The recent weather has been overcast skies with intermittent rain. These disappointing conditions have kept us pretty close to our trailer which is currently parked in space 107 at Paradise Thousand Trails Resort in Silver Creek.

Fortunately, there was a lull in the rain this afternoon so we took a spin along the banks of the Cowlitz River. After just a few miles west from our campground on WA-12, we arrived in the town of Salkum. There’s not much in the downtown area but they do have a nice regional public library with speedy internet. In Salkum, we turned south until we arrived at the banks of the Cowlitz where there is a little side road to a salmon hatchery. There is a nice big parking lot for boat trailers and RVs, the hatchery ponds, mysterious pieces of fixed equipment behind fencing and the gorgeous emerald green waters of the Cowlitz as they tumble over a barrier dam and fish ladder. Because of the extremely slow nature of our wanderings, we were able to linger near the barrier dam where we soon spotted very husky salmon jumping up the waterfall and into the upper reaches of the river.

Our next stop was just a few miles further west along the riverbank. We pulled into the Cowlitz’s trout hatchery. We visited this facility on previous visits to the Cowlitz and the last time here we spotted a pair of bald eagles perched in the riverside alder trees. They would have a superb view of the trout- and salmon-filled water rushing by below, allowing them a wide selection of fish dinners.

Our friends weren’t there today but we’ll be checking back.

We continued downriver until we got to the village of Toledo where we crossed the river to the south bank. The road on the south bank is quite different from the road on the other side. There are some very nice houses concentrated near Toledo, but the further you go upriver, the less there is to see. The river is only visible from a few spots and the road eventually craps out in an enormous expanse of stubby reforestation and a view of only the gravel. We turned around when we ran out of road and headed back through Toledo to our cozy trailer. Not long after we arrived home, the rain started up again and it was open for business. We are glad we have sealed up all the leaks.

There’s 2 pix. Click the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/bYsXsnHsFEjANsRp6