20230420 Thursday, April 20, 2023; Copalis Beach Clamming

 20230420 Thursday, April 20, 2023

The rain stopped during the early morning hours so we were able to walk onto the beach with overcast sky and plenty of daylight.  We headed out of our RV at 6:15am.  With the lower tide level of -0.9’ at 7:28, we were greeted by plenty of clam shows above the surf wash zone, and could afford to be picky and only go after the larger shows.  In the lower surf wash zone, we could see feeding razor clams with the tips of their siphons at the surface of the shifting fine sands and volcano like spouts as the surf washed out over them.  We each had our limits of 20 clams by 7:15am and were headed back to the RV.  We finished cleaning them and putting them up in the refrigerator by 10:15am and had time for a nice nap.  

We were fortunate to have gotten a break in the rain and wind to dig our clams because by 11am, it was raining sideways with 30-45mph wind gusts and sheets of rain.  This shook the RV and occasionally sent waterfalls cascading over the side window.  RV’s began arriving later in the afternoon. Presumably the weekend warriors who had taken Friday off work were arriving.  

We had canned chili fortified with fresh chopped razor clams for lunch.  While the clams didn’t seem to affect the flavor, they did add a bit of crunchy texture and protein.

We spent the afternoon sheltering from the wind and rain watching streaming TV within the comfort of the RV.  We had more of the Birdseye pasta with garlic chicken and toasted ciabatta rolls for dinner, this time sans clams since we had put up what cleaned clams we had in the freezer.  

The rain and wind finally stopped about 6:30pm, so Ben went for a walk along the canal that separates Copalis Beach city from the actual beach.  The canal finally turns and drains into the Pacific about 1.5 miles north of the pedestrian bridge at our campsite.  There appears to be a few ATV and 2 wheeler tracks along with the walking trail.  When Ben got back to the RV park, he was blinded by headlights next to our RV and was surprised to see a travel trailer now parked with its slide within 10” of our extended slide.  I guess we’ll be keeping those blinds pulled permanently now.  We hope we won’t be listening to their TV blaring or other noises being so darned close.  It kind of reminded us of the Viking river cruise ships tied up rail to rail in Vienna.  

Tomorrow’s clamming is at Mocrocks beach, so we’ll have to pack up, crawl under the slides to disconnect water and power early tomorrow to head out.  We just hope not to find ourselves pinned in with another RV on our other side blocking our side door.