We saw two eagles on the drive up to the first stop along the river, where the Eagle People or the Friends of the Eagle or whatever they were calling themselves, were just to find that with all the rain we've had lately the eagles were pretty much gone. What a disappointment for a two hour drive up there! Then this guy came up to us and several other people and offered us a free spot on a raft to float down the river to see the eagles from that viewpoint. He was, let's say, a little sketchy looking. I wasn't so sure about it but we had to move fast since they were leaving in 20 minutes from somewhere else down the road so we decided to check it out and decide there. They turned out to be a reputable group and even offered us a free chili lunch and snacks when we got back. So we hopped on the bus, met the Peace Pilgrim (a hippie that walks the highway picking up trash with a big ol' peace sign), drove to the side of the highway about a mile or so up and pulled off the road. In the middle of nowhere. We started to rethink our decision and I wonder if any of the other 16 or so people on the bus did as well. We were told to get off the bus and be careful crossing the highway - but to where? We didn't know, so we just went with the crowd. Like the cow to the slaughter house I suppose, but off we went. Turns out we had to climb down the embankment backwards holding a rope tied to a tree. Then we climbed through the trees to get to the water and low and behold, there were our rafts and here came another one full of people. Everything was alright. Better than alright to be honest, it was great from there on out.
After that we headed to a roadside 'eatery' on the suggestion of the other guide. Turns out it was great as well. Never would have stopped there if we would have been on our own and we truly would have missed out. We even learned that you should eat sweet potato fries with honey drizzled over them. And really, you should.
After a filling, if not 2 hour late, lunch we headed to the fish hatchery just up the road to see if we could catch one of the free tours happening this weekend. We were lucky again because someone in our party couldn't handle the 12 minute video without a nap so we headed out on a self-guided tour. As we came up to see the guy that was feeding the fish the Bubs got so excited that the guy let us up on the 'Authorized Personnel Only' platforms and we got to check out all of the fish and feed them! Oh what fun! After about 15 minutes of that we thanked the guy and headed back just to catch the tour guy who asked us if we wanted to see the inside of the hatchery really quick. So we headed in and who should come in but our new friend from outside. At that point the Bubs got a hands on tour as he helped with putting the displays away. Those displays just happened to be the fish eggs, the little ones with the yolk sacs attached, and the little fry guys. Our friend (never caught his name) then took us back to the back where they keep the eggs in the trays and let Bubba help put the them in. He was so excited the entire time and declared 'we should name them all Nemo!'. As we left we all shook hands and when Bubba shook his new friends hand he was told 'and you can come back any time you want!' It was great.
Ahhhh, it really was a great day. No melt downs, no tears, no fits, even with no nap. Well, he slept from 4:30-5:30 in the car and was in bed by 9 tonight, but it was worth the price I'm sure to pay tomorrow for the fun that was had today.
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