We enjoyed our mountain trips so much that we had a desire to share them with others. We invited friends and extended family and all that wanted to go so they could enjoy with us by sharing in our experiences. I am sending this to illustrate that we tried to serve by sharing our trips with others. It was a unique way to serve but it brought us joy in that service. We did this for fifty years.

SERVICE BY SHARING

FROM MY JOURNAL April 29, 1979

Today Sunday has been a nice peaceful, beautiful spring day. We attended all of the meetings enjoying the sermons of Sister Winifred Jones and Marvin Longhurst.

Susann and Cluadia left Friday noon to go spend the weekend with Sam and Jenene. I am sure they will have a good time.

During the Semana Santa vacation Sam and Jenene came down to go on a mountain trip with us. We made elaborate preparations for the trip. I sent Ruben Perez up Thursday to prepare the animals. To find them and get them shod. When we got to the Cebadilla sawmill site there were only eight animals available. I had invited Profesor Saucedo to go with us but he couldn't because of a meeting in Chihuahua. He asked if his son Nahum could go in his place. He went with us and we enjoyed him very much. He is a young fellow about eighteen years old. He is athletic and a good camping companion we all enjoyed him.

When Sam and Jenene came they had Tod Sanders with them. He is Claudia's age so she enjoyed him on the trip. The list was Keith and Naoma Susann, Sam, Jenene, Claudia, Anthony, Martin Bluth, Todd, Nahum and Ruben.

We packed the big mule, the Macho Negro and a mule that was there in the corral. She turned out to be a good pack mule. While we were packing up, Naoma, Susann, Jenene, Martin and Anthony. Walked on ahead. I guess we were quite awhile packing up because when we caught up with them they were in camp down on Trout Creek.

We made two trips with the packs in order to bring all of the stuff. We could have gotten it all on four packs but not on three. We had an enjoyable time. We had Trout and Turkey to eat along with all of the rest of the good food.

We went out in the evening to see if we could get a turkey. We went down the canyon horse back. I would stop frequently to chirp on my wing bone and listen. Down just above the Lonja Trail we heard and answering Gobble. We left the horses and mules and approached on foot. The Turkeys were climbing the ridge to go to roost. We very quietly followed them stopping to hear the booming Gobbles. Suddenly the big Gobbler flew down the ridge right toward us into a tree just above where we were. We could all see him plainly about fifty yards away. I whispered, "Don't Move"! No one moved for about forty five minutes until it got dark enough to not be seen by the Turkeys. A hen flew into a tree closer still.

Anthony suggested that Nahum should shoot but I told him that it was his turn to kill the Turkey. With a Flashlight we approached and located the Big Gobbler high in the tree. Anthony took careful aim at the Turkey's head and boom!! Down he came flopping wildly until Anthony secured his wings. Anthony proudly carried him back to the horses and tied him on the back of his saddle. We went back to camp planning the tasty Turkey breast for Breakfast.

The Trout had been fished quite a bit on the main stream so we fished up the small tributary called the Arroyo del Toro. We only ate fifty six Trout, not too many compared with the many other trips to Trout Creek.

On the way out we made two trips again because the little Macho Negro took off and we could not find him. Even though we fed him corn hoping to entice him into staying with us for the whole trip.

We pressed the little mule Coyote into service as a Pack Mule. He was quite inadequate but did a good job for his size and being new. We went back and loaded up both vans and went home that same day. It was a very enjoyable rest and trip with the family.

May 13, 1979. Today we honored our mothers with a special program in Sunday School and Sacrament Meeting. Wesley, my Brother, gave a tribute to our Mother. It was very well done.

We gave Naoma a slow cooking Crock Cooker and a wash basin and cabinet for Mother's Day. I installed the Wash Basin and Cabinet over a week before so it wasn't a surprise on Mother's Day.

Friday and Saturday was the Stake Aaronic Priesthood outing to commemorate the Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. They asked me, as the Stake President of the Aaronic Priesthood, to organize the outing and the food for all of the Stake that would be attending. With the help of my counselors and brother Larry Memmott, the high council adviser, we organized a successful outing. We served Barbeque for supper and Hot Cakes and Scrambled eggs for breakfast. I prepared the Barbeque and spiced it up with Garlic, Onions, Basil, Oregano, Marjoram, Aniz seed, Pepper and Salt. It was a whole Heifer and it came out very well cooked and delicious. After spending twenty four hours sealed in the hot pit. It was all eaten and a few people that came late did not get any. We served it with flour and corn Tortillas with Salsa and Barbeque sauce. I made the Sauce with Catsup, Mayonaise, Mustard, Worchestershire sauce, and Kikoman Sauce. It was good.

I arrived early and set up the Tables and made preparations to serve the Barbeque. Then I set up my own little camp and put on two big pots of Herb Tea to drink with the supper. The formula I used was Lemon Grass, Cinnamon, Laurel, Comfrey, Yarrow,. Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Fennel, Cat Nip, Yellow Dock, Peppermint. And Malva, sweetened with Honey and laced with Powdered milk.

Many People dropped by to have a cup of Herb Tea so it all disappeared. I invited Profesor Saucedo and his son to go with us and they seemed to enjoy themselves very much.

We have plans for the Saucedos and the Bowmans to go on some trips together to become good friends in order to help them receive the Gospel. He is the Inspector for our school and the thirteenth Zone. His wife teaches in a school in Casas Grandes. They are all well educated and very nice people who don't have bad habits.

While I was frying the Hot Cakes, because I was sitting near the fire, I felt my knees get very hot. I went on cooking the batter. When I examined ny knees afterward I found that my knee was blistered. I eased the pain by putting Aloe Vera on the burns.

We are planning to show a film to the Teachers, To Sir With Love, and have a supper for all of the teachers in the Canton Restaurant on Teachers day next Tuesday.

Keith LaRae called to ask if he and his boys could come down and go on a mountain trip during the week of the fifteenth to the twenty third of June 1979. We planned a trip to go to Three Rivers and on over to the Nutria. Later Kiko called and said that he and his family could not come. We were disappointed because we could not enjoy the trip with his family as planned.

Early in June Anthony wanted me to take the Scouts on a Back Packing Hike. I met with the Scouts to see how many wanted to go. All of them wanted to go so I instructed them carefully about back packing and what they should take in their packs. We did not have much time to prepare but they were fairly well prepared. Brother Eddie Baum was the assistant Scout Master so he went with us.

I took the Volkswagen Van and Ed took an old truck of the Jones' that the ward furnished for the scouts to go in. We went up to the Cebadilla sawmill site and on down the Cebadilla Canyon on the road that goes around the west of the Blues. We went over the ridge and into the Zorillo Canyon. Where the road switches back into the Zorillo Canyon to cross the stream the road was washed out so we drove back to a point straight across the canyon from where we would cross over to drop into the Estribos Canyon where we wanted to camp. The Estribos canyon had a nice Trout stream in it so that is where we wanted to camp.

We left the vehicles on the point and all put on our packs and equipment. I pointed out our course to the boys and explained that we would cross the Zorillo Canyon and go straight over the ridge and down into the Estribos Canyon and find a nice place to camp. The boys were eager to go so while I was getting the last minute First Aid things in my pack they all took off except Anthony and Eddie. We hiked down together into the canyon where we found most of the boys waiting for us. Four of the boys had gone on ahead of the rest. We checked and found their tracks where they had started up the climb to the ridge. Anson Call's son was visiting with his family and had come along with some of Carl Call's sons. He had a very heavy pack of mostly canned goods and he was so tired that he could not go on with that heavy pack. Some of the other boys split up most of his load between them and we continued on up the steep ascent to the top of the ridge.

We hiked down into the Estribos canyon and found a nice camping site near where the road came around through the canyon. We did not find the other boys that had gone on ahead and they didn't seem to be near our camp. It was late in the evening so we decided that we would look for them in the morning. We were not worried about them because they had all that they needed for their camp in their packs on their back. They could camp anywhere and be comfortable. Soon we were all busy fixing our own meals since in back packing each one brings exactly what he needs for his own camp. After supper we all gathered around the central campfire and talked of the plans for the next day. The boys wanted to fish down the Estribos Canyon and in the process find the lost boys that we supposed had gone down into the canyon farther down the creek.

The next morning after breakfast The boys and Ed went fishing down the Estribos creek planning to fish down as far as the Gavilan river then return upstream fishing as the came back up. I went back around the road to see if I could repair the washout enough to get the vehicles around to our camp so that we could continue on down to the Whetten ranch and shorten our trip back home by way of Williams ranch.

I worked moving rocks until I figured that I could cross with the van. I went on and brought the van back around without any trouble. When I got back to our camp none of the others had returned. While I was eating my lunch Ed and the boys returned. They reported that they had not seen any sign of the lost four boys.

After lunch Ed and I decided to back track and find where the lost boys had gone the evening before. When we looked along the ridge we found their tracks leading down the ridge toward the Gavilan River. I suggested to Ed that he go drive the truck around to our camp and I would continue on following the boys tracks. He protested that he didn't think the truck could make it across that washed out place in the road. I told him that I had fixed it and that the Van had made it easily. So he climbed out to get the truck and drive it around to camp.

I tracked the boys to where they had gone down toward the Gavilan and it was getting late so I turned back to our camp so as to make it before dark. When I got back to camp Ed was there with the truck and all of the boys were there busily preparing their supper. I could smell the Trout frying and I was content to prepare my supper and rest lazily around the campfire. The lost boys explained that they were not lost they just didn't know where we were camped. They had camped in a little draw between the Zorillo canyon and the Estribos canyon on the banks of the Gavilan. They said that some cowboys came along and told them where we were camped and how to get there.

The next morning we all packed up and started our journey back home. We went on around the road and came out at Los Chales and then on past the Whetten Ranch. As we traveled on toward Rancho Willy the front spring on the Truck broke and was rubbing on the tire. We stopped and cut a short piece of log and jacked up the truck and tied the log in for a spring. A ways farther the clutch on the truck completely stripped out. I always carried a Nylon tow straps in the van. We hooked onto the Truck and towed it over the rough road into Rancho Willy.

We decided that some of the boys would camp at Cave Valley over night while we took one load on home since we could not all fit in the van with all of the equipment. Then we would come back the next day for the rest of the boys. Anthony was the most experienced camper so he was eager to stay another night in the beautiful camp at Cave Valley The Call boys wanted to stay also. In all as I remember six boys stayed in Cave Valley and we drove on home. When we reported to the Calls about leaving their boys at Cave Valley and that we planned on going up the next day to bring them home, Carl and Anson decided to go up immediately to get the boys and bring them home. Later the Jones' sent after their truck and had it brought back from Rancho Willy. Anthony expressed disappointment at not being able to spend another night and day in Cave Valley.

July 28th 1979 This summer in nearly gone it seemed to go so quickly. During July we all went to visit Kiko and Tracy 'and their families. We passed by Holbrook to visit Sam and Jenene on the way up to Alamo. On the way back we stayed over the week end with them.

Sam had gotten me an appointment with a Doctor Ray Musner to see if he could help my face jumping problem by Cranial Adjustment. We went down to Prescott to see the Doctor. He took x-rays of my head and said that I had a fracture of the skull and that he needed more adjustments to see if he could get more movement of the skull bones. We returned to Prescott on Monday and had two adjustments one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In Between we visited with Naoma's cousin Joe Peterson and got better acquainted with him and his wife. The Doctor wanted me to come back but we could not see any improvement so I never went back.

Karl is coming home from his mission on the 8th of August 1979. He wants to go on a mountain trip before he goes up to School. He has invited his companions Elder Martineau and Elder Martindale to go with us. Elder Martineau has invited his father to come with him. His father is Reed Martineau an old friend of ours that used to live in Colonia Juarez. He is a twin and the son of Lee and Irene Brown Martineau.

Aunt Clara called and wants to come and bring Gwen and Wes and their kids. It will make a group of about nineteen or twenty. We took a group of twenty explorers that Tracy brought from California so I'm sure we can swing this one and get the animals ready.

October 28 1979. The Martineau's did not come but Kent Martindale did and Claudia and he really hit it off and had a good time. Aunt Clara, Gwen, Cole, Bret and Jacob came from Douglas plus with all of us we had a nice group. Karl drove the white van and I drove the red van and Gwen drove Aunt Clara's pick up truck.

Max Spilsbury had let me take four of his mules so as to have enough animals for the trip. We sent them up on one of Emilio Burgos' trucks the week before so that they would be there when we got there. When we got to the Cebadilla Rafael Perez said that he had not seen the mules. We went down to Emilio's Sawmill on the Gavilan and found the mules there. The man that was supposed to take the mules up had gotten drunk but was planning to take the mules up the next morning. When we got back up to the Cebadilla we made a comfortable camp and waited for the mules to arrive the next morning. They arrived just before noon the next day so we began to get organized for the trek down the trail to Trout Creek.

We had so much stuff and so many people that we had to make two trips with four pack mules to get all of our stuff down to our camp on Trout Creek. We camped about 100 yards down the creek from where the trail comes down from the Cebadilla. On the south side of the creek at that point there are some wide level terraces made by the ancients that are overgrown with big Black Oak trees that make it a beautiful place to camp. We set up two kitchen flies and got every one's tent set up with good rain flies over them. We helped them all get their Rubber Foam mats down and their beds ready for the night.

Mary and Kim and Jeremy were with us and they were anxious to learn to fish. They learned quickly and soon were catching trout along the Stream. Jeremy caught the biggest one of the trip. It was about twelve inches long.

One of the days we all went to the Gavilan down the Trout Creek trail and over the mountains, to have a nice swim. Kim and Jeremy had their own horses that we gave them for the trip and they were proud and happy to ride alone. We had a good swim and a wonderful ride over and back on the old Chuhuichipa trail to the Gavilan.

When we got back Karl asked Claudia for his rings and she said that she had left them on a rock by the swimming hole over on the Gavilan River. She and Kent Martindale decided to hurry back over to the Gavilan and get the rings. They got back just before dark with Karls rings. Teódolo and I took a load of stuff on the pack mules back up to the Vehicles that evening so we could get an early start the next morning to get home. We got back just at dark.

The next morning we had a good breakfast and all rode out on the familiar trail following the pack mules that were anxious to get back to the Cebadilla to get turned loose. That was a memorable trip.

Teódolo with Anthony's help rode the horses and mules down to Juarez.

We left Max's mules in Juarez and had the kids ride the rest down to the ranch. Anthony, Claudia, Kim and Edgar Saucedo rode them down from Juarez to the ranch. They rode the Sorrel and Anthony's Black horse and another horse. Kim rode the blue mule all the way down from Juarez to the ranch. I went to the ranch and waited for them to come with the animals and took some tired and hungry kids home after their long ride.