Bill Oxford used his drone to photograph the estuary of the Gualala River. This is what he found - several wooden structures in the riverbed.

Bill wondered if these structures were part of the old mill at the site we call Mill Bend. Here is a photo of the old mill.

Harry Lindstrom knew what they were. He wrote, "These are remnants of old log cribs. If you are kayaking, you might mistake these old remnants for trees, or you may not even pay attention to them if the water is deep enough. Most of them are stuck in the mud, pointing out at an angle. The lumber mill at Mill Bend was not pushed into the river; it burned in 1906." Harry sent along these photos showing the remnants:

Wayne Harris, owner of Adventures Rents, the kayaking company on the Gualala River, also knew what they were. He wrote, "Bill's photo shows some of the cribs that were built to contain the floating logs. There are four or five areas in the estuary where one can still see them. They were logs pinned together with stakes to create a dock-like structure to hold back the floating timber."

So there you go - a little bit of history still evident in the Gualala River.

Thanks to Bill and Harry for allowing me to share their photos with you here. To learn more about kayaking on the Gualala River, here is the link to Adventure Rents: http://www.adventurerents.com/