I've been to Beazer

Yup, I can finally make that claim. People seemed surprised that I hadn't been there before and, truth be known, I'd always felt a little guilty about it. The reason being that Beazer is an important place for our family. A painting of the area always hung above grandpa and grandma's fireplace and Old Chief Mountain came up in conversation from time to time - suggesting that it stood as prominently in peoples' thoughts as it does on the horizon. My grandmother's family settled the area in 1890. Mark E. Beazer, after making the trip from Utah, had chosen the spot from the saddle of his horse. Grandma was later born there. I couldn't help but imagine a magnetic pull as I turned down the gravel road towards the place where my family came from.





Following the directions, we easily found Uncle George's property. We parked our car on the bank of Lee Creek and crossed the water on a bridge made of two felled trees. The campsite had a tipi, a cedar hot tub, and sand for the kids to play in. It was fun to watch them and ponder George's reminder that this exact area had been grandma's childhood playground. Uncle George told me that they'd named the spot "Diamond Dipper" after the stands of diamond willows sprinkled across the property and after the sighting of an American Dipper on one of his first visits. Uncle George, a lifelong student of nature, said the Dipper is his favorite bird. It dives underwater to feed, and it does not fly South in the winter like other song birds. "Instead they hunker down. Tough it out." There was admiration in his voice.





Jerry pointed to the massive plank and log table and commented how everything there was "Toone-sized". That reminded me of the story my dad often told about his first visit to the farm in Claresholm. According to the story, he pulled up in his Austin Mini and was met by Ike, Grandpa's German Shepard which stood a little taller than dad as he peered in the driver's window at him. Then Grandpa and Uncle Jim stepped out onto the porch and the thought occurred to dad that he had accidentally driven into the Valley of the Giants. That's how he told it anyways.





We were late getting to the campground because I had worked until early that morning. But, to redeem ourselves, CHEMT were the only ones from our side of the family who stayed overnight. I would like to say that we toughed it out, dipper-style, but the truth is that there was nothing tough about the weekend. Uncle George and Aunt Karen were gracious hosts and generously provided everything from meals and treats to a jeep parked with the keys in it and an invitation to explore their 100 acre property.





Our children immediately started playing with the other cousins and us adults visited. At one point Kelly Dawn yelled over, "are those horses supposed to be here?" We looked up to see three horses come running through the trees, skirt where we were sitting, and stop at the hitching post (I suspected that they had been out of sight, planning how to make a dramatic entrance, but I don't know very much about horses, or whether that is the sort of thing they'd plan). Cody looked up and exclaimed "we should try and catch those!" They did and soon Cody and Katelyn were taking people on rides and Uncle George was leading horsey rides for the kids.








The supper that George and Karen put on was amazing. There were salads and barbecued vegetables and mushrooms. There were scalloped potatoes and cowboy pork & beans (with a Hawaiian twist), both cooked in Dutch ovens beside the fire. When I went to the barbecue George advised me knowingly, "you should go see Cody instead". I did and was presented with a giant cut of rib steak. During the meal, I thought it was strange how the best steak I've ever eaten didn't come from a fancy restaurant as I'd expect. Instead I found my Best Steak in an outdoor clearing, served on a paper plate. Maybe that's how they're all found.








I wish I had gotten my act together sooner and visited the area with grandma, or attended one of the family reunions held in past years. In a way though I felt like she wasn't very far away. We were in the same place as her, even if not at the same time. All weekend long, Beazer blood again made tracks on the land... and next year there will be even more.





See you at the reunion cousins.

- C