Trek Anecdotes

Aside from the spiritual nature of the trip, there were a few noteworthy funnies.

#1 One of my trek daughters, who shall remain nameless, was always quite drowsy. Whether it was the heat, all the walking, or boredom, she seemed to doze off whenever we'd sit and take a rest. One day while we were sitting on our buckets eating lunch in a clearing, listening to the missionaries tell stories about the pioneers, this girl was enjoying her Cheetos (there was only one bag in our allotment for the day, but after hearing how she'd seductively savored them, according to the boys, the previous day, I'd given her my rations). Slowly her hand would delicately dip into the bag and up toward her mouth. She apparently started to snooze, because though her hand knew the precise way into the bag, getting the Cheeto into her mouth was a different task altogether. At one point, the Cheeto was just repeatedly being jabbed into her cheek. I could not stop laughing about it the rest of the day.

#2 Our bishop is a very well-respected doctor in the area. Like many doctors, he's not much of a mariposo social (social butterfly). I loved getting to know his sillier side on the trek. One of the other leaders rode up in his car to the trek site and was telling us how in this tiny town in Wyoming where they stopped for gas there were ton of motorcycle men. The women were waiting for the bishop to pull the car around and noticed some of the bikers looking them up and down in their pioneer garb with a bit of curiosity. Once the women were loaded in the car, the bishop, remaining poker-faced and quiet, turned up his stereo, rolled down the windows, and drove away while the song "Born to Be Wild" was blaring. You probably have to know him to find this funny, but he scored some serious bonus points with that stunt!

#3 Do you ever wonder who is enjoying those old clothes you gave to Goodwill or the DI? Because I'm a bit of a pack rat, I find myself parting with old treasures only because I have the inner dialogue, "Someone is really going to enjoy these and they need them more than I do." Imagine my excitement when I see a girl on trek wearing a red and white checkered 'picnic' skirt. It's a random skirt and probably 15 years old, so I had to ask the girl where she got it, the brand, and the size. Yep, pretty sure that was my skirt. My next inner dialogue (if I'm being completely honest) had something to do with wondering if I looked better in it than she did. Okay! I admit it! I'm evil! But checkers are not the most flattering pattern anyway! And if the evilness didn't stop there, I snapped a photo while waiting for the bus.