Each time I go by, it seems as though they have expanded their gardens even further!

This is the old amphitheater located at Kammer beach. They use it occasionally (although the bathrooms no longer work).

And here is the new amphitheater, with the framing removed from the new concrete

You can see the deatail work imbedded in the side of the concrete roof

This detail goes all the way around the outside of the building

Eventually it will be painted, perhaps similar to the other structures around it

There was once a building here that has recently been removed. Perhaps they are preparing the land for a new building?

This was sitting on the dock…not sure what it is: perhaps a new bouy? or maybe a ne goirl?

I met Mel today…I thought he was cooking his breakfast! But he told me he was just cleaning up his property, and burning the old coconut shells…I was dissappointed!

I was surprised to find that some of the new bushes that had been planted up the hill on Broadway are already blooming!

There is always a wonderful veiw of the Carolinas from Marpo Heights

There was a large crowd of workers around the Clinic this morning!

One group was working on the road–digging a trench across both roads

Another group was digging up the grass to expand the parking on the south side of the Clinic

And another group was cutting bushes and cleaning up the grounds

And still another was taking down the tents set up behind the clinic…

It has been a rough week for Terri and the clinic–three deaths have occurred in two days, as well as several people who had to be sent to Saipan for treatment… It’s good we have some time off coming up–I am sure Terri will need it!

You can follow our new adventure by going to: paonboardmercy.wordpress.com

Our first stop was to fly to Pennsylvania to pick-up our car (a 2006 Prius– a 30th anniversary gift to Terri). While there, we visited with my son Seth and his family. They just moved into a new home they are leasing, and thinking of buying.

They also have a large 3-car garage that Seth can use in his wood-working business.

Our grandson Joshua was thoroughly enjoying his desert…

The land they live on has a ready-made food supply of deer and turkey! I think Seth will soon become a mighty hunter…

After dinner, Joshua and I took a walk in their large yard.

We only stayed in PA a couple of days, and then we were off– driving the length of the country to Utah.

After stopping overnight to rest, we arrived in Nauvoo, Illinois. The Mormon Church recently re-built a temple there. This temple was first dedicated and built back in the 1800′s under the direction of Joseph Smith. After the Mormon’s were driven out of the state and traveled to Utah, the temple was destroyed by fire and storm. It has now been re-built.

Looking at it now (it is almost an exact duplicate of the original), it is hard to believe they could have built something so large and beautiful back in pioneer days!

The details cut into the limestone blocks of the temple are wonderful.

There are ‘sunstones’, ‘moonstones’, and stars on the temple

Here is one of the original ‘sunstones’ from the Nauvoo Temple. I am told there are only two left: this one, and one in the Smithsonian.

Terri and I had the opportunity to go into the Temple the next day to worship. The inside is even more beautiful than the outside. On the first floor there is a large meeting room that resembles the very first temple built in Kirtland, Ohio, with pulpits built on both ends of the room, with seating in-between. The basement has a large baptismal font, set on the backs of 12 oxen (representing the 12 tribes of Israel), while the middle levels are reserved for endowments. We did not get to see the upper floors.

It was a great experience for us both.

During the day we had toured the Nauvoo sites– there are a lot more than when I served here as a missionary 30+ years ago! I did not recognize much. In the evening, they had a small play in the Masonic Hall: part of the purpose of the Nauvoo area is to show visitors how people lived back in the 1840′s, so all the plays, music, etc., is designed to replicate what the people of that time would have seen and experienced.

We had a great view of the Temple from our hotel room. The next day we headed for Kansas City, Missouri.

We had a great view of Kansas City from our hotel room. Terri was there to attend a medical conference dealing with diabetes, while I visited the World War I National Museum that was across the street. Nancy Hopins has created a wonderful new book relating to WWI, and I was there to see if the Museum wanted to buy copies of the new book. They were very excited (I had given them a template for the new book), and said they wanted to buy!

This new book should be ready for sale in a few months.

The next day Terri and I drove straight through to Utah, getting home about 10 pm.

We should be in Utah for another couple of weeks before moving up to South Dakota.

We will continue to use this site to report on our adventures until we actually move to South Dakota, then we will switch to our new blog: pineridgepost.wordpress.com

We had a few guests stop by our apartment to say good-bye before we left!

Terri and I take one more pose at Taga beach…

The morning we left we ate at the Broadway with some friends.

The Madonna at the Korean Memorial was all lit up.

They have fenced-off a large area by the Agricultural building to the west of the cemetary.

and they have expanded the area next to the cemetary… I hope they are not telling us something…

A lot of the construction on the island has stopped completely. This home next to the High School has been sitting unfinished for some time. And, of course, there is the large ‘white elephant’ up on Carolina Heights– the Bridge Casino that was begun but never finished…

I believe this was going to be a laundry… but it has also been sitting unfinished.

During the short time we had left on Tinian, we wanted to return to all of our favorite restaurants. This was the Japanese restaurant in the Dynasty.

Terri, Ramon and I have our large bibs on and are ready for a fabulous feast!

More of the people who stopped to say good-bye!

This is Terri and I with Nancy, who managed the little hotel we lived at while on Tinian.

Tinian was back to normal, the large waves of the past few days having disappeared. However, the day we left the islands were preparing for a possible typhoon!

As I walked along the shore NW of the dock, I discovered some new construction there!

It seems that the Mayor has begun to experiment with fish and abalone farming inside the breakwater by the docks. I assume that this will be part of the ‘processing plant’ for the farms.

either that, or someone decided to build a large outdoor bathtub!

They have built a little house by the shore, and then cages in the water to hold the fish and abalone.

The wood laying in the water is the top of submerged cages where the abalone and fish are kept. They had to import seaweed to feed the abalone, and import the abalone (I guess half the abalone died in shipping), and I am not sure where they got the fish to breed. It does make one ask the question of environmental safety… are these new species being introduced onto Tinian, or ones already here?

I guess they are also trying their hand at breeding large clams…

I cannot leave Tinian without taking a few more pictures of flowers, now can I?

It is time to say goodbye to all my readers. There were a lot of tears shed and hugs shared as Terri and I departed from Tinian on the ferry. We hope someday to return to this beloved island! Until then, you will find us living on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. You can follow our adventures there by googling:

pineridgepost

God bless, Kevan and Terri Clawson

There is a new home being built (or remodeled?) just down from where we live…

The new Pizza parlor is still being worked on– I thought it would be open by now– but the wait may be worth it, as the project is looking very good!

The duplex/fourplex is still being worked on also…

Either school is about to begin, or there are a lot of children in trouble…

I have fond memories of this big hill… but I noticed that the new time/temperature sign is gone again! If there was a college on the island, I would think it was a frat-boy prank…

There are two new basketball backstops in the Broadway Estates… but I have yet to see anyone actually use them…

The brand new amphitheater is still being worked on (I believe that the original opening date was going to be last Christmas). It is an amazing and beautiful edifice, but to date I’m not sure if anyone has been able to use it…

Like the new road, the only negative thing about this project is the gigantic hole in the ground they have dug… and to my amazement, continue to dig deeper!  Perhaps we can use it as an emergency water storage for the island????

The ocean is still a mess… we are hoping it is going to moderate before we leave on Sunday!

Even when they are not in bloom, the Flame Trees are beautiful!

The community Gym now has a new roof and new hurricane shutters! I guess I know where people will be heading when the next big storm hits the island!

There is another new home up on Marpo Heights…

The local ‘Mormon Church’ had a farewell dinner… inside the Dynasty Casino! Is that wrong?

From left to right: Ramon Apostal (Chef), Terri (PA), Jim Bell (famous swimmer), and Kevan (notorious roofer and pretend writer).

All of the students gathered in front of the school to participate in a flag-raising ceremony.

They sang God Bless America, then sang what I assume was the CNMI anthem, and then said the Pledge of allegiance to the flag. I was impressed!

Starting at the dock area, where the new road begins…

we start climbing the hill into the village…

I discovered that I was not the only one using the new road!

There is still a little work going on along the road…

There are several catch basins where water from the new road is diverted and collected…

Two of the pass-thru areas to the other road have been closed. The one by the Library has been closed permanently, while the one in front of the Police and Fire station is closed except for ‘official’ use…

The only pass-thru left open is across from the Mayor’s Office, and next to the large catch basin in the middle of town…

Perhaps the only negative thing to be said about the new road is the large catch basin they have built right in the middle of town. It is huge!

I find it hard to believe that there will ever be a storm that could fill this large pit… perhaps they can eventually turn it into a community swimming pool????

The end of the road hooks into Broadway.

They have begun to plant… something… starting at the Broadway end and down past Tinian Ice.

Nice road that will be used a lot. I guess the other road that runs parallel to this one is to start soon.

Here is Phynze blowing out her birthday candles.

Then it was time to eat… as usual, there was a lot of wonderful food to share!

As we looked out over the normally calm sea, we were astonished at the size of waves that were pounding the shoreline! In our two years here, we have never seen waves this high!

In areas that are normally like a lake, you could see waves crashing against the rocks, the water shooting 20′-30′ high!

Here is a picture of Taga beach, where we normally swim. They had it completely roped off. The area where the wave is crashing is where people go to jump off into the water– usually 15′ off the water!

Here is a picture of what Taga beach normally looks like, and where people jump off into the water…

All down the beach the waves were just incredible. No swimming today!

They had made a sign, and had a few gifts, and a couple of cards that everyone signed. However, the best gifts were the hugs that were shared between Terri and her co-workers!

As usual, what would a party on Tinian be without great food? We only wish we had more room in our stomachs for the wonderful food brought to share with each other.

Finally, it was time for a group photo so that everyone could remember the moment! It truly was a bitter-sweet moment for all of us!

In the meantime, Terri and I have been busy packing. We don’t have a lot of things, so we can simply use the Post Office to ship all of our things back to the States. Don Powers was kind enough to let us borrow a truck for a few days in order to aid us in moving our things. As you can see, we have already filled the truck once!

Over the years Terri and I have been simplifying our lives… When we left Utah for Connecticut and Terri’s school, we had a large 6 bedroom house with all the furnishings. When we came to Tinian, we shipped over #60 boxes. Leaving Tinian, we are shipping about #30 boxes… and we still think we have too much stuff! I’m sure, given a few more years, we will simply be down to two suitcases!

We are tentatively leaving September 14, although we may decide to leave earlier if we are able to get everything done in a shorter amount of time.

This will be a very difficult trip for us, as we do not want to leave Tinian. We have loved Tinian and its people. It took months for us to decide we had to leave, and it was one of the most difficult decisions we have ever had to make, but, in the end, we really had no choice. Circumstances arose that we could not change, no matter how hard we tried…

But such is life. Terri and I have learned to ‘live on the balls of our feet’, willing and able to change directions depending upon what life throws at us. We beleive, in spite of life’s blows, that we are in the hands of God, and that in the end, and as we keep the commandments of God, all things will be for our good.

So even though we do not want to leave, and though there will be many tears shed as we leave our friends on Tinian, somehow things will work out for the best.