We have 10 jars of sockeye salmon in the pressure canner.  While the ten pound weight dances, I am writing this post.

The above photo shows our campsite this morning.   In the foreground you can see the canner with the windscreen.  To the left is a can of bear spray in case I need to defend the salmon from one of the curious black or brown bears that likes to hang out in the area . (Check out this post from last year: https://roaming-nature.com/2024/07/17/russian-river-and-captain-cook/ ) To the left of the blue water bottle is a thermacell to repel mosquitoes. My waders are draped on the tailgate of the truck,  while C is using his to fish for more.  In front of the truck are solar panels that are charging our Jackery portable power station.  On the mountain in the background, I believe I saw 20 Dall Sheep and 3 Mountain Goats last night.  It is unusual to see both species on the same mountain.  Supposedly, it is sometimes possible in the Cooper Landing area, so my eyes might not be deceiving me. 

Below is a photo of C fishing “The Sanctuary” on July 1 – opening day of 2025.  This confluence of the Russian River and the Kenai River also had a brave Yellowlegs that wasn’t worried about the crowd of people fishing.  C is below the red dot on the left, and the Yellowlegs is at the red dot on the right, perhaps 15 feet from me.

Earlier on our 5 day trip, C fished for hatchery king salmon on the Eklutna Tailrace, where he caught and released a small one.  He has caught 10 king salmon for him this year, though mostly immature jacks.  He is at the red dot on the right in the photo below.

Tomorrow, we head back to Healy for one night, then join friends for 3 days at Teklanika Campground in Denali National Park.  We are greatly enjoying our first summer in which neither of us reports to work!