Day Eight - Old Iron and Cheese

We awoke today hoping for a clear day, moderate temps, and lots of sunshine. What we found was more fog than a London afternoon. In addition to this, following a failed Windows XP upgrade the night before, my computer was, umm, on a vacation of its own. Regardless, we packed up camp and headed back for the coast.

We once again referred to the Oregon State Parks booklet and picked out a few stoe for us to make a little detour from our route to check it out. After a jaunt down a country road that was “not suitable ps. First up was some falls. A “300ft drop” and “1/4 mile hike” was causfor travel trailers and motorhomes” we found the falls. It seems that a ¼ mile in Oregon is a bit farther than the normal US standard, but it was still worth the walk.

Getting the trailer out wasn’t quite the task the sign promised, and we were headed back for the coast. Referring back to the booklet we found Cape Meares lighthouse. Once again the lighthouse wasn’t quite what we’re used to on the east coast, as we walked downhill for a couple hundred feet to get to it. Unfortunately, the fog still obscured the views, but the roar of the ocean below was still ever-present.




As we hiked up the hill we saw the sign for the “Octopus Tree.” Of course curiosity got the better of us and we headed up the hill. What we found was a Sitka Spruce that has grown in this unique shape due to it’s location near the coast.



We hopped back in the truck and headed further up the coast hoping to escape the fog that had plagued us since Friday evening. As the road wound closer inland we did escape the fog for a bit, and stumbled onto the ‘Blue Heron Cheese Factory’ and ‘Old Iron Show.’


After slipping inside for cheese and dip tasting, we strolled outside and over to the Tilamook Old Iron show and swap. Surrounded by a myriad of antique farm equipment, vintage cars, a display of early engines, and a glorious assortment of other old junk, I was in heaven, and Lindy felt right at home too.








Eventually we had to remind each other of the time and get back on the road. Our next stop, and overall ending point of the trip, was Nic’s new place in Seattle. Punching the address in the Garmin, we were routed away from the coast, and along roads that made Lindy prefer sleep to motion sickness. We arrived in Seattle a few hours later and joined Nic for dinner in Mulkiteo on the Puget sound and crashed for the night at his apartment.