We've been fighting the critters out here. Even though we keep the food put away in the food box, this is what we found when we returned from our day trip. What will I eat my oatmeal in?
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Saturday, June 29, 2013
Critters!!
We've been fighting the critters out here. Even though we keep the food put away in the food box, this is what we found when we returned from our day trip. What will I eat my oatmeal in?
Sent from my iPhone
Hanging around!
We`ve been taking it pretty easy these past couple of days. Yesterday we rode into Netarts which is all of 6 miles. There is not much in Netarts except a restaurant and a few motels. We had Tillamook ice cream at the restaurant. Nice ride along the bay. There is a colony of Harbor seals at Netart`s Bay (see picture). Lots of folks at Cape Lookout park. This is an exceptionally nice weekend weatherwise we are told. We have also visited with a few other cyclists, though there are not too many.
Today we rode into Pacific City (about 15 miles) which required us to ride up and over a very large hill at Cape Lookout. We climbed for more than 3 miles. We are going to take the bus back to Tillamook and ride back to the campground from there (about 11 miles). It`s hilly, but not as much.
Pacific City is a nice little beach town--filled with tourists as most of the coast is. There is another haystack rock here. Otherwise it looks alot like all the little towns down the coast. Pacific City is known for being the place where the dorries launch. We weren`t here early enough to see that, but we have seen some of them coming up out of the water.
Sending from the Espresso Cafe in Pacific City, OR
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Friday, June 28, 2013
Rockaway Beach to Cape Lookout State Park
We awoke to more rain Thursday morning. The forecast was for sunshine by 7 p.m. and then for the next 5 days. Well, the sun did shine about 7 p.m., though the rain stopped by about 11:30. While Caroline and I were finishing up our breakfast at Grumpy`s Cafe, Super Biker Woman rode by, saw our bikes and came in to say hello. Colleen (her other name) was riding to the same destination as we were, so we decided to ride together. It was a lovely ride--flat and some of it was right on the coast. We arrived in Tillamook a little after noon. Caroline and I stopped to buy groceries and Colleen went off to send her blog.
After purchasing our groceries for the next 3-4 days we set off for Cape Lookout State Park which is about 12 miles from Tillamook. They have a hiker/biker area for only $5 a night and the campground is right on the coast. We chose the flatter route since we were loaded down with even more weight after grocery shopping. There is a scenic route called the 3 Capes Route we are planning to do in the next day or so without all our panniers, since it goes up and over 3 large hills (Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, and Cape Kiwanda).
We arrived at the park around 4:30. Colleen was already here and set up. She is a really strong rider. After getting our tents set up, we took a stroll on the beach and then returned to fix dinner. Colleen had volunteered that she was carrying some balsamic infused olive oil, so we "borrowed" some to cook our fresh vegetables with. We also had couscous and fresh tomatoes. Colleen also shared her Nutella for which I was especially grateful.
It was really enjoyable to visit and get acquainted with Colleen. She has traveled by bike extensively and has some great stories. We will enjoy following her blog. On Friday she heads on south. We found out that road to Cape Meares is closed so we won`t be able to do the entire 3 Capes route--I guess we will do the 2 Capes Route! Hopefully in the sunshine that is predicted for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday!!
Couldn`t send this until Friday since there is no WiFi at the park. And yes, the sun is shining brightly today.
Sent from Samsung tablet
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The View from our Campground
Almost. We just have to walk a short distance from our camp to a path that leads to the beach.
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
By Bike and by Bus
We rode down to Cannon Beach from Warrenton yesterday. We stopped at Seaside where we got our first good look at the Pacific. We saw the statue of Lewis and Clark and their faithful dog that marks the end of the Lewis and Clark expedition. After eating some lunch and buying some salt water taffy (Martha, of course) we headed on down the road to Cannon Beach where we planned to spend the night. Though the mileage was short we had two or three good climbs to get there. At the top of the biggest climb I stopped to take off my jacket and Nicola rode up beside me. She was a solo rider from Tuscon who had come out to Vancouver heading all the way down the coast to San Francisco. She had a knee injury and since she can`t hike, she thought she ought to do something! We had a nice chat.
A little further down the road--maybe a couple of miles, I pulled off to look at a historical marker and another solo rider, Miriam, rode up. She is doing the TransAm from Astoria to Yorktown, VA and this was her first day. She had just flown in from the Netherlands to Portland and took the bus up to Astoria to start her adventure. She was also planning to stop in Cannon Beach so we all rode in together and got our campsite.
We stayed at Wright's campground which is a family run campground and has been open since 1959. It is for tents only and consists of a large grove of old growth trees (they are HUGE) with nice little camping areas nestled in and around the grove. Very pleasant. They let us put all 3 tents in one area and only charged us for one spot. Trust me--not everyone is so generous. One county campground charged us $22 for a tent site and $10 extra for the second tent. They also wanted $5 for a cold water shower. (I think I already blogged about it--sorry if I`m repeating myself). This place had hot showers and even had a laundry facility.
We ate dinner in Cannon Beach and had a chance to get acquainted with Miriam. She is a medical student who is on a 3 month holiday before she resumes her internship. She is a very lovely young lady--we have exchanged information and hope to follow her journey and maybe even make contact again when she makes her way to our part of the country.
It was a rainy day yesterday and again we had rain all night. Miriam departed at 7:30 this a.m. Caroline and I rode into Cannon Beach to eat some breakfast in a dry environment. The wind was really fierce out of the south, so we made the decision to take the bus into Rockaway Beach. There are several bus routes that service the coast that also have bike racks. What a great thing. We had a nice day roaming around Cannon Beach where we met another solo rider that Caroline posted about.
We are now settled in a really sweet little motel in Rockaway Beach called the Sea Haven Motel. It has individual rooms as well as a guest house. The guest house is available to rent for big groups, or when not being using by a group, available as a hostel. We called to inquire about hostel rooms, and since they had none available, they are giving us a private room for the same cost. It has a kitchen, washer/dryer--pretty snazzy.
The really great news is that the weather forecast is for 5 straight days of sun. We`ve actually been pretty lucky. Even though it has been overcast and cool, there haven`t been too many days where it rained nonstop.
Tomorrow we head for Tillamook where we will hang out for a few days and do some day trips.
Sent from Samsung tablet
Super Biker Woman's Bike Touring blog is below.
We met Colleen doing her third coast tour today in Cannon Beach. She's riding a Bike Friday, and carries 60 pounds of gear. She camps, and yesterday rode 99 miles.
WOW!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Our new friend, Miriam
We met Miriam on the road. This is her first day of her TransAm tour. She was stopping at Cannon Beach also so we invited her to share our campsite. She is a medical student from the Netherlands.
Sent from my iPhone
Astoria to Warrenton
Yesterday we awoke to rain that quickly gave way to partly sunny skies even though the forecast was 90% chance of rain. We spent most of the day biking/walking the riverfront and visiting the Maritime Museum. It was quite nice and enlightened me a lot about the Columbia River. The Columbia River Bar which is where the river and the Pacific Ocean meet is apparently the most dangerous area in the Pacific. They even call it the graveyard of the Pacific. All of the forces of water dumping from the River coupled with the ocean conditions, weather condition apparently make it quite fearsome. A special River Bar pilot is required to navigate through the bar. He is brought to the ship on a smaller boat and as the boat pulls up as close as it can to the ship, the bar pilot has to swing across on a rope to a ladder to board the ship and then does the same thing in reverse when he is leaving the ship.
We also stopped at the local bike shop for a couple of things. They gave us some great advice on getting to the KOA. We were planning to cross two smaller bridges, but he assured us we could safely traverse the Bay bridge. The shoulders on the bridge were about 3 feet so we had room to ride to the side. Once across the bridge we rode on a dike across the rest of the water that had 6 foot shoulders. Much nicer. Once we got across the Bay we essentially rode the periphery of the little peninsula. Flat and lovely.
The KOA is directly across from Ft. Stephens State Park. The KOA is huge with wonderful amenities. We camped in a primitive spot (i.e., no electricity) but were within a short distance of a game room, hot showers, indoor pool and hottub, and a huge outdoor kitchen under a gazebo. Didn`t feel too primitive.
Rained overnight, but appears to be clearing a bit. We will probably get some more showers but hopefully not like Sunday. Rain possible for the next two days and then 3 days of sunshine. We will slowly work our way down the coast, stopping at anything we find interesting. Our mileage won`t be staggering, but I think there are too many beautiful things to rush down the coast. Once we get to Tillamook, we will probably do day trips out of there.
Later,
Martha
Sent from Samsung tablet
Young's Bay Bridge
Caroline coming across the bridge we crossed to get to Warrenton KOA.
Sent from my iPhone
The Astoria Bridge
4 mile long bridge over the Columbia River that connects Washington and Oregon.
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The Maritime Museum in Astoria
Very interesting. Learned a lot about the Columbia River.
Sent from my iPhone
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
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