Coasting
We woke up in Eureka in the same fog wed arrived in. Something about the cold air blowing in off the ocean, and the warm layer above, created a thick soup that we rode through on our way out of town.
First we stopped at the HD dealership and had Dads brakes looked at. They checked and tested them and fixed a minor oil leak in less than an hour from our arrival, at no charge. HD service comes through again. We added our locations to their US map of visitors and hit the road.
The fog broke just in time for us to hit the Redwood National Park. Look at the size of this tree.
And the view as we rode down the scenic side road .
Shortly after leaving the redwoods we crossed into Oregon. The mist or clouds came back but they couldnt dampen the beauty of the coastline.
Somewhere along the way we grabbed lunch at a seafood place that caught, processed, smoked, and cooked its own fish. Dad proposed we stay there and skip the rest of the trip. Not a bad idea, I could just write updates with pictures lifted from other sites while we gorged on smoked salmon. But we continued on.
I really liked Oregon until we went to fill up with gas. Oregon doesnt let you pump your own gas. Apparently, they never have. Im not real comfortable with the average minimum wage pump jockey waving the super premium nozzle all over my bike, so I was thankful that all the attendants we ran into merely handed us the nozzle and replaced it when we were done. It was weird. If youve read this series from the beginning, you recall my amazement at finding a full service pump in KY on my way to meet my dad. Complete culture shock to find somewhere where it is the norm.
We stopped in Coos Bay, OR for the night.
And continued our ride up 101 on the Oregon coastline in the morning.
I didnt take many more pictures, as the scenery is similar, and it was cold! 60 degrees, so I was wearing my gauntlets. Getting the mitt off, camera out, camera on and aimed was just too much so I left it in my side pocket.
I did catch a pic of one of my favorite street signs.
Oregon has road signs of ultimate simplicity and eloquence; one word suffices. Rocks. Elk. Slides. They do use a few more words for my other favorite sign of the day: Tsunami Hazard Zone. Now, thats not one you see around Kentucky very often.
Speaking of Elk, we did see a few of those including this big guy:
He's a little reminder of one of the inspirations for the trip, the Rev. W. Ray Dickerson, RIP. Who is also the inspiration for my elk skull tattoo:
We crossed into Washington over the Columbia River at Astoria and had lunch in Ilwaco, WA. While the day wasnt the longest in duration or mileage, something about the roads and the climate had really taken it out of us, so we headed inland looking for shelter. Of course, 30 miles from the coast the coast effect wears off and the weather warmed up. Heres the Columbia river along our route:
Sitting in a Mexican restaurant in Kelso, WA speaking Spanish to the help (go with what you know), laughing so hard Im crying at the Bill Bryson story in the book Im reading (always read travel writing while on the road, it keeps things in perspective), wearing a Grumpys sweatshirt from the old man bar down the road, I was deep into living my own advice: travel as if the US were a foreign country. When in a foreign country, I seek familiar objects to balance out the sheer foreignness of the experience. For example, I was never so glad to see a Burger King than in Trondheim, Norway, after a week across the fjord with my family. And I dont even like Burger King. That and the week old USA Today at the English bookstore restored my balance. See and experience all you can, and even your keel by touching on those objects that bring you home. Hence, the Mexican restaurant, the book, and the old man bar.