Divis Reunion 2009

Divis Reunion at Priest Lake


We rented a group campsite at the North end of Priest Lake.

Jordan and Dustin drove to Ritzville on Wednesday night and picked up Trissa and Gavin, who had been visiting with a friend in Pasco. Thursday morning after James and Dustin had put in a few hours at work, they headed for Priest Lake. Jim, William and I finished packing and shopping and headed out in the afternoon. We had trouble finding the campsite but finally arrived. It was just a mile after the pavement stopped. We unloaded and set up our tent. We ate hotdogs in the cabin because it was dark and we were hungry. The cabin had a microwave so we had a quick meal. The boys all had their own tents. Jim set up one for us but I stayed in the cabin with Trissa so she would not be alone. Dave and Annette’s family arrived after dark but they had their motor home so set up was already done. We did not have a campfire that first night. It was great having the whole family but Laura and Craig. She is 8months pregnant so it was unwise to come so far in her third trimester. Friday we played on the beach and took turns on the boat and tube. I took care of Evan and Makayla so Audra could have fun in the water. In the afternoon we drove and then hiked two miles to a natural waterslide. Audra and Trissa stayed in camp with Evan, Makayla and Gavin. We took plastic garbage bags and made diapers out of them and then slide down the rocks. It was a lot of fun. There was a pool of very cold water at the end. After sliding down the rocks for an hour we hiked back to Rip’s truck. We cooked chicken and potatoes in the Dutch ovens and then cooked a peach cobbler in the Dutch oven. We had a campfire and toasted marshmallows and sang songs. I slept in the tent with Jim Friday night. Jodi and her family arrived Friday evening and they stayed in the cabin. Leslie, Tori, Jenna and Sarah came Friday evening also. There are two bedrooms in the cabin. Trissa, Gavin and Heidi stayed in one and Jodi’s family in the other.

Saturday we made sourdough pancakes for breakfast. They played on the beach and the boys tried wake boarding. Dustin crashed sideways and broke his eardrum. That stopped his fun for the day. Tabby’s family came up and spent several hours at camp. They could not stay because Tabby had a talk in Sacrament Meeting Sunday. William went home with Tabby so he could attend school on Monday, his first day. I made lemon cheesecake for the dessert contest and we cooked hamburgers for dinner. I spent a lot of time in the cabin with food preparations and clean up. We had a campfire program and had some yummy desserts. Grandma and Grandpa came up today. They are spending the night at a hotel in Cummons. It takes about 45 minute to get to our campsite. They are at the south end of the lake.

Sunday we helped Dustin, Jordan, James and Audra pack up and we all got ready to go to church. The closest church is in Priest River. We went to the meetings starting at 1:00pm. It took us 1hr and 20 minutes to get to church. Jordan, Dustin, Trissa, Gavin left from church to go home. Trissa flies out Monday morning early. James and Audra left also after church and went to Audra’s Dad birthday party. Jim and I, who had both driven cars, took Dave and Annette’s family to church because all they have is the motor home. Rip and Leslie’s family, Jodi’s family and our carloads returned to camp. We ate with Dave’s family and Jim cooked pork and cherry cobbler in the dutch oven which we sampled later. We celebrated Tori’s birthday today. Jim and I took a short walk on the beach in the moonlight. It is very different with all the family gone.

Monday morning Jim and I went on a hike to Look out point with Dave, Annette Rip, Jodi, MaryAnn, Lon, and Steve(Lon’s brother). We drove up to the trailhead and then started our hike. We found huckleberries along the trail and ate them as we walked along the trail. We found lost lake but we lost the trail from there. Rip and Jim took off up a big rockslide. I followed Jim and then MaryAnn started to come up. Jim told me to wait with MaryAnn while he followed Rip to the top. Rip was at the top and realized we were a long ways from the Lookout. They decided to come back down and we found the others on the trail picking huckleberries. We enjoyed our lunch and drank our water bottles. I started picking huckleberries into my water bottle. They were big and there were large areas of them. I filled my bottle. We never found the right trail but we headed back around 1:00. Back at camp the wind had come up and Lon took us for a ride on his sailboat. He took two groups out and we had a great time. Jodi’s family had to leave after that. The rest of us decided to go up the channel to Upper Priest Lake. Rip took his boat and Lon the sailboat and we headed out. Jim and I were in the sailboat. Once we were through the channel and on Upper Priest Lake I got to steer the sailboat. Unfortunately I was allowed to steer back through the channel and we hit a submerged log and bent the steering. I felt really bad. We were going to fast and it was getting dark and hard to see into the water. We got the boat back to the dock but Jim had to jump onto the dock and catch the boat and push it off so it didn’t hit the dock. When I was 12 years old I went on a canoe trip with Shirl and her family. We canoed up the channel to Upper Priest Lake and camped a couple of nights and then canoed back. I have always wanted to go back up the channel and to Upper Priest Lake. Today my dream came true.

Tuesday morning Dave’s Family packed up and left in the morning. Jim and I packed up and cleaned the campsite, cabin, and bathrooms. We ate huckleberry pancakes for breakfast with MaryAnn, Lon, Steve, Rip and Leslie. Rip’s family went up huckleberry picking and Jim and I finished cleaning and then left for home around 1:30pm. We arrived home at 4:45 and unpacked as fast as we could. I left at 6:00 for my book club meeting with Retta and Jim had his High Council meeting at 7:30. William enjoyed being home after staying with Tabby and Grandma while we were still camping. What a wonderful vacation.