Three weeks later... but worth the wait!

Doug and I with a little part of the Niagara River
behind us. We don't look near as tired as we did
at the end of the day! It was a bright, beautiful day.
We could hardly keep our eyes open with the sun!
(It only took me 3 weeks to post the pictures!)


This kind of says it all! Believe me, it is a lot of
water going over the edge... that American Falls
is the "small part" of Niagara Falls!


Overlooking American Falls. The next pictures
are taken from right down there at the corner of the
platform. Those aren't ants... they're people.


Going over the edge... American Falls. It was pretty
impressive to see all that water. In the background
is the observation deck and the bridge to Canada.


Looking down from the American Falls to the platforms
below... Yes those are people down there. We didn't go
down there... Way too many stairs for me! Besides you
get soaking wet. Sometimes the mist covered all of the
platforms down there!!!


Looking down on American FAlls... See the pretty
rainbow?! Nice sunny days are so great!


I was game to hike up the stairs, but Doug wouldn't
let me. It was probably a good thing in the long run.
I might not have made it back to the car and he wouldn't
have wanted to carry me! (As if he could!)


From the "ground" level... notice the stairway with people
on them going up to the top of the platform... (it was about half
way up the falls.) Big!


Our first look at Horseshoe Falls! Look how little the
people are from this viewpoint... The next picture is with
us standing down near the corner where all the people are
looking over the edge!


Just before the "drop off" right by the edge of viewing
platform! Yikes! Don't fall in. I was going crazy with some
of the stupid parents putting their little kids up on the railing
so they could take a picture! It wasn't good for a recovering
heart patient!!!


Here we are.... It is pretty amazing!


Horseshoe Falls making the turn back to the American
side... It looks like there is only a few inches of water
flowing over the edge, but it is a few feet of water...
Probably three feet!


The mist lifted all of a sudden and we were able to see
some of the falls clearly. (Canadian edge) You can't see the
American edge very well unless you are Canada... That is out
of our mission so I guess we will have to come back another
time! :)


Looking toward the Canadian side of Horseshoe Falls.
It wraps around to where the people are standing behind
me... It is BIG! The boat is one of the "Maid of the Mist"
boats!


Looking the other direction back to American Falls.
You can see the observation tower and the bridge that
goes over to Canada from here.


Zoomed in... Looking back from Horseshoe Falls to the American
Falls. You can really see the rocks from here. The
"bridge like thing" with the blue-green tower is an
observation deck so you can look out over the falls. You
can also go down to the "ground level" from elevators there.


Doug and I.... Self Portrait! It's a good thing Doug has
long arms so we both "fit in the picture."


On the observation deck... You would just stand there
and look out... You couldn't take your eyes off of the falls!
Maybe it was because I hadn't been out much for a few
months or something!?!?


Looking from the observation deck across American
Falls to the Canadian side of Horseshoe Falls. Wow!
Definately worth the trip!


After a long day of seeing the sites. Water, grapes, peaches
in a can... it tasted like heaven! Doug and I were impressed
that I made it! I am getting stronger each day now! It is
wonderful!


Doug taking my "standard picture" at the entrance to
the grove! Each time you go into the grove you just
feel the calmness that is there! Especially this early
when no one else is there!!!


Doug at the entrance to the grove. It was a bright day...
the first one in weeks!! "Oh how lovely was the morning..."


Early morning in the grove... Peaceful!


As we walked through the grove we came to this spot
where the sun was shining through the trees illuminating
the ground. It was so peaceful and beautiful. "When above
me standing in the air...."


This is a tree that is old enough to have been in
the grove when Joseph knelt down to pray and had his
visitation from God the Father and His son Jesus Christ.
There are a few of them left. They are called
"Witness Trees!"


This is a marker that is at the foot of the "Witness Tree."
(But you didn't see it from me... they no longer want people
to know where the markers are...)


We went for an early morning walk through the grove and
as we walked back to the car on Stafford Road this picture
just had to be taken. "Moroni trumpeting in the early morning
sky!" It was really beautiful!


Hill Cumorah Monument. Soon the flowers will be
gone and the leaves will be red instead! We have had
such cloudy, misty days that we just had to take some
pictures of "blue sky."


A beautiful sunny day at the top of Hill Cumorah looking
out to the Northwest. Just think what it will look like
when all the leaves are in color!


Just a few of the leaves are turning on Hill Cumorah. When
the sun shines through them they look like they are on fire or
electric! Wow!


This is the first tree that I noticed turning red. It happened
overnight, I swear! Each day there are more trees making
the change... It is going to be something to see!















Dinner with the Thomas. We really do some missionary work!
This is a family that we are working with to try to reactivate them.
The daughters husband is in Air Force Officers Training and has
been going with the members of the Church to Sunday meetings.
Maybe he will be the person to bring them all back to the church!

September 4, 2006
Ok! It took me longer than a week to get back to a letter… I’ve been busy with the missionary work, naps, cardiac rehab, naps, church lessons, and naps! Actually, I have been busy, but it seems nice to be busy. I have felt very good for the last few weeks which is a wonderful thing. I do well until about 11:30 – 12… then I all of a sudden run out of gas. If I go and take a nap for 1 ½ to 2 hours then I am up and going again. When we have a morning shift, I am usually very tired by the time we get home and practically drop into bed. But resting rejuvenates me so I can "start again" and continue till bedtime. What used to take so long to walk now takes us only a short 20 minutes… I think we may have to lengthen our walk! (about ¼ of what we walked today used to take us 35 minutes!) So you can see that I am doing so much better!

About three weeks ago we took our P-day and went to Niagara Falls. It was awesome! It was almost hypnotic watching it. We need some of that water in the west! I think I told you last time, (but I will again anyway) one fifth of the fresh water in the world flows over Niagara Falls. That is pretty hard to believe isn’t it!?! And for all you "little kids" out there… 1,000,000 bathtubs would be filled to overflowing every second from the water flowing over the falls! I have seen beautiful waterfalls in the west and other places, but the sheer volume of Niagara Falls is unbelievable! I just kept thinking… "If we could get this water out west, it would make it as green as New York!" I wish that the pictures could really show you the power, noise and beauty that are in the falls. I am convinced that there is no way that they can. Surely I have made you all want to hurry out here to visit me before I go home so that you can see Niagara Falls!

Fall is in the air. The temperatures have dropped and the humidity did, too. It has been really nice to be outside for the last couple of weeks (instead of being soaking wet and melting). We have a few trees starting to turn orange and red. It makes us anxious to see all of the trees in fall colors. It promises to be spectacular. Everyone that has been here during a fall season tells us that it is glorious to see. (Am I making you want to come see me again!?!?)

We can’t believe that we have less than two months before we leave for home. The last few weeks will be absolutely crazy. I haven’t figured out how you live in an apartment and clean it up for the next missionaries at the same time. I mean, you still have to sleep, shower, wash clothes, cook, etc. We are starting to try to figure out what we can send home so that we won’t have to have it in the Jeep all the way home. Our release date (the day we leave here) is October 24th. We will be going to Ohio to see Jeff and Laura and then hopefully to Mississippi to see all of the Blair Packs. Then home. We are thinking that we will be home around November 10th. (We possibly will get on the road and be like a horse on the way back to the barn… so there is a possibility that we could be there sooner. Don’t look for us until you see the whites of our eyes I guess.)

We each gave a lesson on Sunday. Doug taught Gospel Doctrine and I taught Relief Society. Next week I teach Gospel Doctrine so there is no time to waste. (the two weeks after that we each have a Gospel Principles lesson to give.) With General Conference and Stake Conference in October, we are hoping to "get out of Dodge" without having to speak in Sacrament Meeting. They have to be sick of us by now! We love our ward and it will be hard to leave them, but at the same time we are happy about going home, too. It is strange. Hopefully I won’t talk about leaving again until it is a little closer, but time is going so fast that we need to be getting ready to leave at the same time. Weird!

We have had some wonderful missionary experiences these last few weeks… I leave all the good stuff for Doug, and I tell you about all the "fluff". We hope that you are all doing well. See you soon! All our love, dnd