Is a good day!
We had a great hike on Friday. All 10 of us did the 2.3 mile hike to the Russian River Falls with the hopes of seeing some of those legendary salmon swimming upstream and jumping up the falls. We were not disappointed.
The hike itself was lovely. We walked through stands of fireweed

Along rushing streams

And through deeper forests

Until we came to the Russian River.

We hopped off the trail and walked downstream for a bit


And found a group of salmon in a shallow spot in the river.

I think they must have been resting up, because they really have to work hard to make the journey up over the falls.

That funny looking thing on the edge of the river is a fish ladder. It gives the fish the option to bypass the falls. Maybe that’s what those guys were doing that we saw further downstream – discussing their options. “So, you gonna take the ladder? Me, I think I can make the falls. Yeah, I’m sure I’m fish enough to do the falls. “
The ones that do decide to “do the falls” certainly had quite a cheering section from the peanut gallery-

And with enough patience, and just keeping the camera focused on the same spot, I did manage to get a couple of shots of those brave fish, giving their all trying to get back to where they were born.

There’s no place like home.

There’s no place like home.

There’s no place like home.

They didn’t all make it on the first attempt, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying (or lack of encouragement from the spectators!)
Lovely weather, a great hike, fish jumping up waterfalls, and ice cream. Yep, a very good day.

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The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. Gary finally had the opportunity to do some fishing, so he and fellow Sower (and Alaskan resident) Paul headed off to Paul’s favorite fishing hole. We wives ran some errands and then went to see how the guys were doing. Guess I forgot that they might not exactly be accessible for a conversation. We never actually found them, but I took some shots of the general area (and the crowds of fishermen).

Turns out we were indeed at the right spot –

He didn’t catch anything, but Paul did, and he generously shared his bounty.

Plus he got to finally try out those fun waders! (and that funky hat!)
Hope your weekend was just what you had in mind.
🙂