We had the opportunity this week to visit the Petrified Forest National Park. It isn't too far away from where we live. We were both amazed at the beauty we found there. The north end of the park doesn't have much petrified wood, but they call it “Painted Desert” for a reason. The colors and formations were great. Traveling on through the 28-mile-long park, more and more petrified logs began to appear. They are agatized and very beautiful. Owen had to walk around with his hands in his pockets so he wasn't tempted to pick up some rocks. On the south end of the park, the petrified logs are everywhere and very plentiful. It was neat to walk the trail through the logs and see the different colors and sizes of the petrified trees. If you happen to be in the area, that is a good place to stop and visit.

We also went to Polacca to work on an RV. Owen wants to take advantage of the warm weather and start winterizing the RVs, hoping to prevent some problems during the cold winter months. We have a little more to do out there, and then we will move on to another one.

The Senior Center was having a party for Father's Day. We stopped by to give the guys a treat and the cook told us we better stay for dinner or she would flatten our tires so we would have to stay. So we stayed. We enjoy visiting with them and meet new people every time we go there.

Even though we did stay for dinner, we still got a flat tire, but I don't think it was the cook's fault. They found a little stick in the side of the tire which meant it couldn't be repaired. It was one of our new tires so it still had some road hazard protection, so we didn't have to pay full price to get a new one.

We met a couple of new families this week. The one family is not members, but the other family is. They just haven't been coming to church for many months. They have five children – 4 girls and a boy (17 years age difference between the oldest and youngest). They were a very nice family and we will continue to visit them and encourage them now that we found where they live. The

non-members also has several children. They didn't seem too interested in our church, but Owen got talking to the dad, and they have a lot of interests in common. So we shall see. . .

Friday we had the opportunity of attending a Mission Tour Conference in Chinle with Elder Bruce Carlson, from the 2^nd Quorum of Seventies. The meeting was scheduled to go from 9:00 a.m. to

5:00 p.m. This is the first meeting we have been to that was held with the younger missionaries. Our District and Zone meetings are just the Senior couples. So it was neat to see so many young elders and sisters in one place. They actually divided the mission in half and had some attend the Conference on Thursday in Farmington. Lots of good advice and information on becoming a consecrated missionary. The question was asked, “Are you a full-time missionary or a life-time missionary?” By time we drove back home after the Conference, we had been gone over 12 hours (including travel time). So it was a long day, but well worth it.

We had a Father's Day dinner invitation yesterday with a member. He had also invited his father, sister, and some cousins who are all non-members. We had a delicious meal and got to meet and visit with some of his family.

Then today after Church a sister invited us to her place for dinner (barbecued ribs). Another delicious meal, and the best part was – I didn't have to cook either of them.

Owen had asked our potterer/silversmith friend about making him a belt buckle. He finished it last week. It sure turned out nice. Owen had the center jade stone and told him he wanted turquoise on it also. So it is an original – one of a kind. I am amazed at the talent that some of the people possess.

We feel we have been truly blessed to have been called to serve among these special people and to be able to get to know them and feel of their spirit.