Fires, Small Town America, and, of course, Disneyland

June 2018, you've been very good to me. I finished teaching in mid-June and I hit vacation running.

Jen, Starlyn, and I went to Jen's property in the Uinta Mountains. We were so excited to spend the night in their trailer and enjoy 4 wheeling and being outside. Starlyn loves that stuff and I love hanging out with Jen and Starlyn, so it was going to be a great time.

We drove to the property and got out of the car around 12:30 pm. I smelled smoke and thought "ahhhh, the mountains." Then I realized it was a weird time of day for a campfire. Then Starlyn pointed out smoke as I noticed ash falling from the sky. Um, this was not good. We drove up the Sykes' lane a bit further to investigate, but saw nothing. We drove back to the main road and toward the "back gate." That's where we saw Jen's neighbors. They had seen smoke from the window of their home and were looking for the source, too.

We couldn't find the source from the road, but we definitely saw smoke. We saw a helicopter overhead, so we figured help was on its way. We went back to Jen's property and walked toward the smoke. We walked to the top of a tiny ridge and looked down on probably 3-4 fires. They were small, but too much for us three to tackle without hoses or anything. Not good. We went to the neighbor's house to call help from their land line. We couldn't get into their house because of their dogs. We drove toward the ranger station. We ran into the neighbors again and told them where the fire was coming from. They went home to call for help and we went to Jen's to take pictures.

We went to a nearby lake to eat lunch. It seemed unwise to stay near the fires. When we came back about an hour ago, a fire official told us we could check back in a couple of hours, but that we probably wouldn't be spending the night at the property. He was sure they'd get it under control quickly, though. We went to the neighbor's house to tell them we were leaving. By that time, the fire had risen to the branches of the trees and was nearer to Jen's property and fence. This was crazy. First responders on a forest fire. That doesn't happen everyday.

 

The view of the smoke as we headed home

That's a delicious bagel sandwich in my mouth. Lunch break. 

We headed back to Ogden. Jen was kind enough to buy us lunch at a Mexican restaurant and we swam in her pool. We had such a great time. Starlyn and I slept in Emily's room and left for Panguitch in the morning. We found out that the fire spread to 65 acres and it took days to get it under control. We were sure the first helicopter would drop water and all would be fine.

Ok, so small town America, aka Panguitch. I can't say how much I love that place. I love going with Starlyn. Lee's family, the Hatches all live there and they welcome anyone like family. I'd gone with Starlyn a couple of years ago. We stayed in Starlyn's camper in Randy and Debbie's yard. This time we stayed at Ron and Cathy's house. Cathy was out of town. We had plenty of space to sleep and get ready. It was the balloon festival weekend so Randy and Debbie's place was full. They had their daughter and her 3 kids and 3 friends and Debbie's half brother and his 2 grandchildren. Starlyn, Lee, Houston, Garrett and his wife, Libby and I represented the Hjorths. We had soooooo much fun. We got there Friday night and Randy and Debbie's daughter had fixed hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. We hung out and taught the teenage girls how to play 5 crowns. We got up early on Saturday morning to go to the balloons.

We were gonna crew if someone needed us. We found out that Senator Bramble needed crew so we helped him get his balloon up in air and landed. It's not difficult to figure out how to help. It was really fun and as a bonus I got to ride in the balloon for about 10 minutes. That was really cool. I also got initiated as a balloonist. So much fun. We then ate in town at the Lion's Club's breakfast. We met more relatives. I met a 90 year old woman who got her degree in Home Economics from Utah State way back when. She also served a mission. The pancakes, eggs, sausage, and fruit were delicious. There were no crowds and no long line for food. It was just perfection.

We walked around town and looked in shops then went back and took naps. Starlyn and Lee and I later went on a ride. We saw Cedar Breaks and Panguitch Lake and where the fires burned last year. There was a huge fire. It was awful. Saturday night I helped Starlyn fix teriyaki bowls for everyone. We love our Instant Pot. It makes meal prep so easy. We threw everything in and just talked while we waited for the chicken to cook. Then we shredded it and made noodles and veggies.

Saturday night is "the Glow." When I mentioned to Starlyn that I might go home on Saturday after the balloons, she said "you can't. You have to see the glow." I had no idea there was more at night. The Glow is great. The balloonists come to main street. Panguitch blocks off about 5 blocks of main street and people just walk up and down the street. There are live bands playing and the balloonists blow their flames. Weather permitting, they inflate the balloons. It was too windy for the balloons, but seeing the flames up and down main street was pretty special. I am in love with small town America. Jenny, RaDawn, and my friend Kris Kokol talk about going next year. We'll get a room at a local motel and enjoy balloons, breakfast, and the glow.

More small town America awaited me the following week when I accompanied Jen to Cedar City. Christian was attending a writing camp at SUU and they don't have on campus housing, so Jen got a motel room for her and Chris. She asked if I wanted to keep her company during the day while Christian attended his workshops. What the heck? Sure!

That was a great call. Jen and I had a great time. Christian loved the workshop, so it looks like we may have a repeat in 2019. Jen and Chris picked me up on Tuesday. We got into Cedar City on Tuesday night. Jen took Chris to his camp on Wednesday morning. There was an opening session for parents. I slept in and missed the free breakfast. Good thing I had brought yogurt and fruit. Wednesday Jen and I spent time following Hunter family steps through Cedar City. Joseph S. Hunter lived in Cedar. His son, Joseph Snedden Hunter, also lived in Cedar. Another son of Joseph S. was John Davidson Hunter. Joseph Sr and Joseph Jr lived and died in Cedar City. We saw their graves and saw John Jr's home. It's still there. We also went to the Daughter's of the Utah Pioneers' Museum. John, Joseph Jr's brother, eventually went to Holden where he had John Edward Hunter, who had Otto Hunter, who had Aarl, who had me. So, we have strong ties to Cedar City. If I ever want to move there, all I have to do is say that I'm a Hunter and I'm in. We also went to the temple in Cedar City and did initiatories. That is a beautiful temple and not very crowded. We walked around the beautiful SUU campus and got awesome burgers and onion rings at Hermies. The girls who worked there told us to come back for their fried bread and honey butter. Ok, twist our arms.

We got great pizza at a place near the temple and struck up a conversation with a young family sitting next to us. They had ordered a nutella raspberry dessert pizza and told us we had to get it. They came from St. George for a baseball game and always stop there for pizza and the dessert. Ok, again, twist our arms. We got it. Wow, that was yummy. Cedar City has about 28,000 people, like American Fork, but feels small because it's all alone. It isn't surrounded by Pleasant Grove, Highland, Lehi, etc. We went to JoAnn's fabric and got stuff Jen needed. We just had a great day. When we got out of the temple, we noticed smoke in the sky. Another fire!!!! We had nothing to do with this one, either. It sure made the sky look crazy, though.

Puffer Lake, the site of the infamous camping trip 50 years ago where I threw up in Jen's hair and she peed in her own long blonde hair. Wind also blew spaghetti into Jen's face. What a trip. That's why Hunters don't camp.

Mel used to have a hat just like this.

Joseph Hunter, Jr.

Joseph Hunter, Sr.

A home that belonged to Joseph Hunter, John Edward Hunter's brother. Cedar City, Utah

Hermie's burger and onion rings. Excellent

These poor guys didn't survive their birth. I don't think their mom did, either.

Fire #2. Cedar City Temple

Jenny surprised me and got us tickets to fly to LAX on Thursday to spend the day at Disneyland. We got up SUPER early to drive to St. George and catch our flight. We got into LA around 7:00 and got our rental car and drove to Disneyland. We had so much fun. We got to to on the new roller coaster, the Incredicoaster (it's re-themed after "The Incredibles" movie), Midway Mania, Guardians of the Galaxy, Splash Mountain, Small World, Spacek Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and probably more that I can't remember. We also shared the fantastic pulled pork hot dog and Jen tried one of the limited edition churros. I showed Jen Beast's Library, the mock of Star Wars Land, where the single rider line is at Space Mountain (we actually got  put together in spite of being in the single rider line), and saw a preview for the new Avengers movie, Ant Man and Wasp. We got some fun pictures, too. We left the park around 4:30 and drove to LAX, returned the car, and got our flight to St. George. The flight to LA was so cold that Jen bought a travel blanket in the airport that we shared on the flight back. While in the airport in LA, I hear "Sister Adcock." It was Jason Lee from our ward in AF. He and his wife, Becca, were coming back from China. We gave them a ride to their home in Ivins on our way back to Cedar City. Got back and crashed.

In LAX and so excited for the Incredicoaster

In person!!!!!!

Two of my favorite things.

Jen found the secret spot on Zurg and got extra points.

I showed Jen the secret, hidden single rider line at Space Mountain. She couldn't believe it. 

Splash Mountain was temporarily closed for a long time. We were hoping to conquer all the mountains.

Mountain #2: Big Thunder

It opened. Mountain #3: Splash. I got more wet than Jen

Our shirts say "The Mountains are Calling: Splash, Space, Big Thunder." We're so outdoorsy.

Friday we got a slower start. Again I missed the free breakfast. We went to St. George. Our great grandpa John Edward (or maybe John Davidson) Hunter worked on the St. George Temple. Jen and I went on a session there. It was neat. I felt quite sick at one point. So sick that I thought I might have to leave. I just prayed and prayed that I would feel better and soon I was better and got to stay the whole session. After the temple, we went to lunch, then went to the theater to see "Oceans 8." We went back to Hermie's in Cedar and got the fried bread and honey butter. Boy, that did NOT disappoint. The BEST honey butter I've ever had. That was delish. Christian got home late-ish after a dance. I had fallen asleep. We got up on Saturday early enough for me to finally take advantage of the free breakfast. Got raisin bran and orange juice. Then I saw the biscuits and gravy and had to have some of that. On our way home we stopped at the Holden Cemetery and saw graves.

St. George Airport with Jason and Becca Lee.

The sun was bright. There were just a couple of angles that showed me and Jen and the temple without the temple disappearing in the light of the background. What a day!!!!!

So Jenny and I saw the following on this trip:

Otto Hunter, grandpa (Holden)
John Edward Hunter, great grandpa (Holden)
John Davidson Hunter, great great grandpa (Holden)
Joseph S. Hunter, great great great grandpa (Cedar City)
Joseph Snedden Hunter, great great uncle and brother to John Davidson (Cedar City)

Jen spends spare time reading stories of our ancestors on an app on her phone. She was able to share a lot of stories with me.

Pleasant Grove Utah Manila Stake Conference June 2-3, 2018

I haven't been to stake conference in over a year due to trips to California. With a calling in primary to teach weekly, stake conference has been a good time to travel with family. Keenan and I stayed home this weekend and I'm glad we did. It was really good.

In general conference in April, President Nelson announced the end of visiting teaching and home teaching as we know it. It's changing to ministering, with no assigned lessons or times to visit. Just quarterly stewardship interviews with our ward RS or EQ presidency. I'm excited about the change because I visit sisters who don't really love a lesson and visit, so this easy format has been fun.

Just today I took sidewalk chalk to the children of my sisters because the last day of school was on Thursday and it's officially summer.

Much of the emphasis of conference was on ministering. I'll share some thoughts.

President McAllister, who I really like to listen to, said that President Nelson, even before he was an apostle was known to say "I put an ! after a prophetic proclamation, not a ?" I like that. President McAllister also spoke of his work in the steel industry and referenced Alma 34:29, a scripture about impurities and dross. He quoted his grandpa as saying "It's good to be good, but is he good for something?" Are we good for something? We should seek out spiritual alloys that strengthen us via fasting, temple attendance, and scriptures.

The stake RS president, Debbie (I met her recently while hiking, but can't remember her last name) spoke on being covenant keepers and that ministering should be simple. She suggested we be humble, submissive, gentle, and obedient.

Deon, my friend in the front, organized this. Debbie is in the visor in the back, with curly hair

Joe Jenson, an EQ president from another ward, spoke of Alma 26:29 and encourages us to seek and follow promptings. He suggested we think like missionaries as we minister. The end goal is eternal life. We don't need to be limited by monthly visits. Missionaries aren't. He also read questions he's received about the new program. Can I go on visits without my partner? Can I minister to people outside of my ward? Can I minister to people not on my list? Can I give a lesson, send a text, take cookies? YES to all. Just be nice to everyone, but get to know the special people in your charge and eventually you'll know how to best help them. On a personal note, I had taken Easter Oreos with marshmallow peep flavored filling to my families. Sister Escalante texted me recently and asked where I got them. She and her kids loved them. I broke the sad news that they were an Easter limited edition Oreo. BUT...just a few days after our conversation, I saw the peep Oreos in the BYU bookstore. I bought a pack for Theresa and her kids and for Allison, my niece who also loves them and is VERY pregnant.

A ward RS president, Julie Ferry, likened the new ministering program to taking the training wheels off of a bike. We need to gain confidence by acting on revelation again and again. She referenced President Nelson's recent conference talk that talked of preparation, seeking help, listening, and following through.

President Livingston told us that the general leaders are focusing much of their efforts on the 11 western states. We are very strong. 1/5 missionaries comes from Utah. A high percentage of general leadership and monetary contributions come from Utah. Perhaps we are a great target for Satan with all that strength. Just my thoughts. He suggested we reduce structure and increase the spirit as we minister AMONG each other.

My impression is to use the To-Do list part of my planner to write impressions of ways to minister then make sure I do them if I can't do them immediately.

President Brinton, our home teacher, talked of Lehi's dream. He felt darkness and prayed before he saw that vision. He also shared it with his family. Alma 33:22-23 were referenced.

Sister Dimond, our stake YW president, suggested we expand our vision of who we are, what we can do, and who can help us (Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ). D & C 68:6.

Cameron Poulton, a recently returned missionary talked of the temple. He just returned from Samara, Russia, and told of the great sacrifice of the saints there to go to Ukraine to attend the temple. Soon they will have a temple in Russia. It still won't be easy. He said that through temple service, we can deepen our relationships with heavenly father and Jesus Christ and our capacity to love and serve others will grow. The blessings of the temple will flow into our lives.

Melia's friend and former soccer teammate, Jacie Robinson, spoke. She was very ill at the end of her mission in Romania. She was in a a coma and hospitalized for weeks. We fasted and prayed for her. Gratefully, she recovered and shared some thoughts with us. A few months into her mission, she was reading the Book of Mormon and read 3N27:27. What manner of men ought ye to be? She asked herself what kind of missionary she wanted to be. She wanted to know Christ and be like Him. She determined to read Jesus the Christ and study study study. When she told her mission president of her plan, he complimented her, but suggested she focus her study on the Book of Mormon. She implied that she was a bit disappointed. She already had a plan, but she decided to follow his advice. Just in the introduction to the Book of Mormon, she found something that shaped the remaining year and a bit more of her mission. She read that the Book of Mormon was written for everyone. She then saw people and thought "the Book of Mormon is for him" or "the Book of Mormon is for her." It's for everyone. Member, non-member, active, not active, everyone. She also suggested we be like Enoch and read, ponder, and ask (then trust she added). It was a great talk.

President McAllister's second talk was based on some things he heard his parents say many many many times. "Look for something to do and do it" and "You don't need a special invitation." He talked of the man who was sick of the palsy and men lowered him through the roof to be near and healed by Jesus. It must have taken planning, thought, change of course, unity, and concessions on everyone's part. I loved that.

President Livingston was the concluding speaker with the question "Has anything changed since our last stake conference?" I missed that one, but Elder Rasband was with us and he challenged us to:

1. Replace some leisure time with temple work
2. Do family history work on Sundays or other days
3. Be temple-centered
4. Stand in holy places
5. Redouble our temple worship

President Livingston referred to a talk by Elder Kim Clark where he asked himself "What am I not doing that I should be doing?" and "What am I doing that I should stop doing?" He suggested that we eliminate distractions. I was going to write reduce distractions in my notes, but I was told in my mind that eliminate was more accurate. Oh no. Get to work, Dana. Then he gave us 3 summer invitations:

1. Prayerfully study the Book of Mormon 15 minutes/day
2. Do weekly family history/temple work
3. Pray daily for opportunities to serve

It was a really good conference. Glad I was in town to participate.