More than a month before our drive up to Seattle, I told Mark that Redding might not be the ideal place to stop because of smoke from the wildfires. Furthermore, it was the logical staging area for resting firefighters. Mark told me that the fires would be out by then. (Which one of us did wildfire research?)
Hotel rooms were scarce in Redding on both our northbound and southbound stays. On the return trip, with Iris in tow, they upgraded us to a spa tub suite because that was the only room available. All the other rooms had been turned over to firefighters.
As soon as she saw the tub sitting at one end of the bedroom, Iris had to take a bubble bath in it. She didn't expect--none of us did--the dramatic effect of the jacuzzi jets upon the bubbles. Fortunately, we turned them off before the bubbles overflowed the tub.
Iris signals for help.
We encountered the most severe smoke north of Redding and south of the Oregon/California border.
Aside: Embers have been known to stay hot under a blanket of snow and reignite wildfires as soon as the fuel become dry enough in the spring. Fires can go on for a year or more, until all the fuel is exhausted and/or all the embers go out.
Perhaps we should have spread the bubble bath foam in the forest as a flame retardant blanket?
They seem to have established a rhythm.
A bald eagle watched us pass.
Why is the group hanging out here?
A seal!
Actually, two seals playing among the kelp and the paddlers.
After the seals became bored with us, we paddled on. Iris shows off some delicious seaweed.
She looks triumphant, but she has pretty much stopped paddling by the return part of the journey.
The bald eagle took off into the sunset, but I am not sure I captured that in this frame. We also saw a pair of herons.
Moonrise back at Snug Harbor.
