Fishing and Other Outdoor Fun

We had a really fun past 10 days with family visiting. David, Krista, Zack, Millie and Reed -- and LeAnn, Ben, Max and Scout came for a visit for a week. We had a lot of fun in Seward, went for a hike to Virgin Falls in Girdwood and spent a rare summer day by Campbell Creek in Anchorage. Kate finds the best places to visit. While the excursions were fun, our favorite activities were just being with family at the beach, hiking and playing in the water. 

It was cold and intermittent rain in Seward for the fishing and wildlife boat trips. Elder Robinson and Zack got seasick fishing but it paid off in catching fish. Zack and Jed caught an orange rockfish. I was surprised to learn that the eyes are bulging from being reeled in from deep in the ocean which causes pressure shock. Makes a pretty scary looking fish. There were 7 from our group (David, Zack, Ben, Max, Scout, Jed and Elder Robinson) of 18 on the fishing boat. Our group caught the biggest halibut about 50-70 lbs. I think Jed caught the biggest of all in the first 15 min. They were fishing for about 13 hours. 

They also caught salmon by snagging them by the beach. Pretty hefty catch.

The Wildlife tour that we went on was supposed to be a smooth boat ride in the bay but when they started looking for whales we kept going further and further out to the opening into the ocean. It was kind of a rough ride and several people got seasick. It was only a 3.5 hour boat tour and we were glad to get back on land. I'm so glad we weren't out for 12 hours of fishing. We saw a lot of interesting things though. I liked seeing the seagulls around the fishing boats as we came back and wondered how the halibut fishermen were doing. The seagulls are looking for leftovers from cleaning the fish on the way back. 

I was surprised to see several swarms of jellyfish. And it is always fun to see the whales spout and surface in the water. Reed, Annie and June were very good at spotting them. 

The wildflowers are so beautiful everywhere right now. Pretty white, pink, purple and blue. I liked this plant called Devil's Claw with huge leaves. We saw it on a hike to Virgin Falls. It was a short hike but lots to see. There was a bride in her gown hiking up to get pictures at the Falls. She had very big boots on but the trail was quite muddy. At least she didn't slip and fall. 

David and LeAnn's families went to Denali for a river rafting trip later in the week. It is about a 4 hr. drive to Denali so we didn't take time off to go there.  They enjoyed river rafting and thought the scenery of interior Alaska looked a lot like the Uintahs in Utah. The view of Denali was obstructed by clouds which happens about 75% of the time in the summer. They liked the rainforest scenery in Kenai more than Denali. They did see moose and caribou. Ben and Jed saw a bear  and earlier we saw Dall sheep about 50 feet off the road. They just needed to see a wolf to see the "Big Five" animals in Alaska. Jed got a picture of the bear but I don't have real life animal pictures. I'm too slow.  But I am getting quite a collection of stuffed animal pictures from hotels. 

It was a record-breaking 80 degrees on Saturday when we went to Campbell Creek for a little picnic. Jed's dad and his brother Trevor were visiting too and came with us.  There were a lot of people there playing in the water, tubing, skipping rocks and looking for salmon in the creek (Max saw some big fish). It was fun hearing people laughing, listening to music and just being outside in the pleasant weather. There were 4 days last week with the temp 75-80 degrees. It was warm to sleep at night with the humidity, temp around 70 and no air conditioning. A lot of missionaries were asking for fans and WalMart sold out of them. But it is back to 60 degrees and raining now so I think we only had 4 days of summer! Yes we are heat wimps. 

So David and LeaAnn's families went home on Sunday and Kate and the kids left for Utah on Tuesday of this week. Jed will finish work on July 30 and go to Utah for a short vacation then too. Since Canada will open its borders to vaccinated US citizens on Aug 9, Jed will fly back here and then drive their truck home to Indiana. They were able to sell their trailer here and also the van they had bought to use for the summer. Used cars are in demand and prices are crazy. We saw these trucks on a used car lot. I can't imagine paying that much for a used truck. It is nice to not have to think about buying a car for a little while. 

Mission News: It is exciting that Canada is starting to open up a bit. White Horse in Yukon Territory is in our mission. The church members there have been so anxious to get missionaries back. We are preparing to send 4 missionaries there. The apartments are still available. We paid rent so that when it reopened they could return. Yukon Territory though has its own rules that have been stricter than Canada so it may take a bit longer to get there. But at least there is progress. We also have missionaries who have returned to Utqiavik (Barrow) for the summer. It is about 40 degrees for a high temp and food is very expensive ($12 for a gallon of milk, $30 for a pack of hot dogs and $3.50 for an orange). The branch president there is so happy to have missionaries back. There are quite a few Polynesian members of the church there so the Polynesian elders will serve there. We thought the number of missionaries would return to about 180, but over the next 2 months it will be back up to 200+. I am excited that a Sister Henrie (my maiden name) from Eager, AZ is now serving here. She is in Wasilla so I haven't seen her in the office yet. I need to brush up on my genealogy for when I do see her.

Spiritual Thought: While we were on the boat looking out at the ocean the captain said that if she sailed for 2600 miles in a straight line we would reach Hawaii. Whenever I see the broad expanse of the ocean I think about the courage it takes to get into a boat and sail into the unknown. I think about "boat" stories in the scriptures--Lehi's family, the Jaredites, Hagoth and Corianton, Noah, Jonah, Jesus calming the sea. They are all stories of God getting you where you need to be. It takes faith and courage to leave your comfort zone for the unknown (also good preparation). There are some good videos on the church website about getting in the boat (Better Off on my Own) and staying in the boat (Stay in the Boat). For me it is hard to leave the comfort of what I know, but I also want to know more. A mission has been like getting in the boat and seeing more of life and learning to trust in God to get where we need to be. It has been a good life lesson. Try to think this week of some of the things that get you out of your comfort zone, what you see and learn, and how God helps you to succeed.

It was so fun to have you share some of the pictures from the Henrie Family Reunion and BBQ. We are so grateful for family that enjoys being together. We love you all so much! 

Remember to do good things this week

Love,

Elder and Sister Robinson