Cate and Eddie: The Pioneer Years

In July, Eddie and I were asked to be "Ma and Pa" for a youth pioneer trek. There were almost 200 youth attending, and they were divided into families. All the Ma and Pa's were asked several months beforehand to participate, but just a few weeks before the trek there were some that weren't able to attend. So that's how we ended up being the parents of seven teenagers.
We pulled handcarts for 16 miles over two days. Not the most relaxing vacation, I prefer a bed and a shower, but I put on my skirt and bonnet (yes, you read that right) and traveled to Wyoming. We were in the same places that the Willie and Martin Handcart companies were rescued. (If you aren't familiar, these handcard companies were people walking to Utah from the Mid-west to join others for religious freedom. They left late in the year and were caught by terrible storms and ran out of food. Over two hundred died along the way.)





Our pioneer family in camp.























Eddie was the best cook! Here's him making dinner using the handcart as a table.
















Our group on the trail at Martin's Cove






The actual Mormon/Oregon Trail.




Eddie the Pioneer. No- pioneers didn't have sunglasses, and they also didn't wear Nikes with their skirts. They also didn't eat porkchops for dinner, yes- we were spoiled.




Our family flag.