Reflections on Drift Creek

 Bill and I camped at Seal Rock one night and decided to drive to Waldport and kayak Drift Creek. We parked at the Drift Creek Marina up the Alsea River and proceeded to put our kayak into the River. We crossed the Alsea to enter Drift Creek and saw an osprey catch a fish. We also watched this seal catch a salmon and eat it. The seal is carrying the salmon in it's mouth in this picture but the fish is under the water. It was a good sized salmon!

We headed up Drift Creek and saw a few cormorants like this one pass by our kayak. We also saw several kingfishers.

 We passed four other kayaks going back toward the Alsea River. They were rowing against the tide, but we were lucky to be going along with it. These kayaks are ocean kayaks just like ours, but we bought one with two seats.

 We saw many beautiful things on the creek including shrubs, wildflowers and wonderful reflections. I contemplated other reflections besides those I saw on the river. My Smith grandparents had a homestead on Drift Creek almost 100 years ago. I had been to the old home once during our first Smith Reunion. No one had lived in it for some time, and it was close to collapsing. Mom and I also made a visit a couple of years ago to the meadow, but the house was no longer there.

 I reflected upon the journey my grandfather made along this same waterway as he returned home to his family after a week of fishing on the Alsea. He lived in a float house during the week where he used his gill nets to catch salmon. He had a bed, a cook stove and a bathroom. He hung his nets on the outside of his float house, and he had a bluing tank to clean the moss off of his nets.

Old growth fir

 I reflected upon what it must have been like for my grandmother as she raised her little children mostly on her own. Four of her children were born in Oregon City before they moved up Drift Creek. I know more of the children were born at this homestead, but I'm not sure how many. Grandma Pearl had 10 children all together and they were all born at home.

Cow Parsley

Fox Glove

 I reflected upon what it must have been like living in this beautiful, peaceful environment!

The meadow where they lived

An old cherry tree

The creek makes a giant bend as it flows around the meadow.

An effort is now being made to turn the meadow into an elk sanctuary.

A smaller waterway flows through the meadow.

Tobacco grass

 I am standing at the far end of the meadow by the river. You can barely see the cherry tree at the other end of the meadow at the base of the timber.

Bill and I loved how quiet and serene it was!

 We climbed back into our kayak to journey back to the Alsea River.

 Once again I reflected upon the little schoolhouse I knew the children attended after arriving by boat.

 I reflected on the crops the family grew, the animals they kept, the water they packed, and the way they had to work together.

I reflected on the things they did for fun. My grandfather and some of his children learned to play the fiddle. They played for some of the dances in town.

 I thought about the flowers my grandmother loved to grow. She also loved wildflowers like this yarrow!

 I reflected on all the payments my grandfather made for this land, and how he lost it when the banks failed.

A view from the river of the waterway flowing into the meadow

 I thought of how much I take for granted. I am grateful for this journey I took into the past which caused me to reflect upon my roots, and also to reflect upon how I can live in order to honor those who came before me.

We heard the cries of the red-tailed hawks before we saw them.

Re-entering the Alsea River from Drift Creek