The Wenner's first summer on Fremont Island was full of adventures and new discoveries. Kate, raised by a wealthy eastern family and educated at prestigious schools, recorded that she "felt like a real frontier woman to begin homesteading our first acres." The children spent long hours exploring the island and playing on the beach. The family had brought with them a copy of explorer John C. Fremont's book that recounted early discoveries on the island long before the Mormon settlers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. They read the book often, trying to imagine what events had taken place on their island. When the children found flint arrowheads, the story of the island's early days expanded to include Native Americans.