Sunday, July 22, 2007

Days 26 and 27: Reno Weekend Spectacular!


Fish out of water? The stark but stunning Nevada desert

After a long and beautiful drive through the desert of Nevada, past Death Valley, Area 51, and Joshua Tree National Park, we pulled into the Patagonia outlet in Reno, NV for some well deserved sleep. We awoke to find a fascinating building (the only LEED certified office building in the state of Nevada) in full swing. The outlet was having a massive sale, and excited outdoor enthusiasts were absolutely looting the place. We spent the entire day outside of the store talking to people from Nevada and beyond.

That evening we were treated to a slamming party by our Patagonia contact Andy Mitchell. It was very well attended and we talked everyone up about the campaign over delicious local brews and perfectly barbequed wild salmon. Thanks to Andy's knowledge of salmon recovery, everyone at the gathering was aware and concerned about Snake River issues and wanted to know how they could help get Senator Harry Reid involved. And of course all of these big kids had to climb into Fin a few times. She was very well received and enjoyed by all. Thanks again to Andy and Cameron, our wonderful hosts!

We awoke feeling great on Sunday morning and went back to the Patagonia store for a few hours. We were immediately met by a reporter from Reno's NPR station who pulled off the first ever radio interview from within a salmon, spending a good ten minutes inside of Fin as I explained our trip and the campaign. Shortly thereafter the local CBS television news, KTVN, interviewed Bobby.


Bobby explains the campaign to a KTVN CBS Reno reporter

By midday, we said goodbye our friends at Patagonia, and packed up to head to Lake Tahoe for a concert by the legendary Afrobeats artist Femi Kuti. After a wonderfully refreshing dip into Lake Tahoe, we pulled into the Truckee Regional Park, on the California side of the border, to find a spot to set-up. We sat for a few minutes to plan our attack when suddenly we were approached by a truck, tricked out with reggae graphics on the side and back, that we had seen back on the highway. Apparently they had somehow noticed us as well.

It turned out to be the truck of the M.C. for the concert. He fell immediately for our road show star and gathered all of his friends to check her out. After we were positioned by the front of the parking lot, he even announced to the entire show that everyone should come check us out during set break. It turned into quite a scene, with Reggae fans swarming Fin and our petitions.

As we pulled off into the night we agreed that it was another successful weekend on the road show, and lamented that it was indeed our last. That’s right, this road show is coming to an end, with only two more stops before we point our salmon north for her final spawning of the summer, back up to Chimicum.

But this is no time to stop reading the blog, because its about to really heat up with some retrospective videos, including one entitled: “Now It Can Be Told,” which covers shocking behind the scenes footage. So tune in again soon.

Jeremy, Bobby and Buddy

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