Up and running… moving down the peaceful channel.. Life never felt better. We were entering that part of the river where people were living out their lives along little marina’s and boat house villages.

We had nearly lost track of where on the channel we were. Unlike the Columbia river there is little, if any, little markers that indicate your mileage or progress. We spotted a place on the map.. “Rick’s Marina” or something that if seen, would tell us (generally) where we were. Life started to appear.. old weathered down boat houses covered the banks in spots. Clumped into groups of maybe 5 or 6.. Some of them looked, as British say, shotty.. worn and seedy. One place in particular reminded both of us of a place that the green river killer might have inhabited one time. Dark and falling apart with that eerie tilt in the roof.. Half sinking, half floating only by the will of the ghosts that live there… In two words.. Complete Rubbish.

All that we saw along the channel was not all half hazard disasters.. In fact as we moved on the real estate got a lot better… It was like taking a tour of a classic American living experience…

It always starts with complete and utter wilderness. Perhaps a logging operation or distant outpost, but it’s always surrounded by nothing.. Then wilderness turns into farming operations scattered around smelling of that trademark bovine essence. Farms turn into the fringes of society.. Perhaps the outcasts or Henry David Thoreau types who want nothing more then to disappear from societies minds. Between them and the outer edge of society is more farms, wilderness, and, in this case, old beat up sunken barges. Finally.. you enter the outer fringes of society.. They are the houses that have that farm decor or rural look, but actually make up the outer ring of the “burbs” (suburbs). Those houses quickly morph into a developed society of suburbs equipped with signs, warnings, and crafty “welcome” and “home sweet home” signs. On the river, houses are adorned with that “river look” a mix of that fishing aesthetic and floating home & patio. It’s a design that strikes the eye, because to them, the front of house isn’t the best side.. it’s the back.. Middle of society houses have elaborate patios with lush hanging gardens and bright teak platforms. Some have their prized possessions.. A nice looking yacht or sailboat out in front for all who float by at 5 miles per hour to gander upon… It’s all for show… I suppose it’s all for fun. The closer we get to the Willamette… the more elaborate the design. Soon houses look like a floating “stream of dreams.” 

Old boats and new yachts were bunched up in marinas all along the river..

It was all pleasant to see and probably worth going back just to see again. “For Sale ” signs looked like opportunity to get in and enjoy the river life which is something that would be totally different. Just think if your back yard determined the worth of your estate? Just how much would you be worth? An interesting perspective.. I completely enjoyed myself the entire time.. but my stamina under that hot bright sun was fading slowly.. I had one last “push” to go.. from the other mouth of the channel all the way back home.

I didn’t know it yet.. but I had already gotten used to calm narrow waters…

Tomorrow the conclusion to “Sailing On Air”

~J out

Read More