Deerfly Diaries

Video: Herman the Sturgeon at Bonneville Fish Hatchery east of Portland, Oregon

I was able to take a day of sightseeing today on a trip up to Portland, Oregon. I drove out the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River where I took in the sights, enjoyed talking with the locals and had 8 incredible ounces of Full Sail Brewery's Full Sail Wassail Holiday Blend. Yummy!

On my way back to Portland I exited the highway to check out the Bonneville Fish Hatchery. The folks at Columbia Sportswear told me I had to check out Herman the Sturgeon. Herman is a 450 pound, ten foot long, 70 year old white sturgeon that was taken from the Columbia River in 1998 when the hatchery was built. Unfortunatley, I couldn't get Herman to show his face. The other more brightly colored fish are rainbow trout.

Bonneville Hatchery sits on Tanner Creek in the Columbia River Gorge about 40 miles east of Portland, Oregon. Tanner Creek flows into the Columbia River about 145 miles upstream from the ocean. The hatchery, run by the Oregon Department of Fish and Game, raises salmon and steelhead for sport and tribal fisheries in the lower Columbia River and along the northern Oregon Coast. 

Sue Melus handles public relations and communications for hunting, fishing, shooting sports and resource conservation. Check out her website at Melus Outdoors, LLC.

Fall Vacation in New Hampshire and New York

Glenn and I had a great time in Jaffrey, NH and Cazenovia, NY visiting our families.  In NH we visited Glenn's mom, grandma, uncle, sister and his nieces. In NY we saw my parents, my grandma, my great aunt, and some of my high school and college friends.

The colors were just about peaking and we even saw some blue skies.  We enjoyed the Jaffrey Scarecrows on the Commons, fishing, grouse hunting, apple picking and tasting apple vodka!

Enjoy the slideshow.

Fall Vacation in New Hampshire and New York from Sue Melus on Vimeo.

Back in the game after a narrowly averted disaster in Upper Chute Canyon, Utah

Sorry to my readers who I left hanging the last couple weeks after my trip to the San Rafael Swell in Utah. Unfortunately, I had a little accident that left me hanging from a rappel rope in the Upper Chute Canyon.  I was a little banged up and suffered a concussion, but I'm feeling better now and couldn't be more ready for summer.

Steve Howe from Backpacker magazine has a great photo blog: San Rafael Swell Slot Canyoneering.  That's me in the orange hat- before the "rappel of death."

Or you can read my followup safety article in the June 4th Sopris Sun.

From turkey hunting in Central NYS to camping in the Utah desert

Just got back from my vacation visiting my family in Central New York State in my hometown just east of Cazenovia, NY.  My week off also meant a much needed week away from the computer: no blog posts, no emails, no Facebook and no Twitter.  Just a week of sitting in the beautiful eastern forests with my Dad every day hunting turkey.  The skies were blue, the forest was popping green, the apple trees were blooming. We had a lot of fun, I learned a ton from my Dad and the turkeys gave us action almost every day. I also got to cook dinner for my Mom and my 99 year old Grandma B and be there to hear the news of my sister having her third baby on Mother's Day.  What could be better? Well, if I hadn't missed my one shot at a gobbler it could have been a little better, but ask me about that when I get back later this week.

I'm now making the mental adjustment to go to the hot and dry desert for work.  Yep, work.  I leave early Monday morning for the San Rafael Swell 30 miles west of Green River, Utah.  Backbone Media is hosting a press trip, so we'll be camping and canyoneering in the slot canyons of this unique geological area in the heart of the desert with a group of writers for various magazines. I just saw they are expecting record high temperatures tomorrow in Green River.  It will be a far cry from the moist and cool forest of NY.

Stay tuned for more on my recent trips when I return on the 22nd.