats, and the chickens, all of which had grown tremendously. Then Grandma was there, and Dad. Immediately both were swarmed by a gaggle (I think it should be a giggle) of little girls.  

Emma had run inside, stopping abruptly in surprise when she saw flowers and balloons on the counter. There were also several dozen eggs. As she picked up an egg, Dad laughed and spoke from behind her.

“Those are all the eggs that accumulated while you were gone.”

Emma had turned in surprise, then smiled. “There are a ton of them!”

“And that’s not even counting the ones in the pantry!” Dad agreed. He had hugged her, and said how lonesome he had been without the family.

Yes, she thought, it had been a very happy homecoming from a long trip.

And it had been a long trip!

Her mind ran quickly over the five week journey they had taken across the country.

She thought of the hard times, the tears and the fights. She thought of the stress of going constantly. 

She thought of the times she wished she were home, in her own bed.

But mostly she remembered the wonderful times, when everyone was happy. 

She thought of the many places she had been.

She thought of the fire that had burned within her as she walked where Christ had walked. 

The thought that she had traced the footsteps of the pioneers, and learned their stories, gave her great satisfaction. There her resolve had become permanent, and she had known, for herself, that the gospel that they loved was true. The cause they had died for was worth it.

She thought of the silent awe and overwhelming gratitude as she reverently stepped on the hallowed grounds of battlefields, of the sadness of the cemeteries, and each memory was beautiful.  

She remembered of all these feelings, and each one was like a color, mixing and blending to make a painting.

The sights, and places, the wholehearted fun and the stress of family life, the feelings of reverence, joy and sadness each added their own colors, to make this a painting of contrast and beauty, to be treasured in her memory forever.

That is, she added wryly, unless I get amnesia or something! She grinned and climbed out of bed, ready to begin a new day.  

Homeward Bound: Day THE LAST, Saturday, August 2, 2014

HOMEWARD BOUND!!!!!!!!!

We left early this morning with 600 miles to go, and only stopped for a quick ice cream cone at Little America (just like my grandpa's family did on their way home 50 years ago!).

We got more and more EXCITED as we got CLOSER AND CLOSER to home. I've never enjoyed that good old Utah scenery more!

We crossed into Utah at 4:11 pm (well, 4:11 and 11 seconds to be exact).

We arrived home at 5:15 pm. We had gone a total of 7,724 miles.

A Tender Mercy: Friday, August 1, 2014

I can't believe it is August already! 
We are really booking it for home.  We drove pretty much all day today.
What a tender mercy we had today!

We have been needing an oil change for a long time. When we were in Virginia, Dad spent at least an hour on the phone trying to find a place that could handle our tall vehicle.  He had no luck. 

A couple days ago, when we stopped to fill up our tank somewhere in Indiana, Mom and Radiant tried going to different places and still, no luck.

Mom was understandably feeling concerned about it. After making it this far, the last thing we needed was car trouble. She decided to make it a matter of prayer and to trust Heavenly Father to show us where to go.

Later, we pulled into a playground for lunch in Henderson, Nebraska, just a few miles off the freeway. 

Mom looked across the street and RIGHT THERE was a bay at an automobile service shop that was clearly big enough for our RV! She went right over to see if they could, by chance, service our motorhome.

We were parked where the gray truck is...

Mom looked to the left and this is what she saw! Look at that big bay!

How 'bout that?

The results of her inquiry were startling.  Not only could they service us, but they could get us in NOW. 

When the service guy pulled out our filter, it was so filthy that he came over to the park to show us. It was pitch black. He also said that our oil was very low.

Since we have approximately 1000+ miles left to go, it is a very good thing we were able to service the motorhome.

The Lord has really taken good care of us, and we are very grateful for His care.

Then we drove for a long time, and stayed in Ogallala, Nebraska. Cool name, right?

We went swimming and I made a new friend. It’s always fun to do that!

My mom took lots of pictures of our last campground...

Country View Campground

The Return to Nauvoo: Thursday, July 31, 2014

We had a lazy morning. Don't you love those?

Then we went to have frozen custard at Annie’s, which I am positive has the best custard in the world. We went with our new-found cousins. Technically speaking they are our second cousins, but who cares about technicalities?

Our cousins who are in the pageant.  They also were in charge of the puppet show at the Frontier Country Fair.  

It was awesome of them to treat us to custard at Annie's!

After ice cream we had lunch. Dessert before lunch is a good idea; a very admirable model in and of itself. For, you see, if we had dessert before lunch we would never have to make kids eat their lunch. Because of a principle called reverse psychiatry, children would WANT to eat their food if we told them that, “You can only have lunch if you finish your desert!” 

((I am not sure how long I could defend that ground in a debate, but even if I lost, I wouldn’t change my mind))

After that we went to the Nauvoo Visitor Center.  While there, I ran into a friend from Liber Academy (specifically the Edison Project for those of you who know what I am talking about). The funny thing is that LAST time I was in Nauvoo, just a few weeks ago, the same thing happened. Which is remarkable considering that the Edison Project is a small class with only about 12 people in it.

It was good to see some familiar faces:)

After that, we headed into Old Nauvoo.

The Cultural Hall has a dance floor on the third level.

We went to the Scovil Bakery, the Cultural Hall, and watched some demonstrations of how the pioneers would have done things like baking, weaving, carding, etc. That was a lot of fun. 

During this time, I discovered some special effect features on my mom's phone that made me laugh...

Then we went over for the Nauvoo Pageant.  They have a fair before the Pageant starts, and it is a LOT (emphasis on lot) of fun.

There was dancing, and walking on stilts and basically tons of fun, free activities.  If you go to Nauvoo during pageant season, you absolutely HAVE to go to the Frontier Country Fair.

The pageant was so much fun and very inspiring.  Click here for a short video highlighting the Nauvoo Pageant and Frontier Country Fair.

As I was walking through Nauvoo, I fell in love. Don't worry dad -- it wasn't with a guy! It was with Nauvoo and it's beautiful spirit. Though I have only been there once before, it almost felt like coming home. I treasure the memories I have of our tour bus group and our first visit. 


Speaking of which, time seems to have accelerated on this trip. The tour bus days seem to be years ago. To add to that, we will be home in just a few days! Crazy!

The Pioneers, the Pageant and the Priesthood: Wednesday, the 30th of July, 2014

As I typed the title, I realized that we have been on the road a month, today. The fact that we have lived (and loved it) comes as a mild surprise.

Especially after today.

I was very feverish most of today.

The whole day I was wondering HOW in the WORLD those handcart pioneers lived.

Depiction of handcart pioneers crossing river after early storm in Oct 1856.

I was uncomfortable enough with the never ending movement of the motorhome, and yet it is so much smoother than the jolting of the handcarts or wagons.

It was bad enough lying on a bed slightly short (my feet hang off the edge by a good 14 inches) but I couldn't complain because their sick were packed in wagons tight enough that there was often danger of suffocation.

It was bad enough tossing with fever, and then chills, and yet when I was hot, I could turn on the air conditioning, and when I was cold there were plenty of blankets. The pioneers didn’t have those luxuries; in fact they were lucky to have ONE blanket.

Early storms & lack of adequate provisions...yet they pressed forward in faith!

Though I wasn’t hungry, I had the option of basically as much food as I wanted.

They had down to four ounces of flour PER DAY for an ADULT.

I just don’t know how anyone lived, and I absolutely can’t fathom how anyone who was sick recovered. The Lord’s hand was surely in this. His care and love was watching over these faithful ancestors of ours. Though He tested them, He did not, even for a moment, forsake them. He strengthened them every step of the way.

And so will He for us. He tests us, but He loves us. Indeed, He loves us enough to let us experience the pain necessary to growth. Any parents out there will be able to understand much better than I do the amount of love it must take to let your children learn, feel pain, and grow.

By the way, Expressive is probably the most comforting person to have around when you are sick. 

For hours, as I lay on the couch, hot and feverish, she would softly rub a cool rag on my face, and give me water every time I coughed. Her little soft, caressing, cool, loving hands felt so good and comforting. She is the most amazing little nurse! I love her so much.

Well, that is definitely enough about me and my sob story!

Today we left early, at around eight o’clock am* and drove until about 6:30 or 7:00 pm.

We drove about 500 miles, from Kentucky to Nauvoo, Illinois.

Then we went and saw the British Pageant. We have seen the start of it before, if you will recall, but we got rained out last time before we saw the end. I was still sick, so I will have to depend on the descriptions of others.

“It was awesome!”

-- Emergent 

“It was good. I liked it. I loved the celebrating and the dancing.”
 – Elegant

“Compared to the dress rehearsal, and just in general, I felt the Spirit much stronger tonight. I know the cast members have been praying to have the Spirit there. I felt it and I was grateful for the testimonies they shared through their talent.”
-- Radiant 

After the pageant, I asked Mom’s cousin’s husband** to give me a priesthood blessing. He brought one of the brothers from the cast and they administered to me. I am so thankful that even though my dad is not with me, the blessings of the priesthood are available. How thankful I am for worthy priesthood brethren! I am especially thankful to my Father in Heaven who has allowed worthy members to access His power, if they are but obedient to His word.
___________________________________________________
Notes added by Encumbered:

Encumbered notes a couple things by way of further explanation:

*Radiant and I got up at 6 am so that we could get a really early start to our day's drive.  I hopped out to get the laundry I had left in the dryer last night only to find that the laundry facilities were locked; not to open until 8 am! (When the laundry was still open at nearly midnight last night, I didn't think I was in danger of it closing.)  I checked to see if I could climb in a window or something, but no.  So, we were forced to get a later early start ... and a little more much needed sleep.

**As we were planning this grand adventure over the past year, we decided to apply for the Nauvoo Pageant Family Cast.  

We invited my siblings and other Johnson cousins to also apply.  My cousin (Radiant's cousin, too), Stephanie, and her family applied and were accepted into the Gold Cast.  We came back to Nauvoo in order to see them perform and to see the pageant that we had hoped to participate in.

Swimming in Horses: Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Today was very horsey! 

We were supposed to stay at the house of my Aunt today, but due to some unforeseen events, we ended up staying the day at the Kentucky Horse Park Campground.

This campground is even cooler than normal. It is affiliated with (or maybe part of) the Kentucky Horse Park. We were able to get into the park for reduced fees.

We had a lot of fun at the Horse Park.

First, we saw some of the old racehorses who are now in retirement, but many of whom earned over a million dollars a season in their prime. They are still beautiful horses.

"Hey mom? Those horses look pretty big. Ya SURE they're not going to get me?!?"

This horse, famous though he may be, is not above sticking his tongue out!

Then we went to a show called Horses of the World, where we saw some rare or unique breeds of horses from around the world, ridden by people in costumes of that region of the world.  Some of them did tricks, others just galloped around the arena while a loudspeaker told us more about each horse.

Elegant along with a cute miniature horse!

The miniature horse there is named Big Mike.

We also saw a miniature mare and her filly. They were so cute!

Grrrr!!

There's that smile again!

Elegant with her favorite horse

Is it just me or has Elegant shrunk?

Then we got to ride horseback. The little ones rode 

ponies, the older ones were on full-sized horses.

Exploring some barns concluded our time in the park.

Giddyup!

Then we decided to go swimming.

Kentucky is cool. There’s a double meaning in that. It is fun and awesome, but it is also coldish.

This was the coldest weather we've encountered. It doesn’t really get cold in many of the other places we’ve been (at least in July); it just gets humid. Even when it’s raining, it is still warm.  

Not here!

Mom and Elegant went shopping, taking the motorhome, of course, and the rest of us went to the pool. This was a bigger pool at ten feet deep (but still no diving, sadly). We had fun.

When we got out it was probably around 5:00.

We started to get a little chilly, and that’s when we realized Mom wouldn’t be back for about 2 hours.

By the time she got back, we were thoroughly chilled; especially me, since my ‘swimsuit’ is not made of swimsuit material and doesn’t dry very well. I got really cold.

Unfortunately, I got so chilled that I came down with a bad cold.  So I am pretty much miserable.

On that cheerful note, farewell for now! 

Day 29: Monday, July 28th

This is Encumbered stepping in for a post.  

The campground we stayed at on Sunday night was a KOA in Maryland (as Emma explained).  It was right on a river (Conococheague creek) where you could canoe, kayak or float on a tube and it was a fun place for kids.  In addition to the mini golf Emma mentioned there was table top checkers, chess and tic-tac-toe boards, an over-sized chess board (the pieces were about 3 feet tall), beautiful walking trails, an outdoor theater, a diner, a game room, and, they had chickens and goats, too.

The beautifully groomed walking trails.

These are some images of the campground from their  website; since we didn't think to take very many.

 

It was nice to have a little down time; we actually had time to put out the canopy on the motorhome last night; the first time this whole trip.

The campground is convenient to places we have either been or have considered going to such as Gettysburg, Antietem, and Harper's Ferry - all Civil War sites.  But by now, we are DONE with sightseeing.  

A few days ago, as I was praying before going to bed, a thought popped into my mind: "For the last week of the trip, rather than seeing historical sites (I had planned Yorktown, Jamestown, and Richmond, VA as well as several Abraham Lincoln sites in Indiana and Illinois) we should just drive a reasonable amount during the day and stay at campgrounds every evening, arriving before dinner and having time for play and swimming." My natural tendency is to be sure to see all these sites - after all, we have already missed so many hoped-for stops and we probably won't be "in the area" again for a while.

But the wisdom of the plan was confirmed when we arrived at the Washington D.C. temple yesterday and I announced it was time to hop out and go to the Visitor Center.  Enthusiastic's immediate response was, "No!  Not another Visitor Center!"  It took us a while to convince her to come in with us. She was DONE!

Like Emma mentioned, it rained. And oh, how it rained! There was evidence of rivers that flowed in the gravel under our motorhome during the night.  When we got up today, we took our time eating and getting ready for the day and letting the kids play a little bit.  It was probably around 11 am when we finally got on the road.

Golfing Girls

Our destination was Lexington, KY. We are on our way to the Evansville, Indiana area to visit my sister-in-law. Lexington required a decently long day of driving, but would be close enough to Indiana to only require about 3 hours the next day; then we would have more time to visit and swim at her house.

I drove early in the day and we went up and down little mountains for a long time.  Well, they were good sized, but different from what we are used to in Utah.  I am not sure what mountain range we were in (Appalachians, maybe?), but up and down we went for many hours.  We drove through the narrow, handle portion of Maryland and then across West Virginia and into Kentucky. I think Kentucky is beautiful.

Later in the day, while Radiant was driving, I was searching on my iPad for a campground.  I came across a State Park called the Kentucky Horse Park that had a campground.  The more I explored this online, the more excited I became - not because I love horses, but because I knew that Radiant and Elegant are crazy about horses and many of the other kids love them, too.  I didn't mention where we were going, but just let it be a surprise when we got there.  

We were all surprised what a nice place it was.  Beautiful! Lots to do at the campground - playgrounds, big pool, volleyball, basketball and tennis courts. Our campground is super close to the bathrooms and laundry area. There is grass everywhere.

When I checked in, I got the usual questions: "How many are in your party? Do you have pets?" ... and an unexpected one: "Do you have a golf cart?" I soon learned why.  The nicely paved roads around the beautifully manicured campground were perfect for cruising around in a golf cart or motorized scooter.  And there were a lot of them!

Tonight, the kids played with new friends at the playground and Emma and Elegant snuck away for a last minute dip in the pool. They only got to swim for about 10 minutes before the pool closed.

It would be awesome to stay here a little longer.  What a neat find this is!