Kayaking on Beaver Creek

When they learned we were going to be in the Newport area, every Oregon kayaker we've met along the coast told us we had to paddle Beaver Creek. We did just that today. Beaver Creek is a placid little waterway about 5 miles south of our campground off Highway 101 at a state day use area called Ono Beach. Although the creek (I assume) empties into the ocean a little way below the boat launch, it is unaffected by the tides--don't ask me why--and can be paddled anytime without having to worry about current or enough water. It's a very popular paddle, suitable for beginners because it's shallow and practically no current to speak of--it would be almost impossible to get into any kind of trouble. They offer two-hour kayak tours of the creek for only $15 and they supply the kayaks; we went on our own. Because of its popularity, we expected to see lots of people on the water, but didn't. We had the creek to ourselves, except for two little groups going upstream as we were almost back to the start. We paddled upstream without much effort for over an hour, past beaver trails, water lilies, and partially submerged logs with wildflowers gardens growing on them above the waterline. We saw an osprey on its nest and a Great Blue Heron. We paddled under a couple of little footbridges and kept winding our way upstream until the creek grew even shallower and barely wide enough to turn around. Paddling back took a little longer, even though it was downstream, because we were tired and there was a some wind in the more exposed areas blowing upstream from the ocean, as it always seems to here, but it wasn't really a problem.

After our paddle, we came back to camp for a very late lunch--the last of our Tillamook crabcakes as well as the last of our Tillamook Mudslide ice cream--and spent the rest of afternoon and evening just hanging out. Steve is reading another Michael Connelly mystery and I worked on some hand quilting. The plan for tomorrow, depending on weather, is to get the bikes out and explore some of the bike trails around the park and into town.