Dane and Lynda Kayak

Time: 3.1 hours Distance: 9.65 miles   We put into the Lewis River at Paradise Point Park in WA, paddled down the Lewis to the Columbia River and then up the Columbia for a short distance before turning back. The say was beautiful with mostly clear skies and sunshine, no wind and almost no river traffic. The temperatures were a little cool (48 degree F for the daily high) but we were prepared for those temperatures so it was a great trip. Lynda preparing to put in. Lynda paddling on the Lewis River early in the trip. Lynda paddling on the Columbia River. Lynda taking pictures at a buoy in the Columbia near the mouth of the Lewis. Another of Lynda's Buoy Series. Dane approaching the buoy. Lynda under an old railroad bridge on the Lewis as a train goes over. The Lewis River just before getting out.

Time: 2.92 hours Distance: 7.95 miles We put into Tillamook Bay at Memaloos Point on another calm and pleasant day. As with the previous day there was no traffic and almost zero wind. We paddled down the Southwest side of the Bay to just past Bayocean Peninsula Park before turning back. The tide had started going out and since much of Tillamook Bay is quite shallow and we were starting to worry we might get stranded as the water receded. By the time we made it back the tide was flowing against us quite heavily and the going was extremely slow.   Lynda preparing to put in. Dane preparing to put in. Tillamook Bay early in the paddle. Lynda in the Bay just before heading back. Looking North you can see Garibaldi on the far shore. Lynda paddling back to our get-out. After beers at Pelican Brewing in Tillamook.

Time: 3.08 hours Distance: 9.92 miles   We put into Nehalem Bay at the Tillamook County Boat Launch on a calm and pleasant day. It was near high tide when we put in so we went around the back side of the islands in the bay, made our way along the North edge then out towards the bay entrance before turning back, crossing the bay and making our way along the South edge. Traffic was very light and the wind was almost non-existent making for a very pleasant paddle. Lynda preparing to put in. Lynda early in the paddle. Lynda paddling in the Bay. Lynda paddling in one of the island channels on the way back. A small tree, still alive on a chuck of log floating in the bay. Lynda coming into the Boat Launch to get out.

Time: 3.2 hours Distance: 10.84 miles   We put into Lake River at the Ridgefield Boat Ramp on a pleasant winter day. We paddled Lake River to the Bachelor Island Slough, up-river on the Slough to the Columbia, down-river on the Columbia back to Lake River and then back to the ramp. The rain and snow of the last couple weeks had the rivers running very high but the water was calm, there was no wind and we saw very little traffic. A great paddle.    Lynda preparing to put in. Lynda paddling on Lake River. Lynda paddling on the Columbia River. The Columbia River. Lynda paddling on the Columbia River in front of a large ship. Another in Lynda's Buoy Series pictures.

Time: 1.96 hours Distance: 5.22 miles   We put into the Tualatin River at Farmington Paddle Launch in the early afternoon of a cool and sometimes rainy day. We've put in at Farmington a number of times but never at this time of year. The last two weeks had seen snow an quite a lot of rain and we were surprised to discover how much the river had swelled. Normally the Tualatin River varies from a few inches to a few feet of depth depending on where you are on it. This time it was at least eight feet above its normal levels and the launch point we would normally put in at was completely underwater. We put in and battled a much swifter than normal current up-river for just over an hour before turning around for an easy coast back. Lynda preparing to put in. Lynda putting in at least eight feet above the normal launch point. The swollen Tualatin River. Lynda paddling up-river.