Run, Salmon, Run!

A member of the homeschooling community set up a trip to see the Salmon Run with the guidance of one of her friends. I've read about how this is a perk of homeschooling, utilizing resources close by, but living it has been amazing. So, on his day off, our guide Tim, took us on a fantastic tour of the salmon. 

The weather cooperated very well. It rained off and on during the 50 minute drive, but once we got there, the rain eased up. I was worried I wouldn't be able to take photos, but I was lucky enough to take many, too many to choose from, so there are a lot in this post.

From the road, we were able to see and hear the flowing river. 

Beautiful trees watched us as we continued on our path.

Tim, our instructor for the day, asked that we be quiet as we watched the salmon swim. Loud noises could disturb the fish on their journey. It was extremely difficult to keep quiet. When you see a fish jump 5 feet into the air trying to go up a large waterfall, you can't help but squeal with delight, cheer the fish on, hoping it'll make it this time! We did get to see a few fish discover the fish ladder and make it up to the next level. I have never seen anything like it and was exhilarated by the experience of watching the salmon jump.

Our hike back up to begin the next segment of the trip.

Our next and final stop was a few minutes down the road. 

More beautiful sights awaited us.

The kids loved looking over the bridge to see the calmer part of the river where we'd be spending our afternoon. From the bridge, we did not see any live fish, but a few dead ones were spotted. We learned that scientists come out to count the dead bodies. To keep track of which ones have been counted, they cut off the tail, so if you see a tail, it has not been counted yet.

More beautiful trees surrounding us on this day.

And here is our classroom for the day. Love it!

I am not a fisherman. I have fished, but I am not a fisherman. There are fisherman in my extended family, but I am not a fisherman. I have always found a reason to be somewhere else when the fish were cleaned. Therefore, it was pretty cool to see the gills of this fish. Note: A sad part of spawning, for the female fish, is that after she lays her eggs, she dies a few days later.

This time, no cheers. We were on our best behavior at this part of the river. Giving our respect to the female fish trying to find safe places to lay their eggs and to the males trying to fertilize them. It was a majestic time with the quiet trickling of the river, soft steps of onlookers, and the occasional splash from a salmon.

Here you can see the tail fin and dorsal fin of a salmon near the rocks.

This seems to be a centipede? Seems to have one set of legs per body segment and segmented antennae. But, I'm no bug expert. I do know, however, that there were tons of them on this tree and that the younger boys were enthralled with them.