by laura beth

We are heading to Oregon! We stopped in Helper, Utah to see Big John, a coal man in the style of Muffler Man. We always keep our eyes peeled for Muffler Man, Paul Bunyan, etc.


Our next stop was the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish fork, Utah. According to the temple president we met there, Caru Das, this is the only temple in the U.S. purposely built to be a Krishna temple (as opposed too temple moving into an existing building). It was modeled after a famous devotional palace in India called Kusum Sarovar (temple on a lake of flowers). It is absolutely beautiful. The people were very kind and Caru Das gave us a tour and info about Krishna Consciousness. After the tour we were invited to eat with them (which we didn't) and observe their arotik ceremony (which we did). Although my spiritual beliefs differ from theirs, I was greatly impressed by the kindness, sincerity, and devotion of the people we encountered here. Beautiful temple, beautiful people, and beautiful peacocks.

We stayed that night and the next with Cassie and Ken in Kamas. We went to church with them on Sunday at Creekside Christian Fellowship in Park City. We then checked out the house they're getting ready to buy in Marion, down the road 3 miles from their current house. That afternoon Ken, Cassie, Kenny, and I all piled into Ken and Cassie's double bed to watch Return of Oz. A friend of theirs came over that evening and we had homemade pizza for dinner. I hope that wherever we end up settling down, Ken and Cassie will not be far away.