A really fun place to visit in Mt. Shasta is the Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery. The hatchery was built in 1906 and believed to be the oldest hatchery in California. It produces 3 to 5 million trout per year to stock the streams and rivers of northern California. It is fun to walk along the large cement tanks housing very small to huge fish. The water is alive with the teaming mass attempting to go somewhere but wind up going nowhere. If you put a dime in what looks like a gumball dispenser, you can get fish food, throw it in and watch the water churn as the fish plunge for a bite. Inside the building is the nursery that has trout so tiny that they look like tadpoles.
I remember a few years ago when we lived about 2 miles from the hatchery, we had a lumbering Australian Shepherd mixed with something larger, named Rocky. He enjoyed going for hikes with us and he loved to swim. One day he was missing for several hours and I began to worry. I called people and ended up driving around calling his name.
When I got home there was a message on my phone. It was the Mt. Shasta Police Department. “This is Sergeant Smith,” said the authoritative voice. “Is your dog’s name Rocky? Please call us immediately.”
I could only imagine that a car had hit Rocky. I could see him lying in the road, squealing in pain or dead. I nervously picked up the phone and connected with Sergeant Smith. Rocky had been arrested. Why? He had jumped in a fish tank at the hatchery and was busily catching fish. I raced down to the police station and found Rocky sitting in the back seat of the police car steaming up the windows with
his hot panting breath as he peaked out at me. The police officer got a promise from me that Rocky would never again grace the grounds of the Mt. Shasta Hatchery. I kept that promise.
By the way, if you go to the hatchery, the Sisson Museum is housed in the old building from 1906. It is a very interesting compilation of the history of the Mt. Shasta area and has many artifacts of the Native Americans early days.
I remember a few years ago when we lived about 2 miles from the hatchery, we had a lumbering Australian Shepherd mixed with something larger, named Rocky. He enjoyed going for hikes with us and he loved to swim. One day he was missing for several hours and I began to worry. I called people and ended up driving around calling his name.
When I got home there was a message on my phone. It was the Mt. Shasta Police Department. “This is Sergeant Smith,” said the authoritative voice. “Is your dog’s name Rocky? Please call us immediately.”
I could only imagine that a car had hit Rocky. I could see him lying in the road, squealing in pain or dead. I nervously picked up the phone and connected with Sergeant Smith. Rocky had been arrested. Why? He had jumped in a fish tank at the hatchery and was busily catching fish. I raced down to the police station and found Rocky sitting in the back seat of the police car steaming up the windows with
his hot panting breath as he peaked out at me. The police officer got a promise from me that Rocky would never again grace the grounds of the Mt. Shasta Hatchery. I kept that promise.
By the way, if you go to the hatchery, the Sisson Museum is housed in the old building from 1906. It is a very interesting compilation of the history of the Mt. Shasta area and has many artifacts of the Native Americans early days.
2 comments:
Iloved the story about your dog. That was great. Keep up the good work on the blog. Very interesting!
I was at the fish hatchery at one time. It is really interesting and the people there were very friendly.
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