Day 3, leaving the coast. Oh this was hard! I just wanted to camp out here for a week, and feel the "normalness" of being on the ocean. But we have miles to go and explore.
It had been a very wet night, and all the greenery was especially bright in the morning. Clean and sparkling and fresh. After tea/coffee at the beach, and a breakfast of hot cereal--a welcome warmth on this chilly morning--we shook off the tent as best we could and rolled it up. Jay fashioned a quick fender for his rack with an open ziplock bag, so the tent and his sleeping bag wouldn't get wet from the road.
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| New growth on conifers, looks like 5-finger fern! |
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| More new growth. |
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| Jay's fender. |
I put all my still-wet clothes (I am reminded of how moisture in the air means clothes will not dry without wind and sun!) in bags so they wouldn't get dry things in my panniers wet. Our cycling neighbors were also getting slow starts, coming out from tents like sleepy moles in the dampness. We actually left before most. The two riders from Australia left just before us.
Next stop, Tillamook, home of great cheese. Before leaving, I left a tower of agates on the picknick table for the next guest, and took a small handful.
The road to Tillamook took us up and over the coast ridge, but more gradually than our climbs yesterday. Less elevation, and spread out over more miles. As we pedaled along the coast for a few miles before turning inland, I kept smelling chemicals. We finally figured out that the lines on the road were freshly painted and gassing off. At the crossroads where we turned east and away (sigh) from the ocean, we met up with the painting crew. Thankfully, they were continuing up the coast, and we wouldn't be breathing the paint fumes all day!
Soon we saw the cow fields, where the cows who make the milk that makes the cheese live. It remined me of the Arcata Bottoms. In tillamook, it was cold and windy. Rain threatened. After locating a Safeway, we got food for dinner--pasta, pesto, and protein. Jay went in to shop while I guarded our gear. By the time Jay came back, I was bundled up in my seater, rain coat, and leg warmers, hunched over on the cement planter where our bikes were parked. Jay asked if I wanted Tuna or Salmon. I said whichever was the best buy. He disappeared, got swallowed by the maw, and by the time he returned, I was curled in a ball at the base of the planter I had been sitting on, for a wind break. I requested warmth and warm food.
Coffee shop/bakery provided hot chai, cookies, scones, and bagels. Just ate the scones and saved the rest for later. We had lunch food for our lunch break on the road. Warmed up, we heaed east of ind th ebike store for tubes and patch kit.
The road to Portland from Tillamook (Hwy 6) was a gradual grade with lots of elevation over many miles. It was lovely, though heavy on the traffic. A wide, clear shoulder made it bearable. Soon the sun came out to burn away the wind and cold and damp. The road wound along a river, which we began to look an longingly as we warmed up. So lunch was on the river, our crackers, cheese, fruit, cookies.... We swam (Jay) and waded (me). then a large family arrived. Found out they regularly come here, and that the water level is very low. they used to jump off the bridge, but no more.
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| Fishing out a thorn. |
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| On the river for lunch, looking up at the bridge. |
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| On the river for lunch. |
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| Slathered with sun screen..... |
Back to the long climb. Grateful for the ice water obtained in Tillamook, which was still cold. Grateful for emergen-C electrolyte mix, sports beans, and nuts. Climb, climb, climb. We stopped at Tillamook forest Center for water and stayed to drink in the exhibits. An old, retired man interpreted the large relief map of the forest (like the one we saw at the Snake River in the Pallouse!). Wow. We could see our whole trip on the map! The gentleman was full of stories and history about the forest and the different fires and events. Jay said he could see me doing something like that when I'm old and retired, telling stories and having fun sharing information. At the guest shop, I purchased a tiny jar of red huckleberry jam to go with our bagels the next day.
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| Empty jar is now home for the agates. |
Onward. We were passed by three cyclist that we'd met at the river where we ate lunch. The most seious part of the climb was ahead of us, tomorrow, For now, we were done, arriving at Elk Creek Campground. On the gravel road into the camp, we saw several nice swimming holes on the creek. I wanted to find them after we found camp. Which I was glad we had arrived fairly early. The campground filled up very quickly after we arrived. I twas a walk-in camp, and there were many families that looked like they had been there for a week or more. The three cyclists who passed us were here too. Jay found out they were from Portland, and had done the Portland-Astoria coastal loop.
The sun was still streaming through the trees, and we took our wet clothes from the morning to the river to lay on hot rocks in the sun. then we walked down the river to find the swimming hole. I found out later that we took the wrong branch of the creek and could not find the great hole. Did find a pretty place, with big boulders, rushing water, and deepness. But COLD. Both of us got in, just to get cleaned off from salt and dust. But the sun was leaving. On way back to camp (crawling over rocks and logs, a true cross-country adventure), we retrieved clothes which were mostly dry now.
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| Looking for a swimming hole at Elk Creek |
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| Elk Creek |
Back in camp we hung a line to hang the tent to dry it out and the rest of clothes. The water in this campground came from an underground spring. It was delicious, perhaps the best water ever. It had a big pump handle you had to move up and down a few times to get water.
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