Last Friday I was invited to take a walk along part of the McKenzie River. The McKenzie River Trust recently completed the purchase of four miles of river frontage.
Here's a look at a McKenzie River style drift boat.
The best boat to navigate the rapids while fishing.
It was a glorious autumn day.
Perfect for a walk in the forest.
An Oregon Spotted Frog - a native frog and a sign of a healthy, moist forest.
Dangling mosses.
Oregon Grape
Maidenhair fern.
Oxalis
Young tree growing out of an old stump.
These stumps are over 100 years old and you can still see the springboard cuts.
A carpet of Sword ferns.
Bracken fern
Looking up and up and up
A hillside of autumn color
Young trees and older trees
An interesting fungus
Mossy tree
Up and up
Red berries
Two dragonflies
Dogwood
While the walk was great, the main reason for meeting near Finn Rock was to walk along the slowly meandering side channels...
...and watch the native Chinook salmon spawning.
I cannot begin to express how amazing it was.
Chinook are born in fresh water and stay there for a few months up to a couple of years before moving on out to the Pacific Ocean. They spend anywhere from 1-7 years at sea before returning to river of their birth to spawn.
The white fins are indicative of a female. She digs a channel in the small gravel of the riverbed to lay her eggs, which the male then fertilizes.
The adult salmon then die within a couple of weeks of spawning. I was profoundly moved to watch this part of the Chinook Salmon life-cycle - endings to creat to beginnings.
What a fabulous walk and pictures you shared, Beth! I bet it was touching to see that part of the life cycle of the Chinook Salmon.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this post Beth. Just filled with so many good things!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful area! So cool to see the salmon spawning too. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful and pretty walk. Our woods are so similar. there is a creek near here where you can see the salmon . So I know exactly what you were experiencing. It is such an interesting thing to observe.
ReplyDeleteHow awesome! When my husband and I go to Oregon each year, we are like little kids at Disneyland, but instead of amusement park thrills, we are oohing and ahhing at the moss, the ferns, the GREEN. It's so different from where we are at in Idaho. We are in high-mountain desert, so visiting the temperate rainforests of Oregon is like being in paradise.
ReplyDeleteThe bear cams were offline when I visited (night), but I saw some highlights and wow! Thanks for posting those. Way cool.
Beautiful fall colors in your neck of the woods.
What a gorgeous place! Thanks for sharing! The fins of the salmon makes them look like tiny sharks.
ReplyDeleteA very special walk indeed! Your autumn color is looking wonderful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful walk you were able to take, thanks for sharing all your wonderful photos!
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