Over Three Week Trip for Funeral, Blessing, Visiting Kingman and Camping

We had a very significant trip this early spring.  Tony went with us for most of the trip but he flew home early to get back to Nebraska.  The trip was for 22 days.  We left on Wednesday 3/18.

Across the I-80 to Salt Lake.  We had planned to leave a couple days earlier to go camping in California, but our plans changed with the death of my nephew, Dianna's son.  So our first leg was to Logan for the funeral.  Across the I-80 we stopped at a couple rest areas, one in Nebraska and one in Wyoming, where we spent the night.  

After arriving in SLC the second day, we spent the night at Mark's new house.  We had dinner at Casa Linda in Murray.  Tony slept inside and Sheri and I slept in the van.  Friday morning we traveled to Logan for the funeral of Joshua Mark Norman who based away in the mountains by Tony Grove due to exposure.  He is six weeks older than our son Jeremy and the second of four grandsons of my mother all born the same year to pass away.  Trevor previously passed away in a car accident.  The funeral was very nice with Joshua's parents and siblings all speaking.  The internment was in Paradise with Mark dedicating the grave.  From our family Caleb, Mark and family, Natalia and family, Tony and Sheri and I were there.  There were lots of Normans.  All of my siblings were there as well.  

After the funeral we drove up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to relax for a few minutes.

We had to leave relatively quickly to get Caleb to the airport as he was flying and we were driving.  We drove through Hyrum quickly.  The central part of Hyrum is not much changed but east of town seems to always be growing.  We couldn't drive over the dam as it is being replaced.  Of course South Cache is now gone and replaced.  The old seminary building still stands however.  

We spent the night at the rest area on the Salt Flats close to Wendover.  No pictures as it was dark when we arrived and dark when we took off the next morning.  The new thing along this route is the Elko Temple.  We usually just drive strait through but this time we actually stopped at the strange structure at the side of the freeway, Thunder Mountain in Imlay. 

We arrived in Manteca Saturday evening and church was early the next morning for Ruby's blessing. 

blessing outfit

 Many friends from our Manteca days were there including Brother Hammerstrom who is the Elder's Quorum president.  Also all of the Banks crew.  There was a big circle for the blessing.  After the blessing I went to Caleb's to watch Camberly's string concert from Omaha.  Sheri went to Northland ward church.  

watching Cam on the apple tv

Monday we traveled to San Jose where we had lunch at The Habit with Nancy, 

drove past the old house in Cupertino (big tree is gone) and visited Central Park, Santa Clara with Jesse and Cheryl.  

Jesse is a family friend.  The playground is all new at Central Park.  It now includes children's art.  Central Park has a Veterans memorial.

Other activities at Caleb's included a trip to Luu's Bowls after a ball game, Little league, and t-ball softball which was at Big League Dreams, and school awards.  I made it to the Book Exchange in Manteca which is one of my favorite places.  Thursday we visited the Modesto Childrens Museum.

Kingman, We stayed at Kingman KOA.  There was an Easter Breakfast with the Desert Willow Ward we attended and met many old friends.  We also attended Palm Sunday Church in the Desert Willow Ward.  They have some very good musical talent.  Kit Merrit sang O Lord my Redeemer, Jacob Beckstrand played I Stand all Amazed.  Elyse Brantingham sang I Stand all Amazed with Jeremy Byrd on piano, Jeremy Byrd and Stacey Merrit played He is Risen.  Thee was also a women's number and a children's number.  We also went to the Easter concert in Bullhead. After the concert there was a walk through of Jerusalem, ending with a representation of the tomb.  Among other things in Kingman we saw, Kingman Fire Station Mural,  Kingman Chuckwalla,  Beale Street Theater Mural, Beale Street Theater 10 year anniversary show, murals, Flying Fortress Parkway, views from the south trailhead, Downtown Route 66 Andy Devine, Mohave Museum of History and Arts: Andy Devine, mural, Navajo rugs, artwork of Roy Purcell, Doxol Fire, Kingman Army Air Field, Native American Artifacts, and Kingman Centennial Quilt.  Route 66 Museum: Kingman History, arch, and Electrical Vehicle museum.  On Tuesday as we were leaving Kingman, Sheri had a lunch date with a friend at Calicos.  Tony and I went to Mi Lindo Jalisco to eat.  To kill time Tony and I visited the White Cliffs Trailhead. 

Leaving Kingman and taking Tony to Las Vegas Airport we saw, historical markers for Cerbat, Mineral Park, Chloride and White Hills, Boulder Beach Campground on Lake Mead where we spent the night and  Seven Magic Mountains. Tony then left our trip and Sheri and I continued on.   We traveled highway 95, the Veterans Highway back to Kingman.  From Kingman we traveled Highway 93 and spent the night at Burro Creek Campground.  We traveled back to Flagstaff and then south through Sedona where we saw the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  

We traveled quickly to southeast Arizona and spent the next three nights at Windy Hill Campground, Theodore Roosevelt Lake, Tonto National Forest.  The pioneer cemetery was interesting.  This campground is close to the Tonto National Monument where there are a couple cliff dwellings, lower and upper ruins.

The trip to Tucson was somewhat circuitous.  We traveled southeast to Glove and then through Claypool and Miami which are mining towns.  There are interesting mountains between there and Superior.  However the road didn't allow a picture due to construction and curves.  We went through the Claypool tunnel to reach Superior.  There was a park where we stopped in Superior because the rest area was closed.  To Basha's for donuts and then to Casa Grande.  After Casa Grande we continued on to Sacaton on the Pima Reservation and the Matthew B Juan and Ira H Hayes Memorial.

Casa Grande is another example of ancient Native American ruins, but on a larger scale.  We tried to visit the Japanese internment but many roads were closed.  I later discovered you have to call ahead to visit.  We camped at Catalina State Park in Tucson at the foothills of the mountains.  

In the Tucson area we visited the Tucson Temple.  It was closed on Monday.  We also visited Saguaro National Park, east with the Visitor Center and Garden, and Saguaro National Park west.  We also took a side trip to Tombstone where we met Charlie, Diane and Missy.  We saw two plays, reenactment of the OK Corral and a comedy.  I visited a haunted hotel after Sheri had gone back to the van.  We visited Boot Hill, again with Charlie and Diane. 

Leaving Arizona we travelled through New Mexico.  We ate lunch at a rest area, and then visited White Sands National Park (video).  We travelled north through New Mexico and spent the night at a rest area just past Santa Rosa on the I 40.  

Our final day was one of traveling a route we have driven many times through the rest of New Mexico and the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, through Kansas and then home.