Okay, so I like a little silly alliteration. Last Saturday our family went up to Strawberry Reservoir with my sister-in-law Lauri and her family to see the kokanee salmon run. Utah has this species of salmon (the landlocked siblings of the saltwater sockeye salmon) in Strawberry Reservoir and Flaming Gorge. Normally the fish are a glittery silver, but come spawning season the males and females change into flaming red courting colors and head upstream to their spawning beds. It's a final blaze of glory, though, as these salmon die shortly after spawning.
I think there are at least eight kokanee salmon swimming upstream in this picture...
Justin was a terrific guide/host. We've nicknamed him the Fish Whisperer in our family because he knows everything about fishing and fish. He explained what was happening with the fish, what to watch for in the water (did you know the females "sweep" the rocks clean with their tails in the area they want to lay their eggs? It's called a "redd"), and generally answered any questions we had.
Liam made a friend. There were a couple of fly fishermen tying flies inside the ranger station. They each tied a fly for me -- a scud and a RC damsel nymph. They freely answered questions about everything .... except the locations of their favorite fishing holes.
Liam, Evan, Kyle, and Bronwyn were kind enough to pose for their mom/aunt. We weren't sure where Mark went...
Male kokanee salmon in the fish runs. The salmon are diverted into a building that functions as a giant fish trap. The males and females are separated into different concrete runs. The rangers work on harvesting eggs and sperm to fertilize there in order to hatch out the fingerlings that will be released upstream. This year the run is so large that half of the fish will be transported upstream and allowed to spawn naturally.
A female kokanee salmon. They retain their "bullet" shape.
Male kokanee salmon develop a large hump on their backs and hooked jaws.
This blue cooking box has been in Justin's family for years. The trunk is metal with a wood liner that also divides the cups, plates, and utensils up. It always goes camping with us. This time we were doing dutch oven to help Liam fulfill a history homework assignment to cook like the pioneers.
Our chef extraordinaire. He directed the preparation and cooking of dutch oven potatoes with onions, peppers, zucchini, and plenty of butter; lemon garlic chicken with our own homegrown garlic; and berry cobbler. It was a feast for kings!
Lauri and Kyle help with the chicken. Lauri also brought up deviled eggs. They were so good I could have eaten the whole container.
Lauri has many talents and hobbies. She has a lot of experience as a portrait photographer, so today she gave me some tips. I had taken Owen's senior pictures and missionary pictures myself and while overall I enjoyed it I found creating the poses and knowing what to look for in lighting and posture kind of bewildering. It was so nice to have Lauri talking about what she does while we played at "Glamping" -- glamour camping pictures!
One of my favorite pictures from Bronwyn's shoot. I love how her smile is also in her eyes.
My brother-in-law Jay is a western Renaissance man. He takes beautiful photos, cooks, builds and fixes stuff, and is a terrific dad and husband to Lauri. He is also patient and laughs easily.
I caught this photo of Evan from far away. He thinks deeply about things.
Evan is also a master story teller. Today he explained how Strawberry Reservoir and Strawberry River got their names. It's all thanks to a little creature named Jermillion.
Our dutch oven feast was served up by our chef. Everything was perfectly cooked and almost all of it disappeared. Soon Liam will be able to do this on his own. Today he was coached along by Justin.
Lemon Garlic Chicken
Dutch Oven Potatoes
The feasters.
It was hard to leave Current Creek to come back after such a beautiful afternoon.
