Vicki and I visited both the Willamette Fish Hatchery on the Willamette River as well as the Leaburg Fish Hatchery on the McKenzie River during our Oregon Cascades road trip.
Neither one of us is sure just why it is that we keep on visiting fish hatcheries. Probably it’s because we had so much fun visiting our first one up in Winthrop, Washington when we got to see a harvesting operation take place. Most often our timing is wrong, or a particular type of salmon isn’t running at the moment, and so we miss the big show and only get to see the zillions of fingerlings growing up enough to be released into the wild, and maybe a few hundred of the larger salmon or trout in the larger tanks. And in all this time, we have never gotten a single fish to eat! Apparently it’s against the official policy of the hatcheries, and I understand why, but I still would love to get handed a fish some day. Or maybe a filet. It’ll never happen, but a man can dream.
The first hatchery on our list was the one on the Willamette River. Currently, they were raising Spring Chinook Salmon, mostly. Probably because the Spring run had just finished and it was time to get the new fish started.
After that, we drove down along the Willamette River and looked for a supermarket. We lucked out and found one on the eastern outskirts of Eugene, so we were able to take a shortcut up to Highway 126, where we headed northeast along the mighty McKenzie River.
Now, we weren’t planning on visiting another hatchery that day. Why bother? But then we saw a sign on the side of the road, almost hidden under some overgrown bushes, that said “McKenzie Fish Hatchery.” Like salmon, we were hooked on hatcheries, so we had to make a U-turn because we passed by it so fast. We drove down the road and met up with a nice couple near the entrance. They were the caretakers of the hatchery. They told us that there were no fish in the hatchery! They were very nice, so we spoke for a while. It turned out that the river water got too warm below the Leaburg Dam, and the salmon hatching just wasn’t working properly any longer. All the fish had been moved to the Leaburg Hatchery, which got cooler water from somewhere above the dam. When we told her we just came from a hatchery, she called it the Wi-LAM-it hatchery, rather than using the proper French pronunciation. But we didn’t laugh. Not until later. Heh. Still cracks me up, as it sounds so crudely Americanized. But that’s what happens, here in Melting Pot, USA. Deal with it. And now, when I just searched for it on Google Maps, the McKenzie Hatchery doesn’t even seem to exist! It drove me nuts until I found the empty concrete tanks using satellite view. It’s on Greer Drive in Walterville, OR.
Anyway, she directed us to the Leaburg Fish Hatchery, which was a short ways up the highway. We drove across the dam and headed down to the hatchery, which was just about to close as it was late afternoon. We got out of the car and stretched our legs by walking around the place. We like watching fish. What can I say? And they sold us a handful of fish food for a quarter from what looks like a gumball machine.
On our way back, we stopped at the Leaburg Dam. There was a salmon ladder along the side of the dam, and the fish and wildlife folks had constructed a fancy fish elevator for them. The elevator enabled an employee to sit up there and count the number of salmon that made it past the dam. After getting counted, they were sent downhill through a big tube, out into the river again, but safely above the dam. It’s not easy being a salmon, and this was merely yet another difficulty/indignity on the way to what would hopefully be a productive mating season.
After that, it was time to find a campsite. We used google maps once again, and it showed a National Forest Campground just ahead of us on the highway, near the town of McKenzie Bridge. We hoped that there would be a free spot for us. We drove slowly down the rows, and we lucked out to find one, right along the riverside!
There were a few mosquitoes present, but DEET took care of them. We sat and ate our dinner, then spoke to our next door neighbors, who had no car. The two of them were bicycle riding across the entire country, and in opposite directions! They just happened to meet at the campground and joined forces for the night. Each one was telling the other what was awaiting them in the next few days. Fun stuff! I once wanted to do that big ride, back in the day, as a teenager, but never got the chance. It’s probably much better now, too, with lighter gear, cell phones, GPS, and the internet. Ah, well, a man can dream.
And with that said, it was time for Vicki and I to dream our own dreams, on the bank of the Mighty McKenzie.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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