The Lock

I spent time at the lock this afternoon.  An unusual barge combination came through.  You are looking at two barges lashed together.  They were loaded with equipment and a large amount of steel.  That structure you see on the barges coming into the lock is a section of a railroad bridge.  Look carefully and you will see a very tall crane as well.

We worked at the fish viewing building on the Washington side today.  This guy spent some time hanging on one of the windows of the fish ladder.  Do you feel like a dentist?

Carson Fish Hatchery

Wednesday Randa and I drove over the dam and east of Stevenson.  14 miles up the Wind River is the Carson National Fish Hatchery.  Some hatcheries are state-run.  This one is operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Dept.  Wednesday was the last day of the annual Chinook Salmon "harvest".  After being out in the ocean for 3-5 years, the salmon respond to the urge to return to the stream that they traveled down as fingerlings and spawn.  Scientists believe they can accomplish this remarkable feat using their acute sense of smell.  They can follow a scent to their original stream.
     This year 725 Spring Chinook Salmon returned to Tyee Creek, just off the Wind River to do just that.  They made their way up the fish ladder at the Carson Hatchery and milled around in the holding tanks waiting to spawn.  In the wild the female would make a nest (redd) and lay her eggs in it. The male would swim over it and release is sperm ( milt) to drift down and mix with the eggs to fertilize them.  The hatchery way is a bit more industrial.
     The holding tank is made smaller, the salmon are taken out, one at a time, euthanized and the females emptied of their eggs and the males milked of their milt.  One male, one female.  Milt and eggs and mix, fertilization occurs. eggs are stored in trays under close supervision, running water, correct temperatures and safe habitat.  18 months later the 5 inch fingerlings are released into Tyee Creek to travel down Wind River , the Columbia River, to the Pacific Ocean to do it all over again.

A female Chinook Salmon gives up her eggs, 4000 to 5000

   

  

After fertilization the milt and any blood is poured off.The fertilized eggs are poured into trays and labeled as to what fish and what date they were harvested

The Eggs are stored in the stacks of trays in this safe room where the salmon can become tiny fish.

   
 It's an amazing process, both the natural way and the hatchery way.  The natural way is, well, more natural, but the hatchery way is 10 times more successful.  Without hatcheries, Salmon would rapidly become extremely rare or probably, extinct.   Extinction is forever !

Spillways

As you can see the spillways are running full open.  

This will continue through this month to give the salmon fingerlings free access to their trip downstream and eventually, to the Pacific.  The Salmon counts are low even though much is being done to help.

Powerhouse Maintenance

Yesterday I spent an hour hosting in Powerhouse 1.  It's impossible to tell but their are 10 turbines in this building.  They were first installed in the 1930's so there is always maintenance required.  Yesterday was no exception.  There were four maintenance men working on turbine number 9 which is the second one back.  From what I could see, they were replacing air filters. Huge units.  The big orange crane was used to lower the units into the generator.

Here you can see the crane operator.  That one crane can lift 300 tons!  Not bad I'd say.

Sea Lions

These Sea Lions are just below the dam's spillway.  Stellar Sea Lions are Endangered so are protected.  But they Love to eat Salmon.  They hang out here and have a feast.  The Chinook and Coho are not protected but their numbers are falling.  What is the solution to the situation?

Sea Lions aren't the only threat to numbers of Salmon.  A big one is, of course dams.  Dams block or at least inhibit the migration of the fish to their spawning grounds.  Fish ladders are man-made concrete "streams" that offer flowing water to go around the dams.  They're good but truthfully, they are not the same as a river without a dam.   Again, the solution is complex and maybe unobtainable.

50 years ago

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of a significant day.  50 years ago , August 15, 1969, I left for Vietnam.   I left with much trepidation. 
I was leaving my wife of less than 6 months. 
I was leaving the United States of America for a ( literally and figuratively) foreign place. 
I was going to war !
Would I return?
Would I be woulded?

I remember seeing bumper stickers on some of the vehicles on the Marine Base Camp Lejune (North Carolina) and thinking, " I"ll be happy to be back and have a sticker like that on my bumper."

Looking back.  It was not a bad experience for me.  It made me grow up.  It made me a better person.  I know it made me a better Marine. 

49 years ago yesterday I arrived home from Vietnam.
Semper Fi. !

PS. I did not get a bumper sticker because Randa had bought us a brand new 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger and there was no way I was going to put any sticker on that car!

50

It's already been a week and a half since our party.I would call it a success.  It sure was fun. The weather cooperated sunnybut not too hot. Great seeing friends new and old.  More than 40 guests.  Old friends and new friends.  Randa's sister came from Tennessee.  The other from Minnesota with her husband and son.   Much conversation.
    Lots of food.  Three kinds of meat for the tacos.  Chicken. Beef.  Pork.  Lettuce, tomatoes, two kinds of cheese, sour cream, onions, flour or corn tortillas. Plus several salads, cupcakes, drinks.  Like I said, lots of food.
     It was definitely a Good Thing.   Already working on year 51.  😁