This summer we we fortunate enough to host several family members. The first of these visits were Paxton Witt and Grandpa Nielson. I had to work the day they arrived but as soon as they arrived, we had a quick dinner and then hit the road immediately.
What people often don't think about is just how big Alaska is. There are a few main highways that connect the scattered small towns with 50-100 miles between toilets or opportunities for gas. This is a new concept for those who live in places where there is an exit from the freeway every 1-2 miles and gas stations ever quarter to half mile. It is also a new experience to drive for so long and far without seeing another vehicle or fellow traveler.
Our immediate departure was to make it to a camp ground 4 hours south of where we live so we could make a 4 am departure for salmon fishing. The host of the float trip as nice enough to let Zach come along without any additional charge.
The beauty never ends and around every corner there is a new vastly wide and amazing view. Even grandpa could not help but take pictures.
On occasion we would stop and take pictures though these stops were brief due to being overwhelmed by mosquitoes
Another stop along the way demonstrates the harshness of the land and also the geology as well. Nearly countless winter-summer cycles result in rock breakdown - entropy demonstrated. Even the water is murky with dust from rocks as they break down and tumble.
Summer time is roadwork time in Alaska so we did stop for about 30 minutes. This photo was taken around 1030 at night.
1145 pm and the sun is still up! The same could not be said for Zach and Paxton though.
Finally made it to our campground around 1230 am and by the time we had set up the tend and sleeping bags it was about 130 am. I left Zach to sleep in the truck until I was ready to put him bed so I could just transfer him to bed. Even at 130 am the light was amazing.
One last look at camp before getting 3 hours of rest
From our meeting point we jumped in the van of the river guide and drove out to the launch site for an arrival time of about 445-5 am. We push on our neoprene waders and then put sneakers over the top of these. When at the launch site bug negs came in handy for sure.
Our float guide was from South America. He came to Alaska one for fun, and from the moment he caught his first fish he said he was addicted to this lifestyle and moved up permanently. He stated "the tug (of the fish on the line) is the drug."
Just like Kayaking, once you get away from the shoreline the mosquito count drops and you can lift your net. 
The process of fishing that day followed floating down river and then at points finding a bank to anchor the raft, then spreading down the bank and casting out. Even Zach had fun learning to cast.
Salmon don't eat when they are traveling up stream so you cannot expect to have them bite a fly or other form of bait that resembles food. Rather salmon eggs are clumped into a small net and attached to some led on the line which pushes the egg sack to the bottom of the stream. You then let the bundle flow down stream bumping along the bottom.
(what this looks like)
When the bundle of eggs/hook/lead meet a fish, the fish will suck in the eggs and spit them out in the attempt to clean off their nesting ground - seemingly in an effort to only allow their eggs to have the chance to survive.
When you feel this little tug, you set the hook.
The challenge is knowing what the difference is between the gentle tumbling and bumping of your bait and the nibbling/cleaning of the fish of their small space.
We lost a lot of bait when the hook/eggs/lead would snag on the bottom and break the line.
Zach enjoyed exploring, tossing rocks, building small dams, and otherwise being outside.
He also enjoyed taking 100's of pictures which I then deleted :)
Fish - Float - Repeat
By the time we hit the 6-8 hour mark everyone was super tired (other than me for some reason?) and were ready for a nap.
If you are wondering why there are no fish in the photos... so were we! The migratory run of fish is monitored by the state via a few sonar stations. At the time of the float the fish should have been there. They had passed the first sonar station (several hundred thousand fish) but then they stopped. They wait for several changes before they push forward: temperature of the water, speed of the water, depth of the water and several other things that I think we still don't understand. All it takes is for one fist or small groups of fishes to feel that the time is right and then they all push forward. This happened 3 days after we were there!
The day we did the float happened to be the Fireweed Festival so we walked through the street to see the booths. There was not much there other than some small crafts and live music
We had to pay for 2 nights stay to avoid packing up at 3 am so a nap was in order .
Then the push home home were we stopped and enjoyed several more views
Clearly the nap was not enough because Zachary slept for a time on the way home.
May favorite part of the trip was not actually the fishing or the views but the chance to listen to dad tell stories of growing up. We talked about his courtship of mom, his decision to serve a mission, the Vietnam war and how this impacted his family, schooling at Dixie State and BYU among other topics. I had hoped that google docs would capture the conversation but did not work well at all :(
I suppose this will have to happen another way/time.
A view of one of the passes where the early settlers of the interior of Alaska crossed the mountain range
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