Mission, British Columbia

Before we leave 2018 and head into the events of 2019, I have one more quick trip to share with you from late 2018. From the title of this post “Mission, British Columbia”, I bet you’ve guessed that I went to the small town of Mission, British Columbia, Canada. You are right!

My two good friends who live there invited me to come up for a couple of days and I jumped at the chance. It was just me and the big white truck this time (sans trailer), crossing the border into Canada using the NEXUS lane quick as a cricket, then driving another ten minutes or so north of the border, and there I was in Mission, BC.

These friends just purchased their Escape trailer this past year too, just like me, so we talked “trailer” and lots of other important life things. I got to watch a game of hockey on TV and learn about that from real Canadians. And they drove me all over the area in their truck. I had a blast!

Sometimes it’s the simple things that mean the most to me. These two folks get that, as do most of you who are reading this I think. We didn’t head into any city to see the sights, we headed exactly in the opposite direction, out into the country where life is real.

The area we drove past above was a large, protected wetland that was home to birds and fish and beaver and many other folk. As we drove by, Mark quietly said “see there’s a beaver lodge.” I practically shouted “where?! where?!” In all my years and travels, I’d never seen a beaver lodge. We stopped and got out of the truck and stood silently and soaked in the beauty. In thinking back on it, I suspect I was chattering a bit actually, in my excitement, but my friends were kind. 🙂

You’ll find the beaver lodge in the photo above, on the left side of the photo. Here’s a close-up below.

I hoped to see a beaver, but maybe that’s being saved for the next trip here.

We drove up and down several back roads, in beautiful country, with trees and streams and lakes all around us. If you zoom in on this area using Google Earth, you’ll see that there just might be more water hereabouts than land. Mark’s fishing hobby is well-suited to this country.

My friends said they would show me a Buddhist shrine and I thought they were joking, but we drove around a curve on a narrow gravel road, and there it was ….

 

It was delightful … and very peaceful.

We saw lots of stuff over those 2-3 days, but the highlight for me was a visit to the Inch Creek Hatchery. We arrived right in the middle of spawning time, couldn’t have timed it better. I was so enthralled and amazed and impressed that I didn’t take one single photo. I guess I stood around with my mouth hanging open, though I managed to ask lots of questions too. Of course, one can find plenty of appropriate photos online these days. Here are a few photos taken in this hatchery and taken likely around spawning time.

Another sign here says … “Adult fish return to the hatchery via the Chilliwack River and then enter Slesse Creek. From Slesse Creek, the fish enter the overflow channel and are then diverted into the vertical-slot fishway. The fishway reduces water velocity and helps the fish climb to their final destination, the concrete holding ponds.”

 

 

The photo above is of “small fry” in a rearing pond. Fry are juvenile salmon that have just come out of their gravel nest. I think they are also known as “redd”.

Photo above is adult salmon in a concrete holding pond.

We watched as the salmon were “harvested” … fertilized eggs were collected and would be placed in a special pond filled with specially blended well-water kept at a specific temperature. Eventually, juvenile salmon will be placed in local streams from which they will swim to the ocean. They will then return to the same local stream in one or two years to spawn again. At least, I think this is the process. As mentioned, I was so amazed by everything here (the fish, the hatchery staff who were so competent and careful with the fish and who were courteous and communicative with us too, and with everything I learned) that I certainly did not take in even 1/10th of what I saw and read. I will be back!!

As with all animals on earth, these salmon are part of a much bigger cycle of life. I do know that there is talk about reducing hatchery fish and doing more to promote wild stock, but that’s a discussion for another day. In so many parts of North America (and maybe other parts of the world too), these hatcheries have saved entire runs of salmon from extinction. My hat is off to everyone who has made this a success story.

I’m sure everyone who fishes the rivers and streams and lakes appreciates all that’s done to sustain the fish and this absolutely stunning environment.

Next time I go visit these two friends of mine in Mission, BC, I’ll be hard-pressed to choose whether to head to the hatchery first or to head for that beaver lodge first. It’s so hard to see everything all at once, yes? 🙂