Clam Digging

I got a call about noon yesterday from my sister. "Would you like to go clam digging with us in the morning?"

After a brief consultation on our end of the phone, and checking to see what time of the day this would mean, we said "Yes!"

Razor clam tides can come in the early morning hours and since we had an hour and a half long drive down I-5 to sister Laurie's house in Winlock, WA, we needed to know what time we had to get there in time to get out to the coast for the low tide.  7:30 was doable, and we can manage early rising for a good purpose.  

I have never been razor clam digging and Tom hadn't done it since his early teens when his family used to go with his grandparents. On the other hand be both love to eat razor clams.

I didn't check my watch but it must have been about 10:00 when we reached the clam beach near Grayland,WA on the Pacific Ocean, just north of the mouth toWillapa Bay.

I confess I was a bit lost until I studied maps after getting back home (well, actually I studied maps on my iPhone while we were stuck in traffic northbound on I-5 coming back home.)

I grew up in Oregon and I know that coast very well, but while Washington is my adopted state and my home for all of my adult life, the ins and outs of its coastline still mystify me.  

Anyway, we got where we were going and my brother-in-law Arnie grimaced at the mist blowing in off the ocean and said, to be repeated several times "You should have been here on Wednesday." They had been and it was calm and warm, real beach lounging weather.

Not so today, but Tom and I were prepared with boots and raincoats and ready for the adventure.

We all had our razor clam licenses, which meant we could get 15 clams each.  I was not going to dig, but I would fetch clams, manage the buckets and keep count. Laurie claimed me as her disabled sister in case a game warden showed up.

Laurie is a real pro at this clam gun wielding.

 Tom not so much but he was really getting the hang of it when I called "Limit. Stop digging!"

 Here is part of the catch.

Arnie is a super digger of course, and he helped us get our limits.  I think he was hurrying too, because, with memories of Wednesday in his head, he didn't even bring a jacket.

 See the Sea?  Yep, that's the Pacific Ocean back there and wind blown rain coming off of it.  Our warn sunny days are coming to an end for a while.

 With our four buckets each with 15 clams, and us now various degrees of cold and wet depending on how well we had dressed for the weather, we packed up and headed to Tokeland, to the historic Tokeland Hotel for brunch.

 The view from my seat at our table.

 My partially eaten breakfast.  Sorry. I forgot to take a photo when it was intact.  I was too hungry.

 This is a wonderful old hotel, originally opened in 1899, abandoned and restored.

Filled up and warmed up, we began our journey home, stopping in Winlock to look over Laurie and Arnie's garden and stretch our legs before getting on the freeway for the long, slow drive home.

By the time we got home we were tired.  Tom hurried to get the lawn mowed before the rains came, and then we went out for a quick dinner.  No clams for supper tonight.  Then we spent an hour and a half cleaning clams and freezing all but one batch.  Those will be our Sunday supper.

It was a fun trip that we hope to repeat now that we've had our initial experience. And our licenses are good for all year, after all.