STORIES

Monday, October 09, 2006

“Something to See” – Day 2 / October 7, 2006

EMAIL PRINT

Community: Thompson

What a gorgeous Saturday morning. Scott and I enjoy our coffee and cereal and then head to the river. It is a 30 minute drive from the cabin where we are staying. As we drive along Shushwap Lake, it is a classic fall day: sunny and cool with the leaves all in yellow and orange.

We cross the Squilax bridge and I see large salmon jumping in the waters below. When we arrive, we set up our tent and before we can get everything out, people are eager to trade salmon stories for THINK SALMON hats and t-shirts.

We hear how one volunteer with the Adams River Salmon Society was ditched by her own mom & dad on Thanksgiving: they were going to Chilliwack to fish for salmon!

We hear of lazy bears on logs in Port Renfrew who don’t allow fishermen to pass unless they make an offering of a few salmon. One man I talk to is adamant that PSF should have a salmon run to raise money for habitat restoration. A great idea! Many of the people I meet have come from Calgary, Banff, Edmonton, Vancouver and other distant places - just to see the salmon return home.

At the end of the day when the light is fading and the people are too, Scott and I pack up. We are considerably lighter than when we arrived, but we have so many great stories recorded and captured in crayon! We take time to go down to the river where there are hoards of people on the edge of the river taking photos and video of the spawning salmon. It is an amazing event.

We buy some bannock with jam (yum!) and sit for the first time all day.

As we enjoy our fried bread treat, I hear an elderly man say to his wife, “What I can’t understand is why all these people are here?!”
“It’s som’thin to see Henry. Som’thin to see.”

For many people it is something to see; a spectacle; a miracle of life & death. Hopefully in trading stories with so many people today, a few will take away an understanding of what they can do in their homes and communities to THINK SALMON.