I didn’t realize we were low in gas. Dad said we could go to Granada and back and I just thought thats good as I knew the story would be over by then. But we turned and headed towards Pinon and then after traveling until the road got bad we decided to turn right onto a road that looked great. Paved with asphault and wide. Well that ended after a short time and we were committed as dad put it because we didn’t have the gas to back track. Neither of us knew exactly where we were or where this road was going and it was beginning to get dark. Not good.

The road got narrower and then we began to go through ditches and gulleys and through slush and frozen stuff and lots of snow and most of the time in four wheel drive to just make it through. I was scared stiff. My mind kept working on the fact that if something happened to dad and we had no phone signal and I didn’t know where we were really and we hadn’t even seen a hogan in forever what would I do. I was still in my church clothes and had only taken a coat because dad told me I couldn’t get into the car without one.

I finally got out the GPS and tried to see if it would tell us where we were in ralationship to where I would really like to be. Dad just kept going and Charlee could feel the tension I was exuding and he was restless. We lost daylight and still had no idea where we were. The reading on the GPS said we were close to a road that would link us back to 191. But not matter how long we drove, now on a two rut road and larger ditches and steep drop offs we didn’t seem to get any closer to that road we needed to get us back to where we knew our way around.

Finally we saw light and headed in that direction. Then the road posted a sign saying it was a deadend. Dad kept going and found a house with cars and he walked around until he found some warm bodies. They told him to back track until we saw a wind mill and then turn right. Think cow trails not normal roads and dark, cold, and lots of snow and ice.

We back tracked and headed in the direction dad was told and finally found the wind mill. We took the right fork in the road. We couldn’t see much in any direction and just hoped that what we were doing was the way to go. The GPS arrow didn’t stay on course and it never got close to the little road to take us back to 191 for ions of time. Next thing we knew were were on top of the mountains literally and began to desend. We were over 7,000 feet and I kept hoping we wouldn’t run out of gas. I hate to have less than a half tank of gas, as dad is known far and wide for running out.

We drove and drove and drove and finally saw some lights. As we desended from the tops of the mountains we wondered if we had gone around the mountains and was coming out at Many Farms. NOPE. When we finally got to the bottom of the mountain on a road a little better than the tracks, two cars could pass each other, dad says wow I know where we are. I looked around in the darkness and thought I’ve been here before. We were in Rough Rock by the trading post. We wound around back past the senior center where we go each Wednesday to volunteer and finally the GPS said we were on the road that linked us to the highway 191. We knew it would be quite a drive to just make it back to Many Farms and the light was on saying the gas was low. When we got to Many Farms I asked dad to get gas and he said we would be okay. The bain of my life. We drove the fifteen miles more to home, Chinle, and parked in front of the trailer.

Dad said wasn’t that fun! Now we need to look on a map and see where we went. This is like three hours later. I didn’t think it was fun. I couldn’t see anything to say it was beautiful, and the four wheeling through deep gullys was anything but fun. I was just grateful we were not in the Jetta and that the four wheel drive worked. Anyone who has driven on the reservation in the daytime knows how remote it is, little lone in the dark.

When we hit the pavement Charlee layed down on my lap and took a nap.

To volunteer at one of the senior centers we had to get a Navajo food handlers permit. That meant, find a chapter house giving the course and sign up for it and then show up. We sat through the four hours of lecture and took the test and now have our permits. Without a permit we are not allowed to even wipe off tables. Even with the permit we still get to unload trucks and sort and put away food. Its work and its fun.

We have had two dinner appointments since we got here. Both belagona’s (white) but it was nice to be invited and the food was great.

Jack turned 67 and we celebrated our 39th anniversary attending a zone meeting. It has been fun and we have really enjoyed ourselves. Jack went to Round Rock to help Brother O’Daniel strip logs to make a hogan. Charlee went with him and came back looking like a bottle of red hair dye and been poured over him. He looked terrible. Bad dye job.

President Gill called and told us the senior couple coming to take over our place here in Chinle and teach seminary had flunked their physicals so we were to stay in this trailer and now I get to teach seminary once again. This is such a neat blessing in my life. Jack is my helper and support. He does a great job. Jack was assigned along with all the other things we have gotten ourselves into to fix things that have broken down for the FM office. Yesterday we went to Crystal to see about fixing the heater in the missionary couples trailer. Dad likes to be busy and so do I.

Monday we started seminary with eight students and today we had ten.

We showered and dressed and drove to Rough Rock. Wednesday is our assigned day to help out at the senior center. It was one of those days that you just know things aren’t going to go the way you planned. We got to the senior center and was told come back next week, the helpers were heading into Chinle to a dinner. I helped one of the ladies load drinks into her car and dad delivered the job listings to the chapter house.

We drove to Many Farms to just LOOK at the trailer. I got sicker just looking at it. (Think of going over the border into Mexico and you will begin to get an idea of what this trailer looks like.) We were told earlier this week we would be moving into the comdemned trailer, it gives me the chills just to think about it. I told dad to go walk around it and see what he could see. It didn’t get any better. Dad took out his tape measure as someone had built new steps up to the poarch. Not one of the steps was the same distance apart (7 1/4 8 1/2 8).

We drove out to the lake at Many Farms, it was interesting. Years ago BYU went down to that area and helped set up a watering systems, put in cement ditches, and sprinkler systems, hense the name Many Farms. Still many farms, they just don’t grow anything. The lake has water in it, but the residents are not using it at least not this time of year. We just continue to see tons of money put into the rez and no returns on it. Some one said that “someone” got the great idea to drain the lake and no one has used the irrigation water since. We came home and I made two pies, one apple and one pumpkin. Made cranberry sauce with fresh cranberries, and the family favorite yams southern style. I cooked chilie for us to eat and after we ate the chilie and I cleaned up the mess for the umteenth time I made cookies for dad. He has felt neglected of late. I did make him an apple pie earlier in the week. How neglected can one feel knowing that?

I got dad going through the pictures that I went through and organized last year and he re-organized them. It is for our album of the ranch history. Maybe tomorrow we can get them into the book. That would be a mile stone.We are to have dinner with the Missionary Senior Sisters, family and others. Don’t know what time haven’t been told yet. All is good. Turkey day means its almost time to get out the Christmas stuff. Yay!

I had made and decorated an 8 inch chocolate chip cookie we delivered to the Sjostroms who work out of the St. Michaels office for the Church employment. This is there last week on the rez they are heading home.

Charlee didn’t seem to mind to much not getting to take the walk into the canyon, he voiced his opinion I’m sure to everyone who passed our car. But he did get to walk everywhere else we went.

I would highly recommend this hike to everyone. Hope the weather holds out so we can get in the north rim lookouts. To go into the canyon other than the hike we took you have to pay a navajo guide. Permits and guides are the only ones allowed into the floor of the canyon, except for the families that still live there.

We arrived at the chapter house a little after ten and didn’t get on the docket until after 2:30 p.m. We listened to a lot of Navajo gibberish before Bishop Deswood was allowed to come forward and give his speel. He did good. He gave the floor to an old navajo woman she spoke for the church and one old man spoke against it or at least wanted to see just what the community was getting if they let two acres of grazing land go the the Church. Trying to follow what was being said was pretty hard, except when Bishop Deswood smiled I knew it was good. He is the type of person who smiles a lot. When the counsel found out that if the Church disolves and gives up the land, buildings etc. it would go back to the family giving them permission to use it. And the people wanted to know how much they charged for funerals, weddings, and other uses. When they found out it was nothing the vote became very positive. The boy scouts, from mini type cub to giant size all in uniform served the turkey dinner provided for those in attendance everyone was very impressed. One of the counselman was very positive about the scouts and what they could do for the community. After all was said and done and more time spent on the debate it was put to a vote and it was passed.

Now I wonder how long it will take to get a building?

I told dad I wasn’t going to another chapter meeting as long as I lived. He reminded me that with that said I would probably find myself at another one very shortly. My lifes story, I make bold statements then I get to eat them.

Back to life. We showered and got on missionary clothes and took off for Rough Rock. We wanted to find out when they wanted us to come help out and we agreed on Wednesday each week. We encouraged the members that work at the center to come to the church for the dinner tonight and we left.

We got home in time to finish washingup the turkey and getting him ready for the oven. I was trying to remember how to do whatever needed to be done. I knew I had the directions I had written while watching Grandmother Hattaway fix her turkey. She would not give out recipes so if you wanted one you just sat and watched and took notes. Anyway I didn’t have that note. And I haven’t cook turkey dinner since we left Texas. I got the buzzard into the oven and had the stock pot going with the neck and onion and celery junk. I cut and cooked the gizzards, heart, and liver and did the other things necessary to fix dad dressing like his mother use to make. It is a long process. We went to the store for sage and ended up buying root beer, shoe polish and mayo. Got home and was messaging Reb and she said “oh by the way there are some recipes I didn’t give back and I asked is the dressing was one of them. I hadn’t called her because she would never take the time and effort to cut up and cook all the little goodies that Grandmother use to do. Just thinking about her doing it is impossible. Now to be fair when we went to her house for Thanksgiving dinner she did make the dressing just the way Grandmother use to because she loves her dad and knew it would make him happy. She had it, surprise! I had her email it to me and realized we were lacking another spice. So I asked dad if he wanted to go to the store again and he was happy to go. This time coming out of the store, with poultry seasoning and more rootbeer, we met up with a member of the Many Farms ward. She asked us if we were serving there and we got her address and an invite to come see her. We asked her to come to dinner to night at the church, but she said she had other plans. This tells us the bush telagraph is working.

We got to the car and there was an old old navajo grandmother with papoose back boards. I checked them out and checked out the baby strapped in one. I told them I was sold on what I saw and asked how much. I told dad we needed this as I have always wanted a board.

Now for the question of the day, who would like to be the first to lend a grandchild to be the first to try out the papoose board. Don’t all yell at once for this opportunity of a lifetime. It’s pretty neat don’t you think.

Going to the store a zillion times netted us with a contact and me a papoose back board, what more could you ask for?

By the way, tons of good food, plenty of people, and all in all a good time. We picked up Brother Mitchell, a disabled navajo, and enjoyed his company to and from and helped him get enought food inside of him to feed a small army.

Another good day on the rez.

We delivered job opportunities to seven chapter houses talked with people and found out we can help out in one of the senior centers out in Rough Rock. We just need to get our food handlers cards. Has to be navajo nation taught. We signed up for that and will take it the first week in December out past Ganado. In the meantime we will help with the meals on wheels and clean up, or whatever else they need. We have decided to do it once a week.

We drove an old gentleman (Navajo) to Rough Rock and bought gas for a young mother (Navajo) in Rock Point. We checked our mail in Chinle and bought dinner for a man (Navajo) before returning home.

Because we needed to check out where the class is to be held we drove towards Gallup and found where we needed to go and ended up in Gallup. Dad took back car parts he had purchased for the mexican nationalists that they ended up not needing. We picked up a few items and headed back to Chinle.

Being senior missionaries is not all teaching we have found out.

We were on our way to Farmington to do our shopping that we had missed doing on Monday due to helping the mexican boys. We drove over a part of the desert we had not gone over before and saw “shiprock” from a totally new point of view. It was breathtaking beautiful. What we haven’t seen in the forty years of going through the four corners is the rock edge from the shiprock through the desert. It kinda reminded me of a dinosaurs back, it was wonderful.

Wednesday began normal, but went down hill fast. On our walk to the post office I fell flat on my face without using my hands to help break the fall. I had been given the cell phone to talk to James and I had Charlee’s lease in the other hand. The sidewalks on the rez is questionable at best anyway I tripped and fell flat. I could see it happening in slow motion and could do nothing to change fate. I landed on my nose and I thought I had broken it. The pain was terrible. I ruined my glasses and I was covered in blood. I was a bit dizzy when dad helped me up and several natives stopped to render help. We walked slowly home and I carefully washed off the blood from around my eyes and off my nose and face. I spent several hours in bed trying to get my head straight. The pain is dull in a way but also feels like a bee stinging me. Go figure.

Today though I look really bad and I’m waiting for my eyes to go black and blue, my head is a little better and Sister Kelpetz told me to take it a bit easy today. So dad delivered the job listings to six of our chapter houses and met with the Elders in Many Farms for a bit. Charlee and I went along only we stayed in the car. No foot races for me today. I will have to get new glasses, and my nose is to sore to even wear them except for a few minutes to see something. Dad says it will take a few days. My right hand has a huge chunk of skin ripped off the small finger that dad cut the rest of the way off and it is sore. There must be a lesson here somewhere. I’ll let you know when I decide what it is. Maybe its the fact that with both knees skinned up I won’t have to wear panty hose for a few days, Erin can identify with that.

After eating, dad got involved with a car load of mexicans that had broken down in Many Farms.  The Rasmussens from Thatcher were on their way home from Monticello, Utah and spotted these men in trouble.  They were coming from Idaho and heading south to Mexico, none of them spoke english.  Brother Rasmussen called several of the bishops in the area looking for help for these men and none would give it.  Enter dad.

We drove out to Many Farms and dad looked at the mini van.  Brother Rasmussen called his son in Denver and the son interpreted for us.  The water  pump was history.  Dad and Brother Rasmussen tried to get them to go to a motel in Chinle, but they would not leave the car or their things as they thought they would loose them.

The Rasmussens headed towards their home and we came home to go to bed.  Dad got up this morning and went to the only auto repair shop in the whole area.  They could not get to the van before Wednesday and they had no parts.  Dad rented a u-haul car carrier and went and picked up the men and brought them to Chinle to our place. 

I called around Gallup (two hours one way) to find a water pump.  Dad took one of the men and headed for Gallup.  We are now waiting for them to come back. 

I took out lunch to the three men who are waiting here for them, dad and the fourth man, to get back.  I hadn’t gotten back into the house before a tall good looking Indian came to the door looking for lunch, no ride, just lunch.  When I got that part straight I told him to go sit in the shade, as its hot out today, and Iwould be happy to make lunch, that I could do.  So I made him lunch he said thanks and took off walking for Pinon.

Got up did the wash and other stuff hoping to have a day of shopping and fun.  I guess I just got the fun.  There is always munyana.