DAY 16: OREGON, I LOVE YOU

The extra hour of sleep for Daylight Savings was so nice, and so needed, but it always makes things feel a bit off, adjusting to the new time. Now, it'll be an added challenge to beat the sunset and hopefully not cause too much stress for the rest of the trip. It's that time of year where the night starts earlier, and as I work my way back eastward over the next week, I'll be losing hours and trying to make the most of short days.

This morning, I "slept in" until 7am, walking back to Redwood Commons to finalize and post an article in the hazy morning light. It was a nice space to work in with no one else around - quiet with no distractions, and the large windows looking out on the ocean were an added bonus.

I made my post and walked back to the RV, where Liz and Portland were camped out on their beds and I poured a glass of kombucha and made the extra bagel and leftover toppings from breakfast yesterday. They'd given me a wheat bagel rather than an everything flavor, at first, and so it became my breakfast for today. I was playing the part of the clean up game where you try to clear the fridge, and some of the leftover smoked salmon dip from Friday on my bagel was a great choice.

I showered and we packed up the RV, walking down to the beach that is just a quick five minute walk from our front door, right across Highway 101, marked by an orange triangle between two houses in a small one street beachfront neighborhood. We walked down to the water, across the vast sand that I read stretches uninterrupted for 8 miles from Yachats to Waldport. I wondered how many people walked that entire stretch of the beach. We took Portland down to the water but he seemed hesitant to run carefree, instead staying close to me and leaning against my leg. He seemed to remember not to drink the water, and since he didn't want to run, we stayed only a few minutes before walking back.

We packed up our "Anemone" tiny home trailer and, when Liz's car was loaded, we hit the road south towards Yachats and our morning hike at Devil's Churn. I had never been to this spot before, even though it is right across from Cape Perpetua. We paid the five dollar state park day use fee (since Liz forgot her annual pass), and walked the short paved trail down to the overlook for Devil's Churn -- a cut into the choppy black rock along the ocean where the tides and incoming waves typically force the water to create dramatic displays.

This morning, the water didn't seem to be doing much, so we continued on the loop trail. There were a few kids out with their families on hikes this morning, and, like me in my new "witch" sweatshirt, they seemed to have a bit of a Halloween "hangover," slightly recycling the look of their costume with one or more accessories.

The paved trail wrapped around through a high wall of coastal shrubs and trees, to more views of the ocean and the tidepools below. We stopped to walk down the steps to some of these pools, and I remembered trips where we stopped at Bandon Beach, further south on the Oregon Coast, where we found anemones and other sea creatures living in the shallow pools. I didn't find any anemones this morning, but it was fun to watch the big waves crash and roll in towards the beach.

We walked along the ocean path towards a few more attractions like Spouting Horn, which seemed to be what I had expected Devil's Churn to be. It produced a big plume of mist, created when the ocean water was forced through the rock into the air like smoke when the choppy waters hit it in a certain way. Across the rocks, we saw a line of people watching something and wondered if it was whales or something else out in the water. After relaxing in perfect natural seats we found on the rocks, we walked over to Thor's Well, a deep round sinkhole where you can watch the ocean waters filling and draining in a repetitive, mesmerizing pattern.

We stayed a few minutes to watch, and then walked back, stopping up at the Visitor Center to use the bathrooms, which had just been cleaned and left our masks smelling of strong cleaning chemicals. The trail back was pretty quick, retracing many of the same steps we'd already taken, and passing a good number of dogs and their people along our way.

From the trailhead parking, we continued south toward Florence, and then on to Eugene. I always think that the water along the Siuslaw River outside of Florence, with waterfront docks and homes on the side, with green hillsides and mountains in the background. We would traditionally have a stop at a hippie cafe called "Alphabit" to look forward to, but has been closed for a few years now. It's pretty warm for soup, but I typically say that any day is soup day. One of my favorite foods.

We made our way back through the mountains and pines and dry brown wetland areas to Eugene, where we took our grumbling stomachs straight to Sizzle Pie downtown, surprised that they had a three dollar slice deal at their walk up window. My favorite is always the "Spiral Tap," the vegan slice that I had been craving on Thursday, made with spirals of tomato sauce and caramelized onions, topped with nutritional yeast "cheese." Liz got a slice of pepperoni, and we perched across the street at Kesey Square on big cement planters since there was no outdoor seating.

We swung past Fred Meyer on the way back to Liz's parents' house up in the hills of Eugene. I needed to pick up a few more cans of dog food for Portland, and had hoped to find canned coffee drinks, but had no luck. Liz bought us ice cream for later tonight, Tillamook Mountain Huckleberry -- my favorite and a bit of a tradition for us when I'm in town.

We unloaded the car once we were back at the house, and I unpacked while starting to repack my car for tomorrow's early morning departure. This is where I started to panic. I couldn't find my computer's charger cord, anywhere. I later heard back from the AirBnb owner that they did find it after our check out this morning, and I'm having it mailed to my stop in Colorado a little later in the week. So, I'm down to 77 percent battery as I type with three days to go. Fingers crossed that we make it, because I would really hate to type out an entire post on the Wix app!

I was still a little hungry, so I microwaved the rest of my seafood pasta from last night, feeling bad when it stunk up the house and apologizing to Liz's family as they opened windows. Oops! I talked to her parents for just a bit before getting ready and waking Portland up from his cozy nap on the big couch in the living room. Time to go for a hike...again!

I couldn't miss this one. I was originally planning to meet my friend Allan, and his dog Denny for the hike. Timing didn't work out quite right in the end, so Portland and I were off on our own. The GPS routed us on the craziest zig zag path through the hillside neighborhoods and finally, to the longer stretch of road out to Spencer's Butte.

The parking lot was busy, and the trail was one of the busiest I've seen since it was such a nice day. This hike is one of my favorites in town, climbing up through a forest of tall pines and ferns, up the side of a tall butte with rocky steps leading to the top. There, you'll find space to spread out and enjoy 360 degree views of the Eugene area, and today we were there for sunset. I've probably completed this hike a dozen times or so, but it is a tradition and a bit of a pilgrimage for me to get to the top. I couldn't imagine leaving town on this trip without doing the hike.

We climbed up and up, with plenty of stops to step off the trail and allow people to pass. I love the thick, chunky bark on the old pine trees, and the darkness of being in the woods here. I passed a tree stump along the trail where I'd posed for pictures a few years ago, and it looked the same as it had then. It's nice to know that with so many things changing around you, sometimes in dramatic or unsettling ways, that nature takes a more patient route. Changing slowly over time. I'll have to remember to look for the large stump on my next trip out.

At the top of Spencer, we arrived with about twenty minutes until sunset, finding a spot on the rocks to have a seat and take some good photos. I don't know that I've ever completed this hike at sunset before, but it was beautiful, with a bit of mist hanging above the mountains and trees, smudging them into the distant landscape. Once the sunset disappeared into the mountains, we stayed a few more minutes before starting our descent. It was twilight in the lower trees, and Lord Huron's song, "Meet Me in the Woods Tonight," sprung to mind. It was good to do this hike alone. The past week has been filled with the cheer of good friends and tomorrow I'll be transitioning back to life on the road.

At the end of the hike, I loaded Portland up into my Subaru, and we had one more stop to make. The Flying Squirrel Tavern, my favorite sports bar, where my friend Allan and his golden retriever, Denny (a girl pup) were waiting for us outside. We introduced Portland and Denny (and Allan to Portland) without much fuss, lots of wagging tails, and then found a picnic table on their outdoor patio, where Sunday night football was on TV. I held down the fort with the dogs while Allan placed his order inside, then we switched. We each got a beer and the Flying Squirrel Dip -- a turkey, cheese, tomato and green chili melt with a cup of au jus. I tried to make mine a bit healthier with a side salad after all the heavy food over the weekend. The Ninkasi Prismatic IPA was okay, but a bit light. Nice post-hike beer, that I followed up with 2 Town Cider's Made Marion, marionberry cider.

I was glad that the dogs could meet and get along, and had hoped that we'd have more time to hike and catch up while I was in town. But I'm thankful for any time with friends while I'm on the road, and it was great to see Allan again and share a meal at one of our traditional spots. We said our goodbyes after dinner, and I drove back up the hill to Liz's parents' house, bringing her take out dinner since she'd wanted to stay in.

We took a dip in the hot tub outside, the perfect way to end a great girls' weekend, before our last girls' night together for this trip, watching The Bachelorette and making big bowls of Huckleberry ice cream with whipped cream and lemon Oreo's.

I talked with Liz's parents a bit more before it was time to type and get to bed. It is always great to see them and spend time together. They are such great and funny storytellers, talking about their past travels, favorite places, missed adventures, and an epic and memorable dream, dreamt many moons ago. It'll be sad to say, "goodbye, for now," to these people and this place tomorrow morning.