fresh Cooper River salmon

Last night, Glynn took me to Anthony's for our anniversary dinner. I ordered their fresh Cooper River salmon and must say, it had to have been the best salmon I've ever tasted.

We also barbecued Cooper River Salmon on Saturday (along with brisket) for Cooper's birthday party. It was pretty sensational, if I may say so myself!

Allow me to share a Cooper River salmon story.

Back in the day, while living in Anchorage, Glynn and I visited friends in Glennallen, AK who live near the Cooper River. Ralph had a permit to operate a fishing wheel on the river and asked if we would like to hike to the river with him that evening to harvest the salmon from the wheel.

I expected an idyllic river's edge with a fishing wheel gently bobbing on pristine, clear waters.

Wrong! The Cooper River was a churning mass of fast flowing water, gray with glacier silt. The temperature of the water was so cold that, should one fall in, survival would be uncertain as rescue would be difficult because of the swift flowing current. In addition to this sobering scene, the descent from the trail to river's edge was at least 45 degrees. A thick rope was looped around a large tree to help with the descent and ascent.

While Paula and I observed from the trail, Ralph and Glynn put packs on their backs and carefully made their way down the embankment to the fish wheel. It was stuffed FULL of salmon! The backpacks were filled with as much of the salmon as could fit and each man struggled to hoist the heavy pack onto his back.

I was nearly frozen (and mute) with terror as I watched those men struggle to climb the embankment with over 100 lbs of salmon on their backs. I was newly married and was certain I'd soon become a young widow!

The men survived the climb and, after resting, we continued our hike back to Ralph's property.

If I remember correctly, what Glynn and I thought was going to be a leisure evening stroll turned into a marathon physical endurance test, all in daylight as this happened June in Alaska, the 'land of the midnight sun.'

The next day, I helped Paula can salmon. I remember having the thought of 'I'll-be-happy--if-I-never-see-another-salmon-again-in-my-life!'

Yet eating the canned salmon that Paula sent home with us dispelled that thought quickly!