Happy Birthday Angie!

Today is my best buddy Angie's birthday!!! I am sad that I don't get to celebrate with her today--for the last two years we got to celebrate her birthday in Mississippi. In 2006, I got a birthday cake from Edna's Cakes there in Natchez, and we had a party for her over at Ranger Jessica's house. Then, last year I took Angie to the Castle at Dunleith for a birthday lunch a few days prior to her birthday, then we picked up some Mondito Burritos in Vidalia, Louisiana on her actual b-day. Good times. She is a truly wonderful friend, and I am grateful to know her. She is one of the nicest, funniest, most generous people I have ever met. When I first arrived in Natchez in May 2006, I thought I had dropped off the face of the earth and was in a totally new world. I did not enjoy it there at first, but from my very first day of work as a park ranger, Angie, who was my direct supervisor, made me laugh, smile, and feel welcome there. We became really good friends that summer and fall, and then we became even better friends when I went back to Natchez last summer. My visit to see her in Pennsylvania this last January literally saved my life because school was driving me insane! :-) She and I have had many, many, many good times and laughs, and even though we've only known each other for a little over two years, it feels like we've been friends forever. Her husband is great too, and now they have a cute baby! I am so happy that she is happy, and I hope that she has a very happy birthday today!

Today I got to sleep in and have a day off after a long and busy last few days of work. My weekend is in the middle of the week this week, and then I have to work this weekend (including, unfortunately, Sunday). On Monday we had a school group come, which was fun but very tiring. These kids were ages 6-11, and they had a lot of energy. The parents that we had helping out were really good this time--which helped a lot. In fact, one of the dads was totally decked out in a mountain man getup! Most parents don't get that into it. After the school group left, Jeri and I cleaned the muskets. I am still trying to get some of the gunpowder off of my hands :-) Monday night was also our neighborhood block party. All I can say is that 300 South in Orem, Utah is hardcore! The neighbors blocked off the end of our street, then they put up a huge 40-foot climbing wall, then they brought out the BBQs and whipped up quite a feast. The festivities continued well into the night--ending with some pretty serious fireworks at about 10:00 p.m.

Yesterday was a pretty quiet day out in Fairfield until a big group of senior citizens came from an assisted living place in Lehi. They were very cute and funny. I was the only employee there at Camp Floyd, however, so it got to be a little crazy for a while. They wanted me to tell them stories about Camp Floyd, then they watched our movie about the place, walked through the museum, toured the inn, and ate lunch at our picnic area (which, you remember, is one of the top 50 in the U.S.!). They all loved seeing the 1858 potatoes in the museum. They were a really fun group.

I am very excited that tomorrow is the 24th of July--my favorite holiday in the whole world!!! I feel bad for people in other states who don't get to celebrate the 24th. It's such a cool holiday.

Momentous Events

The last couple of days have been full of momentous events. First off, little Eliza visited Zion National Park over the weekend and became a park ranger!! She looks great in her ranger gear. Her auntie Ranger Tiff is so proud! I am quite jealous though because baby ranger uniforms include shorts--Mississippi ranger uniforms include polyester pants. She's so cute! I especially love the little deer attached to her belt.


The next momentous event occurred yesterday evening during Sunday dinner. Camden lost her first tooth!!! She is the first Taylor grandchild to lose a tooth, and everyone (especially Camden) was very excited. She requested that we all refer to her as "Without-Tooth Girl." Word on the street is that the Tooth Fairy visited her last night and left some presents but forgot to take the tooth. Maybe she'll come back tonight for the tooth (and leave more presents?). What an exciting Sunday dinner!

Then, today Camp Floyd received notification that we have been named by Reserve America Top 100 Family Destinations as one of America's top 25 Educational and Historical Facilities! We also made it in the top 50 best picnic areas, but that's not quite as cool as the top 25. That's a pretty big award. We are very excited, and we will proudly be displaying said award in the museum.

Even though Mark Twain never did stay at Camp Floyd, I still think it is one of Utah's best kept secrets (although it would be better if it wasn't such a secret). I can't believe how many important Civil War generals were stationed there right before the war began. I was doing some research on Camp Floyd's famous inhabitants today, and pictured here is one of the most famous (or infamous?) soldiers that was stationed in Utah. His name was Henry Heth, and he is considered to be the man who inadvertently started the Battle of Gettysburg. The crazy part is that Heth, who was a Confederate commander, accidentally ran into Union cavalryman John Buford at Gettysburg, and even though Heth had not been ordered to engage, he started firing at Buford and his men. The weird part is that John Buford was at Camp Floyd too!!!! Then, the next Union man to roll into town was General John Reynolds--ANOTHER Camp Floyd alum! It was like a Camp Floyd reunion at Gettysburg, only they were trying to kill each other. Unfortunately John Reynolds got shot in the neck shortly after he arrived in Gettysburg, but I think it's pretty crazy that three of the first to engage at G-burg had all been stationed out in the Utah Territory before the war.

Another famous Camp Floyd soldier was Bernard Bee from South Carolina. He is the one who gave "Stonewall" Jackson his nickname! In fact, Sarah and Joel have visited his grave in South Carolina before--and we didn't even know that he had been out in Utah for a few years! Who needs Mark Twain stopping by when you have Generals Johnston, Buford, Heth, and Bee?

Reconsidering Sterling Price

If Confederate General Sterling Price were made into a South Park character, this is what he would look like :-) You can make your own South Park character by going to: http://www.sp-studio.de/. It's kind of fun.

I have been doing some additional research on General Price for an article I'm going to send to BYU Studies. I had originally thought that he was just plain mean to the Mormons in Missouri in 1838 (he was the leader of the guards that Joseph Smith rebuked at the Richmond jail), but some new findings indicate that he may have actually tried to reconcile things between the Mormons and the Missouri citizens. He claimed that he had misunderstood the Mormon situation before he was given charge of the prisoners in Richmond and attended the subsequent court hearing. Hmmmm, I don't know what to think now. Joseph Smith did list "Colonel Sterling Price" as one of the Missouri persecutors in his 1839 redress petitions, and Parley P. Pratt talked about the grievances that Colonel Price allowed to be heaped upon the Mormon prisoners. Sterling Price is a definite historical enigma.

One interesting thing I found the other day was that at the battle of Lexington, Missouri in 1861, Sterling Price (commanding a Confederate Missouri regiment) encountered Robert Smith (commanding a Union Illinois regiment). Robert Smith had been the leader of the Carthage Greys back in 1844! So former Mormon persecutors were pitted against each other during the Civil War. Very interesting.

Addendum

This picture is too funny! Lindy posted it on her blog and I had to post it on mine because it is so perfect :-) Poor Riles had kind of a rough miniature golfing evening, but I'm sure we'll all look back on it with fond memories. Camden and Riley are too cute! And Lindy was so nice to get the ball that I hit into the stickery weeds right next to the freeway.

Good Golfing Times

Nate, Lindy, Camden, Riley, and I had such a fun time miniature golfing last night!!! The girls were especially excited about their pink golf clubs.

Riley had a bit of a meltdown by the time we got to hole #2, but golfing was so much fun that her meltdowns wouldn't last very long :-)









Camden and Riley both developed the very smart technique of getting the ball where you want it to go by walking up and placing it there with your hands--much easier than with the long, awkward clubs!







Everybody was especially happy by the time we got to Cinderella's castle. They were a little sad that you couldn't actually go inside the castle yourself, but it was fun to send the ball in there. Lindy and Nate are excellent miniature golfers, as are Camden and Riley--it must be in those Barrett jeans. I was the only one who hit a ball off the course and into the bushes, but other than that once I did pretty good :-) It was great to have a relaxing evening with some of my favorite people in the whole world!


Today I worked at Camp Floyd all day, and it was a bit tiring because it was history camp and it was 100 degrees outside!

Speaking of Camp Floyd, here is a picture of the infamous 1858 potatoes. Nasty to the max! If you see potatoes like that at the store (or anywhere else), DO NOT eat them.