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You are here: Home / Parenting / Outdoor Time and the Kokanee Salmon Run

Outdoor Time and the Kokanee Salmon Run

by Alan 1 Comment

This outdoor family adventure was sponsored by Zappos.

I love that the majority of our family traditions take place outdoors. I’ve always loved being outdoors and I hope that my kids will grow up feeling that same way. One of our favorite traditions takes place at the reservoir near our house. We have such a connection to this reservoir and enjoy all of it; we swim in it in the summer, fish in it in the spring and explore its deeper secrets as it drains in the Fall.

When the reservoir gets to its lowest point in late September, we love watching the Kokanee Salmon spawn up the Little Bear river from the reservoir. When we first learned about this happening in our own back yard we couldn’t believe it, I only thought this only took place in Alaska or coastal areas not in the desert state of Utah. The process starts happening in early September after the reservoir water has dropped to its lowest level and usually ends in late October. The Salmon make their spawning run from the reservoir where they have matured for the last 2-4 years into a tributary, where they fight, make nests, spawn, and eventually die.

Every year we hike over to the highest point on the river where the Salmon have to jump a one-foot incline before swimming on to the slower parts of the river.  My sweet little Ali always seems to find the biggest Salmon of the group and does everything in her power to be its number one cheerleader. I don’t think she has ever had one of her underdog fish complete the one-foot jump, but she doesn’t give up until they float back down the current. It’s such an amazing site to witness as the fish complete the jump and progress up the river. Every year I have to explain why it’s important not to disturb the Salmon as they make their migration. It’s easy to feel bad for the ones that wash back down the current but it’s an important natural process that needs to happen on its own. I cherish this tradition every year because as my kids witness this natural event I feel like it increases their connection to the outdoors.

This is the first year that Wil and Rockwell have been able to keep up with us on some of our hikes.  We put them in the kids Keen Hikeport Mid Strap hiking boots to give them a little more stability and traction on the trails. These boots are waterproof and breathable but also have Velcro straps across the front that make them easy to get on and off.  I truly believe that if you want your kids to love the outdoors from a young age it’s important to invest in gear that can help them love it. We got our kids hiking boots and my Keen Evofit One’s from the Zappos. We’ve been using Zappos for a few years now because we love the amount of options they offer and because their customer service is always great if you need to return or exchange an item.

If you need outdoor shoes for your young hikers, I put some links below to a few of our recommendations.

Thanks for reading!

Hikeport Mid Strap WP      Targhee     Terradora      Hikeport Mid WP      Moxie Mary Jane

Filed Under: Parenting

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  1. Betty Ware

    at

    I love the outdoors too. Your annual trip of hiking and watching the salmon sounds like so much fun and so interesting. I love the photos. Thanks for these posts.

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Alan Lawrence

thatdadblog

After lots of prayers and counseling with her doct After lots of prayers and counseling with her doctor, Nikki has started talking a medication called Hyramoz which after time (hopefully in a year or two) can put the Ankylosing Spondylitis in remission. 
she’s also taking something to help ease her pain. She called me from Costco crying, she was so excited that she could lift a bag of flour into her cart without pain.
Diet is another big change that she is doing to help
Well, thank you so much for your prayers and ask you to please continue to pray for her that this will soon go into remission.
Yes, we are that family. If you’re a part of the Yes, we are that family.
If you’re a part of the T21 tribe you get it - we take care of each other and if we can meet another family in the tribe nothing gets in our way.
#downsyndromelove #downsyndrome #downsyndromeawareness
#downsyndromerocks #21 #trisomy 21 #upsyndrome #morealikethandifferent #nothingdownaboutit #theluckyfew #mystory #dadlife
I was showering and thought I heard someone come i I was showering and thought I heard someone come in the bathroom.  I finished washing my face, turned around and there was Wil 
“Hey Dad!” 
He knows how to pick our bathroom lock and said he was bored and missed me. It’s hard to get mad at that. 

He is still learning the concept of privacy but at least he rolled up his pant legs! 😂

#dadlife #downsyndrome
Throw back to when Wil was young and we were comin Throw back to when Wil was young and we were coming home from a vacation and were letting everyone exit our plane before we organized our big family to exit. While we waited, Wil made everyone’s night a little brighter. #downsyndrome #reels #dadlife #downsyndromeawareness
Sharing this with permission from Nikki to possibl Sharing this with permission from Nikki to possibly connect her with others who have been through this and also to ask for your prayers as she navigate her daily pain and for guidance on solutions.  Thank you! 
these photos are from a recent trip to a Hot Springs in Idaho, which felt so good on her joints. 
#ankylosingspondylitis #ankylosingspondylitisawareness
“My butt is ouchy” 😂 Leidy and Rocko spent “My butt is ouchy” 😂 Leidy and Rocko spent the day on the mountain with me learning to snowboard.  They both did great! Leidy was very nervous and told me she was worried that she was going to throw up but by the end she was going on the lift by herself and told me she was happy. 
Rocko was a trooper and told me I could go do some runs by myself he wanted to concentrate 😂 
These two pushed themselves and over came some fears today and I am very proud. 
#prouddad #familyiseverything #dadlife
Sweet 16!! It’s hard to believe that its been th Sweet 16!! It’s hard to believe that its been three years since I first met Leidy in her orphanage while helping to film a project that was advocating for orphans in Colombia who were close to aging out.  Now she is home celebrating her first birthday with her new family! 
This happy, and stubborn girl has a big heart and even bigger dreams.  She was full of joy on her first birthday with her new family!
Meeting a fellow Dad that shares the same Down Syn Meeting a fellow Dad that shares the same Down Syndrome connection erases all awkwardness of bear hugging in the middle of a shopping center. 
YOU ARE OFFICIALLY BROTHERS FOR LIFE!! 
-
#advocatelikeadad #dadlife #extrachromosome #downsyndrome #downsyndromeawareness #downsyndromerocks #t21 #trisomy21 #upsyndrome #morealikethandifferent #nothingdownaboutit #theluckyfew #mystory #changingthefaceofbeauty
You sourdough mamas know the feeling. if you want You sourdough mamas know the feeling.  if you want to be a domestic goddess and try sourdough bread but you’re intimidated. Send me a DM - Nikki is sharing some of her starts and she also has a 15 minute instructional video on how to make sourdough bread from start to finish 👍
#sourdough #sourdoughstarter #sourdoughmama #sourdoughbaking #domesticgoddess #funnyvideos 
#homeschool #pioneerwoman
Three Running tips I learned from my new trainer:  1. Randomly laugh for minutes at time for no apparent reason. 2. Always check to see if you are being tracked my a bear or racoon. 3. Hug your running buddy while you are running to motivate each other. Looking forward to learning more from my new running coach. He is the best in the biz. 
-
#runhappy #noexcuses #downsyndrome #theluckyfew #fyp #prouddad #viralreels #dadlife
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