August, 2019
Finally I’m going kayaking!
There will be more photos than usual in this post. While I was kayaking today, I took more than 150 photos and I just couldn’t pare them down to fewer than 30 photos. So skip through them, or check out each one, snuggle up and enjoy them, click to enlarge, etc, whatever you have time for.
While researching things to do here before this camping trip, I found a kayak rental place in Ridgefield, a mere six miles from the state park campground. Ridgefield (see Google Earth photo below) is situated right on a waterway/river that’s sort of part of the Columbia River but the waterway is actually one of several small off-shoots of the Columbia. Basically, right next to the Columbia River there are two huge islands with many, many lakes and waterways and sloughs and bogs to explore, most of it set aside as a bird/wildlife refuge. The big RED star in the Google Earth photo below is where the kayak rental place was. Pretty much everything to the left of Ridgefield, between Ridgefield and the mighty Columbia River, was the wildlife refuge.
So I drove to that big red star this one particular morning, parked my truck, and found my way out onto a dock that would take me to the kayak rental company. The docks were … well, “interesting”.
Actually, they were fascinating and really pretty in a way. Either these were old supports for a previous dock, or they were “new” supports from many years ago and had simply never been used. Either way, they seemed friendly. I bet there were lots of fish and other critters that called them home, and I liked that … as long as there was also a REAL dock to walk on.
Soon enough, the sturdy and secure dock did lead me to the kayak rental place. It was constructed on well-built, solid floating docks.
The small town of Ridgefield is a couple of miles off to the side of I-5, pretty much off by itself in the country, and it’s a very small town … small, rural America, as it were. I was heartened by this sign (below) that was prominently displayed outside the kayak rental place.
I was warmly welcomed by the one fellow working there this morning. Two other customers (wife and husband) walked in a few moments after I did. They obviously had been here before so I let them go ahead and get their kayaks while I scoped out the place.
The video below will tell you a bit more about the business and show you the inside of the store/shop. It also shows how you get into a kayak here. With a big yellow cross-bar handle running right above your kayak, it’s easy.
If you want more information about this business, here’s a link to their website … http://ridgefieldkayak.com/. I highly recommend them.
I got my vest, my paddle, picked out my kayak, paid for three hours, got me and my camera into the kayak with no problem, and off I went!
There are privately owned floating homes along the shore for about a half mile upriver from the kayak rental company.
I headed upriver from the get-go since all of the fast fishing boats headed downriver, and since heading upriver at the beginning of my trip meant that then, once I turned around to head back, I would be drifting downriver with the current and have an easy paddle back to the kayak rental company.
Even so, some speed boats headed upriver occasionally, so if I got swamped by water (I didn’t) I had a trusty manual water pump on board that would pump water out of the kayak if necessary.
The photo below shows some of the fast fishing boats that were still tied to the dock … mostly aluminum but a few fiberglass boats.
I purposefully came out here on a weekday since fewer of the fishing boats would be out.
So off I went on a paddle in my little red kayak! The houses were lovely. Some brand new, some older.
The couple who had rented kayaks just before I did were already up the waterway a good bit. We had chatted with each other quite a bit inside the store before they took off on the water. I took several photos of them in their kayaks and emailed the photos to them afterwards. They loved that and we’re still in touch with each other.
They were faster paddlers than I was, that’s for sure. They soon disappeared around a bend in the waterway. I was left on my own to soak up this truly beautiful place.
A very nice floating home was for sale (photo above). It was probably just a one-bedroom, but it seemed in awfully nice condition, with a heat pump, new windows, a new roof … hmmm.
And then there was this one (above) … an “affordable” structure for sure!
As soon as I paddled past the homes, both shores of the waterway turned green and wild and so beautiful.
I was mesmerized by the water and the plants.
But you do need to look UP once in a while.
I almost didn’t include the photo above in this blog post, but the photo so reminded me of the horse photo from yesterday’s drive in the country. The rear end of that horse was so cute. And today I was given another rear end. Is this a trend?
I heard the bird behind me (in the photo above) before I saw it. As soon as I heard the swish-swish of the wings, I leaned WAY back on the kayak to snap the photo. Nope, didn’t fall out of the kayak or get the camera wet. 🙂
I paddled for a little over an hour upriver, sometimes paddling seriously to get upriver so I could see more things, but sometimes just lollygagging along. I was about to turn around and head home when I noticed this Great Blue Heron (below). Oh my, I stopped paddling completely! And just drifted and watched, back-paddling ever so softly so I could stay and watch.
I had hoped she would catch a nice sized fish. Several times she appeared almost ready to grab one, but she didn’t get even a nibble while I was there.
Eventually, I drifted around her. So I snapped a few photos of her from the shady side.
She didn’t seem to mind at all that I was there, so close.
And then I drifted on … letting the slow, meandering current take me downriver, back to Ridgefield.
This time, heading back towards home, I let the kayak drift over by the floating homes so I could check them out … not too close, although it seemed hardly anyone was home. I guess some people do still work for a living, eh? 🙂
I found these two boats (above) tied to a small dock/pier. The larger burgundy boat was a steam driven boat, with a small steam engine inside that fancy burgundy housing. The blue-hulled boat in the foreground looked to be a steam-driven boat in the making … a great hobby for a water woman or man.
And then, after that lovely three-hour paddle, I arrived back at the kayak rental company. Sigh. I really did not want to leave the water.
Here’s a video I took from the kayak while drifting back downriver with the current. You’ll see a small white plastic container on the left … rest assured, after I shut the camera off, I paddled back to that spot and retrieved the container and later threw it in the trash. This waterway deserves to stay beautiful and healthy.
How gorgeous! The State of Washington must have everything, yes? Everywhere you go is so interesting, and yet everywhere you go is so different from the other places you’ve been.
I love Washington State for that very reason, Shawn. It does seem to have a whole lot of different climate systems and different flora and fauna that go along with those systems. It has ocean beaches, world class mountains, wide open plains, rain forests, and everything in between.
How beautiful! Life is good seen from across the bow of a boat. Love the sign.
Amen to that … “life is good seen from across the bow of a boat” … 🙂
We carry two kayaks upright on the back of the motorhome, but they stick up quite a way past the roof of the motorhome. We have to be so very careful of height restrictions. This is yet another reason we are thinking of changing to a pickup truck and travel trailer so we can carry the kayaks on top of the truck horizontally. We wouldn’t want to be without our boats, being on the water is so very soothing and we love the birds and other wildlife.
I’ve seen motorhomes carrying kayaks upright like that, and it sure would make me nervous too about the increased height. Yep, there’s nothing like being on the water.
Love the water and the floating homes. Neither of us have ever been in a kayak. We’re now going to try it!
Oh yes go try them. Find some place that rents them, a place that also gives lessons would be perfect. Feel free to ask them to put three or four different types of kayaks in the water and let you sit in each of them. Narrow ones might be a bit faster and easier to maneuver, but they also might be less stable. Most rental places have 2-person kayaks as well, where both people sit in one kayak. But I would highly recommend that you each get a separate one. Once you get used to a kayak, they are simply wonderful. There’s nothing like the feeling of sitting right down in the water, seeing the world from that perspective. Go for it! 🙂
Love the green growth around the docks, love the sign (like your blog reader Virginia said), love the steam powered boats, but mostly love I those bird photos, gorgeous!
How does that bilge pump work Ann? I don’t see any hoses, doesn’t it need a hose or maybe two hoses?
Good questions about the bilge pump. First off, kayaks are so shallow that the pump does not need a lower hose to fit down into the kayak. The photo here makes this bilge pump look a bit stubby, but actually the body of the pump is plenty long enough to reach the bottom of the inside of the kayak, and still have that upper outlet be above the upper edge of the kayak seat opening. Here’s a good video of how all of this works. The video reminds me that you should be wearing a waterproof watch, have a secure lanyard on eyeglasses, and keep your wallet securely zipped/attached inside your clothing (I wear a simple money belt). Thanks for asking, Tim, and thanks for the compliments!
You were a smart cookie to paddle UP-stream first…..paddling works up an appetite.
Amazing how much you to see and enjoy from a kayaker’s perspective… good on you to go on the adventure and take so many amazing photos.
Ha! Yes, I try to do the hard part first for sure Robin … upriver first, then coast back down with the current, or against the wind first then let the breeze blow you home. Your “smart cookie” comment reminds me that one should always carry an energy snack and some drinking water along too, just in case. So far, I’ve always been close to civilization and plenty of assistance if I needed it, but still, one never knows.
Idyllic experience. You must know this state better than 90 per cent of us!
Well, I’m sure learning! And having a blast doing it and reporting back to all of you. We’ll learn together. 🙂