On the Road Again

"Death, a friend that alone can bring the peace his treasures cannot purchase, and remove the pain his physicians cannot cure."

-Mortimer Collins

Thursday began a road trip that was inevitable at some point. You never can tell when a friend or family member will pass to the next stage in life. But it seems no matter where we are in life, we are touched by the passing of loved ones, young, old and everything in between. My Gram, Adele Cecelia Leiker, passed peacefully in her sleep, on Tuesday morning, November 25, 2008.I came to know of the end of Gram's journey here on Earth early that morning. It was also the morning my parents and sister were due to come into town for the Thanksgiving holiday. I called my dad to inquire as to whether they would still be coming to visit. During the conversation, I quickly realized my father had not received word that his mom had passed. What I describe now is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I was in mid-conversation with my dad, when he said that his last update on Gram had been the Saturday prior, 4 days earlier. As soon as I heard this, I came to the realization that I was going to have to be the one to tell my dad that his mom had passed on. I told him. I could tell he was upset and we said our goodbyes. I wasn't sure if my parents would still come to Utah with this news, but about an hour later, my mom called and let me know they were on their way to the airport. During the week my family was here, there were many memories shared between my dad, Uncle Bob and Uncle Joe, two of my dad's nine siblings. I expected the news of Gram's passing to bring a somber feel to the week of Thanksgiving, however, I was pleasantly surprised to hear stories and fond memories from my father and uncles that I had never heard before. Arrangements were being made by all ten children, in regards to Gram's funeral arrangements.

Last week I was informed of the celebration of Gram's life. All family would meet and gather in Lancaster, CA for a funeral and graveside service on Saturday, December 13, 2008. Which brings me to the road trip I mentioned above. I was offered a seat in the Bob and Joni Leiker Taxi (also known as the Highlander) to get to the high desert of California. But early last week Kary expressed interest in going with so we decided to drive down. What an adventure! Our first road trip together. We left on Thursday night, pretty late. We made a couple quick stops and then we were on our way. We stopped a couple times to sleep before getting on our way before 8am. We stopped a few more times, as we had Kary's dog Kyia with us.

She had fun exploring the different areas we stopped at, always plunging her head into the dirt/sand/asphalt. What a trooper though! She is a great travel companion as is Kary. We had a great time, even though the GPS in the MDX sent us the long way...which caused concern about our fuel reserves...the low fuel light came on. I had planned the trip to the mile and gallon, thus knowing exactly where we would have to fill up and about how much per gallon we would be paying. We were caught a little off guard with the detour, but made it to the gas station just in time.

Once we got to the hotel, the phone tree was in full swing, informing everyone what time to report to dinner at the Marie Callendar's down the street. Kary and I arrived first, follow by a slow, but steady stream of my extended family. Soon, we were all there, waiting to be seated. There were a few not in attendance. Those who came from afar, those who were still flying or chose to make the drive the following morning. Kary met many people on Friday night, about 10 new people. He did survive, and no, you probably shouldn't ask him to recite their names ;).

Saturday morning the growing group arrived at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church for a 10am funeral service. One of my aunts (I'm sorry, I never did hear who set this up) had asked Father Perry Leiker (currently serving in Hawthorne, CA) to perform the service. This was a wonderful service, with participation from my Uncle Tom, as well as my Uncle Joe. Father Perry spoke, there was wonderful music and the Communion was offered. Following the church service, we all met at the Joshua Tree Memorial Park & Cemetery. There was an "inurnment" of Gram, a burial place for her ashes. We were also able to visit Grandpa's grave, Gram's husband. He wasn't too far from her.

With the wind blowing and the temperature dropping we were all ready for a reprieve. Uncle Randy's sister was kind to offer her house to the large group that had gathered to celebrate Gram's life. There was food, conversation and great visiting with those from near and far. I was grateful for the video that the mortuary put together with pictures Aunt Mary provided. To see the video click here. I saw pictures I had never seen before. Every branch of the Leiker family tree was made to pose for a picture, which all the grand kids groaned about (as usual ;)). I, however, forgot a camera to get all the great photos...so I am now making a request to any of you out there who were present and took pictures--PLEASE send some pictures to me!!! cagrl127@gmail.com
Kary and I enjoyed seeing everyone, even though it was for such a short time. We left right after the luncheon and made our way to St. George, UT. We stopped at the high class outlets in Primm, NV for about 20 minutes and rolled into St. George about 11pm. There was a storm ahead of us and I-15 was closed 10 miles north of St. George. Tractor-Trailers were lined up for miles in the various turn-offs and at the port of entry. So St. George it was. We slept in and ate tons of complimentary breakfast. We were on the road by 1130a and off to the snow we went. Packed snow and ice awaited us north of Cedar City to Fillmore. Overall, it was a great trip. Kary and I enjoyed each others company. Fun!!!