Day 15--NOT OUR FAVORITE DAY

September 19, 2000
Devil's Lake SP to Carl G. Washburne SP

Got off to a latish start this a.m. after saying goodbye to Donna & Jeff and Will. D & J are going only as far as Newport and finding a motel. Will is going only to Beachside SP 45 miles or so south. By staying in Lincoln City rather than Beverly Beach as planned, Jess and I are now 20 miles behind schedule, so are aiming for Carl G. Washburne SP about 20 miles north of Florence and Rt 26.

Aside from a great tailwind that pushed us uphill at 20+ mph at times, the day was chill and thickly foggy—felt almost like light rain—all day until about 5 miles before C.G. Washburne when we caught a glimpse of the sun.

Wind roar, a fairly "commercial" leg, cold, and no good food (nor any place to buy food) for our evening meal made us testy on arrival at the campsite. We mellowed out after a hot shower, hot cider & coffee & hot ckn noodle soup. Also felt warmer after calling Jeff and hearing of the hot, dry spell and fires OK is suffering through.

We stopped today for breakfast/lunch south of Newport at a tiny cliffhanging restaurant right on the ocean. We were craving pancakes. Loved looking at the foggy surging sea below and the gulls that hung out on a roof beneath the d.r. windows waiting for the cook to throw scraps to them. Recycling at its purist.

Stopped again at a bike shop in Newport to use a floor pump on my tires. (Even with this footed Master Blaster I have, I cannot get more than 100 psi in each tire.) The guy in the shop insisted on doing the honors, and ripped out my front valve when removing the pump from it. Then he had the devil of a time getting my front wheel off because the front rack was rusted tight and it had to come off before we could get the wheel off. Anyway he replaced the front tube for nothing since as he said, it was his fault. As we came out of Waldport I got another rear flat. Patched it, and so far it has held up fine.

Miles: 65

Route: Devil's Lake State Park to Carl G. Washburne State Park. 101 straight south from Lincoln City. Saw no sights and took no alternate routes because of the fog. Early in the morning two small axis deer crossed the road in front of us.

Weather: 65 miles in cold, sifting, fog. It rained last night (while we were snug in our yurt) but had stopped by the time we left camp. A strong tailwind most of the day. Temps in the 50s probably in the 40s when we arrived in camp.

Total Miles, Week 1: 360.85

Total Miles, Week 2: 286.34

Grand Total Miles:     647.19