out and about

Ryan and I took the girls to the salmon ladder by the river yesterday.  We walked over to the hatchery too, although I'm not sure why.  We didn't show Laci the room with the viewing windows where they harvest the salmon, it's a little violent for a three year old.  As a kid, I remember asking my mom what that white stuff was that they were getting out of the fish.  I couldn't remember what she told me, so I asked her last night.  She thinks she told me it was milk  Good one, Mom.  They harvest eggs from the females and then put milk on them?  Apparently it was enough information for my curiosity at the time because I don't remember questioning her explanation.

I caught a jumper.

Ugly, aren't they?

My favorite part of going to the hatchery as a kid was after the young salmon hatched and we would feed them handfuls of food.  We would run up and down between the long holding tanks where the fish grew and I remember we always ran out of quarters for the food before we were ready to be done feeding them.  Ah, the life of a kid would be so much easier if there were an endless supply of quarters.

Anyhow, Laci liked the fish.  She told me they were nice fish and they weren't going to bite her.  Which is true because there is quite a distance, and thick glass, between her and the fish, but honestly, I don't know where she comes up with this stuff.

Mia was tired and ready for a nap.  She almost fell asleep looking out at the spillway.  I guess the sound of the rushing water is soothing, but she is a stubborn one and refused to shut her eyes.

It was a simple outing and completely free (my favorite kind), and just enough quality family time to get us by for a little while.

The bath house, from across the river.