Martin's Cove

In preparing for Martin's Cove, we were supposed to wear pioneer garb. Here is what we came up with. After sewing the pink and white skirt I realized that I needed a slip and sewed that too. The bonnets were the hardest. We also wore pantaloons or capris under the skirts. Then we made an apron. Talk about layers. Then when the weather looked like we might have rain, I got some more fabric for two more skirts, Kate and mine and I'm so glad we did. DI was very helpful for tops. I just wanted to show the clothes before the actual trip.

We woke before the crack of dawn and met at the church at 4:15am, got on the bus for a 7 hour trip  Martin's Cove.

We made a quick stop along the way and the kids played a little 'Three Flies Up,"  while we waited for everyone to use the few bathrooms.

When we arrived, we ate, put on our rain ponchos had a short intro meeting where the rain pounded on the building. As soon as it was just raining, we got going. I was a Ma in a family with Katelyn and Jeff was the Bishop for all of the families.

 

We sang songs and played games and luckily weren't freezing.  Walking does help with the cold.  The puddles were deep and muddy.  our boots were sloshing on the inside and our layers were soaked through. 

They reenacted the men leaving for the Mormon Battalion and had the women's pull. the song we sang the most was " Come Thou Fount ", which is one of my favorites and is always inspiring and filled with hope.



As we dragged into camp it was so nice to already have a tent set up, hot food cooked and a roaring fire. That part was not like the pioneers, and I appreciated the support group. We never really dried out completely, but were counseled to get all dry clothes on or we'd never get to sleep, unlike a lot of pioneers who didn't have a choice. The buckets we carried had all of our belongings and could only weigh 17 lbs. We carried a bag made by our ward with Scriptures and a water bottle. The square dance was cancelled and to most people's relief because they wanted to get warm.

That night after we dried our feet off, most of the leaders stayed up drying girl's skirts because most girls only brought one.  It really took a while to get them semi-dry. 

The next day the weather was about 60 degrees with a little sprinkling which didn't even count compared to the day before. That morning the ma's and pa's finished drying skirts by the fire, so we could at least start off warm.

Because the Sweetwater River was too high only a few girls were able to be carried over, which was a relief to Kate and I since we were sure to be a challenge to carry depending on the size of the carrier.  

Martin's Cove was an incredible experience. We heard many stories of the Saints, rescuers and miracles. The cove was a sacred place that we could imagine the Saints trying to protect themselves from the storm. It was a place where many lost their lives because they wanted to go to Zion and to obey. We were asked to bring with us a name of an ancestor or member of the Martin or Willey handcart companies.  I brought Anna Cannon a pioneer on my mother's side.  It was a blessing to be a part of this incredible experience and to carry an ancestor with me on the journey.

We did end up dancing after the hail storm and lightning on the second day and our testimony meeting ran short because of the next big storm. I slept surprisingly both nights which is probably also unlike the pioneers.

We ended with a special message from our Bishop about the incredible legacy of the Martin and Willey Handcart companies. This is our whole ward.

Now that's what real pioneer looks like, no makeup, bags under their eyes and let's cover the hair with a crumpled bonnet.

It was incredible!