I told Donna that winter was still two weeks away....."Reeeally" she replied?

We took a short trip (30 miles) to Sullivan Lake to see some Kokanee spawn on Harvey Creek, but first a couple of  unrelated photos.

This cheesy photo is because while watching the news on TV the other night (ABC as you can see) there was the lighting of our nations Christmas Tree near the capital building. My wife told me to take a picture, of the picture, because this is the same tree taken from our local forest and one that I blogged about one month ago. Personally I think they over do the lights a bit.

Since moving here I have told Donna that I needed a photo of the "Colville" sign, a block walk down the railroad track, for my collection. As far as I can tell there is no railroad station but maybe they did at one time and the sign let travelers know where they were.

On the way to the Kokanee, right outside Colville, is White Lake which has a few houses around it. I don't believe these docks will be in use for a few months.

Crystal Falls on Hwy 20 to Tiger is more like "Ice Cube Falls" at this time of the year. I would of really like have light shine on the falls but because of the suns path that won't happen for a few more months.

Frater Lake trail head is a nice stop near the top of the pass on our way to Sullivan Lake. Two months ago I was thinking about using a float tube and a fly pole, now ice fishing or ice skating would be more appropriate.

I'll just assume this beaver and his family are snug as a bug in their winter home. 

As we were driving along there was a bet as to if the cars thermometer was programed to show minus degrees. Well, we watched it go from plus 4, and then 3, down to 2 degrees, 1 was next and then the big 0. One block further it read "-1F" which is minus 1 farhinhit. Well I guess that settles the question whether the car will register below zero. 

We are going across the Sullivan Lake Road bridge looking down on the Pend Oreille River and to the north, following the Colville National Forest to Canada.

I think the Sullivan Lake Road bridge is just plain beautiful and so colorful on a day like this. Sort of like Washington's miniture version of the Golden Gate.

Cold is a relative term especially if you're in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt.

Harvey Creek may not look like much but it is a major tributary to Sullivan Lake which is quite large. Mostly frozen over at this time of the year and we did not see any evidence of the Kokanee  here a mile or so from the lake.

We stopped at a bridge where Harvey Creek flows into the lake. We did see a couple hundred Kokanee but we were surprised at how small they are. All that we saw were 5 to 8 inches. Donna is watching a couple of bald eagles flying over the fish.

One was sitting in the trees about 300 hundred yards from us which made photography difficult. 

While one of the pair sat in the tree looking around, the other eagle took off looking for a happy meal.

At least the flight brought her a little closer to us.

Coming in for a landing!

But of course the spot the eagle decides to land on was in a swale so we couldn't see what the bird was eating but assumed it very well might be a Kokanee.

I find it hard to believe we are still ten miles from Canada, I feel like this must be the "banana belt" of Washington. :-)

On the way home Donna thought one of the trees up near the top of this hill would make a great xmas tree..."really honey"? Let me pull over while you hump it up and get any tree of your choice...ha ha.

Happy Holiday to all.