A walk in the Tobago Jungle

When we were at Pigeon Point, a man gave us a brochure that featured "Guided tours of the Tobago Forest Reserve"

We enthusiastically decided to take the tour and made arrangements for guide Ellis Clarke to pick us up at the Magdalena the next morning at 7:30

The 20 mile drive from Lowlands to Roxborough takes about an hour because the road is very narrow and winding as it follows the Atlantic coastline north 

We turned left at Roxborough onto the Roxborough Parlatuvier Road and drove for another twenty minutes to the 1,500 foot summit

The road was newly paved and the foliage was dense to the roadway margins

We gathered a few things out of the trunk and started on a trail that immediately immersed us in the jungle

Following our guide

Ellis said that this was the path used by the early island inhabitants of African descent before the road was cut across the island

Goods were balanced on their heads as they walked some 8 miles from Bloody Bay on the Caribbean to Roxborough on the Atlantic to sell their produce and crafts.  

This non indigenous bamboo grows by feet each day

A new bamboo shoot

I reached out to feel it before the guide shouted "don't touch"

I instantly had a blanket of hair like needles in my hand 

I brushed them off as best I could and they bothered me somewhat for a couple of hours before the irritation left

"The Swiss Family Robinson" movie was filmed 3 miles Northeast of where we're hiking

  Our guide Ellis is calling birds 

He made a bird in distress call by sucking air through his puckered lips against his fingers

A great black hawk respond to the call

Kelton Joseph, of the Tobago Birds of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre, says that Great Black Hawks are now the rarest birds in Tobago

“This species of hawk is critically endangered in Tobago. We lost most of our hawks because they are being preyed on by man. One female great black was found dead in the forest between Mt St George and Belle Garden. I am hoping that that particular female is not the female of the one confirmed pair that usually nests between Parlatuvier and Bloody Bay. During my tours into the forest, I have observed one juvenile up at Gilpin Trace and I do hope that no harm has come to that one.

“We must remember that great black hawks are [at the] top of the food chain. We have seen a drastic increase in avian pests such as the orange-winged parrot, cocorico and carib grackle. Why? There is a distinct absence of predators in the forest. The number of the great black hawk has dwindled. We need to have a balance.”

Orange-winged parrot 

 Cocorico, the national bird of Tobago

A deeply worn path

  

I imagined the people of Africa walking this path in colorful clothes and packs high upon their heads

One of the few vistas across a deep canyon

An old forest hardwood that Ellis thought was felled in the September 1963 hurricane Flora that devastated the island

A slow march of ants carrying their leaf cuttings back to their home of millions about 20 feet long and 6 feet high on the upper bank of the trail  

Waterfall made golden by the orange clay base over which it flows

Modern day senior missionaries far from home hiking a deep forest trail in Tobago

Beautiful foliage with few flowers because sunlight barely reaches the forest floor

Established in the late 18th century it is thought to be the oldest rainforest in the western hemisphere

Ellis pointed out some of the old growth trees that survived the 63 hurricane  

This massive tree is hard to appreciate because of the dense undergrowth.

Bridge over another waterfall and stream

Reluctantly we turned around and headed back to the car 

Our traveling friends had to be at the airport by 2:00 pm to fly back to Trinidad

I turned around and promised myself to return to this beautiful garden

Our return trip was made by continuing on to Parlutuvier on the Caribbean and making a quick stop at Englishman's Bay

Beautiful beach to the left

Beautiful beach to the right

Colorful fabric wraps

Not much to do but swim, eat and doze in the warm ocean breezes

Island crafts

We are planning on another visit to eat at the small restaurant in the gift shop

Steel pans, rattles, jewelry and wall hangings

On to the airport 

One of my favorite birds of Tobago is the  Smooth Billed Ani  

As I've watched it over the past 3 months, I'm reminded of a big black Newfoundland 

Like the Newfoundland the Ani is solitary, quiet and somewhat awkward as it moves through the underbrush

Two journeys, two days, two blogs

We were invited to join another couple from Trinidad that flew to Tobago for some 

rest and rehabilitation

  

We were happy to accommodate them and were richer for the experience 

 Journey 1

A two-hour walk on the golf course paths 

rewarded us with 

a surprise on the 8th green

We have walked these paths many times and are always impressed with the hanging vines 

We didn't anticipate the burst of color as we walked around a large grove of trees

    

This morning the vines had burst into bloom

  

A couple of the seasoned residence said: 

"The explosion of color will be gone in a few of days"

 We call this the hanging vine walk

The palm trees have the vines wrapping their trunks in a green blanket

This morning we noticed the vines had suddenly changed - they were blooming 

 shades of gold

 Nettie is enjoying the transformation

 The vines cover both the trunk and tree tops

A waterfall of gold

 A hanging flower garden

 The blooming vines dominate the trees

 A profusion of color with a rich but subtle scent

  A hanging bouquet of yellow garlands on the 8th green

Tomorrow:

The Rain Forest

Mine elect hear my voice

Testimonials from the West Indies Mission

Referral from a Recently Baptized Member

Elder Boyer & Elder Dohrman

The Curepe Ward witnessed the baptisms of a wonderful mother and daughter, Heather and Grace, over the span of a few weeks in May.  One day these sisters invited the missionaries over for dinner and Grace’s non-member husband Romano was invited to hear the lessons from the missionaries.  The Elders simply asked him if he’s seen a change in them since they had joined the Church and if he’d be interested in coming to Church with them.  An affirmative answer followed, and after 3 short weeks, Romano was baptized to complete this wonderful family.  This is an excellent example of the light of the gospel shining from recently baptized members, and how their willingness to share their newfound faith brought another soul to a knowledge of the truth.

Mine Elect Hear My voice

Sister Campbell & Sister Schindler

I would like to share with you a miraculous story that shows how the Lord is hastening his work on the island of Tobago.  About two months ago we got a phone call from a man that wanted us to come and teach him.  We had no idea who he was or where he lived, and as we tried to get directions to his house we found it to be impossible to understand just where he lived.  So, we invited him to come to church and give us better directions.  That following Sunday a strange man showed up at church that no one knew.  His name was Michael.  Sister Schindler and I did not put two and two together so we left it to the elders to fellowship him since he was after all a man.  During the week we got a call from this man again that wanted us to come and teach him.  He said, “I went to church!”  That’s when it dawned on us, we immediately set up an appointment with him and did our very best to follow his mumbled direction to his house.  With some prayer we were able to find where he lived.

On Saturday July 13 Michael Phillip Heath entered into the waters of baptism.  When he came up out of the water he was shining with the Spirit and began to laugh because he was so happy.  He bore his testimony that since he began attending church he has felt more peace in his life.  It was a very sweet moment.  Nothing however could have been more sweet than when he was confirmed.  As he walked to the front of the chapel, this six-foot tall strong mason broke down into tears.  He sobbed as hands were placed upon his head to give him the gift of the Holy Ghost.  It was a privilege for all in the chapel to witness such a moment.

I know that the Lord is hastening his work and that not only will we find the prepared ones, but they will find us.  I have witnessed this for myself.  This is the Lord’s work.  I know it.

Power of the Holy Ghost

Sister Stephensen & Sister Edmonds

 One day Sister Edmonds and I were out contacting in St. Lucia.  She saw a boy sitting in a tree and felt impressed to contact him.  the very first thing he said was "Do you have a book I can read?"  We introduced the Book of Mormon and taught him about priesthood authority.  He understood.

Though he can't read well, he began reading a little every day.  he told us that he felt different when he read and that things that he used to do he didn't have a desire to do anymore.

Garvin attended church the first Sunday he was invited.  He told us he was really nervous, but he took a big breath and walked in and as soon as he did he just felt really good and happy inside.  He was baptized April 13th and received the Holy Ghost the next day.  He told us "I liked that special prayer when I got the Holy Ghost.  I used to feel I was alone, but now I feel like I have a friend with me all the time."  We are really proud of him.

Letters from Home

from

Matthew, KristyAnn, Ben, Annie & Zach

Linton

We had a great backpacking trip. We left the house on Monday at 8 AM and headed to the Mirror Lake trailhead. We finally started hiking at about 11 AM. There are two ways from Mirror Lake to Pinto Lake. One is to take the Highline trail, headed towards Naturalist Basin, the other is to hike down the North Fork of the Duchesne River, cross at the confluence and then hike up the East Fork of the Duchesne. 

At the Trail Head 

We decided to hike in through the later path. The Uintas were nice and green, but it is clear that bark beetles have had a significant impact on the health of the forest.

Scrambling up the scree slope when we got off trail

After hiking about 6 miles on Monday, and as we were hiking up the East Fork of the Duchesne, I noticed that the trail was getting fainter and fainter. Eventually, we lost the trail all together. I had a pretty good idea of where we were at, so we decided to just continue on a bushwack over the mountain and into Granddaddy Basin.

This required us to scramble up a very steep slope of scree and logs.

Trying to figure out where we are:

The kids liked the idea of being lost but did eventually get a little nervous. I was still pretty confident where we were on the map and used a compass to keep us moving in what I thought was the right direction. After about an hour of this, the kids were getting very tired and whining and the day was wearing on. It was about 6 PM by now.

Zach following dad, always trusting

I felt impressed that I should have Zach offer a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to guide us to the lake. We still had no trail and were in a dense forest. So, Zach offered a simple prayer and told Heavenly Father that we were tired and needed help finding Pinto Lake.

Looking at Maps

I was never nervous, as I knew we could camp anywhere at anytime, but having Zach pray was the right idea.

 After the prayer we continued hiking in the direction of where I thought the Lake was at. WITHIN FIVE MINUTES WE CAME OUT OF THE FOREST, RIGHT ON TOP OF PINTO LAKE.

 The kids were overjoyed and we immediately made camp, rested, and got dinner ready and eventually fished. I told the kids to always remember that Heavenly Father answers prayers. Especially those of the pure in heart, like an 8 year old kid.

We fished that night and I caught one rainbow trout, about 10 inches long.

That ended up being the only fish we caught the entire trip.

 We saw a doe deer in the distance and over the evening she got closer and closer to our camp and was very friendly. We named her Gloria. The next morning she was still around and the next evening as well. Amazingly tame.

Annie

Zach

Zach, Annie & Ben

Matthew wading in a painfully ice-cold stream

The next day we hiked to Pine Island Lake for lunch, a total of about 6 miles. Pine Island is a beautiful lake! 

Pinecone baseball

 We got back to camp around 3 PM, so we played games that afternoon, like Pinecone baseball.

Great kids:

Thank you, dad, for teaching me to love backpacking. That's another thing that I can completely thank you for.

On the third day, we hiked out via the Highline trail by Naturalist basin. I think that way was a little longer (about 9 miles), but much flatter. Zach was completely tuckered out the last 3 miles but we eventually made it back to the car. 

I really enjoyed the trip. Ben and KristyAnn are, of course, tough as nails hikers and Annie is coming along. For being 8, Zach did amazingly well too. I am already thinking of our next backpacking trip! It was so wonderful to spend so much time with the kids and KristyAnn, free of distractions.

I love you both

&

Thanks son, 

We love you and your wonderful family