Copper River salmon - a story in the Sacramento Bee

This is a dish prepared by Chef Jeremy Storm of the
Orca Adventure Lodge. Click here for the recipe.
Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Spent a few days in Cordova, Alaska, this summer indulging in great fishing, more great fishing, endless great eating and drinking a lot of Alaskan ale (mostly Summer and Amber, in case you're curious).

A few pounds and 2,800 photos later (yes, literally), I gave birth to this big ole spread for the Sacramento Bee about the delights of eating Copper River salmon. I'm pretty excited that I got the words "orgiastic gluttony" into the first paragraph of the story.

Do I have your attention now? Awesome! Click on over and check it out. And if you'd like to see some of the photos that didn't make print, scroll on down.

This was the view from our campfire at the Orca Adventure Lodge in Cordova, Alaska. Those were bald eagles on the pilings, BTW. Saw LOTS of bald eagles up there. Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Captain Brian Rutzer, left, talks with food videographer Daniel Klein while we're out fishing for sockeye on Rutzer's gillnetter, Controller Bay. Can I just say that my Tokina 11-16mm lens served me really well in tight quarters on this trip? Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Mikal Berry is the owner of the Fishwives food truck based in Cordova, Alaska. Beautiful woman! You've got to check out her salmon chowder recipe on the SacBee site. Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Can you think of a prettier backdrop for a food truck? 

Photo © Holly A. Heyser

That's my boyfriend Hank Shaw setting the hook on the last salmon we caught that day - a pink. Epic fishing - you couldn't go more than a cast or two without getting a bite. Our guide was Ian Winder of the Orca Adventure Lodge.  And BTW, Hank just posted a salmon recipe on his website this week. We've been eating LOTS of salmon.
Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Brian Wildrick, who owns Harborside Pizza, makes a couple mean salmon pizzas. 

© Holly A. Heyser

These sockeye salmon are near the end of their lives, just chillin' and hanging out, waiting for the last act: spawning. 

Photo © Holly A. Heyser

Food videographer Daniel Klein photographs the surreal glacial melt near the sockeye spawning beds. 

© Holly A. Heyser

© Holly A. Heyser 2012

Cal Expo Dog Show - a story in the Sacramento Bee

                  © Holly A. Heyser

Carole Baird, owner of the
Creekside Pet Resort, and her

border collie Celine.

Most of the time if I'm writing about dogs, I'm writing about hunting dogs, but this story took me in a totally different direction: show dogs.

Of course, in the process of reporting this story, I learned it wasn't a totally different direction. Plenty of hunting dogs compete in dog shows; it's how their breeders demonstrate their quality.

Outtake: Did you know that when judges examine male dogs, they will reach between their legs to make sure the family jewels are still there? Dang, you've got to have a well-trained dog to stand still when someone's doing that to him.

© Holly A. Heyser 2012

Biathlon - a story in the Sacramento Bee

                                                            Photo © Holly A. Heyser 2012

A novice biathlete racing at the Auburn Ski Club drops
to the pad where she'll take five shots at targets 50 yards
away with a .22 rifle. Novices are not allowed to carry
rifles while skiing until they're certified.

Man, doing this story for the Sacramento Bee really made me want to branch out and try biathlon. It's not just because I need the exercise (boy do I!), but also because biathlon teaches you to calm your racing heart before taking a shot. Sounds perfect for hunting big game, eh?

Cool thing I learned during the reporting on this one is that one of the very few biathlon ranges in the entire West is just up the hill from where I live in Sacramento.

If any of you locals want to give it a try, the Auburn Ski Club will be doing another beginners clinic April 21, followed by a race the next day. The info is in the story.

© Holly A. Heyser 2012