 |
| Sunrise Fish Creek Reservoir |
June 27-29, 2019
This year the reunion was put on by Jennifer at Fish Creek Reservoir. Fish Creek Reservoir is a lake where we frequently used to go camping and fishing when we were kids. It usually grows fish pretty fast once they are planted there. The last several years there has not been enough water in it to do much and recently they have made it so it could hold water again. The level of the reservoir is still lower than what it was when we were kids but you can put a small boat on it now.
 |
| Morning Reflection on Fish Creek Reservoir, taken with Iphone |
My family did not arrive until Thursday afternoon on the 27th. It is about 3.5 hours to drive there. Those that came were myself, Katy and Quinn. Teresa had to stay home because we have too many employees that are too new and she didn't want a wreck when we came back. Macey had some other commitment as well. We left kind of late in the morning as we still had to pack up a lot of stuff. I decided not to take the Wildcat since the roads around there are so dusty, and to take the pontoon boat instead. The kids wanted to take their home-made kayaks too. It was a little difficult in getting them and the pontoon boat all in one load since they are so awkward in shape. I ended up using the Wildcat trailer to put the pontoon boat on and all the camping gear and then the kayaks in the back of the truck. I had to tie everything in weird places because the trailer has lots of gaps where things could slide out. Plus I had to have the tailgate down to fit the kayaks.
We got it all loaded and then headed out. It was a nice day of driving and we made it all the way across the desert to Arco without hitting a deer. We fueled up in Arco and headed across the next stretch past Craters of the Moon, and about 5 miles before Carey turned off the highway north, onto a dirt road. Its only a few miles to the reservoir from there. I was really surprised to see a whole bunch of campers and tents already in the spot we were going to camp and at first thought I was in the wrong place. Usually we are one of the first to show up. Then I realized we usually would show up on Wednesday and this was Thursday so, yes, everybody should be there. We drove through the gate on the dusty road to the campsite and then kind of went around and to the south side of the main group. There were some really nice flat areas that we could set our tents up. You could tell the water used to come up that high because of the scarcity of vegetation and the flatness of the soil.
We set up a small tent for each of us, since there were only three of us. It was more compact to load the truck with three small backpacking tents than to bring the big family sized tent. We set up the canopy and the kitchen. It only took a few minutes but since we were out in the open and the wind could blow really hard I went around and asked for some big stakes to borrow to hold the canopy down. Jennifer had some and they were stout so I pounded them in the ground.
We cooked hamburgers that night and realized we had forgotten all seasonings. We did have a bag of really salty sour cream and onion Lay's brand potato chips so I crunched them up into the hamburgers. Quinn was supposed to cook since he had a rank advancement he was working on, but it ended up being more me and Katy doing it. He did help clean a little though. The hamburgers turned out to be pretty decent with the chips in them.
 |
| Sunset with the Roberts' family reunion |
Dad came over sometime after we ate and we rode with him over to some small cliffs overlooking the reservoir. We climbed down to them and fished there for a little while but the wind started blowing obnoxiously and we decided to quit. A lot of other family members had come over as well and I don't think anybody caught any fish but a rattle snake did show up. Dad told me that earlier they had found one or two rattlesnakes down by the beach area and Morgan had shot one. There is a photo of it in his set.
We talked to a few people after supper and by then David had showed up. He was the last one to get here after me. All family member siblings were present but we were missing a few people here and there from each family that had to work or had other commitments.
There was a pretty good sunset so I set up the tripod and took a few pictures with my 5D Mark IV camera. I went to bed after that as Katy and Quinn were already snoring. I slept really good on my new Thermarest pad which is mainly for backpacking but it inflates higher than my standard pad. Quite amazing technology and it's supposed to have a high R value for winter camping.
 |
| Sunrise |
I woke up before 6 am the next morning and looked out. It had the makings of a really good sunrise which stinks because if that happens I can never go back to sleep in case of a good photo opportunity. Of course it just fizzled and there was no really good sunrise but I got out and took some photos anyway. I got some shots with my phone looking out my tent door and they are the crooked ones. I then got my Canon and the tripod and got some nice shots as well. I would say they are not spectacular but I do like them.
 |
| Phone pic sunrise from tent |
 |
| Phone pic out of tent door while I'm lying there. |
 |
| The rest are morning pics from the DSLR |
 |
| All of my camp. My tent on left, canopy, truck then Katy and Quinn's tent. All the campers and other tents belong to the rest of the family |
 |
| My camp |
 |
| One of my favorites |
 |
| One of my other favorites. Quinn's tent in foreground and David's camp in background |
 |
| Katy and Quinn's tents |
 |
| Dust from a leaving vehicle |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| Currant bush |
After breakfast we went out walking and looking for somewhere to put in the kayaks and the pontoon boat. Dad drove over and told us there was a spot over by the dam where we could get it in. He was headed over there with his and Jennifer was with him. We hopped in the truck and pulled the trailer over where he was and was able to get the pontoon and kayaks in with minimal effort. The mud was pretty gooey though but we got through it ok.
The kids scooted out in their kayaks and as kayaks are so fast they were out there a long ways before I was. Dad also was out there a long ways and so I paddled across the water before getting out my fly rod. I put on a dry fly that looked kind of like a mayfly but after awhile had no success. I noticed the wind was moving us pretty fast along the shoreline so decided to try trolling with a fly. I found a really big heavy black bead-headed stonefly and put it on. It sank probably 5 or 6 feet down since I only have regular fly line on. It was low enough though and before long I had a hit. The difficult thing in those pontoon boats is you can't row and fish at the same time (which really is in any boat). I had my rod in a holder that is rubberized and sticky and so when you go to grab it, it takes a sec to get it out. By then the fish is off. So I missed a couple good hits before hooking my first fish.
 |
| Dad on his pontoon |
 |
| Quinn and Katy in their home-made kayaks |
 |
| Jennifer after we put dad in |
 |
| My trailer and pontoon boat |
Finally, on one of the next good hits, I set the hook properly and fought with a nice brook trout for awhile. It was pretty good sized and unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of it. I kept it to eat later as it was obviously not a planter. It later turned out to be a very tasty fat hunk of meat. I do have it in my video but you cannot see it very good. It had bright colors and I'm guessing was around 13-14 maybe 15 inches. It was heavy and strong. We had a hard time getting it in as I had forgotten my net. (Seems like I forget a lot of things these days). Dad paddled over to me and was able to net it. It was kind of hard catching a fish while trying to keep my pontoon in the right spot so he could get close enough to net it. But in reality, it turned out to be easier for the other guy to net the fish than to net it yourself in the pontoon boat. We ended up teaming up like that on the next few fish.
After putting the brookie on the stringer I started fishing again. Dad was asking me what I was using and so I told him. I did not have another and he did not have one he could get to easy enough and so he started paddling ashore so he could dig into his boxes of flies and find one. I kept fishing and the same thing would happen and I would get a hit and then not be able to grab the pole fast enough. It was still fun and its always a good feeling when you find a fly that will work well.
Tragedy soon struck however, when something huge hit my fly and before I could even grab the pole the line was hitting me in the face. Something had grabbed my fly and had snapped it off with so much force that it had bent my pole like a bow and shot the line toward me like an arrow. I was quite sad to lose that fly. It had caught me a lot of fish over the years, especially in high mountain lakes. In my bag in the truck I knew I had another but it was a long paddle back to the truck. I went over to where dad was and found he had a whole box of big black similar flies, both with bead heads and without. He had tied one on without a bead head. I grabbed a more showy one with a bead head about the same size as the one I lost. It was probably an inch and a quarter in length. We started out fishing again and before long I had another hit. Dad had gotten out sooner but had not gotten any bites so he switched to a bead head. Not long after he got a strike but had the same problem of getting to the pole fast enough.
Bam!! Suddenly I had a huge hit and my fly came out of the water. I flipped it back immediately, and BAM! The same fish hit it again and with my pole in hand hooked him easily. It turned out to be a rainbow a little bit bigger than the brookie but also heavy and fat. Dad netted him for me again. We started rowing up-wind back toward the dam which was a long ways away. I decided since we had been out on the water a long time I wanted to get closer to the truck. I had a few more hits but was unable to hook another. We had paddled quite a ways toward the dam when dad finally hooked into one. I ended up netting him. I wish we had the kids around and they could have video'd our teamwork but they had left long ago and had taken the video camera with them. This turned out to be the biggest fish of the day, about an inch bigger than my rainbow, and it was also a rainbow.
We ended up going back to the beach and loading up after dad caught his fish. We'd been on the water quite awhile and my legs were getting pretty sunburned. The wind was also kicking up. We got our stuff out of the water and some other people in a big fifth-wheel camper had showed up on the beach and were waiting for us to move so they could camp there. They had also parked another vehicle right in the road that lead back to our camp. Not too big of a deal, there weren't too many rocks so I started going around in the sage brush. All of a sudden I heard honking and thought maybe somebody was trying to tell me I was headed for disaster. It turned out to be a mad guy coming from the other way also wanting to go the way I was. He started honking and yelling. I had made Katy get out and check for rocks or holes but once I heard him yelling I just told her to get back in and went on my way. Pretty soon that guy came up behind me and was tailgating me as I slowly made my way down the bumpy road. He soon pulled off at a spot that looked camp-worthy though, and we forgot about him. I'm amazed at how intolerant people can be sometimes.
 |
| My camp |
We went back to camp and rested until dinner which was going to be combined with the whole camp. We took over our potatoes, chicken and salad for the people preparing it. Most of the dinner was cooked on dutch ovens and turned out to be pretty good. There was cobbler and ice-cream for dessert.
 |
| Quinn wanted to be a cyclops |
After dinner we had a program where Dad conducted and then Katy told a story about William Butler who was an ancestor of ours and an early convert to the church. Rather than re-tell that story I will try to put her notes in this blog at the end. Katy did a good job and spent about 20 minutes telling the story of this pioneer and missionary. After Katy's story Dad had asked James to sing us primary songs, but instead of singing us songs he tried to make us sing them instead. It was good, however and we had fun. Unfortunately, I have no photos of the group or food. I'm slipping.
 |
| Night photos. My tent on left then Katy's is the whitish dome and Quinn's is the yellowish greenish tent |
 |
| My tent on left and then Katy and Quinns |
 |
| One of Hugh's tents in background and then Katy and Quinn |
 |
| David's camp |
 |
| My tent all by itself on a starry night |
Again, I stayed up to photograph the camp at night. There was no sunset but I decided to photograph our glowing tents with the campers in the background. I had each of the kids and myself hang a flashlight in the tents so they glowed. I got some neat photos that way.
We packed up most of camp that evening and by morning we only had a few things to put away and tie down. We woke up and did our few things to pack up and suddenly were ready to go. I think we left before 9 am. We had packed light with only a few things and were still comfortable and had a good time. In the past, we brought so much stuff that it was quite a chore to go camping. I've never had much desire to buy a camper, as a tent and outdoor stove has always been fine. Now I might even go lighter than before from now on.
Hugh's Photos:
Hugh and Morgan sent me some very similar photos. They must have had two people, one from each family, standing side by side taking the same photo on a couple of these. Thanks Hugh.
 |
| Abigail, Kirsten, Evelyn and Troy in the background |
 |
| Logan, Meghan and Chloe |
 |
| Chloe and Meghan |
 |
| Zoey and Jaden |
 |
| Holly |
 |
| Kirsten |
Morgan's Photos
The next series is Morgan's photos. Thank you Morgan. Unfortunately, I did not take many photos of people and so he has lots of his own family's photos and a few others. I'd like to have at least a couple pics from each family. If anybody else would like to send photos I can always add them later. Also I am not sure of the order for Morgan's photos but they can be arranged later if necessary
 |
| Logan fishing |
 |
| Logan, Jennifer and dad in his pontoon. Looks kind of heavy on the back. This might be when he was trying to mount an electric motor on it. |
 |
| Evelyn, Grace, Logan, Jennifer |
 |
| A rattlesnake curled up in the bush |
 |
| You can see it better |
 |
| You can see it a lot better but its dead |
 |
| Grace and some of the other families in the back. James is in the Yellow |
 |
| Meghan, Chloe and Jaden |
 |
| Chad, Quinn, Katy, Dad |
 |
| Logan |
 |
| Grace and Jaden |
 |
| Adam, James, and I believe Alex, Toby, Gavin, Jeremy and Seth |
 |
| Grace |
 |
| Grace, Zoey, Jaden |
 |
| Alvin and the chipmunks |
 |
| Zoey |
 |
| Abigail, Kirsten, Evelyn |
 |
| Morgan and Chloe |
 |
| Logan, Meghan, Chloe |
 |
| Morgan and Chloe |
 |
| Grace |
 |
| Zoey, Logan, Meghan, Chloe |
 |
| Chloe |
 |
| Logan and Dustin |
 |
| Jaden and Grace |
 |
| Chloe and Meghan |
 |
| Gavin |
 |
| Chloe |
 |
| Morgan, Chloe and Grace in their camper |
 |
| Zoey |
 |
| Zoey |
 |
| Abigail, Evelyn and Zoey |
 |
| Chloe, Mom and Grace |
 |
| Mom, Grace and Morgan |
 |
| Logan |
 |
| Chloe |
 |
| Evelyn |
Leigh's Photos:
 |
| Toby and his trident-tailed fish |
 |
| Excited dad |
 |
| Leigh and Jennifer |
 |
| Jackson and Alex |
 |
| Sunset |
 |
| The gang |
 |
| Logan, Dustin, Gavin |
 |
| Holly and Liza |
 |
| Jon and Sherry |
 |
| Jon's rig and a bunch of kids |
Katy's story:
This is how she wrote it. There is a huge story written about him if you would like to read all of it. You can contact Katy or Dad.
William
George Butler
Relation:
Grandpas grandmas (Vincey Miriam Butler)- Vincey’s father (Jonathan Harvey
Butler)- Jonathan’s father William George Butler.
Grandpas 2 great
grandfather
Background: William
was born on August 15, 1825 in Gorey Ireland. When he was 15 his father died,
then five years later is mom died. His father’s business was raising racing
horses. One-year William bet all the money he could borrow into one horse.
Unfortunately, the week that horse was to race it got sick and died. Because of
this misfortune William lost all the money he bet on and was not happy about
it. So, on his 21st birthday he decided to leave and go to Canada.
But, if he would have stayed in Ireland, he would have inherited 118 acers of
land with nice horse stables on it. So, he gave the estate to his little
brother and left.
“I got a job on a river
boat and worked as a stevedore to a town by the name of Richmond, Canada. From
here I went on foot, working my way, until I came to the Saint Lawrence River.
Here again I worked my way to pay my passage to Toronto, Canada. Here I found
my uncles, Henry and Robert Colburne, and we all journeyed to DuPage Co.,
Illinois. When I last heard from them, they were still there. Not being satisfied
to stay here – the spirt of travel being so strong on me, I went still further
west till I came to St. Louis. From thence I took passage on a steamboat for
Council Bluffs.”
“We traveled on to
Council Bluffs. Here I found Orson Hyde organizing companies for the Salt Lake
Valley. He being the first Mormon I had heard preach, I noticed particularly
what he said to the people – the promises he made that they would proceed in
safety on their journey to the end. I also noticed that those who disobeyed his
council brought sickness and death upon themselves.”
So, this when the gospel
first sparked his interest. William then travelled with the saints and tended
to the sick. When they came upon Platte River, they were so worn out that they
decided to rest for 12 days. He decided that this was too long of a wait, so
William and another man left and started on foot.
Bad
Water and Milk
· Pretends
they are William
· Really
thirsty would they drink the bad water?
· Yes,
they get sick and lay in the hot sun
· Travelers
come and give them milk and take care of them
Bear: “We
traveled on till we came to two men travelling alone. We traveled in company
with them until night and then camped in a low place in the brush. One of the
men, and Irishman, got up at midnight to light his pipe. His comrade woke me
and exclaimed, “There is a bear!” Whereupon I called my comrade. We got a
pistol and a knife with the intention of going for the bear, as we supposed,
when to our surprise we found it to be the Irishman, who, seeing the danger he
was in, Exclaimed, “I am not a bear!” Where at we had a good laugh.
Next Day/After Bear: “I
kept gaining strength daily, so that I was enabled to travel with ease. My
companion kept getting worse all the time. With great difficulty I got him
along as far as Green Rover, when we began to get short of provisions. Here we
found a cow that had been left by a company on account of it lameness. We drove
it about a mile to a camp and sold it for five pounds of bacon and fifty cents
in money, which enabled me to get to my journey’s end. A the Green Rover
crossing the ferry man had been murdered for his money, and the ferry boat sunk
by some fasten together with willows. Previous to this we tried to ford the
stream but found it impartible. I took a pole and ferried ourselves a crossed.
The logs sunk under the water up to our knees and in this plight, we got
across. Our p[provisions also got wet and we had to dry them as best we could.”
More Background: “We
traveled on till we came to the head of Echo Canyon. Here I left my companion,
he being sick, with a company we had overtook. I then took my knife and pistol,
tightened my belt, my provisions being about gave out, and started out on a
trot, realizing the importance of getting to the valley as soon as possible.
The last day of my journey I had but an ounce of pork. On this I made my way to
the first house in the valley, where I was treated to a good supper and bed –
the first bed I had slept on since the first of April, 1850 till I landed in
the valley on the 16th of August in 1850. It was just 16 days since
I left Deer Creek on the Platte, a distance of four hundred and twenty miles,
making twenty miles a day. The company I left at Deer Creek did not arrive
until about the last of September. It was Saturday when I arrived. The next
morning I went to a meeting in the Old Bowery on temple Block where I heard the
Elders speaking upon the very things I had passed through and seen on the
plains, especially in regard to those who had persecuted the saints from the
states of Missouri and Illinois.”
“I commenced on the
Monday following to work for Brother Van Cott who lived close by the Temple
Block and who proved to be an honorable man. The next man I worked for was
Chauncey Webb. About the middle of the fist month (September) I was with this
same Brother Webb. I called on him to baptize me in City Creek, Salt Lake City.
I was confirmed under the hands of Bishop Taft Webb.”
“About a month later the
Spirit manifested to me that I had to go back to my native country and the
nations of the earth to preach the Gospel. My answer was, “Oh, Lord, why has
thou called me, for I am uneducated and unqualified.” But the answer was, “The
blood of that people will be required of you if you disobey.” Thereupon I said,
“I am in your hands and will do the best I can.”
On the dedication for the
old tabernacle in Salt Lake City William was able to take the sacrament for the
first time. Before he left on his mission, he needed to earn some money. He
worked in digging drainage and irrigation ditches.
Shipwreck
Now William is on a ship
heading to Ireland. They have been through a couple of storms but, they’ve had
sunny skies for the past couple of days. Until they are almost there and their
shipwrecks on some rocks.
·
Hold your wrecked ship (Sticks)
·
Sit on your rocks
·
Get sprays by the ocean
·
You have to stay there for 3 weeks until
someone can help you
Siblings:
When William arrived in Ireland the first thing, he did was visit his brother
Henry. Henry was on his death bed and would not except the gospel. Henry and
William’s friends told William that he was wrong and a madman. After Henry died
William had a dream that his older brother George was going to pass away. So,
William went to visit him. George also did not listen to William and begged him
to stay home and not go back to the Mormons. William did not back down to his
brothers wishes. Soon George passed away.
England:
After serving some time in Ireland William was then transferred to England.
Here he met his wife Emma. After Emma excepted the gospel they got married,
Emma’s mother did not agree so, they sailed to Boston.
Back to the Valley: Emma
and William left from Iowa City with the handcart companies. William was
appointed to driving the milk cows and the beef cattle. On the trail William
got sick. He told Emma to go on and leave him. So, Emma drove the cattle for
William. A couple of days later William was better and could catch up with the
others. Emma and William safely to Salt Lake Valley. Then later moved to Ogden.
Rainbow: Although it is impossible to reach the end of the rainbow, the rainbow
has since become an Irish symbol of hope. As most people hope to one day find
the riches in the pot, others use the rainbow to signify fulfillment, desire
and purpose. They use this imagery as a way to reach the land beyond, and the
land that holds all of their hopes and dreams.
There are hundreds of symbols in Ireland, but one of the
most important images in the Irish culture is the rainbow. Although largely
associated with the Leprechaun, they also stand on their own two feet as
symbols in themselves…
After breakfast we went out walking and looking for somewhere to put in the kayaks and the pontoon boat. Dad drove over and told us there was a spot over by the dam where we could get it in. He was headed over there with his and Jennifer was with him. We hopped in the truck and pulled the trailer over where he was and was able to get the pontoon and kayaks in with minimal effort. The mud was pretty gooey though but we got through it ok.
The kids scooted out in their kayaks and as kayaks are so fast they were out there a long ways before I was. Dad also was out there a long ways and so I paddled across the water before getting out my fly rod. I put on a dry fly that looked kind of like a mayfly but after awhile had no success. I noticed the wind was moving us pretty fast along the shoreline so decided to try trolling with a fly. I found a really big heavy black bead-headed stonefly and put it on. It sank probably 5 or 6 feet down since I only have regular fly line on. It was low enough though and before long I had a hit. The difficult thing in those pontoon boats is you can't row and fish at the same time (which really is in any boat). I had my rod in a holder that is rubberized and sticky and so when you go to grab it, it takes a sec to get it out. By then the fish is off. So I missed a couple good hits before hooking my first fish.
After putting the brookie on the stringer I started fishing again. Dad was asking me what I was using and so I told him. I did not have another and he did not have one he could get to easy enough and so he started paddling ashore so he could dig into his boxes of flies and find one. I kept fishing and the same thing would happen and I would get a hit and then not be able to grab the pole fast enough. It was still fun and its always a good feeling when you find a fly that will work well. 
We ended up going back to the beach and loading up after dad caught his fish. We'd been on the water quite awhile and my legs were getting pretty sunburned. The wind was also kicking up. We got our stuff out of the water and some other people in a big fifth-wheel camper had showed up on the beach and were waiting for us to move so they could camp there. They had also parked another vehicle right in the road that lead back to our camp. Not too big of a deal, there weren't too many rocks so I started going around in the sage brush. All of a sudden I heard honking and thought maybe somebody was trying to tell me I was headed for disaster. It turned out to be a mad guy coming from the other way also wanting to go the way I was. He started honking and yelling. I had made Katy get out and check for rocks or holes but once I heard him yelling I just told her to get back in and went on my way. Pretty soon that guy came up behind me and was tailgating me as I slowly made my way down the bumpy road. He soon pulled off at a spot that looked camp-worthy though, and we forgot about him. I'm amazed at how intolerant people can be sometimes. 
We packed up most of camp that evening and by morning we only had a few things to put away and tie down. We woke up and did our few things to pack up and suddenly were ready to go. I think we left before 9 am. We had packed light with only a few things and were still comfortable and had a good time. In the past, we brought so much stuff that it was quite a chore to go camping. I've never had much desire to buy a camper, as a tent and outdoor stove has always been fine. Now I might even go lighter than before from now on.
No comments:
Post a Comment