Isthmus, Davis, and Shinglehouse Sloughs (Coos Bay)

At 7:00 am I launched at the boat ramp at the south end of the Isthmus Slough. The tide had been going out for two hours already so I had to leave early.

My plan was to paddle approximately 15 miles. Melissa had no interest in paddling that far so I found myself on my own.

About 2 1/2 miles up the Isthmus the Davis Slough joins it. I then paddled the entire way to the end of it against the outgoing tide. With no other people around, and the water as calm as it was, relaxing was very easy.

Throughout the paddle there was the occasional large farm style house. I never saw any cars or people around the houses. It would be a shame if these houses were forgotten.

After paddling back to the Isthmus and another 4 miles of paddling I came to the Shinglehouse Slough. The Shinglehouse is half a mile shorter than Davis and a little narrower. Time to paddle against the tide again.

When I was on the Shinglehouse I came across this bird that was unusually brave. It allowed me to paddle within 20 feet of it. I got some good pictures of it including this one.

This was my favorite house on the paddle. Two stories on the river with a wrap around deck, I'll take one.

This old barge had seen better days. I don't think it was even floating. It did have a line tied to the dock, kind of unnecessary but if I owned it I wouldn't want to lose this gem either.

It was raining off and on through out the paddle but only hard enough to gather on the lens of my camera and mess up the pictures until this point.

Here is the bridge that goes over the the Isthmus Slough were it connects with the bay. I am getting pretty tired at this point but I still have about 3 more miles to go.

With the end in sight I crossed paths with this tug boat. At this point, there was no wind and no rain. When the wakes came to me they were about 2 feet which is usually no problem but the water was as smooth as glass. Since there was no texture on the wave I could not tell exactly how fast they were moving or how deep they were. It was very unnatural. After I landed I had to walk across the 101 highway to the hotel and the kayak trailer with my kayak on my shoulder. It was the last paddle of my vacation. After 15 miles of paddling and a 200 yard kayak carry I am about done.

Lazy Days (Coos Bay)

The first week of our trip had been pretty eventful so we decided to take it easy. We usually need a vacation to recover from our vacation so this time I planned ahead. If we only took one week off we would have come home in need of some rest. Week two has been the the second vacation. We went for a walk on the beach Sunday. Melissa collected more sea shells than the two of us could carry with out the help of a plastic grocery bag from a passerby. Monday we rented a Polaris Razor and rode the dunes in the morning and in the afternoon we walked to two of North Bend's local book shops and an antique store with an extremely talkative owner. Tuesday, Wednesday, and half of Thursday we hung out in the hotel room, read a book, watched TV, crocheted, did word searches, did puzzles, ordered in pizza, and took a nap whenever the mood struck. In the afternoon on Thursday we were going a little stir crazy so we went for a walk around Mingus Park.

The park is less than a mile away from the hotel and is deceptively large. You can only see a small part of it from the road but once you get in it just keeps going.

I think the person who designed this park was a big fan of buffet style dinners because there is a little of everything here. A large duck pond with a walking trail around the perimeter, Asian Gardens, wooded walking trails, a small boardwalk along side a stream, an amphitheather, and a playground for kids, all in about four acres.

Here is Melissa on the Asian Bridge between the duck pond and the gardens. It is amazing how green everything is here compared to Redding at this time of year. The funny thing is they have fire season warning signs up around town.

Milicoma River Paddle (Coos Bay)

Another beautiful morning. We launched at Dorris Place on the Milicoma river and paddled up to Rooke-Higgins about 3 1/2 miles. The banks were lined with trees and the occasional farm. A great start to an epic journey.

Melissa was enjoying herself as we paddled with the tide up river. It is an interesting experience to paddle up river with the current. My instincts could not get used to it.

On the way back the wind picked up. I told Melissa that it would be easier for her to paddle if she got out of the middle of the river and paddled near the edge were the wind was blocked by the steep incline of the bank. She must have really wanted out of the wind because she started paddling about a foot off the bank. As we paddled around a corner she encountered a patch of what she thought to be short reeds. Ignorant of this mercilessness unstoppable predator, she paddled into its waiting jaws.

"Um, I might be to close to the bank." she said as the reeds began to slow her progress. "Why would you think that?" I responded as I snapped the second picture of the epic battle unfolding before me.

"Because its getting hard to pad, hey, why are you taking pictures of this? Stop it." She said in laughing frustration as she began to realize the true cunning of her unsuspected foe.

As the kayak came to a demoralizing halt all she could do was hang her head in shameful defeat. Normally I, being the great hero that I am, would have come to her rescue but upon seeing her distress was immediately attacked by a fit of laughter and was unable to paddle to her aid because of the camera in my hands. Alas, she was a good wife, I will miss her.

Cape Argo and Shore Acres State Parks (Coos Bay)

We went to Cape Argo and Shore Acres State Parks today. This area of the Oregon coast is very dramatic. Waves breaking into 100 foot cliffs is definitely something worth seeing.

At Shore Acres State Park there are amazing flower gardens that Melissa really wanted to see. I am confident enough in my manliness to say I enjoyed the afternoon in the gardens.

Here is Melissa as she looks for the next photo she will take. She filled her entire memory card and killed one battery taking pictures of the gardens. Apparently, to say she likes flowers would be an understatement.

I spotted this tree hiding out of the way behind some other pines. The root system was huge and I thought it looked cool.

My turn to be in a picture. Fine, if I have to.

This Asian pond was one of my favorites at the Gardens. If a guy enjoys himself at a botanical garden he better be married or he is too in touch with his feminine side. Ha Ha Ha

South Slough Paddle (Coos Bay)

Ever carried a kayak 200 yards by yourself? How about two? This whole "I'm pregnant" thing is really working out for Melissa. This is the dock that we launched from.

The Coos Bay sloughs are very calm in the mornings allowing for some pretty awesome photo opportunities. I think that the reflection in the water is one of my favorite things about kayaking.

Paddling though the Estuary Reserve was pretty spectacular. It was so quiet you could almost hear the silence. Occasionally a water foul, and there were many different breeds, would take off and start squawking and the sound would carry and echo for quite a ways.

The banks of the South Slough are lined with trees making for a beautiful paddling location. This tree stood out because of how distinctly red it was.


The South Slough Reserve walking trails come down to the water even though you can't really see it in this picture I promise it is there. It is a cool picture anyway. So I am not a professional photographer, give me a break.

I think that this is the best photo of the paddle. I don't see why more people aren't into kayaking when there are things like this to see.

Here I am in my Avocet after lunch. Time to go back. This is, so far, the high light of the trip. If you find yourself in Coos Bay with a kayak or not the South Slough is a definite must see.

South Slough Research Reserve (Coos Bay)

After getting up early, going to the farmers market, the mall in North Bend, a stop at Cranberry Sweets (locally made candy), Safeway to get gas, and visiting the Charleston visitors center we arrived at the South Slough Research Center.

There are cool walking trails on the reserve that we decided to walk. Did I mention it was raining off and on and fifty degrees? Thank goodness for Icebreaker.

The paths through the forest are something out of a novel. Right when your eyes start to get comfortable with the boardwalk through the forest, the path emerges out of the dim light to give you a view of the estuary for a bit and then back in again.

At the end of the trail we chose we came to a two level viewing deck for the estuary. The deck was pretty cool but the trees blocked the view. Oh well the path down was worth the walk.

This tunnel in the trees and shrubs made me think I might see a few Hobbits in it. It was amazing to walk through forty yards of a living tunnel. I want one in my yard.

Melissa and me on our way back to the car. After this a walk on Whiskey Run beach and then Bandon for fish & chips and more shopping.

Coalbank Slough (Coos Bay)

Here is Melissa with her new boat and paddle. It was a little early in the morning for her but she was still a willing participant. Little did she know what was to come.

The morning was perfect. There was a mist coming off the water which we really enjoyed. The water was perfectly still allowing some awesome reflections.

About a mile in we came to a fork in the slough and being the curious explorer I decided to take the smaller less traveled path. At the beginning of the path it was about twenty five feet wide. No problem, we can do it. Half a mile more it narrowed and split around islands diverging and reconnecting. At that point I still am thinking that we will eventually reconnect with the main channel. Plus, the pictures I am getting are great. After about a mile though things start getting tighter. I put the camera away and have to start paddling on the bank on each side of the boat because of how narrow it has become. As if things were not bad enough the path turns in a direction I know is not going to reunite us with the main channel and now the path we are on is to shallow for even the kayaks to float. I didn't want to have to make Melissa have to back paddle half a mile to a place were we could turn around. But if we were going to have to go back I wanted to take the most direct route so I found the most secure patch of sludgy marsh I could find and got out of my boat for a better look. It is funny but God must have been guiding my way because when I stood up I looked in the direction I thought the main channel to be it was only twenty feet away over a hill. The path we were taking never met the channel again. There was only one way in and one way out. If I had of taken any of the many other options I don't know what we would have had to do. It's a good thing God loves Melissa because He probably would have let me struggle in the maze a little longer. I know I would have.



The above picture shows the main channel on the left and the one we were in on the right.

New experiences for Melissa. She had never done a portage before and with some help from myself she accomplished her first seal launch off the bank. It was about a foot and a half drop to the water, not bad for the first time. She was quite the trooper through the whole ordeal as evidenced by the smile on her face in the picture.

Smooth sailing once again.



Well almost, apparently she got some mud on her hands and was not sure if she wanted to rinse them in the water. I tried not to laugh at her too much because I got a little more than just my hands muddy trying to keep her clean while helping her in and out of her boat.


End of the road. We finally got to the end of the Coalbank Slough and stopped to eat lunch. Over all it was an enjoyable time.