Searching for Salmon: Thursday, 9/15, South on Hwy. 101

The sun popped out from beneath the clouds long enough to give us a stunning sunset on the beach last night. Everyone in the campground gathered as sun worshippers to honor the spectacle.

Then we slept with the rising tide roaring in our dreams.
In the morning I went down to the surf’s edge to offer a prayer to the directions, again thanking the salmon for their presence and asking for continued guidance.

We set out early with the first stop at the Lady Bird Johnson Redwood Grove, just a few miles down the road. The sun was actually peeking through the fog while we quietly enjoyed this lovely trail. A forest fire from “a long time ago,” according to the printed guide, had left trees hallowed out but still alive. “Redwoods don’t die easily, they regenerate themselves with seed ladened burls when threatened by fire and storms”. We saw evidence of this throughout the forest. The photo below was taken while standing inside a hollow tree and looking up.

As we continued south on Hwy. 101 we left behind the stillness of the National Parks and entered the realm of human activity in the small towns that dot the coastline. The fog had returned so our picnic lunch at Stone Lagoon was a surreal experience of the quiet lagoon, sand, ocean waves and sky all were enveloped in a seamless cloud. Further down the coast we stopped at Patrick’s Point to stand out on a cliff edge looking at the fault line running through the rocks.

A strange little ditty started forming in my head as we walked the area…”standing on the fault line, waiting for the “big one”…and then decided this wasn’t something I wanted to call in. We’ve stood on fault lines all along this coast and had it repeatedly pointed out to us in the park signs. It’s all a part of life here and a part of the landscape.

After passing through the towns of Trinidad and Eureka we began looking for a place to stop for the night and found it in Fortuna. We wanted a place with hot showers, wifi and outlets to recharge all the cameras, phones and gadgets that are fun to have but useless when off the grid. It was good to have been off the grid for a few days.
Now we have to figure out which way to go from here.

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Pat & Fred

Searching for Salmon: Wednesday, 9/14, Klamath revisited

There was no dawn to help us rise early for the long drive up to Klamath, just a dense fog covering everything. Although we started out later than planned we still had plenty of time to get to the river. However, there was one more stop needed, in order to charge the camera batteries that were now depleted. So, we found help at the Prairie Creek Visitors Center on the way… and then also had to stop in Klamath to buy another fishing license. That’s when things really began to feel like a comedy of errors. There were no more licenses available. We’d have to drive all the way back to Crescent City or down to Trinidad…either of them would take hours.

In retrospect, we should have just gone back to Klamath Glen and shot some photos, since actually catching a salmon was never part of the plan… but instead we lost the opportunity with confusion and delays. It was a frustrating morning…what was happening? We drove out to the river delta hoping to see some salmon there, but it was quiet.
Finally, tired and disappointed, we just headed back to the beach camp and were surprised to have the bull elk standing right at the entrance, as if waiting to have his photo taken instead.

After a rest we decided to go and see Fern Canyon, just down the road from the campground. It was a good decision and completely lifted our spirits. It feels like another world, taking you out of all sense of time.

So, what to do about this search for salmon? I wanted to go back north to Klamath for another try, but Fred wanted to go south and continue our planned route. I flipped a coin, and South won. Somehow it feels OK…Salmon has been found even if there’s no photo to prove it.
I feel it’s overwhelming presence in the ocean and am very glad to spend another night sleeping on the beach. I trust that Salmon will continue to reveal what I am searching for as this journey continues.

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Pat & Fred

Searching for Salmon: Tuesday, 9/13, at the Klamath River…Salmon is here!

After spending a wonderful night camping in the redwoods, we said our good-byes and headed south for the Klamath River. According to the local fishermen there was a great salmon run already in progress there.

Before driving upriver to Klamath Glen, so Fred could do some fishing, we took in the view from the overlook of the river delta, and were surprised at the number of people up there. Later we heard there were reports of sharks and seals drawn to the delta because of the large number of salmon. We didn’t see any of this, but we did notice that we were now in the Yurok Reservation, and that the Klamath area was their ancestral land.

At Klamath Glen we found few people fishing from the shore while motor boats sped up and down the river, filled with fishermen. Fred caught a small brown trout and released it. We had arrived around noon, just in time to see the very end of the activity from the morning’s run, with a few salmon jumping out of the water as they raced upstream. A local Yurok man told us it had been a wild scene all morning with them leaping by the hundreds. We stayed a while but all that was left were the gulls looking for remnants from the fishing boats. Still, I felt deep gratitude and excitement to be here in the presence of the salmon.

We decided to come back early the next morning to see the run.
Since there were only RV parks in the area we drove south through the Prairie Creek Redwoods, along the scenic parkway, stopping at one of the many trails, to see the “Big Tree.” It’s over 1500 years old and well over 300′ tall.

Then we decided to try our luck, even though it was late in the afternoon, and see if we could claim a spot at the Gold Bluffs campground. This is another favored place and we were delighted to find a site on the beach. It had been a long day and we were tired but were quickly revived by the beauty of the place.
One of the special attractions of this campground is the presence of the Roosevelt Elk and sure enough we were treated to the sight of a bull elk strolling down the beach at dusk…amazing.
The sound of the ocean lulled us to sleep.

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Pat & Fred

Searching for Salmon: Visiting with the Elders

We began this day with a drive on the Howland Hill Rd., out of Crescent City. This dirt road winds diagonally through the center of the park, with multiple trail heads branching off along the way.

The Boy Scout and the Stout Grove Trails come highly recommended on websites and National Forest / State Park maps. So after multiple stops along the road to shoot photos of this wondrous landscape, I finally figured out how to take videos on the iPod and then download them onto the iPad!

Hopefully, you’ll be able to view this short, first video.

Tonight we’re camping in the Jed Smith campground, enjoying the night sounds of owl, the river, and our crackling campfire. Life is good.

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Pat & Fred

Searching for Salmon: From Crater Lake to Crescent City

As a child I’d seen photos of this magnificent place and thought I would never see it in person. It seemed as remote as a lake on the moon to a child living in Brooklyn, NY.
Standing at the west rim of the lake it still seems a magical place, especially with Wizard Island resting within it. I wanted to linger, trying to absorb the sense of mystery that lay before me, but there were miles of road still before us if we were to make it to the coast today. Reluctantly, I bid the lake good-bye…for now.

The drive, south and west, was just as magical as we entered miles of tall forests that seemed endless, ancient and full of the mysterious energy of TREE beings, the likes of which I have never experienced before…and we weren’t even in the Redwoods yet!
Finally, in mid- afternoon we arrived at the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and came to visit our first redwood trees…the “elders”. Simply to be in their presence is a blessing.

Tomorrow we begin our visit here by returning to the Jed Smith forest, find a camping site and start visiting the different groves of old growth trees. The Smith River also happens to be the habitat of Chinook and steelhead salmon. Let’s see what tomorrow brings…..

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Pat & Fred

Searching for Salmon: Following the Snake

The Snake River was often visible from Hwy 86 as we drove west through southern Idaho. While there were many sandbars back in the Tetons it seemed to grow in volume and strength as we followed the sun.

This photo was taken this morning at Massacre Rocks State Park, ID, where the Oregon Trail had passed. Today it’s a bird watching haven.

A nice riverside park at Heyburn, ID was a good place for a rest from driving.

At Glenns Ferry, ID, we stopped for a picnic lunch and watched some local anglers try their luck. Here the river was moving very fast and strong…and the fish weren’t biting.

What had seemed a light haze in the air also became stronger as we drove west until we knew it had to be smoke from wildfires. Tonight’s local news confirms that there are a number of fires burning in Oregon and Washington along with record heat. It’s almost like being back in New Mexico during the summer.

There was just one surprise wildlife sighting today as we drove through open country with a patchwork of potato farms. I saw a lone coyote standing in a field of pale golden grass, it’s tawny coat providing just enough contrast to be noticed. How strange, I thought, to see this animal standing so still at almost midday, just staring at the traffic…if that’s what really caught it’s attention. I wondered why it was there. Perhaps it was looking for a quick lunch of field mice…but there was such a funny look on it’s face. I had to laugh aloud when the next road sign we saw was for the town of Bliss.

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Pat & Fred

Searching for Salmon: Jenny Lake and Raven…and Deer

Camping at Jenny Lake has been a dream of mine since our first visit to the Teton National Forest over three years ago. Since it’s also the favorite destination of many other campers the chances are slim that you’ll actually find a spot, especially if you arrive in the middle of the day as we did. Maybe it helped that it was the week after Labor Day, but I felt very blessed to find a spot just being vacated while a huge Raven sat on the picnic table watching us arrive. Thanks for the welcome Raven!

Raven and his mate were obviously the landlords of this campground and enjoyed watching us. They even took pains to point out the signs and rules around their domain

Jenny Lake during a late afternoon rain shower.

Fred was happy with how easily the tent went up and how cozy it was even in the cool, wet weather. We actually expected to see bears come walking through since it’s a very common routine but they didn’t show up. Instead we had a doe graze her way through a number of times. Sweet!

This morning we packed up and headed down the road to Jackson and the National Museum of Wildlife Art just north of town. What a great treat awaited us there with the annual show of Western Visions artists. No photos were allowed in this show but I came away inspired! This is a show I would love to be included in someday.

We’re spending the night in Pocatello, Idaho as we follow the Snake River across the state. It seems every secondary road is being repaved before winter hits so travel has been slow today. Tomorrow we’ll take the Interstate to make up some time as we head toward Oregon…and continue the search for Salmon.

Searching for Salmon: Honoring courage…

Traffic is heavy on I-25 this Tuesday morning as we slowly make our way through Denver and head north toward Wyoming. We’re getting a late start as the battery in our car had to be replaced…surprise!

Our visit with the kids has left us with a deep admiration for their courage as they continue to deal with the recession.

They’re not alone as this global recession, plus environmental shifts, force radical change on us all. Still, it is difficult to watch your loved ones struggle with the challenges. We support their efforts to find creative solutions while facing the future with a generous dose of humor.

Since learning of our planned trip, Freddy discovered a great book at the library, titled “Salmon Bears” by Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read, “which explores the delicate balance that exists between the grizzly, black, and spirit (pure white) bears of the Great Bear Rainforest and their natural environment on the central coast of BritishColumbia. Key to this relationship are the salmon…completing a cycle of life that ensures the survival of not only their own species but also virtually every other plant and animal in the forest.”

I loved reading through this beautiful children’s book, taking note of the many “Bear Facts” in each chapter. British Columbia is a good bit north of our destination yet the same delicate balance exists in the Redwood forests in Northern California…and in every other ecosystem in the world…that I know of. I especially enjoyed this photo of a grizzly bear…what an expression.

One of the main purposes of this journey we have undertaken is to have a personal encounter with salmon, in order to prepare for painting an Icon already designated as “Courage of Salmon”.

While Salmon is respected in many cultures a a wisdom-keeper it is also honored for the courage it shows in the upstream battle for completing it’s life cycle. There’s much for us to learn from salmon, especially how the survival of all species rests in our facing the necessary changes in our own lives with courage…and even enthusiasm!

Searching for Salmon: Ah…New Mexico!

Charlie’s Spic & Span Cafe in Las Vegas, NM, is always a first stop on the way to Denver. The red chile is superb and today we were treated with both delicious food and live Mariachi music. I video recorded the trio of talented young musicians on my iPod as they sang to a full house with the place rocking with the Sunday lunch crowd. Now, if I had an iPhone I could have posted the recording on this blog…but it will have to wait and be shared later. Meanwhile, it’s wonderful to have the music with us during the trip to remind us why we love NM so much.

We’re heading now to Denver and a two day visit with Freddy, Emily, Ian and Evie. Looking forward to spending this time together to catch up on all the news about Freddy’s new job and how they spent their summer. Ian just returned from his first experience of camp with other kids with special needs…first time away from home without family.

So I’ll be checking back in later!

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