WIDE OPEN SPACES OF WYOMING

Dear Family,

Well guys have to have fun too! This last Friday I was invited by the leadership of one of our Single Adult Wards to go on a level playing field maintenance expedition in Wyoming.

One of the group had interest in a large ranch in Wyoming, east of Fort Bridger. They have about 600 acres under hay and get about 2000 tons of hay each year. There are lots of groundhogs there and they can ruin a field so we tried to ease the problem. You remember how the woodchucks in Michigan used to dig up our hay field and once I lost a tire from the baler when it jammed onto a woodchuck hole.

We had this Discovery Land Rover like the one I had but this one is built! As you can see, there is a platform on top and a shooting bench attached securely. This is the Wyoming equivalent to the Florida Swamp Buggy hunting vehicles. One guy sat up there and we drove around the edges of the field and he would have us stop and then there was a lot of action. These men had vision and the eyes of eagles and could spot the little critters with naked eyes in the grass. I had a hard time seeing some of them but if they were fat and sitting on top of their mounds, I could see them. I did my shooting from a stick as it would have taken a crane to get me up there.

These were the wide open spaces of Wyoming. And as the song goes, "Where the deer and the antelope play".. There were deer everywhere and there were antelope all around. There were a lot of small antelope that could hide in 3 inches of grass. It was great to see all that wildlife.

After a successful varmit control effort, we made it back in time so I could take Mom to a dinner and Theater with our old missionary friends as a Friday night date.

The activity in the Single Adult Stake and wards is picking up. We gave our first talk last week. The Stake Presidency had made 129 new callings to get the stake off the ground. We spoke at a Riverton ward that was packed. I have been busy this month with Patriarchal Blessing to this group. It is wonderful.

Big Father's Day dinner Sunday and all are coming that live close. Ribs and roast which I
though would be appropriate for Father's Day. Love you all

Dad