Larry Discovers Cutthroat Trout at Strawberry

I've been telling my brother Larry that he needs to come up from California in October so he can experience the great trout fishing at Strawberry Reservoir. Every year when the temperature gets cooler the Cuttroat Trout start to cruise the shallows looking for chubs to eat. Plastic tube jigs work great and it's not uncommon to catch 20-25 fish in a single afternoon. This quantity of fish is possible because the Fish and Game Department wisely established a "slot limit" regulation which requires you to release any fish that measures between 15" and 22". The result is a large population of beautiful 18-19-20-21 inch trout and fantastic fishing. If you get one over 22' you get to keep it as a trophy.

Larry loves fishing but has to settle for small "planters" he can find in lakes near his home in San Bernadino. I called him last Thursday to tell him the fishing was hot and he was on the road a few hours later. He throughly enjoyed his time on the reservoir and I think he will be coming back next fall. As you can see the weather was very coorperative.

Amazon adventure

Last spring we checked out an incentive trip possibility for my company in Brazil. It turned out be a fantastic trip--we visited Rio de Janeiro, Iguacu Falls (check out the video in an earlier post), and an eco-lodge on the Rio Negro River in the Amazon Basin. This last stop turned out to be absolutely fantastic! Lots of unique experiences as you can see in this video.

New family photo

We managed to gather together this summer for a family photo. The real trick is getting four babies to all look at the camera at the same time.

More Nate & Eva photos...

Eva steals your heart with her ever-joyful personality. Here she celebrates the blowing out of the candles.


Taking care of an ice cream cone is serious business!

Colorado Tour

Susan and I headed East on Friday for a little Fall adventure. We kind of made up the trip as we went along which is something that I enjoy a little more than Susan. She has this preocupation with where we are spending the night. Here's how the route turned out:


A few years ago an airline pilot pointed out the impressive Black Canyon of the Gunnison River from 30,000 feet. I have wanted to see it up close ever since.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, western Colorado, established as a national monument in 1933 and as a national park in 1999. The park contains the most picturesque section of the Black Canyon, the gorge of the Gunnison River. It is known as the Black Canyon because it is so deep and narrow that little light reaches its bottom. This section of the gorge is 16 km (10 mi) long and from 520 to 730 m (1,700 to 2,400 ft) deep.



The quakies were really blazing with color all through the Colorado mountains. The forests there are more dramatic--huge tracts of pines and large expanses of aspen that make the mountains look like they are on fire!

Aviation Merit Badge

Since moving to the new ward I have been helping out with the Scouts. (I think I talked a little too much about my interest in the outdoors when the Bishopric came to visit us!) Recently my partner was called into the bishopric and I was moved into the Scoutmaster slot. The boys are rambunctious, of course, but pretty good kids.

Lately we have been working on the Aviation merit badge with the help of a ward member who owns a helicopter flight school. Last week he took us on a tour of his facility and gave each boy a personalized flight about the Spanish Fork airport. It was a big thrill for all of them!