Lincoln City, OR to Waldport, OR - 42 miles
Of all the campgrounds we have stayed at, I think we left one our favorite this morning - Devil's Lake State Park. Our site was located only 15 yards from the restrooms, but with a hedge in between so it didn't feel like we were camping on the restroom doorstep. The restrooms had hot water AND soap (you might think those would be standard in a maintained campground, but not so). The showers were spacious with unlimited hot water and there was a dish washing station. It was glorious to not have to warm up water on the stove to wash our dishes. It didn't have all the amenities of the Astoria KOA (ironing board, hot tub, etc.), but it had all the necessary comforts of home at an inexpensive rate.
I'm not sure why it was called Devil's Lake because I didn't see a lake, but I think I know how the "Devil" part plays in to the name - Raccoons! Those vandalizing rascals scattered our dishes, left foot prints on our trailers and woke us up in the middle of the night with their fighting. I had to rewash all the dishes in the morning, but that wasn't such a chore thanks to the dish washing station. Did I mention how much I enjoyed that convenience? I can't imagine what our site would have looked like in the morning if we had left food where they could reach it. Our favorite topic of conversation during our stay was how best to rid the park of their raccoon problem. I don't think the rangers would have approved of our lures, traps and fire arms, so we kept the ideas to ourselves.
The ride today was stunning! Biking the coast on a warm, sunny day and watching waves crash on sandy beaches was something I have been looking forward to since we started this trip. Today was just such a day. The hills were gradual and seemed almost easy. We stopped to eat lunch at a park where a crowd was gathered for whale watching and the boys got to see their first live whale.
When we were just 2 miles from the KOA in Waldport (our planned stop for the night), we made a pit stop at Seal Rock Beach Park. Stephen and I were chatting with a local couple and Tan was riding around on his bike. He biked to the top of a small rise so that he could race down the path. Midway down, he left the path for a grassy slope and didn't see the hole until it was too late. There was a drainage area about a foot and a half deep and the same diameter as his bike. He hit the far edge of it with his front tire and bounced out, but lost control of his bike. He ended up on his back with the bike on top of him. All of his body landed on grass except for his head which landed on the sidewalk. THANK YOU BIKE HELMET! He cried for less than a minute, calmed his nerves for another 5 minutes, then started riding around the parking lot again. No scratches, no bruises, no headache, no doubt that this dare devil boy has an attentive guardian angel!
