Sorry for the delay in yesterday's blog.  I'm currently experiencing connectivity issues thru Verizon, so THEY are working on it.  Thanks to our friends in Arizona (Bonnie Anderson's sister and brother-in-law, Barb & Garry McGlassons) I can at least go into our blog and share some information with you from yesterday's travels.  So here goes:

Monday, July 2nd, 2012
History Lesson and traveling to Meadville, AZ
We stopped at Pipe Spring National Monument.  There we learned how the Mormans took this spring from the Piute Indians and held it from them for 35 years.  Later the Federal Government eventually split the area into 3 sections, one for the Piutes, one for the Mormans and one for the government.  Now the government has made it a National Monument due to the historical significance of Pipe Spring.  The Pipe Spring was used as a tithe farm by the Mormans.  Cows given in tithes were shipped to this farm.  80 milk cows were milked twice daily by the caretaker and the milk converted to butter and cheese.  Since there was no refrigeration at the time, it was the only way to keep the milk from spoiling.  Every two weeks the butter and cheese was hauled four days to St. George, UT as the farm's contribution to building the Morman Temple there.  Women made the butter and cheese daily, as the men milked the cows and worked the farm.
Hopefully, when we regain connectivity we can share the pictures of this beautiful, living history monument.  The house, named Winsor Castle, after the Winsor family who were the first caretakers, was layed out by Brigham Young.  Winsor Castle was more than a home, it was a fortress with a central courtyard, accessed by two large wooden doors that would allow wagons to pull in, and back out of the fortress.  When we say the Mormans TOOK the spring from the Piutes, they actually COVERED the spring, by building the structure OVER Pipe Spring, so that ONLY the Mormans could access this life sustaining water.   One side of the structure was for dining, meal preparation and socialization, while the other side was for the production of cheese & butter, and storage.  Both sides had bedrooms with balconies leading out to the courtyard.  Winsor Castle was also home to the first Arizona Telegraph Office.  Wow....we are learning so much about America during our junket.

Thanks to Garry & Barb for their warm hospitality and computer connectivity!!