We left Liberty, Missouri on Monday and on our way was the Monument to the Eight Witnesses. The monument to the Eight Witnesses honors the eight men who saw the gold plates and signed their names to a testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon. This memorial sits in a small cemetery just outside of Liberty, Missouri, on property once owned by Michael Arthur. The monument is a large granite obelisk near the graves of Christian and Peter Whitmer. It was dedicated on November 19, 2011. There was a tour group also there and one lady who I talked to, told me that Steven C. Harper was their tour guide. I was oblivious to who that was but learned that he helped edit the Saints series of books.

Erik has been watching some videos on using RV’s. An important thing he learned was called the Rule of Three. 1. Don’t drive more than 300 miles in a day. 2. Don’t drive for more than three hours at a time. 3. Stay for three days in a spot. We have discovered this rule to be quite advantageous to having a successful trip even though we aren’t in a RV. The day we traveled from Atlanta to St. Louis was too much and we were both cranky. Even though we could have pushed and gone all the way to Denver, we decided to stop in Hays, Kansas for the night. We drove for around four hours and then pulled into Hays. We did stop at rest stops every hour as well and walked around.

In the song, “America the Beautiful”, the words are, “O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! These words were running through my mind as we drove through Kansas. The undulating plain spotted by the occasional town, had areas of golden grasses rippling in the wind as waves of grain. It was a beautiful sight to see.

We soon crossed over the time zone change into Mountain Daylight time. It felt great to be back in our home time zone. The car’s clock changed automatically but our phones took a half hour to catch up. I was anxiously waiting to see the mountains but it took awhile. We were driving the I-70 westward and Burlington was the border town between Kansas and Colorado.

The Denver temple is the 40th operating temple for the church. It was dedicated in the fall of 1986. We had a 6 pm ordinance booked and are always thrilled to enter the Lord’s house and feel the peace as you leave behind the cares of the world.

Wednesday morning found us driving west again towards Grand Junction, Colorado. This was a stunning drive as we headed into the mountains. The west side of Denver has mountain sides full of large majestic homes perched on seemingly precarious perches. We continued climbing in elevation which I thought was so interesting as we were driving through Kansas, the elevation continued to climb and by the time we hit the border of Colorado we were at 4200 feet above sea level. Shortly after leaving Denver we arrived at the Eisenhower Tunnel. This tunnel takes you under the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains. With an elevation of 11,158 feet above sea level, it is one of the world’s highest vehicular tunnels. It is the longest and highest tunnel on the Interstate Highway System, with being 1.7 miles (2.7 kms) long. My first thought was, “I don’t need to go to Machu Pichu, this is high enough for me!” My breathing was a struggle and I was light headed.

We stopped in Frisco for a rest and enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. When we drove past the sign for Glenwood Canyon, we prepared for a stunning ride. Sure enough, we were stunned by the geology and the curving road.

Glenwood Canyon is a spectacular 12.5 mile geologic and engineering marvel in western Colorado. Carved by the Colorado river, the canyon features cliffs up to 1300 feet deep. This canyon is considered one of the most scenic natural features on the Interstate Highway System.

Onto Grand Junction where we left behind the Rocky Mountains and headed into the temple which is only six months old. It was stunning and very well run. We couldn’t scan our phones to print family cards because the cell coverage was limited in the office. I would go out to the vestibule and load it on my phone and then go back to the office to print it out.

I talked with a temple worker and asked her how this temple helped her life. She told me that before it’s opening, she drove three hours one way to the Monticello temple in Utah to volunteer. Now she lives three minutes from the Grand Junction temple. What a blessing!

As we left Grand Junction the next morning we continued south west on the I-70. We saw a long line of cars leaving Moab, Utah in the morning. Our goal for this day was to get to Manti and go to the temple. We had booked a hotel in Ephraim, Utah which is only 7 minutes north of Manti. The vistas of southern Utah are so incredibly beautiful. The geology is dramatic and awesome! It is a premier red-rock destination which spans the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Plateau.

As we turned north on the I-89, our elevation was climbing again. We enjoy watching the compass on the car display to see how high we are climbing. We drive through Manti and headed to Ephraim. On the way to hour hotel, I spotted another temple and realized that it was yet to be dedicated. Our hotel was brand new and had a lovely pool.

Experiencing the Manti temple was indescribable! The feelings that I had were overwhelming. It is so historic being the third dedicated temple. It sits on what is known as “Temple Hill” and can be seen for miles.

Leaving Ephraim we headed to the Payson temple on Friday. This is a large temple and we were welcomed by another patron who helped me with directions and tips on where to go in the temple. There were weddings being performed in the temple and we saw a lot of guests coming and going.

The Payson temple is located on the southern portion of the Wasatch Front. It is the 146th dedicated temple and the 15th temple in Utah. From Payson we headed to Salt Lake City to our friends, the Kinnersley’s. They graciously hosted us for a couple of nights. Because they live close to the action of the renovations of the Salt Lake City temple and the Visitor’s Center, we were able to see up close the goings on. The blessings flowed as we entered the Visitor’s Center; it was the last day of the soft opening. We were immediately able to join a tour and see how the Visitor’s Center is now focused on the temple. We were taken through rooms representing the various ordinance rooms in the temple. It was a very special feeling!

Saturday evening, we enjoyed a meal and visit with fellow missionaries that we served with in Palmyra. We were blessed to see our neighbors, Tonya and Rick Gurr, as well as Eileen and Charlie Whitehead. We had such a great night together! I can’t believe that we didn’t take a photo of us all. We spent all our time talking and catching up.

Shauna and Dan serve in the Church History Museum one day a week and it is right across from Temple Square. We were able to walk through Temple Square and see the new landscaping and statues that were in place. The day was a bit cool but definitely a lovely walk. We went to Crown Burgers for lunch and I enjoyed a beautiful lettuce wrapped burger.

On Sunday, we went to church with Shauna and Dan. Their granddaughter was giving a talk in Sacrament meeting and she did a wonderful job. It was a wonderful Ward and then it was time for Sunday School and the teacher, Blake, was stupendous. His knowledge of the scriptures made it such a joy to be in his class.

The weather was changing and not for the better. Dan said that we would be heading into snow by going north to Eden. Our dear friends, Kathy and Brad Branner were hosting us for the next leg of our journey. It was raining in Salt Lake City as we left and the farther north it got a little heavy but by the time we got to Ogden, it wasn’t raining anymore. It was so delightful to see Kathy and Brad again. They are friends that we met in Huatulco and we hit it off really well.

Eden is in the Ogden Valley and is close to Huntsville where David O. McKay was born. The views are incredible and it is home to Powder Mountain Ski Resort.

We have really enjoyed spending time with what I call “Eternal Friends”. We really do help each other along the journey of life and can help bring joy and happiness into our lives. I absolutely love the people that have come into my life and cherish our friendships.