Robinson Alaska Mission

      It is beginning to feel more like Spring. After 58 days of below freezing temperatures it was 37 degrees this week. We have been wondering what would happen to the huge piles of snow when it starts to melt. I enjoy the weather segment on the news because there is always an interesting take on the weather. They gave a weather-related caution because the snow melt produces big puddles/little ponds with potholes that can swallow your car. They also advise to make sure you have enough washer fluid for when you get splashed.  I took a picture from the news because I am not fast enough to catch the large splashes, but some are quite remarkable. I saw a little white car that was splashed on by 2 big trucks.  It looked like a chocolate dipped mashmallow. We avoid driving in the far right lane and keep a large distance between cars. You literally get drenched in mud water. The puddles freeze at night so it may take a while to evaporate. It adds some excitement to d...

      The time went by so fast while Scott was here. He was a great visitor. The missionaries, young and old, all enjoyed meeting him and said how much fun they had talking with him. He is the first family to come among all of the office missionaries so he was the star of the week. We had 14 inches of snow the day after Scott arrived but we went to the zoo anyway. It was quiet and peaceful walking around and not very crowded. The animals had very heavy coats. I was surprised to see camels out. Polar bears don't hibernate but the enclosure was empty so we missed seeing any bears.     It was still very cold on my birthday but we drove toward Girdwood and the Kenai peninsula to see the water. The wind was about 50 mph and very cold but Scott would still get out to take pictures. There were a lot of ice chunks in the water and the tide was out so it looked pretty rugged.  We got pizza and ice cream cones. Some special Alaska flavors are Polar Bear (coconut) and...

       We had the best experience seeing the Aurora (Northern Lights) while Scott was visiting. It was everything we could have hoped for.       We went to a "Resort" 60 miles east of Fairbanks called Chena Hot Springs. It is pretty remote, and a bit rugged, but a very popular place to see the Aurora. (It was so cold that the car next to us couldn’t start because they hadn’t plugged the engine block in to keep it warm) I’m not sure the significance of the airplane monument but it’s there.      The resort offered a tour that took us in a Snow Cat to the top of a dome nearby. They had yurts with propane heaters and a wood stove to use as a warming hut. They provided hot water for cocoa and cup of noodles.  We left at 10:30 p.m. for the 1/2 hour ride, climbing 1000 feet up to the dome. It was very much like the LAV that Scott would drive in the Marines. It was fun to have Scott share some of his LAV experiences on the bumpy, nois...