Seeking Nectar

 

            Today was about seeking nectar. This is something John Kim talks about often. To seek nectar is to go and do something the brings you joy and helps you recharge. A few weeks ago, Shelby and I were going to go for a canyon drive on a Sunday. However, due to a weekend of eating like absolute trash, I was in no shape to journey into the wild. So that adventure happened today. 
            

            We were going to go for a canyon drive today. However, on our way to gas up and get coffee, I mentioned Iosepa to Shelby. I told them that it wasn't too bad of a drive from home and that a cemetery is all that really remains of the town. Apparently cemetery was the magic word because the canyon plans went out the window, and we headed out to Skull valley.  

            Iosepa is located in Skull Valley. This land is as unforgiving as it sounds. Take a moment and read that sign. It is a very short description of this settlement. Kind of odd that they would leave home and then just return when a temple was built, right? The people who left home to come to the "Promised land" went through hell to get here, and it literally killed some of them trying to start this new life. 

    

                 All that remains of this settlement is the cemetery. It seems like it is still an active cemetery as well. The second picture up is of a grave site from October of this year.  There is a pavilion, some bathrooms and some very old playground equipment on this site. Every Memorial Day, the local Polynesian community comes together to decorate the cemetery and hold a celebration for those ancestors. While that sign giving the brief history of the settlement and all of this sounds well and good, it is all very whitewashed. 

            This settlement was very progressive. The people dug a lake, made irrigation canals and made the land flourish. All around the valley you will see church owned Ensign Ranch locations in operation in what was once a barren land. Utah in this time period was very segregated in many ways. I can not do justice to this story the way Richard Markosian can. For an in depth read on this, please take a look at his article. Linked here.  Iosepa: Why Hawaiian Mormon Pioneers Were Evicted

            This trip was a wake-up call for me to dig deeper. I had been here once before, but never knew how tragic this tale really was. These people raised $1,400 for the construction of the temple but were still labeled as a "Bad investment". No one is perfect, and the same can be said for many organizations. But I still can not wrap my mind around this story. 

            Now that I have that off my chest, let's try to get back to something a little more light-hearted. We explored some of the open dirt roads in the area and found some amazing sandstone nearby. 

                Getting out in nature and exploring off the beaten past is definitely seeking nectar for Shelby and me. After we collected our fill of sandstone, we hit the road and headed out past the cemetery. Eventually a closed down gas station caught my eye and in the far corner of the parking lot I spied another grave road without a fence. This led us to an old gravel pit with some abandoned equipment, including two old beds from cement mixers. I joked that I was sorry to drag Shelby out to such a boring location and that we did not need to stop and look around. In true rock hound spirit, Shelby told me, "I could leave them out there, they had cell phone reception and could find a ride home when they were ready." So we stopped and looked around. 

            I looked up this location on Google Maps when I got home. I realized if we took the gravel road farther and hung a left, we would have found the old reservation graveyard. So now we have something new to check out the next time we go out that way. We stopped at a few more places on the way out of Skull Valley. Shelby humored me and let us stop at a massive rock formation that caught my eye.  

           I absolutely loved getting out of the house with Shelby today. We are supposed to take Scot with us next time. After Shelby sent pictures to him of the cemetery, I think he might actually riot if we go exploring without him next time. The conversation, music, sights and car karaoke were much needed today. I am tired but the best kind of tired. Today we lived.

            I have a deep appreciation for Shelby. Shelby is non-binary and prefers they/them pronouns. While this is new to me, thankfully Shelby is very understanding and does not get upset with me when I mess up. Another byproduct of this is that we refer to each other as partners, vs the traditional boyfriend or girlfriend titles. This relationship has been absolutely amazing. The love, respect and appreciation we show for each other is refreshing after my prior dating experiences. Well, today is part of that oh so delightful daylight savings time experience. 10 PM is the new 9 PM, so I am probably heading for bed soon. Thanks for stopping in to read. If you too have a love for off-road adventures and local history, we would love to make others off-road friends to go adventure with!   

Bishop :(: