Hegsted's Mission Week 95

  19-May-2024 Sunday

Another delightful day at the Rutland Branch and another day when my hands felt like cement. I was okay, but nothing exciting. I played with fewer errors in Primary.

We had a steady day at the site with a variety of visitors. We started with a nonmember and a group of four nonmembers. Both wanted shorter tours and we were glad to oblige. My group of four had good questions. We had two delightful member couples. It is fun to watch how different people react to the site. Depending upon their background and how tired they are when they arrive, we get a variety of reactions.

At the end of the day, Roni Johnson came and I spent 3:30 to 6 with him. I finished my 5-page biography of him and want him to review it and add anything I may have missed or stated incorrectly. We spent the time discussing the site, and things he had done while working there. He showed me how to take care of maple trees. He discussed the advantages of logging the site. He understands that there are different opinions than what is done today and he will live with that.

Anna and Dede had prepared a great meal. I am so blessed.  

20-May-2024-Monday

An interesting day. We were anticipating Elder Martinez and his wife visiting us. It is the last day for the Knuteseons. Had Elder Martinez not come, they would have left today. As it is, they will meet him today, have dinner with them tonight, and leave early in the morning. It seems strange since they will have come and gone during our time here. However, they served their mission and will be blessed.

Dede and I had the presentation and the devotional today.  Dede did well. Knuteson's gave farewell thoughts and we adjourned. I felt a little awkward, they did not want farewell wishes, so it seemed strange for them to say nice things and not get a response. Dede and I will also leave on a Tuesday. Perhaps we will skip the meeting on Monday????

Took Elder and Sister Martinez down on the cart. It was delightful to talk there and share with Dede. This rarely happens as one of us needs to be at the site. I love sharing tours with her. We spent 20 minutes visiting with the Martinezes alone.  What a treat! God calls special, kind persons to fill these callings. If we were in a larger historic site, there would not be time for one one-on-one visits. We have met both General Authorities 70's who manage the Historic Department as they have visited the site during our mission.

We will have a nice dinner tonight. Tomorrow we present to them concerning events not tied to the site. They will need to leave at about 1 pm. This is so easy for Dede and me. We just enjoy the people, but harder on the Neilsons who need to worry about the details.  

21-May-2024-Tuesday

During the morning Dede and I presented to Elder and Sister Martinez. We provided information incident to the site and the monuments's construction, but which is not provided during tours. We had a powerpoint presentation and then the President and I took them to Tunbridge, two covered bridges, and S. Royalton. It is hard to describe how kind these two people are. I cannot imagine how many people they meet, but they act as if you are the only person they have ever met.  It was a pleasure to be with them. We are so lucky in this case to be on a site with very few missionaries, so we could develop a relationship with them. He gave me his email and told me if we wanted to serve elsewhere in the Historic Department let him know and he would grease the skids. I also shared some of my work with him.

We had 7 people during our shift. Some very kind members and some nonmembers. Each brings their own special Spirit.

Sister Nielson arrived at 1:00 and relieved us an hour early to allow us to head for Acadia, Maine. We stopped for Anna, to change clothes and pack the car and left.  We arrived before dark. It takes 5 1/2 hours to travel there and we ate at a Texas Roadhouse on the way. Mom found another wonderful small hotel. The owner/manager was more than kind and the hotel room was above average.  New England has many small hotels, especially near tourist sites and we were grateful to find another great one. I left a nice review on Google. I retired early, I think others did also, but I was asleep. We set our alarm for 6 to be out the door by 7 am.

22-May-2024-Wednesday.  PDAY

It was close to 7 am when we drove away from the hotel. The first stop was Cadillac Mountain, a drive requiring a reservation. At certain times of the year, the morning sun hits Cadillac Mountain before any other point in the Continental USA. It is only 1500 feet tall, but rising from the sea, the views are spectacular. Some arrive at sunrise. Other, wiser tourists arrive later. The cloud ceiling was high and the mist low providing near-perfect conditions. We walked the trails and enjoyed the sites. The surrounding sea has many islands, small and large. There were a plethora of craft plying the waters.  On the other side is a beautiful lake, that is protected and thus was perfectly glassy. The area is known for its pinkish granite, used in road construction and barriers. The forest is stunted due to the harsh winter weather, aiding the views. I would recommend this to all who visit Acadia National Park.

The best part of the park is a 5-mile drive with an accompanying trail system along the rocky shore. It was not stormy and yet the swells breaking on the granite stone beaches led me to take numerous photographs, but few do justice to what we saw. Every pull-out and parking lot was utilized as we walked the trail, returned to the car, and proceeded to the next stop. We knew this should be the focus of our time and having been here before, we did not rush but often found a comfortable rock to leisurely watch the incoming waves breaking on the shore.

Two favorite places were Thunder Rock and Little Hunter Beach. We visited Thunder Rock twice. The first time was high tide. The waves would drop the water level in the cave and then refill it, causing a slight boom and a gush of water as the air escaped. The second time was near low tide. In this case, the waves pounded the back of the cave, which served as an echo chamber. The cave is at the end of a long break in the rock wall. At high tide, I thought it would have been fun to sit on an inner tube in the crack rising and falling with the waves. At lower tide, the thrust of the water up that crack was impressive and it became obvious how dangerous my inner tube (add a duck to the tube to ensure the absurdity of my thinking) was going to be.  Luckily I did not have my little ducky tube to try out my ridiculous thought. I would probably have lost my missionary badge in the endeavor and that would be beyond the pale.

The next site, Little Hunter's Bay, is a small beach with round rocks about 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The ocean has worn them to look like large marbles. When the waves run up the beach and retreat, they push rocks up the beach and then pull them back toward the water. As the rocks retreat toward the sea, they create a delightful tinkling sound.  

Again the chances to stop and ponder were legion and I enjoyed them all. Returning at low tide, we could see rocks that had been underwater, which were now small islands over which the higher waves were crashing.

We drove to the second island to see Bass Harbor Light House.  This iconic lighthouse is on the shore and thus approachable.  Surprisingly, the National Park Service does not offer tours or at least have a building with pictures and explanations of life when the light was manned. There are good roads to the lighthouse today.  When it was built, it would have been reached only by water and life would have been lonely. By the time the Coast Guard gave it to the Park, they received hundreds of guests per day. I love this place, I do not understand why there is not more parking to allow people to visit. I am sure there are reasons I do not comprehend, but many will have driven away from the rest of the park to see the lighthouse and will end up sitting in their car along the roadway for over an hour to park. 

We returned to the first island and walked around Jordan Pond (it is a lake).  The water from this pond is supposed to be the cleanest in Maine. Swimming is not allowed as the water is directly used by surrounding inhabitants.  

We had walked and enjoyed the beauties of the coast in rugged Maine.  We ended the day eating at the Thirsty Whale. They had great chowder and bisque.  Dede and Anna enjoyed a seafood sampler. The restaurant, located in Bar Harbor was great. The cost of parking was astounding to me. We paid $7 for 100 minutes. I understand, they have limited space, and need to fund their little village by the parking receipts they receive during the tourist season.  

23-May-2024-Thursday

We awoke at 6 am and were out by 6:50 to make the 5 1/2 hour drive to Sharon. We packed a lunch and so made only one stop for gas. We arrived home in time to open up the house, unpack, and for me to nap.  We were then off to the site.

We had 3 groups 2, 5, and 2 visit us at the beginning of the shift and we kept them together. The first couple had pried us with questions as they desired to become senior missionaries. We love answering these questions and encouraging people to enjoy the blessings we have enjoyed.  People were involved and interested in the tour. When we reached the Restoration Board, a nine-year-old girl gave the most sincere simple testimony of Joseph Smith and his first vision experience one could ask for. Tears came to the eyes of most in the room and testimonies were provided freely. The first man who arrived who wanted to be a senior missionary wanted to know if this was a typical experience for us. I refrained from lying and told him, No, this was special even for us.

The remainder of the day was quiet, but we were able to get in steps and look forward to seeing Anna at the apartment.

May 24-2024-Friday

Dede arranged to have Hoopes come in at 1 pm so we could play with Anna. However, we enjoyed three groups of people. We had a wonderful couple. They told us they were at the site to repent for attending The Book of Mormon Show on Broadway. They were delightful. Dede had them for the second half of the tour, and I took a family of 7. I love families!  We were their first stop, having landed at Boston on the red-eye and driven to the site on their way to Burlington and a lighter day tomorrow to recover. Their 5 children were delightful. Perhaps a little numb. They had good questions and made my day. Dede had another group while I "hogged" this wonderful family. I took them below and they had fun. We then loaded them with ideas for eating and seeing things on the way to Burlington. Also how to utilize their time on Sunday at the Priesthood Restoration Site.  Already exhausted, they probably drove straight to their hotel to sleep.  That is probably untrue, as they could see so much more on the back roads where I sent them.

Anna came to the site to get us and we changed clothes and were gone. We went to the Hero Islands to look for fossils.  These are found in two old limestone quarries and represent one of the earliest coral and seabed sites known on Earth.  It appears in other places including Tennessee, but in Vermont,  the earth thrust has changed the stones' orientation allowing them to be seen more easily.  We spent several hours wandering around looking for tiny sea fossils. There are outcroppings of rock where we searched and trails between outcroppings. We have taken Anna to the first site before, and the second site, the Fisk Quarry, is in my opinion better. The signage on the first site is better (when they get it up after winter, which they have not done.) But the second site has more exposed rock and people tend to put rock markers around good specimens.  Anna had some of the signage on her phone from the first visit. It was pleasant.  After viewing fossils we headed to Montpelier and ate at Pho Capital.  Lucky us.

May 25-2024-Saturday

Being scheduled for the afternoon shift, we determined to walk Quechee Gorge before shopping. Dede and I had walked the gorge earlier this year. With the new growth of ferns in the area, it does not look as devastated as it did a month ago, but it is obvious the area saw serious flooding in July. The River was very low. We have not had rain for several weeks and need it desperately.  Regardless, the hike was leisurely and we enjoyed it. Because it is Memorial Day Weekend, we shared the trail with many others.

The Hoopes had a group of 16 in the morning, so they had been busy. We wondered what we would get and were delighted with the turnout. I imagined it would be slow, but we were busy with the last guests coming shortly before closing time at 6 pm, so we stayed late. Each time I thought it had slowed down and I could walk and get my steps more people came in. I wish my attitude was stellar, but once I thought I would be walking, the people were almost an intrusion.  I quickly recovered, but it pains me to think I would resent even for a moment that people came in. It is hard to be consecrated!

We had wonderful couples visit us. Most were members of the Church. The last family of 5 travel in a manner that would exhaust me. They came to New England with only the goal of completing their checklist of states visited. They knew not what they would see or where they would sleep. I am not good at that. I assume you will take the time before or during the vacation to plan, why lose valuable time during your precious vacation? They were happy to receive suggestions of things to see in the area and were appalled when I told them I loved my family's detailed plans for vacation.

We also placed flowers on Stephen Smith's grave; he was a brother of Joseph Smith Sr. We placed flowers on John Mudget's grave who gave Lucy Mack a $500 dowery. It was a good day.