Day 2, a late rise. We were nestled in the shadows of the mountain and trees, so light came to us late. We puttered around, made coffee/tea and sat on rocks in the creek, mesmerized by the birds talking about the beautiful day and the creek babbling over gravel and trees swaying in the breeze Perfect way to start the day.
As I hoped, I scoured the campground for berries and found a few thimble berries, red huckleberries, and salmon berries to add to our cereal. I hung a few things on bushes that were in the sun, hoping to lighten them up a bit before storing them in a bag. As they dried, I retrieved them.
We ate breakfast and began breaking camp. The camp host came by to visit, and a boy from a neighboring spot walked past. he caught my eye with an odd manner, kind of secretive, and he did not respond to my wave and hello. Our campsite was on a loop that dropped own from the main camp road, and I saw him through the bushes as he walked back to his campsite on the upper road. None of this seemed relevant at the time. Until I went to retrieve my clothes--my bike shorts--from the bushes. They were gone. I searched everywhere, thinking they may have fallen. No shorts.
I dashed up to the camp host's site, thinking maybe he had taken them as lost items from a previous camper. Nope. I stopped at the boy's camp, and sure enough, his dad said he had brought the shorts to their camp and his dad had made him take them back and put them where he found them. I asked if the boy would show me where he had put them, as I could not find them. As we walked, he said, "They are in the middle of the bush, it'll be hard to get them." I asked why he had taken them, and he said that he was looking for treasure, and I shouldn't have left them where kids might find them." I waded into the thorny bush and retrieved my shorts, while he wandered back to his dad.
On the road! Finally we began our ride for day two. We rolled through miles and miles of flat and rolling roads on the way to Beaver, Oregon. There was little traffic for most of the way, and then we needed to be alert for the last 8 miles to the coast, because logging trucks became frequent on this curvy road with no shoulder. I continue to be grateful for my helmet mirror.
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| On the road to Beaver amid the sun drenched trees. |
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| Thank you dear helmet mirror! |
Once we arrived in Beaver, which was essentially a curve on Hwy 101 that housed a gas station and a few auto repair places and.....Beaver Firearms and Groceries! The order of the items in the name is no accident. They sell firearms and a few groceries on the side! At this point we were ravenous, and purchased our lunch there. Sandwiches and soda and treats. Not great fuel, but fuel nonetheless. Nice to sit on a bench and eat, while customers arrived wearing 2nd amendment t-shirts with Confederate flag decals Trump bumper stickers on their trucks...
Once rested and fueled, we navigated about 4 miles on 101 until the turn off for the coast and Cape Lookout. How surreal to be riding on 101, hundreds of miles north from where I grew up. An odd, timeless connection to home....
Both Jay and I had the illusion that we would be riding downhilll most of the way to Cape Lookout. It was, after all, the coast! But no. We had some serious climbing up and over the inland ridge, to the sand dunes and then UP Cape Lookout. Grueling up, among increasting tourist traffic in RVs and trailers. But oh, when we got to the top and saw the ocean through the trees, my heart melted. Joy. Exhilarating DOWN down down to the park along the shore. The smell! I had been detecting the ocean on the air as we made our way to Beaver, but now it WAS the air. We entered the campground (why does every campground remind me of Patrick's Point in Trinidad?)
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| Camp at Cape Lookout. |
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| Cape Lookout camp. |
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| Jay setting up Tent. |
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| Picnic tables are for storing gear. We can eat anywhere..... |
The Hiker/Biker camp was a maze of sites nestled in the bushes and trees. We met many cyclists doing the Pacific Coast route, but not many were interested in talking. People were from England, Australia, and Canada. after setting up camp and hanging the damp clothes and washing more clothes, we walked down to the beach to explore. I could have stayed here for days, soaking in the salt and water and scents. we walked in one direction, and then turned and walked the other direction to a rock outcroping which we climbed to see what was on the other side. Another beach! On the rock were tiny tide pools, each a miniature home for young anemones, limpets, barnacles, and crabs.
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| Pacific Ocean. |
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| Cape Lookout behind Jay. |
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| Looking north to the next Cape. |
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| South to Cape Lookout. |
Walking back, the light was hitting the wet shoreline at the perfect angle for finding agates. The agates I found were "Oregon Agates" not California agates. They were rough and jagged and everywhere! I collected a handful and tried to explain agates to Jay
Back in camp, we showered and made dinner of couscous, beans, and cheese. I had grabbed Necco wafers at our stop in Beaver, and broke them out for dessert. The Swainson's thrushes came out again for evening. The sun was beginning to peak through the trees, slanting sideways with colors of sunset. With tea in hand, we wound our way on the trails to the beach to watch the sun go down until it was dark. After cribbage by headlamp, we slept a deep sleep.
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