Tag Archives: Wayne Harris

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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/

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On Saturday Rick and I finally kayaked the Gualala River, courtesy of Adventure Rents. They donated this trip to a popular fundraiser for Gualala Arts, called Art off the Wall. Along with art, there are various adventures. I chose this for my prize. Gualala Supermarket donated four delicious box lunches.

I am in the double kayak, awaiting my adventure, excited but just a little nervous.

We went with George and Rozann Grunig; they are in the yellow kayak. We are exploring the lagoon before heading up river, as advised by Wayne Harris of Adventure Rents. In summer months this river is closed to the ocean by a big sandbar, making kayaking very safe.

We found this group of Common Mergansers sunning themselves on a log.

We saw two River Otters. Rozann got a great photo, which I'll share another day. Can you spot the River Otter looking at me on the muddy riverbank?

Any nervousness is now gone and Rick & I are enjoying our first kayak ride.

 Passing under the Gualala River Bridge unveiled over a hundred Swallow nests.

 George and Rozann, more experienced than us, led the way. In two places we did have to get out and walk, as the river is low in spots. We had a dry winter/spring, which accounts for the lower levels. Jan Harris, of Adventure Rents, said, "Embrace your inner child" on the portages. We did and had fun doing it.

 And here Rick and I are, four hours later, happy with our day on the beautiful Gualala River.

Thanks to Rozann for allowing me to share her photos with you here, along with several I took.

To learn more about the river, visit Friends of the Gualala River at: http://gualalariver.org/

To see many beautiful photos of the river and to learn about kayaking, here's the website for Adventure Rents: http://www.adventurerents.com/

Also, I highly recommend the box lunches Surf Super is putting together. You can order your own custom design at http://surfsuper.com/Home.html