Visions of the Copper..... it's cooler there!

I am currently stationed in San Diego, where we are in the middle of a heat wave.  Wouldn't be a big deal for this used-to-live-on-the-Texas-coast gal, except that none of the buildings here have air conditioning or fans!  That's what you get for taking 70-degree sunny skies for granted.... at any rate, days like this, where I am sweating at my computer with a perpetually red face, make me long for the Alaskan summers I love. 


Here are a few photos of the Copper River I am missing:

The boat launch - from here it's about a 10-minute run down the river to the mud flats to camp.  Note how fast the water runs - you have to conserve gas and carefully plan how to allocate the weight in the boat on the way back.

To dip net from a boat, you have to tie the boat up to a cliff wall.  Ideal spots are enclaves that are somewhat sheltered from the current - the fish will pool there, swimming up the path of least resistance.  This is the view upriver from our tie-up point.

The view down toward the water from my "perch."  You reach this point by hiking up the trail about a quarter mile above the mud flats where we usually camp.  If you look to the right, instead of down, you are eye-level with eagles' nests.  They like the area because fish are easier to pluck from the shallow water, and people cleaning fish offer up easy meals from scraps.  This is my favorite place in the world to write and ponder.