Sea Kayak - Exploration of the Western Skagit Esturary

We had a blast exploring the Western Skagit Estuary last Saturday! In addition to visiting Fort Whitman on Goat Island, we had a brief but magical lunch on the mudflat experience at a spot about one nMi northwest of our intended stop on Craft Island. I'm calling that shiny place Miller's planet, after an iconic scene from the Christopher Nolan film "Interstellar." From there we proceeded to the channel that leads up past Craft Island to the mouth of the North Fork of the Skagit. Ferry angled northward across the split in the current there then went west down stream back to the dike, reaching 5.1 knots at one point. That part was fabulous as well, adding immensely to the number of Snow Geese, Trumpeter Swans, Great Blue Herons, Banded Kingfishers, and Bald Eagles we encountered on the earlier parts of the trip. Didn't see any River Otters but a did pass a number of Harbor Seals, no doubt acting in their unofficial capacity as informants for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Timed the start and return perfectly for a scrape-free launching and landing on the pickleweed covered kayak beach at Conner Waterfront Park. The timing also made for easy paddling down the Swinomish Channel and back. The fishway was blocked for our usual 7.5+ tide level passage so we found a relatively easy portage just west of it, at the place where the dike starts at McGlinn Island. A relatively minor tide range for the span of travel, along with an enthusiastic group of paddlers, plus a day of calm seas and light air made for a fun exploration of the Western Skagit Estuary. Weather permitting I'm thinking to do a repeat next month, with a little higher higher low at mid-day this time.