Memorial Day Trip to Callao!

My family decided that it was high time we all got together and went camping out to our old childhood stomping grounds. As kids we always went camping as a family out west to the mountains near Callao. It's way out in the middle of nowhere near the Utah, Nevada border. Some of us haven't been there in several years, some had never been there, and some go there on a regular basis. But to get that many of us there at the same time has never happened. My mom called this her family reunion. To get so many of her kids and their families out there together was a big ordeal. Lets start at the beginning.

Some of my family left Thursday evening. It normally takes 4-5 hours to get there. The way there is mostly long dirt roads. Well, my sister (Annalisa AKA sis) and her husband (Jason) borrowed Jason's parents truck and huge 5th wheel trailer for the trip. Before they even hit the dirt road they had a tire on the trailer blow that damaged the pop out part of the trailer. Then when almost to camp the trucks transmission blew and my brothers had to use their trucks to pull the truck and huge trailer up the canyon to camp. It took them until 1 a.m. to get it there. So the plan was to finish up the trip and then call a tow truck to get it all home. The good thing is that they had AAA (triple A). I'm thinking that after this AAA regrets giving them a contract! I wish I was there when they had to tell his parents what happened! Oh, the awkwardness!

We left at 5 a.m. to get there late morning. We stopped about half way there to take Clara to the bathroom. That's when Joe noticed we had a flat tire on the trailer. He had it changed in no time. One of the guys from Callao happened to pass us just then and told Joe that he was going to offer to help until he saw that Joe was more than prepared. (If any of you have seen Joe's truck you'll understand why. Not many people carry a whole mechanics shop on their truck!) So we get back on the road and have made it to Callao in good time. We start our way up Granite Creek Canyon. I had unloaded my motorcycle to ride ahead to find where to put the trailer at camp and then came back down to see how Joe was doing with the truck and trailer. That's when I noticed that our trailer was leaking water. By the time we got to camp, Joe found that our Freshwater Valve had somehow broken off and we had lost half of our water. Just a minor irritant. We don't count on the trailer water as drinking water. It's just for showering and for dishes and such. Joe got the hose plugged up and saved the rest of the water. So a few issues on getting there.

That day we explored a few small mines in that canyon and went on a few little rides. We had Clara's party that night around the camp fire. On Saturday we had the big ride. We all (except those that stayed back with babies and toddlers. Thanks to Joe for staying with Emmett and Clara so I could go) took the long ride over to Gold Hill. This is a very small mining town that (other than a few weirdos that still live there) was abandoned when the mining boom ended. My kids were hoping for some adventures on this trip and they got some. We went to one of the bigger gold mines that my family has been exploring since they first started going out there. Well, sometime since we had last been out to that mine, someone had barred off the main entrance and filled in the smaller entrances with concrete and rocks. But some previous adventurers had sawed off one bar on the top where an adult could barely squeeze through. So in we went. Going through a mine that has miles and miles of tunnels and deep shafts and other dangers makes a parent nervous. But all the kids were told exactly what to do and not to do. And they were all really good in there. Some of the kids were really nervous to go in there, but they were so brave to give it a try. It's so neat in there. There are writings on the walls from workers dating as far back as 1912. Some it says were even working on Christmas Eve. This mine also has several stories with ladders going up and down to each level. After I took my kids back out, I went back in and climbed up the old ladders with Alex and Andra to the top level and came out at the top of the mountain. (someone had already broken out the cement wall for us)It is so neat to be inside such an old piece of history.

Here is some video of the first part of the mine.

The next day we set out to go up Goshute Canyon to some really neat mines there. This time Joe came on my motorcycle and had Emmett strapped to him in the snuggly and had Averee on the back. I took Hyrum and Clara on the 4-wheeler. But at the bottom of the Canyon we got caught in a hail storm. Some of the hail was as big as marbles and there happened to be not a single tree at that spot. So we kept on trucking up as fast as we could stand, cause Alex said there were some mining cabins not much farther up. The trail was really bumpy and it didn't allow us to go very fast. But we finally made it. By that time the hail turned to a downpour of rain and we were soaked and freezing. (Except for Emmett who was zipped up inside of Joe's jacket the whole time.) Not one of us adventurers had a match of course, so we brought my motorcycle inside and revved it up to get the pipe on it hot enough to light a gas soaked piece of paper on fire. It was exciting to watch Alex run from one side of the cabin to the other with fire in his hands. With the fire we all warmed up and dried off. The rain would slow for a minute and then would pour down again. It rained like this for over 2 hours before we dared to venture out and head back to camp. Even though we didn't go through those mines, we still had a big enough adventure to satisfy the kids.

Here's some video of the cabin.

On Sunday we went to church. Church out there is so fun at the small branch. They have a small size one building that consists of a tiny chapel and 4 small classrooms - a small kitchen and bathroom and branch presidents office. Our family tripled the size of the branch. And the best is they don't expect you to wear a dress! The people there are long time friends and enjoy it when we visit. Also, we were able to fill up some water jugs at the church to put in our trailer. My kids now ask when we can go back to the small church. They thought it was so neat. Then on monday we went on some small rides, shot the guns, and then headed home. We made it home with no more problems. Alijah and Charis had a tire blow on their trailer, but all made it home okay. All in all, it was a grand adventure. And I can't wait for next year.