Destination "Government Island"

The stars finally line up in my favor.  For weeks or months I have been threatening a overnighter on the sailboat. This weekend, my son is away at a scout outing and Linda says she’ll go with me. I think it helped that my daughter and her boy friend had announced they were going on their first kayak trip (around Government Island) since becoming kayak owners a week earlier. The boat is moored on the Columbia river and already has lots of gear on board, all we needed to gather was food and beverage, sleeping bags, books, cell phones, cameras and hit the road. 

Government Island is up river from Portland about five miles and is about seven miles long overall.  There are numerous camping spots, some recognized, but many where people with boat just come ashore and make themselves a camp.  The island is uninhabited except for free ranging cattle that pretty much stay off the beaches preferring the tall sweet grass that only grows inland.  Our destination is one of the three improved areas, complete with modern docks, composting toilets, picnic tables and fire pits.