Foster Reservoir – Calkins Boat Ramp up Santiam River

One thing is for certain – NOTHING in nature looks exactly the same from day to day! Today was no different! A kayaking friend I had met last summer reached out and asked if I would show her the trip up the Santiam River as it enters Foster Reservoir from the Calkins Boat Ramp. Of course I said YES! And let me tell you what, nothing looked the same from when I was up there a week ago.

I think my favorite photo from today would have to be this one!

Even though our warm temperatures make it seem as though we’re experiencing summer, we’re still technically in spring and the different bright shades of green are just amazing. And then, said reflections on the river are just spectacular! Personally, I think some company should make this photo into a puzzle! Ha! Challenging for sure!

My kayaking adventure today went at a bit slower pace than I’m normally used to and it was a nice break. I enjoyed spending the extra time admiring all of the spectacular shows of mother nature! It was truly remarkable. One of the things I’ve noticed in my last two trips here is how many wildflowers I have seen. I don’t remember seeing this many in the past. But, I may not have been paying attention as well either. But, they are everywhere and just amazing. I captured some of them.

The first picture above shows all of the flowers growing and blooming on the surface of a large rock. We always think that plants need dirt. But, not always. The second photo is a closeup. It’s a succulent of some kind and in one area of our adventure today – there were tons of them! They were very pretty!

My very favorite picture of flowers today is this one.

Absolutely 100% stunning!

We continued our journey down the river until we reached the end where you can’t kayak any longer due to the current and shallow water. It is here that there is a very large bed of rocks on the left side (east). I had already informed the gals I was with today that we would be stopping there and then taking a short walk to see a really nice waterfall. I captured a video the last time I was there, but I want to share the one I took today!

There is something so soothing and comforting about watching the water movement and listening to the sound it makes! I could have brought a chair and sat there for the rest of the day! The fact is it probably would have relaxed me so much that I probably would have fallen asleep. HA! HA!

I took some photos from where we were standing and it was just so incredibly beautiful!

The other thing I noticed about the water here is that it’s so incredibly clean! You can easily see down to the bottom. In fact, you can see that in my first photo above. It’s just so cleansing and refreshing to be standing there taking in those sights!

Well, at this point, it was time to walk back to our kayaks and began our journey back to the boat dock. There was one last thing I noticed on our return – the ferns! Holy Smokes! They were huge and they were neon green.

Aren’t they beautiful?! I just couldn’t believe how huge they were!

Well, as continued our way back to the boat dock, I couldn’t believe the number of boats and other watercraft I saw. There were a lot! The entire journey from the bridge leading all the way out to where we had gone is 5mph and I was glad to see that folks were abiding by the speed limit. But, I normally kayak during the week so I’m not really used to seeing so much watercraft. But, folks were polite and safe!

One thing I did while I was waiting for my friends to arrive was clean the left side of the boat launch. There were logs, branches, sticks and all manner of debris laying everywhere. We weren’t even going to be able to launch our kayaks from that side. So, because I was going to have to wait for awhile, I started picking everything up and tossing it all to the side. There was a lot. But, I just kept at it. By the time I had cleared it, folks began backing down that side as well. No one knew I was the one who had cleaned it all up, but it was rewarding to see everyone using it! (Yes, that’s my kayak)

We had a fantastic trip today and I’m so glad my friend invited me to go with her!!!

2024 – Kayak Trip #27