Start Day Three

We got an early start from our camp on Lord Island. The water was smooth as glass. I wish I could say the same for my head it was kind of foggy and my buddies kept calling me a bad spy for playing James Bond in the middle of the night Goto Part One.

About 8 miles in to the trip we rounded the down river side of Crims Island were the wind picked up earlier then we had hoped. So we ducked in to a small pocket beach protected from the worst of the early afternoon wind and we eat our lunch early and secured our deck load for wind waves.

It was a hard fought battle with the wind as we struggled up the north side of Wallace Island finally reaching our destination, Clatskanie Beach.

There was a lot of beach area and it was easy to get a way from other campers we even found a place out of the wind. If you plan to visit this area in the afternoon during the summer months be prepared for strong Westerly breezes.

The windsurfing looks great I wish I would have brought my board.

My Buddy even broke out his stunt kite and did some cool tricks as he got dragged down the beach. hmmmm I wonder if I could power a kayak with one of those kites?

Next time I want to stay at the resort across the Columbia River any body got there phone number.

Start Day Four

Another early morning start we broke camp in silence and launched in to the still water reflecting the golden colors of the morning sky.

These giant dry-docks towering five stories above us like dinosaurs they were relicts from the race to build liberty ships for WWII made of wood, rumored to be exotic teak wood explaining the longevity of these massive wood structure.

As we paddle in the shadow of these massive wood giants the sound of rain water running from long rusted out pipes sounding like a chorus of cascading waterfalls.

The sound of gulls in the distant background and the stark red color of the net barn reflecting off the shimmering water gives the appearance of a mirage, floating in a natural surrounding of the rugged coast mountains.

The expanse of the mighty lower Columbia River estuary can be seen here, starting some 25 miles from the mouth, and well over eight miles at its widest point.

The mountains that surround the Washington side of the Columbia River have little changed from there discovery by Captain Robert Grey in 1786 to the exploration by Lewis and Clark in 1805. When paddling in these areas it is easy to imagine what it must have been like to explore these uncharted lands.

The River changes from this point onward with slow moving back eddies perfect for lunch and a rest from a windy day.

The Twilight Eagle sanctuary about 20 miles up the Columbia River from Astoria, Oregon is a great place to canoe and watch large numbers of bald eagles.

This was just one canoe of a line of about ten canoes imagine if you will a thousand years ago watching a large group of Indians hunting along the banks of the Columbia River in dugout cedar canoes for Otters, Beaver, Eagles and even Sea Loins the size of small cars.

Our final destination was John Day River County Park where we had left a second rig in the parking lot under a street light at the start of our trip and it was still there in one piece.