[treeswarper]

I went to Skamokawa to camp with friends and watch the boats. There isn't much of a trail system. There is a nature trail in the park, and the beach along the Columbia. We did "hike" to the store to get ice cream bars. I did paddle my kayak a bit.

Camp was on the river. I had a chance to get a used, small fiberglass trailer this spring so I sprang for it. It is small, but quite luxurious. The county upgraded this area by adding pads for the new leviathan sized motorhomes, and power and water. We wanted the riverside spots so took them, and it was a bit of overkill for our tiny trailers, and cot tent. This is The Used Dog inside our plastic airstream.

I launched off the Columbia beach. There is a boat launch on the creek near the highway, but I like beaches. It was windy so a bit of water got in the boat before I got the skirt on. Once in the river, I paddled a short ways to where the creek or is it a river? enters and went up it and into a slough. There are a couple other choices to be made, or one can brave the ship traffic and go on the big river. Had we been here a month or so ago, we could have watched yarding operations on this hill. That would have been entertaining since all of us had worked or were related to folks who had worked in the woods. Three of our group hiked up the clearcut and came back with great photos of the view. I did not go, the feets would have protested too much. One can see clear to Astoria from up there.

The big day for the big boats was on Sunday. They come in close to shore here. Some create mini tsunamis. They suck the water out, and then it rushes back in.

At least two of us had read a book about the Columbia River Pilots, which made watching boats more enjoyable. I had The Used Dog and the Slightly Used Dog along. SUD is young and needs to be run a lot. The beach was deserted enough to let her go. And yes, it is a leash area, but common sense prevails. The SUD is a mutt that thinks she is a Lab, and needed swimming. She's turning into quite a mini-retriever. The Used Dog is a good teacher.

Campfires were going, hotdogs roasted, tales told. The weather was windy and foggy in the mornings, and perfect later in the day. We watched the eclipse from here. I did not want to leave.

[Pyrites]

I remember we went down to see the Manhattan going up river in the sixties. She was so big the river surged up higher maybe two feet in front off her passage, then dropped after she was by. This was before and in addition to any bow or stern waves. The waves were of course substantial. She only made the one trip. The Manhattan was at the time an unusually large commercial ship; the transition from the largest ships being U.S. aircraft carriers to tankers was just occurring. She was by far the largest ship engaged in the India wheat trade. She had to time the tides just right, and only took on half a load. She topped off at Seattle. Later famous for crossing the Northwest passage.

[Ski]

nice leave on top of that hill.... think it will all stay standing in the November winds? didn't think I'd ever see a TR for Skamokawa - something new every day! (note to admin: please fix spell-checker so it knows how to spell "Skamokawa")

[Bedivere]

Ooohh, I want a little trailer like that. How much does it weigh and what's that you're pulling it with?

[NacMacFeegle]

The area between Longview and the Megler bridge (and indeed the whole of the Willapa Hills) is sadly lacking in parks and trails - Julia Butler Hansen NWR is about the only place with trails of any length. There are several nice waterfalls, some spectacular cliffs and rock formations, surprisingly decent shorelines along the Columbia, remote river valleys, and even a bit of nice second growth forest (though what is left is dwindling rapidly). It's unfortunate the proposed Lower Columbia National Scenic Area didn't go through, it would have been a good step in the right direction. The area sees a lot of tourists on their way to Long Beach, but there isn't much to encourage people to stop for any length of time along the way. A few more small parks would make a big difference.

[treeswarper]

[Bedivere]

Thanks for the info. 17' @ 3000 lb is really light. I've looked at others that are around 12-14' at that weight. I have an old 4-cyl Toyota truck that probably wouldn't pull it right now but I've been researching a V6 conversion for it.

[treeswarper]