Win some/lose some -- Tues/Wed, 10/23-10/24

At Valley of the Rogue St Pk campground I awoke to a brilliant red sunrise -- uh-oh, Red Sky in the Morning, Sailor Take Warning!  Well, today is a travel day, not our fishing day, so no matter the sunrise color!  I thought the lovely sky would make for a nice little morning walk, in the opposite direction from last night's hike.  So did the others, and after breakfast we set forth.  I'm not sure, but I believe we put in about two miles worth of steps ... enjoying the scenery with each step!

Autumn hues are the best.

Marlene and Cliff.

On Hwy 199, heading southwest to Smith River, CA, the gorgeous deciduous trees were in full autumn regalia!  Dashing shades of reds, yellows, bronze, and orange, mixed with conifer greens was simply breathtaking.  

Middle branch of the Smith River.

Pretty scenery, but very low water ....

We parked Tergel on a riverfront site in Jedediah Smith St Park (within Redwood National Park).  No hookups, of course, and she won't be getting too much solar while sitting beneath the trees, but for two nights, we'll be fine.  Marlene and Cliff parked their rig on the next tier.

The river is rocky and crystal clear.  See the splash in center just in front of the shrubs?  That's a salmon!  We learned that fishing is closed on the river itself because the water level is so low; we could "go to jail" if caught trying to pull in a salmon here.  Not a problem for us, we don't have a license to fish today and we don't have fishing poles.  Tomorrow we'll have a guide and poles and a boat and our license will be good.

Jedediah Smith St Park is a scenic wonder, though many of its mighty trees are still smallish in comparison with really giant Redwoods.  We love its quiet.  And it smells fresh, earthy.

Maybe this Redwood I'm hugging isn't the largest tree in the area,

but it's a whopper!  (above and below)

... and it's next to our site.

Now for a fishy tale.  Jimmy and I set an alarm for 4:30 Wednesday morning, so we could dress, drink a cuppa coffee or two and make/pack a lunch.  We were to meet the fishing guides at 6am.  Cliff and Marlene were at the meeting place a couple of minutes before us.  They would be in one boat with Andy as their guide, and we'd be in a different boat, with Mick as our guide.  You do know that it's pitch dark at 6am, right?  A full moon was fixin' to set shortly as we made our way to the river.

The fish and game people decreed that only Smith River's estuary could be fished at this time.  That's where we are, above, and that's Cliff and Marlene in their boat.  I'll dispense with suspense and tell you we came back to Tergel with NO fish.  After the fact, we found out that this is NOT steelhead season, and the salmon were "biting yesterday" (in the rain), but they sure as heck weren't biting today.  I caught one "jack" which is a small male salmon (though he was well over a foot long), and Mick threw it back so it could "grow bigger."  Jimmy and I both had occasional bites, but lost the fish.  Seals were present, stalking us (and smirking) and scaring away the fish, which didn't help a bit.  Mick made us feel like we were totally inept, which made me feel bad.  Even if we were inept, he shouldn't have rubbed it in.

No rain, but an overcast sky was supposedly good for catching fish.

We were dressed in layers and with rain gear on, in case the sky opened up.

Those gulls were entertaining, flying in tight packs,

first here and then yonder, spiraling high.

Marlene and Cliff kept two "jacks" because they said they wanted to keep them, and they left the water about 1pm.  They made the decision to head for home that afternoon.  We stayed on the water and tried to catch a salmon, or preferably two, till 4:30, and then threw in the towel. That's one very long day of sitting in a boat to come away with nothing. All four of us were disappointed.  Mick said he wished he'd kept the one jack I caught.  Well, duh, me, too!

This is not a photo of the salmon we caught.  This is Aleutian Geese overtaking a nearby field where dairy cows graze.  I hope I didn't sulk about the ending of our grand fishing adventure, or if I did, I hope it wasn't overly long.  It's over.  Time to get on with something else.  Fun times are around the corner.  I'm ready.

On the plus side, I'll have enough one-gallon freezer bags to last my lifetime!