(kid drawings)
My first adventure Tuesday, August 17, 2004 on the swing

-Katarina?

(more kid drawings)

I set the table and Buddie helped me and his name is Eric
(More Kid drawings)

-Katarina?

6-7 August 2004

Came to relax and enjoy the beauty of the cabin. While we were here we fixed the stove, and the shower, painted miscellaneous items and Roland repainted the trim on the Honeymoon cabin. But mostly we just enjoyed being here.

Until next time
Roland & Nellie

4 July 2004

Everyone else was busy and had other plans – but we couldn’t resist – we came back to the cabin and enjoyed a glorious 4th. We roasted hotdogs and steak. We had cabin breakfast and we even went to church in Long Valley.

This is the BEST place!

Roland & Nellie

I am a happy man here!! Roland

A couple of notes: (1) Check out Nellie’s decorating in the honeymoon cabin – especially the new curtains. (2) You’ll find a new blue couch in the front room. (3) We made an attempt to fix the oven door on the woodstove. It seems like it’s working okay now. But go easy on it. (4) Also remember to empty the ash box on the stove. It was filled to the brim and spilling out. Have fun!!
No bears or lions.
Roland

30 June 2004

This is Elder and Sister Lee (Nellie and Roland) back from our 18 month mission to Central California. We loved our mission but we dreamed almost daily about coming once again to this lovely oasis. Our memories must be dimming, because it is not just lovely, it is fabulous! The weather has been ideal and the flying creatures have been minimal. As we arrived yesterday the sky was turbulent with soaring thundercloud and we unloaded the truck to a delightful and refreshing rainstorm. The air stayed cool and breezy into the evening and we enjoyed a big bright moon to light our way to the potty before bed. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

We appreciate all those who have taken care of the cabin, and we enjoyed reading all the journal entries. The only thing more fun than enjoying the cabin ourselves is to know that others love it too! Special thanks to Uncle Jim for his copious and loquatious essays in his cabin exploits. However, I think his comments on “toxic pee”, “foraging for faggots” and tales of grizzly bears and mountain lions may be the products of an aging (70??) mind – or maybe just too much Cerveza. I’m quite old myself and have been visiting the cabin for years and have NEVER seen a bear, or a mountain lion. However, I have been stuck in the snow and mud a few times. That part is true!

The cabins are in wonderful shape. Just a few major projects remain such as finishing the stair rails in the “kids cabin”. By the way, Nellie and I had new signs made for all the cabins which we installed last night. Since we no longer have teens, we renamed the teen cabin “The Kids Cabin”.

We also repaired both outhouse doors – one of which had blown off its hinges. I don’t know if it was the winter wind or the result of Uncle Jim’s chili! Anyway, it’s good to go! Jim Lee had framed up some topo maps and an aerial photo of the Ponderosa, which are now hung in the main cabin. You will also find a new “sky chair” hanging under the Pinion Tree at the main cabin. That is also a delightful and relaxing gift from Jimmie. We repaired the old picnic table and re-stacked the rocks around Jodi and Kyle’s firepit. Nellie raked and swept everywhere and cleaned up all the cabins. We’re hoping our kids will come back with us this weekend for the 4th of July. I think last year on our mission was the first 4th of July in many years that we didn’t spend at the cabin.

A few notes on flora and fauna. We have lots of wildflowers all over. We were pleased to even see some poppies which were the result of seeds we scattered before our mission. The scrub oaks look lush and green, but the Ponderosas seem a little anemic. The pesky squirrel is still trying to get in for a treat. We know why, now that we find that Uncle Jim leaves a cube of butter and chips sitting on the table when he leaves. Duh! Lots of lizards, but no snakes. No bear or lions (of course) either…and no bear tracks! So LuAnne and Jennie can come back now. There was a small lightning fire yesterday in Jolley’s Gulch. We reported it at the lodge but they had already called it in. Well, Nellie is reading, reading, reading and I’m dozing off. So till next time…
Nellie & Roland

May 30, 2004
Well, we’re all packed up and ready to go home. Boo! Michael and I have had a great time here the last two nights. We came on Friday may 28th. Michael had been itching to get his telescope up here since he got it for Christmas. He gets frustrated with the street lights at home, interfering with his good view. Unfortunately, clouds came in Friday and made it hard. Even Thursday night was a little disappointing due to the moon being so bright. However, as Michael said, “we have a lot more visits ahead of us”. So I guess that secures the thought of many years ahead enjoying this place. Everything looks so great! The hard work on the cabin has definitely paid off. We appreciate it so much. Thankyou all. The teen cabin is so cool. Looks like a little house. Very comfortable! The deck, railings, fire pit, fresh paint, high ceiling in main cabin – everything looks so new and fresh – your Grandpa Rogers would be so proud! The main cabin looks so warm with the red, white & blue décor. I love the bedspreads, pillows, and wonderful wall hanging above the kitchen table and all the knickknacks. Even the hooks behind the door were appreciated. But the toy chest takes the prize. What fun it was to walk in the door and see it bursting with toys. So much life has been lived here.
I guess I was in a nostalgic mood, because I sat down and read this journal front to back. Loved every minute…except…I’m with Jennie… some information is just too much. I’m speaking primarily of the bear stories! The thought of bears visiting in the night kept me awake more than I wanted to be. However Jennie’s warning prompted me to make sure I wouldn’t have to visit the outhouse in the night. Thanks Jennie. No thanks Jim. Could have done without the references to lions too. By the way Jim, about the wild beast you courageously slew? Does he have a brother?
Michael found a book “Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars” in the cupboard. It added to the fun. I brough a box of pictures and memorabilia from the last year and we scrapbooked – a fitting activity for our 1 year anniversary. May 24, 2003 to May 24, 2004. No flies, no bees, no bears, no lions – just beautiful breezes and wonderful wonderful silence!

Aunt LuAnne

“That which does not kill us, only makes us strong”
Run that by me again.
“That which does not kill us, only makes us strong.”

As we speak I am teetering between towering strength and death. I pulled into the Rocking R 3 days ago with my little car boiling and smoking. Something is dreadfully wrong.

I unpacked, read my books, wrote some things, had a couple of really gourmet dinners, walked around a little, had some really nice naps and now must face reality. I can’t make it home without my car burning up. I am many miles from help. I just checked my AAA card and it expired July 1, 2003. Everything I know about automotive repair would fit in your ear. Is this the time when living a blameless life and believing in a merciful God pays off? We’ll find out won’t we. “Oooh Boy”

-Uncle Jim

14-15-16 May 04
1 Turkey (Big)
Biting Flies
Chainsaws
Cloudy/Windy

Repaired damage to shower by vandals? Killed wild beast tat was rolling up balls of cotton collected from my bed. There would have been no problem if the foolish creature had not run across my face when I was sleeping.

Uncle Jim

5 May 2004 HOT!

Well, we sure hope Uncle Jim made it home okay. We’d sure miss his record entries if he didn’t. Jennie and Jason came up for an overnighter and we invited our good friends Cory, Laura & Johnathan. They are going to stay tonight too, but we are leaving. Hope the cabin survives…he..he… Oh! This is Emma’s first trip to the cabin, so she’s here too. Her paranoid parents brought her pack-n-play with a mosquito netting over the top. That’s where she slept, and sleep she did! She slept all night. What a good girl! Emma is having a good time. She loves being outside and enjoys all the new sounds, sights & smells. Sheesh, that makes her sound like a dog. She sure is cute! So it was 108 degrees F when we left St. George yesterday at 4:00pm. It’s very hot here too, but not that bad. Us northerners are melting, though. Anyway, we need to get going, so I’ll wrap up. We didn’t get killed by any bears or lions. We didn’t even hear or see any. Oh well. We did hear a wild beast of some sort in the kitchen. It ran away when we came in though. Well, until the fall (when it cools off), we’ll leave you.

Love,
Jennie, Jason & Emma Maestri

13 April 2004
James Dale Aikens was born 13 April 1934 and if you do the math you will see that he is today, 70 years old. (That is really old).
Are you thinking to yourself, “oh that poor old man celebrating his 70th birthday all alone in the wilds of Utah?” think again.
Isn’t this the place old Unk Jim loves so very much? A place with only happy memories and a lot of them. I have an ample supply of my favorite beverage (hic) ad food and a foodie book Ruskin has loaned me, a novel “Antelope Woman” by the fabulous Louise Erdrich, and a spiral notebook. I have already finished writing my column (It is supposed to be in by Friday, but I’m not going home till then but the editor has been nice about lateness before). It is a little coolish (sweats rather than shorts and tee shirts). But beautiful beyond belief. I awoke this morning to the sweet sound of birds. Gobble. Gobble. I sprung out of bed and rushed outside but I couldn’t see anybody. The naughty squirrel has showed up. A might supply of fine wood has appeared. The huge ponderosa that was poisoned by Uncle Roland’s toxic pee was hit by huge winds and branches knocked off. Some of whom landed on the outhouse roof. Not to worry, grandpa built things to last. Not a mark. However the wood was broken into stone sized pieces so I was not forced to go forage for wood. This is a good thing, because I recently (Friday) had surgery to remove another exhausted and useless body part and was admonished by the M.D. not to work too much.
The same mighty wind (I am guessing) knocked the door off the other outhouse, ripped it right off the hinges.

There are deep tire ruts in the driveway. I suspect that Jon did not heed my warning about deep snow and came to see for himself. I have a hideous tale to tell of sliding off the road in deep snow hiking many miles for help and suffering great expense to pay the front loader from the resort to pull me out. A pitiful tale best forgotten.

Uncle Jim

December 23, 2003
Two days until Ho, Ho, HO. I came to stay a couple but it is very cold. Snowy. Muddy. Sunny. Pretty. I’m going home.

Interesting note.
I saw some very large tracks coming up out of the gully and going under the house about where the woodbox is. I was taking off my flipflops and putting on my boots when I heard a thump and a crash. Just then I remembered that I had seen the tracks going in. I did not see the tracks coming out. I locked all the doors and sat on the bed for a long time. Nothing came to eat me so I took a little nap. I looked under the deck. No bear. Here I go home. Good-bye
Love Unc