IF4 Family Trip

I haven't posted a whole lot about fishing lately because of the winter weather but, just in case any of you were wondering if we really are fly fishing nerds, this post is for you.

Last weekend the three of us packed up the car and headed to Orem, Utah for the International Fly Fishing Film Festival. For those of you who have never heard of it, it is exactly what it sounds like; a film festival made up entirely of films about fly fishing. They are short films created by guides, fly shops, or just fly fishermen and women.

This was Sam's 4th time attending the festival. He usually goes with his brother in law, Mike. However, this year, Mike couldn't attend so Sam asked if I'd like to go. I was really excited even just for the chance to get out and go on a little road trip together. But not only that, I was actually excited for the festival too! I didn't know exactly what it would be like but I knew that the films would feature beautiful landscapes, exotic places, and of course, scenes of exciting catches.

Sam worked in St. George the day that we left so Emma and I anxiously waited for him to get home. Luckily, it was timed perfectly so that Emma would take a nap during the first part of the drive. She slept most of the way and then stayed entertained with the help of snacks and toys for the remainder. I’ve found that the more variety you bring the better. She’ll start with one toy and be perfectly entertained for about two minutes before throwing it aside and fussing for something new.

We checked into our hotel just in time to take a quick look around and unload the bags. Emma enjoyed rolling around on the bed and trying to get into the bathroom where she would have immediately stuck her hands in the toilet. The room was a lot nicer than it had looked in the pictures so we were pleasantly surprised. After getting everything settled and freshening up, we headed to the show.

I had Emma’s bag strategically packed with anything she might possibly need during the show. I knew that it was a lot to ask of a 10 month old to sit still during several fly fishing films right around bed time (Call us crazy for even trying but we couldn’t find a sitter and Sam couldn’t miss it!) I brought some new snacks, plenty of toys and entertainment, and everything she might need for bedtime. I hoped that after a few of the films, I could step out, feed her, and get her to sleep. The plan was to put her in her stroller once she fell asleep for the rest of the evening. The atmosphere was pretty casual in a gym-like setting so, I wasn’t too worried about having to step in and out with her as needed and I knew I could stand in the back and walk around with her if I needed to.

We arrived just in time to make a quick stop at the photo booth and buy a couple of raffle tickets before heading in and finding a seat on the end so we could set the stroller up and I could make an easy getaway at bedtime. We found a perfect spot and Emma crawled around happily as people piled in-they had their biggest turnout yet according to Sam.

Emma looked all around at the people and was pretty quiet and wide eyed as the show began. She watched the first film or two on my lap while doing some serious snacking. We stepped out around 7:30 and I nursed her and rocked her to sleep before quietly sneaking back in during the 3^rd film. Unfortunately, Emma wasn’t gonna have any of that sleep stuff for a while. She was way to in to the films. She woke up after about 20 minutes of napping and spent the next hour or so wide eyed. She was pretty interested in her toys and the films most of the time but we did have to watch from the back for some of the show when she got restless from sitting still. Emma crawled around in the back while I watched.

She went to bed about 2 hours after her bed time but then slept through the rest of the show (and through the night! WOO!)

Sam and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I was especially impressed with a video made by some local Utah anglers that are part of a group called Outsmarting Fish. The scenery was breathtaking and I really enjoyed the message of the video. I liked how it talked about how connected people can become through the sport of fly fishing. That’s something I’ve truly seen happen both in my own life as I’ve grown in my connection to Sam and his family and as I’ve watched Sam create relationships with many people including several of his patients at work or even random strangers he meets through fly fishing. It was fun to see the diversity displayed in the different films. Diversity in anglers themselves, locations, types of fish, styles-so much diversity and yet so much of a connection to each other can be found in the “fly fishing world” as Sam calls it; a “brotherhood” it was sometimes referred to throughout the films.

 Sam was disappointed that he didn’t win anything this year (Last year he won a pair of Smith Optics sunglasses) but, was pleased with the stack of stickers he was given and the brown trout print he bought from an artist that he likes, Tim Johnson. On the way to the hotel, we talked about how badly we needed to go fishing-all of that watching other anglers land huge fish had given us “the itch”.

The next day, we played with Emma in bed for a while-trying to prolong our rest-then had a little breakfast at the hotel before heading out to enjoy the Provo temple open house. The building is beautiful-outside and in! I loved the stained glass and all of the wood detail. It was exquisitely decorated. Before the tour began, we watched a short video. I can honestly say I have no idea what it was about because Emma had apparently seen her fill of films for the trip! She was not happy so we ended up bouncing in the back of the room apologizing to everyone around us for the noise. I was worried that she might be fussy throughout the entire tour (which was supposed to be silent) but, literally as soon as we walked in to the temple walls, she was calm. She looked around at everything quietly as we walked. Sam held her and I made him let her touch one of the walls so that I could tell her she had touched the inside of the Provo temple someday. It was a really neat experience and we enjoyed walking and taking a few pictures on the ground afterwards. If anyone would like to see what the inside of the Provo temple looks like, click HERE. It’s beautiful.

The rest of the day was spent shopping. We had to stop by Krispy Kreme (road trip tradition) and lucky for us, the “hot donut” sign was on. (For those of you who have never been, if there really are such people, when the “hot donut” sign is on, you get a free donut!!) We wandered through the Provo mall and a Hobby Lobby. It’s funny, Sam suddenly has great interest in craft type stores because apparently they are filled with all sorts of treasures that can be used in fly tying. I was glad we decided to travel a little ways further north to Lehi to hit the Cabela’s store before heading home. I had never been there but, it’s one of Sam’s favorite stores. At the one in Lehi, there is a huge aquarium area which Emma LOVED! She had so much fun trying to grab the fish as they swam by and pounding on the glass. She laughed and squealed with delight the entire time and I was reluctant to take her away from it. Sam was excited that he found an awesome deal on some flyline-one of our rods was in severe need of replacement.

It was such a fun trip and a nice little getaway for our family. I was so glad that it worked out for all of us to go together and really enjoyed learning more about different kinds of flyfishing through the films.