Alaska -- Day 83

What are all of these gulls waiting for?



Something to eat! In case you can't tell, the dark areas in this water are virtual rivers of pink salmon, moving toward Solomon Gulch to spawn.







Here you see them crowded up against the wire of a fish weir. It diverts many of the returning salmon to the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery, from where they were released a year or so ago.



Part of the wier is stretched across the river. Only the strongest-jumping fish make it on up the river.





The rest are diverted into the fish runs to the hatchery.





We were there before the hatchery opens at 8 am, but a walkway is open so we could see the raceways and read about the fish. The salmon eggs that are deposited in the hatchery are artificially fertilized. The fish had returned to Solomon Gulch because they had been released here. However, the stream itself can't accomodate all the fry (little fish) that will hatch next year. That is where the hatchery comes into play each year.



We found the morning absolutely fascinating, even if it wasn't what we had planned. These signs show why were out there.





We didn't see any bear, but we can certainly understand why they are in this area some time each day.

After returning to the RV for breakfast, we went for a walk. We found this bus in our RV park. We have seen another of these buses somewhere in the past. Click to learn about the Green Tortoisee.

Here you can see the travelers' gear and water supply in the bus basement. Look carefully and you can see two tables on the other side of the buss, one with their breakfast dishes dripping dry and the other where breakfast was prepared.



These are the travelers' tents.



Our walk took us out of town north, where we saw these peaceful wetlands. Look at the reflection in the water.



On the other side of the road, there was fog on the bay. And it was clearing from the mountain tops.





One more great sight.



I have seen bald eagles somewhere every day since we arrived in Valdez.