DERAILED!!!

It's been an interesting two days!!  At the end of the Promontory Rally, we all headed out to Maddox House for dinner.  It's a fabulously HUGE restaurant with a reputation for fried chicken.  I didn't get the memo, so I had chicken fried steak.  Upon arrival, all 75 of us went upstairs in the Lodge and were seated at long tables.  I'm guessing there were over 200 people being served in that building.

How could they possibly keep up with THAT kind of crowd?  Apparently they've been doing it for a long time ... except for the slight derailment when it came to the chicken.  It was not that they ran out,  they just couldn't cook it fast enough.  All 28 who ordered it, had to select something else from the menu, but in the end, took home two pieces of fried chicken when they caught up.  Kudos to those members of our group who kept their cool and went with the flow.

The SECOND derailment came about when our President Dan called to add two more people to the train ride the next day in Heber City.  It seems THEY had a derailment of the catastrophic kind.

There was a switch involved which landed the engine on the ties, snapping them like toothpicks.  They tried to use wood blocks to get it back on the track, but to no avail.  That derailed OUR plans since the tracks will not be fixable until the end of the week.

That caused all of us to frantically cancel our reservations in Heber City, which cost everyone $$$.  They would not refund any deposits, taking $51 out of my pocket.  It is also costing me $230 to stay in Brigham City for four days.  No one ever said KOA campgrounds were cheap!!

We soothed our souls with a big pancake breakfast before most of the rigs hit the road for home.  I'm staying so I can visit with friends Ray and Cindy Warner in Riverton.  Besides, there are something like 20 quilt shops to check out!!!  How could I pass up THAT opportunity!

The THIRD derailment came when, in order to save a marriage, I got shanghaied into being President of the group.  Someone had the brilliant idea that TWO of us could co-conduct the group easier than dumping the responsibilities on ONE person.  

That got derailed when the parent company said NO.  The President promptly resigned, leaving the Vice President ..... ME .... with the gavel.  WAIT!!!!!  NOOOOOOO!!!  After some wrangling and wheeler dealing, I was stuck in mud up to my neck.  Mostly because I have no idea what the President really does!!!

So in the end, the other gal and I will be President and Vice President, then Co-Conduct the business of the club in the hopes that somewhere down the road we can figure out exactly what we are supposed to do.  I'm hoping the club does't get completely derailed.

In one last derailment, I noted that there were no women in the pictures of the transcontinental railroad completion at Promontory Point, but in this picture there are at least three women.  I found out later one of the Foremen had a wife that went along with them, providing medical care and food for many of the workers.  I'll have to do some homework and find out her name. 

In the meantime, I headed out to the Bear River Bird Refuge yesterday where I got some cool pictures in between swatting mosquitos and bugs.  Praying for no more derailments!!