Digging It In Westport

The hole in the camper looked real bad.

We took the camper in to get it repaired and the RV repair went way better than expected.  We had a leak in a small access door and the water went into a location that then rotted out and rusted through the surface.  I discovered it on the way to Mexico and worried about it all the way home.  You can see by the photo it looked real bad.  The good thing is that it wasn't half as bad as we thought and it only cost us $380 to get it repaired.  I had projected about $1200.

After the repair, we took the camper off out at our friends and immediately hit the road for Westport, Wa. We were invited to go Razor Clam digging by our good friends Don and Caroline.  Clam digging is a tradition for these friends and I have really enjoyed the hunt.

On the beach in Grayland getting ready to dig.

Here is my take on the event.  First the weather changed from clear skies to 100% rain, part of the tradition I guess.  Then you load up and drive down to the beach and onto the sand.  You grab a bucket and your Clam Hawk and off you go.

The Clam Hawk looks like a raft pump except that it is hollow and it has a thumb hole in the handle that creates a suction after you shove the device into the sand and start pulling.

Got my bucket and Clam Hawk.

Once on the beach you look for little round spots on the sand and then you place the tube of the Clam Hawk over the hole and push it into the sand.  Once you are in the sand up to the handle, you put your finger over the air hole and then pull the handle up.

The Hawk then pulls up a big plug of sand and when you release the suction hole the big round plug of sand drops out.  You break up the sand plug and you can see the clam moving about, so all you do is pick it up and put it in your bucket.  Each person is allowed 15 clams on a permit.  It takes about 30 to 40 minutes to get your limit.

After the boiling water bath.

Shellless little critters.

Gutting and cleaning the bastards.

A Razor Clam.

At home you bring the clams in and wash them off.  You pour boiling water over the clams to kill them and then cold water is sprayed over them so that they cool before they cook.  Next you shell them and after that you turn to Linda and tell her to clean them.  Once she stops laughing, I went ahead and cleaned and gutted them.

Finished product, Razor Clams!

Erik, Caroline cook the clams as Linda watches.