This was a late afternoon paddle, with the sun low to the horizon. Mud Bay is not far from Tacoma, near Olympia, the state capitol. The tide was perfect - high - so we headed out.I'll have very little to say about this paddle. Who ever named it, named it correctly, and we've tried to access it a number of times throughout the years, once successfully, with great images of a coyote running along the bank. But, mostly, it is mud, and with the tide changes, it looks like a great place to get stuck. We also tried it last winter, but the wind was so bad, I was worried about getting stuck out there, and capsized.
Not too many residences care to grace Mud Bay, for the obvious reasons, but this little dwelling has been there for a long time, and somebody had quit their projects, whatever they were.
An old man was living here, working in his garden, and oyster shells lined the shore. I suspect he has spent his life in this location, but his fishing days are over.The vegetation along the shorelines of Puget Sound have darkened into the most uninviting flat colors - dull greens and dull browns. When skimming along the tideflats, all the grass was matted down and much of the vegetation had mildew on it, from cold nights.
The water had whirls of mildew dust near any floating debris, and since the bay is right off a major road, the sound of semi-trucks and automobiles was considerable. I couldn't imagine anything tranquil about this paddle until we got about a half mile away from our 'put-in point', and regardless of George's positive commentary, I was eager to see the paddle come to an end. It did, right here....
