Reunion of 36 years

On Thursday October 4 we had a gathering at Rodizio Grill of two of Cindy's BYU roommates. It has been a long time since they first met but they are still great friends. At the same time her brother Bob had his roommates also came since one of his roommates married one of Cindy's roommates. Pictured above beginning at the left are Julie Jennings, Dave and Pat Bertillio, Renae and Tom Warne, Cindy, Karen and Stan Pipper and Bob Jennings. It was a wonderful evening and we loved being together that night.

Cameron and Cecelia

The week of 23rd to the 27th was an exciting week. The day after we got home was Sunday and after going to church we went to the Maughan home to meet Cecelia's family. We had an enjoyable dinner with them that evening and got to meet an aunt and cousin of Cecelia's who had arrived from Australia. They came to support Cecelia since she had supported them over the years.Others would be coming from New Zealand and Australia for the rest of the week.

The next few days were anxious in getting everything ready for the important day of Thursday September 27, 2012. This was the eternal marriage of Cameron and Cecelia. It had taken a lot of prayerful nights and days of concern but finally these two had found each other. We went to the Bountiful Temple to witness this important day. It was a beautiful day of clear sky and pleasant temperature. The sun shone through the beautiful stain glass into that sealing room and shone on that ordinance that day. We waited outside and conversed with each other as we waited.

 After a while they emerged from the doors to the joy of us all. When they came out they shone just like the day.

It was then time for the pictures at the temple.

As we left the temple I noticed that the colors of the wedding matched the colors of the hillside. We left Bountiful and headed to the luncheon at the Harrisville Cabin. We ate outside with friends and family.

 After the luncheon then it was time for the reception. We had forgotten the flowers for that evening and Maddie went to rescue us. We sent the right person because the flower shop had closed but she pounded on the window until they opened up and she got the flowers back to us before the reception started.

The reception ended and then we waited for Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery to leave the building and begin their life together.

Day 4 and 5- Pink Mountain to Calgary then home

We got up around 7 in the morning and headed to Ft. St. John. There we had breakfast and filled up with gas ($5.10 a gallon). This would be our last McDonalds breakfast meal. Heading south the area becomes more farm land and forest and the mountains are left behind. We reached Dawson Creek which is the end point for the Alaskan highway when heading south and the beginning when heading north.




For all this trip Cindy had her back seat cave. We would take turns driving each day but most of the time Cindy was in the back in her little cave.

We had lunch in Grand Prairie and then continued on. Another fill up in Fox Creek ($4.65 a gallon= $1.23 a liter) and we continued on heading for Edmonton and the West Edmonton Mall for dinner.



We had talked about it and Cindy wanted to see this mall which is one of the largest malls in the world. We got there around 7 in the evening and looked around at the various indoor sights such as the mini golf, the pirate ship, the pool, ice rink and kids carnival area as well as the stores. We then sat down to eat at one of the food courts.

We made it to Calgary around 10 at night. That day we traveled 697 miles.  We were staying at a Marriott that night. Cindy thanked me because it was so nice and comfortable. The strange thing about it was that it was $10 more than each of the other places we stayed at but so much better. Isolation can demand a higher price is the name of that game.

The next morning was Saturday and was the final drive before we reached home. We had a nice breakfast which was included with the room ( So this was really less than the other places we stayed when you figure the cost of McDonalds in Canada.) We filled up in Calgary ($4.50 a gallon) and then we were off.














We stopped to get gas in Lethbridge and get something to eat on the go.

We pushed on to the boarder. The road became I-15 so all we had to do was stay on it. We got some gas in Helena at $3.72 a gallon and kept moving. As we got closer to Butte and then all the way to Idaho Falls the sky was filled with the smoke from wild fires that we had experienced when we left Ogden 5 days ago.

Maddie was starting to realize we do live in a desert because there really was no green colors around. We arrived home after traveling 821 miles that day and 13 hours of driving. We were welcomed by a sign that Shannon and the kids had made. It was nice to have everyone together again after five days and 3195 miles.  

Day 3- Whitehorse to Pink Mountain

After trying not to literally roll out of bed all night it was time to figuratively roll out of bed and be on our way. We had breakfast at McDonalds (Sausage and Egg McMuffin meal $9). The Yukon River flows along the side of Whitehorse and creates a beautiful setting as we left. In the early morning hours we saw a fox cross the road with its catch of the day. It wasn't until we were listing to the radio that we heard that there was a power outage in the Yukon that night which not only took out the power for a while but all cell phones and Internet access were still out for the entire territory. We wondered why the McDonalds had a cash only sign in the window.















We drove for a couple hours to Teslin and stopped to get something and they had a sign saying cash only. They still did not have Internet service for credit cards.

We got to Watson Lake at about 1 for lunch. There is a diner in the gas station that cooks great hamburgers. Cindy got a mushroom burger with fries. When she got it it was also covered with gravy over the fries; a typical Canadian  way to serve French fries. After eating and filling up the car with gas ($5.07 a gallon) we went across the street to the "sign forest". It started in 1947 when an airman was stationed at the airfield and put some signs up about home and has grown to this amazing display of road signs from everywhere.

We continued on our way with the road following the Laird River. There was the same golden yellow colors that we were use to. We would spot a buffalo here and there.

Then we came across a large heard that was walking along the road. One that passed in front of the car was bigger and taller than the car we were in. We also saw how the young ones we saw in May had grown over the summer.

 The road then goes through the Canadian Rockies which have a completely different look than the mountains in Alaska. You do see things from a different view point going the other direction and when we first saw Muncho Lake it was from above looking down at it. We stopped at the lodge to get gas ($6.92 a gallon).

On our way through the mountains we came across two Dall's Sheep along the side of the road.

 Taking pictures through the window became a little bit more difficult with all the bugs that were on the windshield.

We stopped at Ft. Nelson for dinner and to get gas ($5.45 a gallon) and then a restroom break. Cindy had the unique experience. She noticed when she went to the bathroom that there was no toilet paper. Asking the management about it they said they were all out but gave her a box of Kleenex to use.

We drove for a while in the dark which was a little nerve wracking because you knew there were animals out there so you really watched the edges of the road. We finally decided to stop around 10 because we were all tired. The place was called Pink Mountain which consisted of two gas stations and two hotels. Our room was above a restaurant and bar that the local workers of the timber and oil fields stay at. It had some unusual angles in the room but it was still better than the night before.

We had traveled 720 miles this day.