Spences Bridge is really not that far from Jupiter Beach.
Nor is Kamloops for that matter.
It could be the CO's may have moved some from the Kamloops area
to thin the herd out.
Or they could of just migrated from either direction.
Juniper Beach is a wonderful place to spend some time.
Is that old plum tree still there?
I forget when the last time we camped there, probably ten or so years ago.
There was a plum tree that had European talent in the shaping of it. Located
on the north east side of the camp grounds.
Have you ever watched the back eddy there?
It's easy to see how you can get swooped off the peninsula if you're not
careful. The water comes around the point and fills the eddy and eventually
fills it up higher than the river. It then flushes itself back out.
I would imagine that the water level would have to be at the right level for this
to happen.
Yes, we were swimming in the backwater "lagoon" as we call it just last weekend. My wife actually convinced me to go swimming in it at 9:30 at night but it was no warmer than in the day time. The water is still high but the rocks around the "eddy" are enough to keep you from getting swept out into the main part of the river, where, as you know, the water is very fast (and cold).
Once the water gets too low and the river no longer flushes it out you are sure to get "swimmers itch" from all the mallards in it.
Plum tree is still there. So is the big old Bull snake that has a hole near the outhouses. He likes to come out now and then and scare the campers near by. The couple that run the camp have seen their share of rattlesnakes as well. We did find one young, dead one last year. The snake people come there every spring and count the rattlers as they come out of their den for the winter. (It is not in the park but up in the hills above.) They have counted over 100 snakes per hour coming out of there!
Last year when there was the record salmon run the campground was totally full of fishermen. It was a total gong show as there were people side by side all along the river getting tangled in each other's lines but they sure caught a lot of salmon.
This spring was very wet there in desert country which got the cacti blooming which was very cool.
A fellow has also opened up the shale beds above the park to fossil hunting. It's a good climb up but lots of neat fossils.
Fossil hunting in the shale beds. 38 degrees that day.
You're right, Juniper Beach and the hills above the river is a special place. And now it has mountain sheep!
