Yes I am going to do this in two parts so that I don't write a super long post that bombards everyone with information. :p James had Christmas Eve off so we were planning on driving over to Monticello that morning. The night before I tried to get everything packed up so that we would be ready to wake up and go. We got the back seats taken out of the van and the telescope and box of gifts in. We didn't get the rest in. much to my annoyance. :p I must have been super excited to get on the road. Avery came and crawled into bed with us in between 6:00 and 6:30 AM, after she did that I dosed for a little bit but by 7:00 I was awake and wasn't getting back to sleep. So I got up and started loading up everything else in the car. The sunset was Gorgeous and I was so happy to take a few minutes to look at all the beautiful colors and the way they dance across the red rock mesa. So pretty! I really wanted to get on the road by 8 so as it was getting closer to 8 I decided to wake James up. After getting the rest of the presents and misc loaded up and the van all gassed up we were finally on the road at 9:30. The plan was to drive to the I-70 junction and then stop at Cove Fort for a rest before we get back on the road. The drive to Monticello is a little longer than up to Salt Lake so we didn't want to tire out Avery so she would be ornery for Christmas Eve night. I always forget just how "far away" Cove Fort is (meaning I forget that we have to drive past Beaver to get to the junction). I was debating on not stopping and just driving, but I am very glad we stopped. It was amazing. Sister Robertson gave us our free tour, we watched a quick 15 min video which Avery did really well with. Then we headed into the Fort.
So these are just a few of the pictures I took (trust me) We learned a lot of amazing things at Cove Fort. This couch above, the fur on it is a buffalo hide and the couch is actually a hide-a-bed. :p you can pull out the bottom half to turn it into a bed.
telegraph, they had this going, it was neat to hear how loud the telegraphs were coming in.
This is the kitchen where Sister Hinckley would feed all the guests and passers by.
This stove was a fun story. When they were restoring the fort, they were looking for an exact replica of the stove that was used. They were having a difficult time though. They found a lady who was moving back east and had this stove that she was trying to get rid of. The Hinckleys told her what they were trying to do and she donated it to the restoration. Sister Robertson said that she comes to visit her stove still. :)
blacksmith shop and hay..thingy. :p I forgot
This is where the prophet Brigham Young would stay
Again another interesting story about this spinning wheel. They would spin the yarn 30 times and that meant they would have 60 yards of yarn..(at least I think it was yarn) Because it was so tedious to count 30 times around the wheel would know. When the handle had been turned 30 times the piece of wood in the middle would pop out. This is actually the reason for the rhyme "Pop goes the Weasel" the spinning wheel was called a weasel. Pretty meat huh. :)
Sister Robertson said that they used everything and that things usually had a double function. For example this baby crib. when there was no baby to sleep in it you could take out the mattress flip over the crib and it would double as a bench.
The rolling pin design of the headboard on these beds was an actual rolling pin that they could take off to beat the rope. They would tighten the ropes on the bed so they wouldn't fall in the middle (good night sleep tight) and if the rope got a knot they would beat it out with the rolling pin and roll it back out smooth.
They really did use EVERYTHING. Sister Robertson said that these flowers were made out of the hair that got caught in Sister Hinckleys hair brush. She would gather it up, dye it and make it into these flowers.
At the end Sister Robertson gave us some more information about Cove Fort and a short lesson which I REALLY needed to hear. It was a wonderful experience and I am so happy we stopped.
We made another stop in Salina to get some lunch before we went on our way. We got to my parents house around 5 and I finally got to meet my brothers wife and kids. :) We really enjoyed spending Christmas with them. As soon as Avery meet her cousin Evie, they became fast friends and spent every minute they could with each other.
Every Christmas Eve Mom A. (Nona) buys Christmas jammies for all the grand-kids, we've had Avery's sitting under our tree since we moved to St. George. We tried to be discreet so that Evie wouldn't feel left out, so we let her open her jammies in our room and then we put them on her to show case to everyone.
It took awhile to get the girls to go to bed. Evie was really good and went down with her mom really fast. It took Avery a little longer to fall asleep. I had to lay on the bed with her and tell her a couple stories before she calmed down enough to go to sleep. Finally I was able to sneak out of the room and take care of the Christmas preparations. My Mom and I stayed up till 1 AM getting stuff ready, Mina even joined us for a little while and both her and Mom helped me get some things wrapped. Then it was finally time for bed.
