PART 2: FINDING ST. JOHN'S

Fast-forward six days to the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend.

Friday night we left after dinner and travelled as far as Holbrook, where we stayed at a Howard Johnson’s Motel.  We made good time and were able to get to bed before 11:00.

Breakfast the next morning had sausage and scrambled eggs along with muffins and juice.  It provided a good start for what would prove to be quite a long day.

Our first stop on the way to Monument Valley, a 3+ hour trip, was the historic Hubbel Trading Post.  It was a fascinating place, famous for its namesake and all he did to serve the Native Americans.  It was interesting and educational.

Next Stop was the Canyon De Chelles (De Shay), an amazing geographic phenomenon, beautiful on its own, but also home to ruins from ancient native civilizations and to farms of current natives as well.

By the time we got to Monument Valley the wind had kicked up considerably, and we found that you had to pay $20.00 even to visit the visitor’s center, so we cut our losses, and photographed what we could from just outside the park.

We made our way back to Holbrook, and went to a steakhouse that had been recommended…but when we saw the prices ($23.00 a plate at the lower end), we walked out, went to Safeway and got some pre-cooked ribs, and had a nice dinner in our motel room, including individual servings of Blue Bunny Ice Cream.  The day was a success.  

Sunday we had breakfast, checked out of the Howard Johnson’s, and headed to St. John’s to attend church with what we hoped would be some extended family.  I am grateful to say that this part of 

the state is also at a higher elevation, and we experienced some wonderful temperatures throughout our visit there.  We were extended a warm welcome from the Ward we attended, and our gospel principles class was taught by my other third cousin, Neil’s brother Delbert (locals call him Deb to avoid confusion with his father, whose name was also Delbert).  We also met a couple of Stradling relatives there, and had a really good time. 

After church we sat out in our car in the shade in front of the church and ate our snacks.  We couldn’t check into our motel in Springerville until 2:00, so we drove up to the cemetery to see what we could see.  We were delighted to find a very detailed directory posted there, so that with only a little effort we were able to locate my great grandfather’s headstone, as well as what we believed to be a brother to Rose, and a woman we later discovered to be the brother’s wife.

We left about 1:15, and arrived at our Motel in Springerville at 1:45.  They were kind enough to let us check in early, and we rested a bit before heading over to the home of a couple of Jeanne’s Fraedrich connections, Chuck and Beverly Martin, who lived just a few miles away in Eager.  They had invited us to dinner, and we joined them, a daughter and her husband and grand-daughter.  The company was wonderful and the food delicious.  After dinner Chuck and Beverly treated us to a tour of the Eager area, very interesting.   

Around 7:00 we made our way back to our motel and settled in for the night, watching a couple of Time-Life infomercials on Carol Burnette and Bob Hope.

On Monday morning, Memorial Day, we once again checked out of our motel early, then went over to Beverly and Chuck’s home for a couple of photos we forgot to take the day before.   We stopped by Safeway for supplies and for flowers to place and my forbearers’ gravesites.  After some quiet moments there, we embarked on our trip home which took us by the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, both of which were worthy of a stop and gander, and in some instances, have your breath taken away. 

We arrived home in good time, about 5:00, grateful for two weekends of strengthening weakened strands of family connections, and of the prospects of continuing to nourish    

those connections.