Monday, April 20, 2015

Visiting the Fish Ladder









As I shared last week, we have a morning nature walk ritual in our home. For the most part our nature walks take place just outside our front door, but two times during the week we head to local conservation areas. On Wednesday's we spend the morning in the woods with friends, and on Friday mornings I take Reece and his little friend for a hike. Last Friday I had a pretty good feeling that the rainbow trout would be making their way upstream to spawn, so we headed to the fish ladder to take a peek.

You might remember the fish ladder from our visit in the fall to witness the salmon run. It is a pretty amazing spot, and incredible to sit back on the rocks and watch the fish jump up the ladder. It isn't an easy journey to reach the shallow waters to spawn, but they are determined, jumping from the water, trying desperately to make it up and over. I silently cheer every time one makes it up.

We sat for a while, watching them, and then we moved to the top of the ladder, and the calmer waters, to watch as they swam further upstream to spawn.

50 comments:

  1. Wow, that must have been incredible to watch!!

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    1. It really is, and the kids are mesmerized by it, as am I :)

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  2. This is just so neat- I still think this is a wonder how fish do this.... Determination!

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    1. Determination big time. I mentioned to another mom that was there that if I had to work that hard to reproduce I think I would give up :)

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  3. I bet it was fun watching the fish, my dad loves to fish and I would sit on the boat waiting for what seemed like eternity for something to happen. I think I still have that kind of personality :) Love the photo of those two!

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    1. We had a great time Karen. Always exciting to watch them jump.

      Thank you. They are two sweet souls and I am very lucky to be a part of their journey.

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  4. i have never seen a fish ladder, i have heard of them but never seen one. great photos.

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    1. They are amazing, and so much fun to watch. Thank you!

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  5. That is so cool! My 4yr old says he thinks the fish are swimming and jumping from a shark, hehe.

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  6. love it!!!... do the rainbow trout die after spawing (like the salmon does)? It's wonderful you get to see this event twice a year...

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    1. Thanks Erica. No, they are different than the salmon, and don't die after spawning. Many of them will return to the same spot each year to spawn. Pretty cool!

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  7. This must be such an amazing sight to witness in person, wow, I've only seen it happen on the screen. Thank you for sharing this Kim, not only with your young people, but with all of us too.

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    1. It is amazing Tracey, and it never gets old. We go every year, twice a year, and each time is like the first time...so exciting!

      You are most welcome Tracey, I love sharing cool stuff :)

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  8. Wow, what a wonderful experience! Your pictures are the next best thing to being there. :)

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  9. I love your pictures of the fish going up! I hope you guys had a great weekend.

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    1. Thanks Carlin, we did, and hope you did too!

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  10. Look at those fish! So cool, and it looks like the kids were really interested!

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    1. They loved it! I had to tear them away near the end as we had a date with the swimming pool :)

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  11. Awesome! We went to the salmon run in BC when we went on our trip. It is amazing to see their strength and determination!

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    1. Thanks Tiffany. And yes, strength and determination, it is amazing!

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  12. How amazing to get to watch fish jumping up the ladder. Nature is truly amazing.

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    1. It truly is, and we are so happy to be able to witness some of the many amazing things she has to offer.

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  13. What neat photos and what a cool nature walk!

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  14. Ahh I love watching fish jump! they are so cool

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    1. It is pretty cool. I could sit for hours watching them :)

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  15. Wow that's incredible! I've seen pictures of fish jumping Rapids before but why the man made ladder - is it part of a fish farm or something?

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    1. Thanks Carie, it is pretty incredible. No, not a farm, it is a dam, and in order for the fish to get upstream to spawn they need a little help over the dam, so this ladder was built.

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  16. what a good idea, as always, full of meaning and nature!

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  17. That is very cool. My kids would absolutely love that :)

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    1. After seeing your post about your boys today, I totally think they would love this :)

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  18. That is one cool sight. I have a similar memory from when I was around five or six of my Dad taking me to a fish ladder.

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    1. Gosh I hope Reece remembers all of this :) You know this fish ladder is a just a few hours down the 401 :)

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  19. I would just LOVE to have something like his close to home. What an amazing experience!

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    1. It is pretty amazing! You will just have to plan a fall or spring visit :)

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  20. Wow, that would be so interesting to watch. I think I could stand there for hours!

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    1. It is very interesting, and we often do sit for quite some time :) The season runs for a few weeks which is great because we can back a few times to see them.

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  21. What fun. I remember when I was a kid a my grandparents took me to Alaska I got to see the Salmon run. What a great experience!

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    1. It is great fun! So happy I can give my little man these experiences :)

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  22. Amazing, I loved the salmon pictures and these are just as wonderful, I would so love to see this for real!

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    1. You would love it Sally, and your kiddos would have so much fun watching them. It is pretty amazing!

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  23. Oh my goodness, what a sight to behold! The pictures were incredible but I bet it was even more amazing in person! We must see this one day! xo

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    1. It is pretty amazing Shel, the girls would love it! You must, fall or spring, just let us know when you want to come :)

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  24. They look so big standing there. Made
    me smile :)

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    1. They do, don't they. They are certainly growing up :)

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  25. Replies
    1. Thanks Dawn, it is pretty amazing! The fall salmon run is ever better, the water is literally filled with salmon. So awesome!

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