A Long Trek Indeed

I spent most of yesterday in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. And before you say it, yes I realize that most of Wyoming is middle of nowhere. I drove out with my mom to the place where Mormon pioneers crossed the plains at a place called Sweetwater Crossing. My parent's stake was in the middle of doing their pioneer trek with the youth and my mother went to read some journal entries before they crossed the river.

Without going into all of it, the short of it is that four men who had come to help the pioneers cross this river in November when it was crusted with ice ended up carrying some 500 people across the river. There were three groups that I watched re-enact this scenario and each time it got a little more difficult for me to watch. I watched these teenage boys pick up grown men and women alike and delicately carry them across a river. I am so grateful for those brave pioneer women and men who gave up so much for a better life, free from persecution.