The Many Adventures of Crystal Z: Salmonberries

It was a windy, cold, foggy, damp day.....the kind that was perfect for cuddling up in bed and reading a good book or two. Of course, Joe, who doesn't like reading, had other ideas for us. The abundance of beautiful, ripe, juicy salmonberries that he had spied when he went hunting earlier in the week were calling his name. We had a mission. Being the ever-obliging wife, I crawled out of my wonderfully soft and warm bed and piled in the car with Joe and Jack and we made our way towards Fossil Beach, where the bountiful crop lay. I actually couldn't believe Joe thought it was good berry-picking weather....it was pretty miserable out. The windy road was making me carsick, the rain and wind were tossing our Prius around, and I couldn't help but think that Joe had ulterior motives for the trip - he had lost a deer that he had shot in the aforementioned hunting trip and I thought he was still trying to find it (not that it would be good anymore.... I just felt he needed his conscience eased).

We finally arrived at the spot and my breakfast was somehow still safe in my stomach. The rain had stopped, there was a beautiful fog settling on the area, and Joe pulled out his berry container. I was wrong about his motives. He didn't want to find a rotting deer; he really was dreaming of having salmonberry crepes. We let the incessantly whining Jack out of the car and he ran off, bouncing in and out of the berry bushes until he found a river at the bottom of the hill. Joe started his search for the biggest, ripest berries the bushes had to offer while I took pictures of the beautiful dew-covered foliage. Jack ran and swam and ate berries off the bushes. Slowly, the berry container started filling.
When we felt we had covered most of the area we were in, we hopped in the car and found another spot just down the road. There were more berries there than we could ever gather and Joe could afford to pick only the sweetest, juiciest ones. I loved walking around and taking in the scenery at this new location. The fog on the hills all around us gave everything a soft, calming feel. We meandered around, being careful to avoid buffalo doody, and worked on topping off the half-full berry container. We stopped to examine new plants and flowers, chatted about the wildlife that we knew were just out of sight, and laughed at Jack's exuberance as his darted here and there and everywhere. Eventually, we started to get hungry and were satisfied with our harvest, so we headed home, stopping a couple of times to watch some surfers take on the big waves that the heavy winds were creating.
Joe washed, separated, froze, and vacuum-sealed the berries. They now await being added to a fabulous crepes recipe that I have yet to find. In the meantime, I hope to get out berry-picking a few more times so I can add to our small stash. The experience was too good to not undergo again. Anyone care to join me?

Salmonberries