We had a great time with our cousins on the second half of our long weekend off. The weather was gorgeous and they took us out on the Kenai River in their boat. It was a lovely time!

C caught a dolly varden and I caught a trout. Between the 4 of us we caught and released 5 or 6 fish. Drift fishing is much easier on the body than flossing for sockeye!

I was surprised at the extent of recent forest fires in the area.  We encountered more cousins also boating and fishing. We saw lots of birds including Bald Eagles fighting and nesting, and Loons and Arctic Terns fishing. We also saw a seal (or otter? didn’t get a long look), and back at their house saw a moose browsing nearby.

We talked until midnight and enjoyed hearing stories of family members living and working in Alaska over the past 60 years. We are blessed to have such generous and interesting relatives!