Week 61 - Hegsted Mission

  24-September-2023-Sunday

So great to have Jon, Shirlee and Kal here.  They got here late, but seem to be adjusting.  Kal did not nap today and I hope he can sleep tonight and adjust to the new time zone.  We will begin making plans  for the week after he hits bed.  We have basic ideas, but need to complete plans.

As we went towards Killington, we were rewarded with better tree color.  The higher elevation helps.  Church went well.  At least I was not embarrassed playing the organ and for primary.  Sacrament Meeting got over 10 minutes early, but we had good speakers.

We took a longer way home.  Actually were stopped by a road that was closed.  That is unusual for Google Maps to not know of a road closure.  But we saw pretty things.  Left Jon and family at the apartment and went into work.  It was nice and busy.  Then Jon's family came in at 5 pm and we gave them the tour before closing up shop.  

It was a wonderful day and we were so blessed.  Little in detail today as it is so late as I write.

25-September-2023-Monday

The day started with the best news.  Kal came downstairs with the t-shirt on announcing that he would be a big brother in 2024.  What great news for us.  It took so long to get Kal and now he will have a baby sister.  We could not be more grateful for another miracle child to compliment our other grandchildren.  I think Shirlee will be due to deliver in April before we get home.  That will certainly make Dede feel very anxious.

We had our normal meetings this morning.  We might have skipped, but it was Wilcox's last day and Hoopes' first day so we went.  We then left and took Jon and Shirlee to Texas and Moss Glenn Falls.  We then had to go back to work, but they went on to Lake Champlain via Lincoln Gap Road until they went into NY and saw the light house monument there.  I think they had a great day.   I was able to get a few good pictures.

We we got back to the site.  It had been busy all day and we had so many great guests, as the people continued to come in, including President LaPierre from the Boston temple with some of his children from Virginia.  The children were so well behaved and Dede spent one on one time with the youngest and they had so much fun together while I gave the tour.  We had a number of guests, all members, it is obvious that people are coming for leaf season and it is beginning  to look like we will have some color, even if it is not the best year or even as good as last year.  Still we are being blessed with many visitors.

On the way home we thought we should make cookies for the Wilcox's.  Like an idiot, I hit a chuck hole and bent a rim on the way over.  Will get up early and go to the Subaru dealership in the morning to see what we can do.  With Jon and Shirlee here we plan on going to NH tomorrow.  Sometimes I am just plain dumb.  But the wheel is off and the donut wheel on so I can go the 20 minutes to see what can be done.

26-September-2023-Tuesday

Today started earlier than normal.  I have a cold and a bit of a sore throat so I did not sleep well and I always worry about waking up when I need to get up earlier so I had lots of time to ponder this morning.  By 7:30 I was out the door traveling to the Subaru dealer in White River Junction about 20 minutes away.  What a joy when Nick told me that they actually had a rim in stock.  He quoted a rim, tire and alignment and said he could be done by 9-9:30.  That would be perfect.  Although I called Dede and told her to have Jon ready to take her in if they are late getting it done.  We then found out he did not have a tire, so I ended up driving back on the donut to return after the shift to get the new tire.

The parable of the pothole.

I would like to share a parable with you.  Once there was a man and his wife who had made cookies to take to departing missionaries to wish them well and God's speed on their way home.  On the way, the husband was paying less than stellar attention and got close to the edge of the road and hit a small in diameter, but deep pothole.  Since it was on the edge of the road, his wife could see it coming, but could not yell in time to allow him to swerve away.  A loud thud followed and immediately the very smart car announced a pressure problem with a tire.  A quick inspection showed the tire looked ok and so the cookies were delivered and the tire checked again and a dash made to the gas station for air.  The tire was nearly flat by the time the gas station was achieved, but it held air and allowed the driver to get home and put on the donut as a spare.

The driver felt great remorse.  He had not sinned, but his actions had caused harm not only to the vehicle, but also to the plans for the day.  First, the man and his wife were scheduled to work at the visitors' center at 10 am, but even more important, their son and family were there and plans had been laid to leave in the afternoon to spend an afternoon and the next day with the son and family miles away in a vacation area.  Tickets were already purchased and the savor of good times could already be tasted.

The driver's remorse increased as he contemplated his situation.  Luckily he did not curse and ask, "why would this happen when I was trying to do something good?"  Rather he began to plan what he could do.  The driver needed a savior.  He could put on the spare donut so he could drive the vehicle.  He could get up early in the morning and be one of the first people there when the service department opened.  However, he could not guarantee that 1) the department would have time, 2) they would have the correct rim, 3) they would have a tire if necessary, 4). time to align the new wheel.  It was easy to think of the scripture 2 Nephi 25: "...that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."  He had done all he could do, but needed grace.

What could the driver do?  Obviously he could repent and have a sincere desire to not repeat his error again.  (And after the quote to fix the damage, that desire to not repeat the error is very strong.). He could put on the donut spare and get the car in.  But he could only rely on the grace to find salvation.  He could not fix the problem, nor supply the parts to fix the problem.

Upon arrival, the service person agreed, the driver had erred totally.  The rim was bent beyond hope.  The tire (almost new) would also need replacement and the alignment should be verified and perhaps fixed.  The service man went to check with the parts department for a rim.  To his surprise, the manager said he had the very rim.  Being doubtful, the service man made him show him and touch the rim.  He then told the driver, the car could be fixed that morning, for a nominal fee of under $1000.  After the miracle of having a rim, they did not have a tire, but could deliver one by 2 pm.  The driver could thus drive home pick up his wife and then return in the afternoon to get the job finished.

The driver began to realize that the grace required obviously extended far beyond the service man and his shop.  By whose grace, did the service department manager happen to have the correct rim?  By whose grace did the service department have resources to fit in the driver's car?  By whose grace did the driver have a wife who had the $1000 in the car account, so the work could be done?  It should be obvious to the reader, that the grace experienced by the driver, typical of the Grace received daily by every living person can come only from one source.  He who supplied Grace in the first place to allow the earth to be made for our sakes, to provide the air we breathe, the sun to shine to supply energy for our food to be grown.  He provides a way.  The driver could go on his way rejoicing that he could see the blessing of Grace offered him by the King of Kings who has provided His Grace to the driver since the beginning of time.  The End.

We had a slow start to our shift, but by 11:30 we were busy for the remainder of the shift with a number of people coming in including both members and nonmembers.  By 1:45 people were leaving, so I hope the Hoopes had someone come in.  Yesterday was big for them.

I came home and changed quickly so I could take the car back in and get the wheel put on and the car aligned.  All went well.  Jon brought mom to the Subaru dealership and then they headed to NH and our hotel getting us checked in and we are in 30 minutes later.

We were early enough to hike the Basin and Little Flume before it became dark.  These are such pretty places even though the water was much lower than we have seen in the past.  I will show some pictures of the Basin and area as well as our hotel.  The hotel was a mom and pop motel and we had a cabin with three beds in three different rooms.  We only used two and Kal's portable crib but it was great.  The motel is on the river and it was nice.  

After our hike we went to the Little Grille .  We ate Brazilian BBQ at the Tunbridge Fair and met the owner and knowing we would be in the area with Jon and Shirlee decided to eat there.  Good food, great service and the place is in the old train depot and so it had a great charm.

27-September-2023-Wednesday.   PDAY

Great plans to sleep in but Cal was up by 7:10.  We had tickets for the Cannon Mountain tram at 10 pm.  However after reading the fine print realized we could arrive early as it goes up every 15 minutes so we were there by 9:30.  It was fairly clear although there was haze in the distant valleys.  Still we could see into Canada, Vermont and Maine.  There was a short hike that we took around top of the mountain.  The base of the Tram is at 1900 feet with the top at about 4200 feet.  That seems low for an Idahoan, especially since we live at 4500 feet, but it is near the tree line in NH and all the trees were stunted in growth.  At the top of the hike was a look-out tower with radio and cell equipment which gave us a wonderful view.  We enjoyed learning from the tram operators on the way up and down.  A special treat, we rode up with a man who was parasailing down the mountain.  He had already done one trip that morning  and we watched him do a second.  He was using a small chute and so was done in about 90 minutes.  It was so dead still at top that it took a minute for him to catch a gust of air which would allow him to fill his sail as he launched.  Pictures from Cannon mountain.  I think the tram driver said they have 90+ runs and 10-15 lifts on Cannon Mountain.  Very impressive.

Next stop was a small park for the Old Man in the Mountain.  This was a rock feature that looked like an old man had been carved into the mountain however it was all natural.  Unfortunately it was all balanced on the chin of the profile and when the chin gave away the entire face slid down the mount in a matter of minutes.  The park, called profile park was set up to allow one to stand and align a metal guide that makes it appear as if the profile was still there.  What a great idea.  You will notice that I put myself in a picture that seemed to fit my situation.  

We drove to Flume and had our lunch in the parking lot.  Then after getting water and a rest break we hiked The Flume.  This was the third time for Dede and I.  Even with a cold, I did well.  We took our time and just enjoyed it all.  Again the water was lower than the first two trips we made, but we saw it with new eyes having new guests and it was great.  They are such great falls.  One first goes up the Flume which is a continuous cascade with a nice double set of falls at the top.  After leaving The Flume, one hikes to three more sets of falls and crosses a second covered bridge before looping back to the visitors' center.  

We are a week early for great leaf coloration, but still had some isolated pretty color and I will give some examples.

We ended the day going to Boise Stone.  Here an old timer was caught in a blizzard.  He killed his horse, wrapped himself in the horses skin and the next day they cut him out of the skin and it saved his life.  It is one of the huge boulders left behind from one the 6 glacier periods which came into this area changing all the landscape making it appear as it does today.  The highest peak in the park was completely covered by the thickest of the glaciers.

Our last stop in the park was Gov. Gallen's memorial bridge which gave great views.  From there we headed home to eat Tai food in Hanover and ice cream at Quechee Gorge.  Both were great.

One more morning with Jon and his family.  They will head to Boston when we start our shift tomorrow at 2 pm.  They plan to do the Freedom Trail on Friday and then fly out Saturday for home.  It has been so great to have them with us.  We feared Kal would not warm up to us, but we have been so fortunate that he has quickly accepted us.  

28-September-2023-Thursday

Our last day so we got up and went to Barre to hike behind the old quarries and enjoy the woods there.  It was a spectacular day and we loved it.  Had pizza for lunch, gave Jon a blessing and then sadly left them and headed to the site.

We will really miss having  family here.  Unless Anna returns next year, we will not see family again until after June when we get home.  That is harsh especially on Dede.  The site was amazing.  We had so many people.  We never worked together and we never had a break until 5:58 when I started shutting down the shop.  The people seem to have really waited for leaf-peeping season this year.  Such fun for us.  

29-September-2023-Friday

Dede got up early this morning and made cookies for the Arbons.  They want to leave for home on Sunday or perhaps Monday.  He would like to go tomorrow morning.  He asked me to mow the lawn at least once after they leave.  With all the rain we have received, the lawn has continued growing all summer at Camp Joseph, whereas last year it was pretty much done by August, due to lack of rain when we arrived.  We went over, but they was out getting other things done.  

Our shift was very busy.  So many people coming to see leaves.  Although interestingly enough, many today just happened to come to New England, not realizing it was leaf season.  I think we have seen many people who have waited for school to start when it would slow down and are now traveling.  We were so busy.  Many tours and a number of people who just wanted to go through on their own and read a few things and be on their way.  Many of these were members whom we would normally have time to give a quick tour, but with so many others we just let them go on their own.  (We have to believe that God has led them here and they will have the experience God has prepared for them.)  It was still very busy when we left and Sister Buswell had come over to give the Hoopes a hand.  I was so glad.  It is one thing to add in people to a group when one is experienced, but so much harder when one is learning what to do.  They will be great, they just need time.

After our shift, we went back up to have Brother Arbon show me how and what to mow and then say goodbye to our new friends.  They live in Rexburg now and perhaps we will see them when we get home.  They are among the nicest people I have met.  They have made Camp Joseph look great, with all their hard work and their vision for the camp.  I rather doubt, Camp Joseph will ever look this good again, unless the camp directors can get more outside help. 

30-September-2023-Saturday

Dede was told about the Wilson Castle in Proctor VT and we headed over this morning, touring until noon and listening to conference on the way home (with a few interruptions).  It was built by a Doctor Johnson using his wife's money.  She was from a noble family in Britain with money from coal mines.  He burned through millions of dollars before the parents cut off funding her.  The castle cost a lot of money as they used European builders and hired a European staff.  When the parents cut off the funds, he bailed.  She moved to a rich suburb in Connecticut and the parents began funding her again.  A Colonel Wilson bought it for back taxes of $12,000.  He had connections and money and decorated it with items he had collected.  So it has original items and his items.  It was a home until the early 2000's and is now opened for tours.  They also do paranormal tours at night.  It is like a haunted house.  We will not go back for a night tour, but apparently that is where they make the most money to fund repairs.  

We got to the site at 1 pm.  No tours from 1 to 2 so we watched conference in the theater and then we were slammed again for the remainder of the day.  Such fun!  Got home late, but would not change it.  The Saturday night session will start at 8 pm local time.

Pictures from the castle.  They allowed me to play the organ.  Apparently Colonel Wilson loved the organ.  This organ was so easy to play and with the church app on my phone, I could use Hymnal Music to play.  "All Creatures of our God and King" sounded great.  I wish I could have sat and played for hours.