We got back from Chitina Sunday evening with 75 reds. That's so many fish, and I gutted a lot of them! I've just been unwinding here since then, unpacking things and cleaning out everything we took. The silt there is pretty insidious and ends up everywhere. Overall, the trip was one of the best we've had as far as work goes, and we've been making the drive at least once or twice a summer for...I don't know how many years...at least four.

Usually we get there and set up camp later than we should, walk down to the river to check the wheel, and spend a few hours in the wind fixing the gangplank/adjusting the wheel's postion in the river/getting wet and dirty. Then we get it running at the right rate, in the right position, and go to sleep, hoping to wake up to a basketful of fish.

We were on par with the other trips up to the point where we went to check the wheel and found it turning perfectly and with a basketful of fish already :D We went back to camp, set up a really big shelter with a huge tarp over the branch of a tree, and took it easy. The next day was perfect - lots of sun, no clouds, and me in control of the music (dad's into easy jazz, frank sinatra, and acapella christian at the moment...).

I'm still surprised at the people that wander down to the row of fishwheels on the bank of the Copper River where we are. It's happened every time I've been there, but I wonder how people find out about/are interested in people processing fish by a river in a town with as many people as my neighborhood. Some of the tourists are from the states, but the majority are German. I met three German kids, though only one spoke english, a separate group of german women, some dutch guys, a guy from maine, a woman from idaho, and a guy from israel. How random is that? They were all really nice and just seemed to want to know what it was like to do what we were doing.

So I've been vegging since we got back, but I got up this morning and went for a run for 30 min before going to lap swim as usual. :o I ran into Atali lifeguarding at the pool, but she was talking to someone else so I just got in and did my laps, and then drug myself home. Maybe if I did that more often I wouldn't feel like taking a nap right after i got done? Hehe and I'd be less of a bitchy person. I think maybe when I don't have much energy left over, I have to conserve and can't be such a jerk to my entire family. Hmm that's a pretty sound theory. Alright, since physics hasn't happened for days and isn't looking too hopeful tonight, I'm going to fold early and just watch a movie. Gattaca sounds interesting...