This year I was able to volunteer for the 8th annual Labor Day Poker Paddle in South Bend. Paddlers of all sorts, including kayakers, canoers and stand-up paddle boarders, are welcome to participate. Participants start at the 101 Public House kayak dock and then paddle along the Willapa River to 4 other docks to receive playing cards in envelopes, hoping to get the best 5-card poker hand. Monetary prizes are awarded to the top 3 hands. This year, the winner had 3-8’s!

It was a beautiful; we really lucked out on the weather. (This event is held rain or shine!) I was on dock 3. I handed the paddlers cards with a long stick with a clothespin attached at then end. Thankfully, I managed to stay nice and dry. 🙂

This was a gorgeous day in South Bend on the Willapa River.

The paddlers were making their way from dock 2, onward, to my dock.

This was the view from my dock to dock #4.

That’s my dad in the back of the canoe! He’s participated all 8 years. 🙂