Day Eleven: Mormon Handcart Visitor's Center

On day eleven, we went to the Mormon handcart visitor's center in Alcova Wyoming. This is where Martin's cove is. Martin's cove is where the Martin and Willey handcart companies got stranded due to lack of supplies and bad weather. I didn't know quite what to expect before we got there. It turned out to be so much more fun than I thought it would.

We first saw a movie that was taken from the journal of a 13-year-old boy who was one of the handcart pioneers. It talked about how his family struggled and how he found his father dead one morning. He also spoke of the joy they felt when they realized that the Lord had answered their prayers and sent rescuers. I think it really hit home for JR since he is so close in age. It was easy for him to put himself in that boy's shoes.

After that, we got to push some empty handcarts around a small gravel track. The kids loved it and even raced around with each other in their handcarts. I was amazed at how difficult it was to push a handcart for such a short distance! After just having run a marathon, I think it is safe to say I am in good shape. And yet, it was difficult to push the cart less than a quarter of a mile. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to push it 20 miles a day over much more difficult terrain.

Even Joe got to see how tough it is.

After the handcarts, we went into the Sweetwater museum. That is the ranch that was built several years later. The memorial is also set up to remember the family that lived there for so many years. The kids enjoyed seeing all of the antiques and hearing the stories. Sam enjoyed climbing all over everything.

Wild Ham!

In the blacksmith's shop they told a fun story about a prairie diamond and made one for each of the kids. It is a nail for a horse shoe that is bent into a ring. The kids got a kick out of that.

After that, Joe was too wild and out of control so we decided to get going and finish our trip to Utah. Of course, we had to stop by the stream so JR could see if there was any trout.

On our way out, we had a really good talk about all of the sacrifices the early pioneers made. We talked about how many babies died in the two handcart companies. It was really sad for the kids. JR asked me if I would do it knowing that I would loose our sweet Sammy. I told him that those pioneers left having faith that God would take care of them. Even when they lost those precious little ones, they knew God was watching over them and He would make it all right. The end of the journey was not Utah, but with the Lord. I later found an article and shared it with the kids. These words describe perfectly why this was such a humbling, inspiring place:

“ ‘I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it.’ ” He continues: “ ‘I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.

“ ‘Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company.’ ” (Relief Society Magazine, Jan. 1948, p. 8.)