Day 13 - A strong energy from the Pacific Ocean

As I write this, I am sitting in the window of my hotel room of a very tired hotel that sits right on the Pacific Ocean. As I listen to the sounds of waves crashing into the rocks that make up the Oregon coast and the screeches from seagulls arguing about something no one will ever know, I marvel at yet another beautiful part of this country of ours. It is just like I imagined it would be - cold, damp and windy and yet so beautiful!! There is also something strong here, a kind of cold energy that just seems to permeate everything that lives here. It is interesting to me and I want to tap into it too! Since I will be up here and on up into Alaska for the next two weeks I am sure I will find it. As for today's ride, it was a bit magical to me. I slept in for a bit this morning, had breakfast then hit the road around 9:00 am. I will miss Crater Lake - it was a wonderful 2 days. Yet the secondary roads through Oregon were just as great. I don't think the locals know how beautiful their state is because they haven't built many vista points at all, places where you can turn off the road and take some pictures. The few pictures I have are from spots on the road where I found enough room to pull over. That is not to say it was a perfect ride - I've discovered 2 signs every motorcyclist hates to see while riding: "Pavement Ends Ahead" and "Loose Gravel Road Ahead". I made it through unscathed but flashbacks of my deep gravel experience on Hwy 50 in Nevada scared the stew out of me again! On a more positive note, I don't know how many times I've seen signs that warn of exotic animal crossings (at least exotic to me) that never happen. Well it happened for me today - I was warned of elk and by golly I saw elk! Lots of them! Thank God they stayed out of my path as those boys are huge! And I also noticed a clear way to tell I am not in the South anymore - look at the size of those grand stands for the local High School football team! Maybe it holds 30 people? Ha - in the south a good HS football game could easily have 2,000 spectators! Finally a confession: As I near the Canadian border I am getting nervous about what lies ahead - I get on a ferry in Port Hardy on Vancouver Island Canada and get off in Skagway Alaska. Then the ride back from Skagway includes dirt roads, dodging ice heaves, getting through crazy weather and then just plain treacherous roads (especially for a motorcycle) from Alaska through the Yukon, the NW Territories, and British Columbia. When I get back into the USA through Montana I will be one tired puppy!! Am I insane? Don't answer, it is a rhetorical question. But really, a big part of this trip is to push myself out of my comfort zone and do things that are different for me. That part of this trip will definitely be doing that! Maybe that's the strength I am feeling in the air here - an energy to be tapped into - an energy that keeps those who live up here enamored with the place and an energy that kept those who visited here in the old days hell bent on finding gold. Whatever it is, I am already enamored and I appear to be hell bent. Nervous? Schmervous! Ready or not here I come!