Day 61 6/28/2015
While much of Washington, Oregon and California are suffering under a massive heat wave, we awoke to light rain and a 59 degree morning. We watched CBS Sunday Morning then began packing for today’s run. We were unenthusiastic about leaving as the lure of the crab shack called us to another day but by 10am, we were packed and back on the road again.
Our first stop was the Tilamook Cheese factory at 10:30. We joined the other 10,000 early risers this morning. I didn’t know there were this many people on the Oregon Coast. We joined the fray and enjoyed the visit.
As we continued down 101, we were struck by the awesome beauty of this coast. We passed through Beaver, Hebo, Colverdale and Lincoln City. From massive vertical rock formations to beautiful sandy beaches and the flat topped lava beds of Cape Perpetua, they all are beautiful.
The one scene we didn’t enjoy was the traffic – in every town, there was a near gridlock condition as masses of Portland dwellers flocked to the sea to beat the heat. We had planned to make our turn toward Crater Lake at Coos Bay before settling in for the night but the traffic had slowed our progress and we were tiring fast so when we saw that Carl G. Washburn State Park (just North of Florence) had some available spots, we stopped for the night.
We’ll regroup in the morning and choose our route inland.
Odometer: 83410 Miles Today:125 Total Miles:6210