Exploring the Middle Fork road

Today we took a drive to explore the Middle Fork (of the Nooksack river) road. The picture above is as far as we walked from the closed gate just at the bridge over the river. For those of you that climb the Twin Sisters peaks this road is the closest you can get to begin your climb. Several years ago the road that had the closest approach was gated. To see the pictures larger, just click on them.

Panorama picture taken just below the area of the first picture posted - my husband was standing on the knoll at the left of this picture.

 The clouds were too thick to really see the Twin Sisters, if you click on the picture to enlarge it, just above the saddle on the ridge in the middle of the picture there is a slight dark area - that is as much of the Twin Sisters as we could see today. Some day we'll go back on a sunny day and get a picture from that very spot and I'll insert it into this post.

The views were so pretty even though it was a fairly dark day. I love this picture I took of the contrasts in colors and textures of the forest -

Our happy dog "Lexis" found some water!

looking below the bridge

Here are a couple pictures from the bridge where we began our walk, after driving about 5 miles up the gravel road.

looking above the bridge

Part way up the road to the bridge is the Bellingham City dam turn off. 

Looks like it gets pretty soggy here doesn't it :-)

Salmon on the road

Every year it seems we have some flooding around Thanksgiving here in Washington state. When the water rises the local Salmon that are heading up river to spawn get caught in some strange places after the water recedes. We always have MANY news stories where the reporters stand in the road and act like the Salmon need to be rescued and they try to pick them up and carry them to the other side of the road. Here's a video from Komo news 4 in Seattle of some river flooding Salmon action -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWACN1p4qjA

We went for a drive near Wickersham on Friday after we'd had our annual high water and here are some pictures I took of Salmon in and out of the Samish river.

Coho

Coho on the road that didn't make it back to the river before the water receded.

Coho

Hope you had a happy and dry Thanksgiving.