Concrete & Valdez

 Dear Family and Friends,

Worthington Glacier

We had an exciting week. On Wednesday morning a pump truck came to the site and pumped 143 yards of concrete into the basement forms for the temple. It was very exciting to watch the process. We left and came back just as they were finishing up 6 hours later. They took off the wooden forms and now there is a neat outline of the lower level with the baptismal font and utility rooms all in concrete with lots of rebar sticking out. 

Thompson Pass

Thursday morning we started our summer activity with the other Alaska senior missionaries. We headed to Valdez AK with Elder & Sister Cox. The Worthington Glacier was very beautiful. The scenery at Keystone Canyon was breathtaking. It took us about 7 hours to get there. 

Cabin in Valdez

Farrell & I took our bikes and stayed in an AirBnB in Valdez with Cox's. The accommodations were quite rustic but we had hot running water, flush toilets, electricity, a full kitchen wo. a dishwasher, queen beds, and two restrooms with clean towels. The view from the cabin was gorgeous. It was quiet and relaxing. We really enjoyed listening to the birds and visiting. We had hamburgers in town for dinner at the Old Town Diner. Everything in Valdez was very expensive. 

Thompson Pass

Elder Cox went on a halibut fishing trip Friday morning that started at 5:40 a.m. Farrell & I had a Zoom meeting with all the other senior construction missionaries around the world at 7 a.m. Afterward both Sister Cox and Kitty went back to bed. We had a nice walk down to the lake while Farrell went for a bike ride.

Solomon Gulch

Then the three of us went sightseeing. We saw the fish hatchery and checked out Old Town Valdez that was destroyed in the 1964 earthquake. We followed both roads to the end of town where there is a big END sign. The other side ends at the Alaskan Pipeline terminal. We met Elder Cox, the White's, Anderson's, and Sister Watanabe at the boat and then went out to dinner nearby. Elder Cox caught a small halibut and Sister Watanabe caught a large one. 

Valdez Harbor

The restaurant's side room was sweltering with no windows that could open. It had to be in the high 80's in there, so Kitty waited outside in the cool breezy shade for another outside table. Eventually someone located an oscillating fan and it cooled down enough to go inside with the other senior missionaries. Elder Cox joined us after his fish was filleted. 

Prince William Sound

Kitty met two other couples waiting for a table that would be going on the same Glacier cruise the next day from Minnesota. They call themselves our Catholic Friends. Then they sat at the table right next to ours. They ordered way too much food, so called Kitty over to their table and asked us to please help them eat the rest of their appetizers and share with our table - shrimp, calamari, French fries, and halibut fillets with sauces along with salmon dip and chips. Often when traveling there isn't a place to save it for the next meal. They had also each ordered entrees & desserts.

Columbia Glacier Ice

The Fat Mermaid was very busy and the waitress never came back to take our order for the additional three of us. Everyone else finished eating, so since we were nearly full from the appetizers we just left with them. We invited the other senior missionary couples to join us for ice cream at our place. One couple joined us, the other was too tired. We picked up ice cream at the local Safeway and enjoyed getting to know the Gailey's better. They just arrived and will be serving in Soldotna.

View from AirBnB

We brought our bikes with us and rode on a nice trail from the Robe River Subdivision nearly to downtown and back. Cox's dropped us off and picked us up. There was an amazing waterfall behind the US Nat'l Park Service office. Then we went back to our AirBnB so Kitty could take a quick shower. 

Columbia Glacier

Then we headed back into town for our 6 hour Columbia Glacier & Wildlife Cruise which started at 2:30. We found seats inside facing forward and settled in. Valdez is located near the head of a deep fjord on Prince William Sound. It's a mix of tidewater glaciers, rainforests, and majestic mountains, with lots of wildlife. We were so glad we dressed warm. It was a beautiful day and Kitty & Elder Cox's camera/phone batteries were dead before we arrived back in Valdez. Our new friends ate dinner with us since we had an extra four seats at our table facing backward. They had sunny seats outside, but dinner was only served inside. They served us chicken breast in white sauce over rice, with a Normandy vegetable blend, & a crispy dinner roll w. butter. It was very tasty and the company was great. Water and lemonade were served. We also brought snacks. 

Columbia Glacier

We saw lots of sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions, a mountain goat, humpback whales, a bald eagle, and a Minke Whale. We never knew Valdez could be so scenic. The Columbia Glacier was incredible. It was still light out, but we were tired, so we just went back to our cabin and finished off the rest of the ice cream with cookies and fresh fruit. 

Keystone Canyon

After church on Sunday we headed back to Anchorage, dropped off Cox's and arrived around 7 p.m. We didn't even know Valdez was on our bucket list. It was incredible to see such verdant green mountain sides mixed in with patches of snow. We hope to go there again someday. We feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful world. 

Happy Father's Day! Have a wonderful week. #Think Celestial

Love, 

Elder & Sister Badger