It says "Everyday holds a possibility of a Miracle", but until the light hits it just right, it says Everyday Miracle.
If I had ever been in the frame of mind where I doubted the existence of miracles (and I am not) today may have been the day to dispel that notion.
My plan was to pack early, go to breakfast, two museums, then head south before the predicted afternoon rain moved in. That was the plan...
When I woke up this morning and peeked outside it was raining, not real hard but unexpectedly wet. So I went to plan B - go to breakfast, then come back to the motel and strap my bag to the bike. So as I was getting on my bike something on the poorly lit wet ground caught my eye.
A friend gave me a tiny religious pin for my key chain to keep me safe during my trip. It is a tiny thing, about 3/8ths of an inch in diameter. The eyelet had broken off and it fell on the ground, never again to be seen had it not been for the wet surface reflecting some obscure point of light at just the right angle to attract my intention.
After picking the icon up and placing it in a secure place I headed down the road a few blocks to the restaurant. About the time I hit the speed limit I again caught a glimpse of something, this time on top of my gas tank. I have been traveling with Spuddy Buddy sitting in the middle of my handlebars but had taken him into my room to find a place for him to sleep.
I had made a special seat for him on the handlebars but had been using a very long twisty-tie to hold his legs so that the wind didn't lift him up off of his perch. I had forgotten to take the twist-tie off the bike but the wind figured out how to do it for me. The piece had blown off but somehow, instead of falling in the roadway, it came back and wedged itself under my gas cap.
Like they say on TV - but wait, there's more!
While I was checking out the museum, the rain stopped. That's not to say the skies cleared up; to the contrary. The clouds were thick as strawberry jam on wheat (I never could come up with those) and to the south they were dark and foreboding. But as I started out of town I was given one thin patch of sun shine after another. The road dried quickly and I never once got rained on, despite showers occurring all around me. At one point I even verbalized "thanks for the sunshine Betty, but I could really appreciate about five degrees warmer". Almost on cue the sun's spotlight diffused a little and the patches of light turned to areas of light, then the day began to brighten. I ended up riding on a picture perfect afternoon, just right for perfect pictures!
There is something awe inspiring about winding through a thick, dark green, luscious forest with magnificent redwoods towering above you and bright sunshine bathing your every move. I stopped so often to take pictures that I was hoping the electric starter on my bike didn't wear out.
Betty had grown quite fond of the Oregon Coast and we made several trips here, but explored almost exclusively from Coos Bay northward.
The first several decades of miles south of Coos Bay stays inland, but once U.S. 101 (the Pacific Coast Highway) returns oceanside, it redefines spectacular. For my money, the best so far was Port Orford. When you enter town from the north the highway takes a bend to the left. At that spot there is a road that goes straight ahead up a hill. Painted on the road in large white letters are the words "Ocean view" or "view the ocean" or "ocean overlook" ( the words were big so I could see them but not big enough so I would remember them). Within two blocks you come to the top of the hill overlooking the bay and, in the distance, HumBug Peak, the highest point on the Oregon Coast (1700 feet above the ocean?). The interesting thing about this bay is that it has a very wide mouth, allowing storms at sea to make a mess of the harbor. So there is only one pier in the bay; a large tall pier with a very heavy duty winch that picks ALL the boats up and sets them on land, even the big fishing trawlers.
There was a visitors center nearby that had a handout showing a great hike up to the top of HumBug Peak, so when I got around to the south side of the harbor I stopped at the trailhead. The sign said it was over a mile to the top and I stood, helmet in hand, wondering if I should take an hour to check it out or continue my southerly progress along the coast. As I pondered the question my helmet answered for me:
"Take U.S. Highway 101 south for 74 miles"! I told you Betty was guiding me, this time threw the earpiece of my Bluetooth system!
If I were to name all the incredible sights I saw today I would simply be reading the road map! Beaches, bays, bridges, redwoods, blue skies and warm temperatures (short sleeve temperatures by the time I stopped for the night in Klamath, Ca.).
I took 76 pictures today and it took 4 hours to download them!
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