The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1 - Day 16

Fogerty Creek RV Park, Depoe Bay, OR to Ft. Stevens State Park, OR: 118 Miles (RV)

Ride Report: None - for details see below.

So - today is it.  We're scheduled to make Astoria today.  Well, technically the Ft. Stevens State Park on the coast just West of Astoria.  When I was shopping around for a place to spend a couple of days unwinding from Part 1 (2 1/2 weeks goofing off while traveling cross country is strenuous, doncha know?) before commencing Part 2, Ft. Stevens seemed just the ticket.  I'll get some pics of our camp site tomorrow.  Today was on and off rain - ALL DAY.  It continues as I draft this post.  But then, I suspect that's part of being in the Pacific Northwest.  I had planned to ride another 25 miles or so today, but the rain put a halt to that.  I'll ride thru rain when The Thin Blue Ride commences on June 10, but not now.  We even stopped at Neskowin on the way to Astoria thinking maybe we'd wait out the rain.  Nope - no luck there either. 

Though we were still on 101, it was an entirely different experience today as many of the miles were spent inland from the coast.  Nothing there so dramatic as ocean waves crashing against the rocks, but it was still enjoyable...

We noted a number of locations where there were still signs of recent logging activity.  though I'm not positive, I suspect the scar across the side of this hill is the cut for a logging road.  Its obvious that the mature trees are gone, and there are the remnants of the clear cutting operation strewn about the side of the hill.

And then there were shots like this.  If this pic isn't the poster child for a bucolic setting, I don't know what is.

And what is bucolic without dairy cows.  I'm pretty certain that this must be cow Valhalla.

And then came Tillamook.  Yes, its an actual city.  We knew not what to expect.  But when we got there - Civilization!  As evidenced in the pic below...

Really!  I can't remember the last time I had a Whopper.  But there was the King's place - right on 101!  Where I come from we call that a sign.  So, in we went.  The keen eyed reader will note The Rig in the parking lot across the street.  The King may be civilized, but even his parking lot isn't sufficient to accommodate The Rig.

And while we were in BK - this passed by on 101.   Good Lord, BK's window was like sitting in front of a big screen TV - which I haven't done in a while either.  I believe I had just mentioned in yesterday's post that I wanted to get a pic of one of these rigs.  My eternal gratitude to any reader who can tell me how they get the back half of that trailer thingy (A logging term there.) on and off.  My suspicion is that they use the same machine used to load the logs, but that's 100% speculation.  Ya see these things all over the place - with and without logs. 

But alas, eventually came the time to leave BK.  So we took our two chocolate chip cookies (The clerk practically made us buy em.) and off we went.  Shortly, 101 returned to the coast.  There were views in some places, but a substantial portion of the coast had been developed.  So it was hard to see the ocean between the houses, hotels, motels and other assorted buildings.  Disappointing, but we still got some pics...

I don't know how anyone could ever get tired of coming around a corner to this.

Or even better - this!

Yup - another tunnel.  I don't know if I've said so, but driving The Rig thru one of these us unnerving.  This one was better than most.  It was blessedly short and well lit to boot.

And then there were the tree tunnels.  This isn't the best one we encountered today, but it gets the idea across.  I finally had to turn on The Rig's headlights just so I could see the speedo and tach.  There just wasn't enough light at times.

And...one final ocean shot before we came to...

There it is.  The sign says, "Fort Stevens State Park".  We have a great site nestled in among some humongous pine trees.  I'd have included a pic but for the rain.  I'll get one tomorrow and pass it along.

And finally, there are the two pics below.  They're from Susan Schoen Photography, LLC and (as always) used by permission.  Here's the story.  I was sitting on the recliner yesterday when I heard her inhale sharply.  She then said, "You gotta see this.  It looks like Bigfoot."  By way of explanation, Susan's practice is to take tons of pics, then look at them later to see if there are any worth saving.  So - as she was reviewing some pics taken when we were in Northern California on 299, she stumbled across them.  She says she was just looking to get a river shot, but there he is - just about to step behind that small tree on the river bank.

This is gonna be bigger than the Patterson-Gimlin film.  (Google it)  Forget all about October 20, 1967.  The date Bigfoot believers should be committing to memory is June 5, 2019.  The shot was taken somewhere West of Whiskeytown Lake on Willow Creek with an i-phone 6S.  The 1967 Bigfoot eventually earned the moniker "Patty" in apparent honor of Patterson, who shot the film.  This one shall henceforth be known as ""Jane".  Susan picked it.  That's her middle name.

And shortly after, we ran across this.  Apparently he's also a rafting guide...

With luck like this, I reasonably anticipate that she'll resolve the wild "jackalope" question somewhere in Eastern Colorado or Western Kansas.  Stay tuned...

Till next time.