Day 5 & 6

Astoria to Manzanita (Nehalem Beach State Park)
Manzanita to Cape Lookout State Park

Thank goodness for free hot showers in Oregon State Parks! The weather turned a bit cool and misty (and hilly!), so at the end of the day, I look for the trail to the showers. OSP has the whole hiker-biker campground thing down. Lockers for food (keep food away from critters), water, tools, and really nice campsites. And showers! All for $8. Hard to believe in 2024.

Tonight you’ll get a two-fer. Yesterday I stopped at Fort Clatsop National Historic Park to acquire new-to-me Lewis & Clark factoids. For example, did you know that one of the Corps of Discovery lived to be 99? He was alive during the civil war! Sacagawea wasn’t so lucky and died fairly young. She was the only member of the party who was unpaid. Arguably, her role was as important, if not more important, than any one else on the journey. Lastly, 52 lead powder kegs containing gunpowder and wax were made before the trip and they had leftover kegs when they got back to Missouri. Seriously, I think the visitor center and trails in the Park are gems.

After traveling not far down a back road from the Park, I bumped into a local guy about my age who was out on a training ride. He was picked in a lottery to participate in the Trek Bicycle Tour de France and will be riding the course with a Trek Tour group a few days in front of the racers. He said he was a local, but when someone is on a bike, you don’t know what that means. Man, he had a beautiful bike. I felt like Jed Clampett driving into Beverly Hills.

I had to stop in Seaside, well, because that’s what everyone does. It felt a bit like the county fair with midway rides and elephant ears. I needed coffee and stopped at a random coffee shop called, Controversial Coffee. It’s located right next door to Inverted Experience or what could be called the upside down experience. The lobby for both businesses was a safe space for LGBTQ youth and offered free clothing and food. It was such a contrast to the rest of the bizarre tourist world outside the storefront.

A milestone was reached on this ride! I finally bicycled to an elevation that was higher than our house on Maple Leaf hill, elevation 460 feet above sea level. That’s right. I made it to 585 feet above sea level before descending to Manzanita. My ears didn’t pop, but I was surprised it took five days.

Upon entering the hiker-biker campground at Nehalem Bay SP, you can imagine my surprise to see another bicycle adventurist with his camp and tent all set up. Thom’s home is Chamonix, France and he just finished high school! He’s quite an interesting young man and headed to The University of Edinburgh in the fall. We talked about all kinds of things on our ride this morning to Tillamook. He stopped to do laundry and I stopped just before Tillamook to have lunch with an old friend, Steve, who was traveling for work. (Steve, the sandwich was great and kept me going the rest of the day!) Thom and I met up again here at Cape Lookout State Park later this afternoon. He’s riding an old bicycle his father gave him, but he hadn’t been on it since last fall. It could use a tune up since most of his gears don’t work. He’s a peanut butter and bread junkie, on a budget, and an appetite to drink in as much of the American west as he can. He’s no Tocqueville, but understands American politics better than most Americans. We’ll likely split up tomorrow since I’ll be staying with a former UW colleague in Depoe Bay. I’m sure we’ll reconnect later.

Have a nice evening.