Dam! We meet the fish ladder, and ignore it

Today's post will be largely photos, all taken a couple of weeks ago when we visited the Barrage d'Arzal (the Arzal dam) and went to the fair. To the left, c'est moi on the walkway that crosses the river to the drawbridge. I must point out that white socks and sneakers, worn by Americans, look cool and adventurous, unlike the brown/black socks and sandal combnations that so many British seem to prefer, which instead look staggeringly nerdy. That's my obligatory teasing of the British for the day.

Here is a nice photo of the entire bridge and drawbridge section:


There's an interesting contraption in the left foreground that is part of a "fish ladder" (direct translation) - It helps the fish transition from the salt water just downriver to the fresh water on this side of the bridge, plus keeps them out of heavy traffic areas. How this works, I have no idea - there were some complex illustrations and explanations in French, but we were too distracted by the pretty sights to try and figure it out. I am left forever with the mental image of an under-bridge conveyor belt lifting fish and dumping them off on the other side.

There were cormorants everywhere:


I could kick myself for not getting all of the main mast into this colorful picture:


That's all for now, but I'll try and post more pics soon.

Edit: Late-Breaking News!! The McFlurry is now hedgehog-friendly! Go, go, British hedgehog preservation society :)