In speaking with another hiker we discovered there were some beautiful sights and a fish hatchery just a couple of miles up the road from where we were camping. Todd and I decided to check it out before dragging everyone else up there.
Our kids have seen their share of fish hatcheries on camping trips. They seem to be quite ubiquitous, or at least often coincide with were we chose to stay. Regardless, it's not a big draw for our family.
The reason we chose to go was because they allow visitors to feed their fish so there would be something for our kids to do besides looking at open canals filled with fishes of different sizes.
When we arrived, the visitor guide had some large buckets filled with fish food for our family to take. They were very friendly and even gave the kids sets of cards with pictures and facts about local wild life.
After the hatchery we drove back down to a fluvial ecosystem or as the sign described it a "Million Dollar Ecological Digestive System." The area was really green and luscious. We walked across a board walk and followed signs to the right that lead us to some pretty sights with water rushing over moss covered rocks and tree roots hanging down.
The weather was wet and rainy which also helped make everything look even more green. On our way back I decided to venture left instead or right when I reached the boardwalk. Not far up from where we had been there was an ever more beautiful cascade. I was so glad I decided to explore a little more, or we would have completely missed possibly the more beautiful part of the hike.
We also ventured to Rifle Gap Reservoir to see if there was a beach the kids could play in. To our delight we discovered that in addition to a small beach they had flush-able toilets and showers.
The kids spent an afternoon playing in the sand and floating on inflatable rafts on the water. The water level was low and the water cold so no one really wanted to get too wet.
My kids were anxious for their trip to Hawaii and the warm water they knew they would enjoy there.
