AM I GETTING OLD????

I remember when I was YOUNG and my dad would try to talk to me about what it was like to live in the " olden days ! "   He loved telling us about when he was a kid, and talking about people that I'd never met, but that were significant in his life!  While he was taking a trip down memory lane, I was thinking..."I really don't even care about those people!  I've never met them.... what do I care about what they did and what trials they went through???   I would be thinking to myself... "This must be an old people thing!"   Well.... I guess I am getting OLD because every since I read Vonnie's book about the history of the Mormon Colonies, I have become fascinated by the history of our pioneer ancestors who came to colonize here in Mexico!

A bunch of us decided to take a drive to visit Pacheco on a Saturday a couple of weeks ago.    They have been working on a highway that goes up that steep grade... you remember the one that we used to bounce along for hours on end in order to go to girl's camp every summer!   Almost always, someone would break down and the trip to Pacheco could be an all day ordeal!   Well now there is pavement part way up and it is said that you can now reach Colonia Pacheco in a hour and ten minutes from Colonia Juarez!   

The Gang.....

L to R:  Tony and Chris, Rick and Lynnette, Russell and Kelly, Frank and Cathy,

Dave and Mary, Bob and Jennifer and Ed and Irene

Our bishop was being "the bishop" and brought along a group of fun teenagers to help liven us old foggies up!

It's always fun to come upon this familiar point of interest!   This means you are not far from Pacheco!

If you look closely, you can see the rutts in the rock where the pioneer wagons traveled on their way to colonize Colonia Pacheco!  Imagine what a rough ride this was and the wear and tear on their wagons!

When we arrived at the Bowman Ranch,  (now owned by the Hatch's) the first thing the men had to do was head straight to the orchard to check them out!   This frustrated me... but then I thougt,  "Asking them to drive through an orchard without stopping to look would be like asking me to walk through a mall without stopping to check things out!"   So... we let them enjoy "window shopping!"

After a yummy lunch, we headed off to see what we could discover about those faithful,determined and OBEDIENT pionners who were sent by Brigham Young to colonize in Mexico back in 1885!

This is the remaining piece of a carved stone that was placed to make the spot of the Chapel/Schoolhouse the pioneers built in Pacheco.  

We had fun snooping around some of the old pioneer homes that were built long ago.   Some of them are deserted and others have families still living in them.  Can you imagine just moving to a place in the moutains.... at least a 3 hour ride in a wagon pulled by horses to the nearest town and store.... beginning by clearing the land, and laying out the town... then sawing down logs and making bricks to build a home??   Right off we could tell that Pacheco was laid out just like the towns in Utah are, with WIDE streets, all going north and south, east and west!

We knew that somewhere on a certain mountain side there was a monument built to mark the sight were a Temple would someday stand in Colonia Pacheco.   I tried to find out the background to this monument and got a couple of different stories.  One person told me that he thought Apostle Teasdale had prophesied a temple on this spot.   Another person told me that one of the explorers that Brigham Young sent out ahead of the pioneers had seen a temple on this hill in a dream/vision.  It may seem a laughing matter to picture a temple here now.   But... with the highway being built up through Pacheco... who knows!   With God, nothing is impossible!

Maybe there will be a temple built here during the milenium and many people will work performing the ordinances for their ancestors!   I wouldn't say it isn't possible!

We visited the Pacheco Cemetary.  I loved this old headstone!  It is so cool!  It is carved to look like a tree trunk!   What a labor of love for someone very special, I am sure!   This person must have joined the church in England...   immigrated to the United States... most likely, New York, then  on to Utah and ending up in Colonia Pacheco in Chihuahua, Mexico!   Imagine what this person was willing to sacrifice and do because of his religion!   (Aunt Lanny says this is her great, great grandfather!)

We all know and LOVE the Lunt family....  Aunt Ora, Aunt Maurine, Aunt Marza, Aunt LaRee and Aunt Chris' dad, LaRue, were all raised in Pacheco!   A few years ago the Lunt Family placed this new heardstone on their family's grave.

If you look closely, behind that strand of bare trees, you can see the old

Lunt Homestead.  We really wanted to go there but it is said to be owned by some drug people now, so we didn't get too close!

On the way home, we stopped to check out these beautiful white,

chalky rock formations!

I wonder what caused these formations???   I felt bad that the teenagers were no longer with us by the time we reached these cool rocks!   They would have loved climbing all around the place!

This is what is left of the old Wilson Homestead!  (Frances Memmott's family!)

You can see the remnants of an old water wheel!   So cool!

 

Tony and Chris brought there bikes along so we took turns coasting down the highway on the way home!    You had to use your brakes a lot and the whole time I was wishing I had a helmet!   It was really fun!

So... there you have an abreviated tour of our trip to Pacheco.   Seeing the place where our pioneer ancestors built a life literally FROM SCRATCH was very humbling!   It made me wonder, "What have I sacrificed for my religion?   If my Stake President came to me today and asked me to go back to Pacheco and start rebuilding the town there, would I have enough faith and determination to do it?   Would I be willing to sacrifice my nice life here in Dublan to follow the directions of my church leaders?  Is my testimony strong enough to see ME THROUGH THE TRIALS AND CHALLENGES THAT LIE AHEAD?   Somedays I have a hard time just being kind to a beggar...  accepting a calling to serve, or following simple directions from our prophet.  It is true that trials and difficulties make strong character and keep us humble!  I am afraid my life has been too easy!   This makes me wonder...

What could be in store for us in the FUTURE???

Will we rise to the challenge the way our pioneer ancestors did???

YEP!   I MUST BE GETTING OLD!  I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED, BUT I HAVE BECOME VERY INTERESTED IN THE GENERATIONS WHO CAME BEFORE ME!  I GUESS IT HAS TO DO WITH REALIZING YOUR OWN MORTALITY AND WONDERING IF WHEN YOU ARE GONE, IF YOUR LIFE WILL HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANCE TO YOUR POSTERITY....   WILL THEY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ME AND WHAT MY LIFE WAS LIKE??    So, you young people, don't roll your eyes when we want to tell you about life back in our day!  Just be aware that this is part of the process of life, and YES, IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU TOO SOMEDAY!