by Philip

Day’s mileage : 48

Running total : 425

We woke this morning to another beautiful sunny day to start our second week of cycling. It feels as if we’ve got our morning routine sorted now, but it still takes us a little over three hours to have breakfast, make lunch, pack our bags, get everything onto the bikes, cable-tie the wayward panniers onto the racks, check we haven’t left anything and depart. After the obligatory photo in front of the apartment, we listened to a very loud argument between two dog owners and headed through Aberdeen. One motorist blared his horn coming up behind and passing us – we have no idea if it was his idea of being friendly, or whether he just doesn’t like cyclists. Having crossed the river and railroad tracks we turned off onto a delightful little trail which meandered through an area of junior league baseball grounds, and we were greeted by several other cyclists. 

From the trail we were back on the US101 which was much quieter today as it’s Sunday. Much of the route continued through forests, with frogs ribbeting, unseen animals rustling through the undergrowth and the ubiquitous American robins flying to and fro. We passed a restaurant offering home made ham soup and ice cream. At a sign declaring we were entering Pacific County we felt we were getting closer to the ocean. We made our first stop by the roadside after 18 miles, a standing snack stop – not least because there were a lot of very large ants milling around our feet. 

As we entered the town of Raymond, we saw several rusted steel sculptures, and found our way to a small grocery store – similar to the one in Forks where there were no prices. Liz did the shopping, but didn’t get everything we needed … then as we got a bit further through the town we found a much larger supermarket. From there we found another trail, and had a lovely lunch on a bench overlooking the tidal Willapa river, with small and large oystercatcher-like birds, herons and a couple of eagles circling above. It was sunny but chilly.

After lunch we rejoined the highway and went into South Bend, with multiple fishing businesses along the road. Here we had to choose between a route inland (quieter road) or to stay on the 101 along the coast. We chose the latter, and were immediately rewarded by a dead straight 2 miles of road with a ferocious headwind. The scenery was very different to the last few days, much more open, with muddy wetlands and mudflats, and the promising smell of the sea. After the straight piece of road we turned south, which was much easier riding. It was hilly here, but we got our first glimpses of the Pacific Ocean.

Finally turning off the 101 we rode across a “dike”, into an even stronger headwind, and passed some oyster fisheries (a major industry here), with huge piles of old oyster shells piled up. We learned later that these will be put into sacks along with oyster larvae and returned in cages to the sea to grow before being harvested. Oysters really aren’t our thing … and we have not been tempted to try any, although this would probably be a good place to do so!

Tonight we have a wooden cabin on a Kampsites of America (sic) camp ground. It was expensive – there was little choice when we booked it – and we were rather surprised at the $50 additional fee for linen! As I write this Liz is cooking a frittata for dinner, after which we walked a few hundred yards to the sea to see the sunset – a fitting end to a lovely day.

Additional notes

Aberdeen to Bay Center, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, WA.

Left at 9.30am. Arrived at 4pm.

Weather: Sunshine. Cold (winter gloves). A ferocious headwind later.

Landscape: Estuary. Parkland. Residential roads. Mixed woodland. Swamp areas with frogs chorusing. Willapa River. Wetlands, mudflats and slivers of water shining sky-blue like veins crisscrossing the expanse, with forested hills behind. A big bay.

Towns: Raymond with rusty iron statues and cool artwork. South Bend.

Trails: A meandering cycle path out of Aberdeen with colourful spray-painted paintings on it.

State roads: The 101, not too busy and not one logging truck 🙂 (it was Sunday).

Breakfast: Fruit and yogurt. Porridge and toast.

Lunch spot: On a bench beside the Willapa estuary, south of Raymond.

Dinner, made by Liz: Frittata. Tinned pears and banana with cherry and chocolate brownie ice cream from the campsite shop.

Wildlife: American robins. Sandpipers busy feeding on the mud flats. A heron on patrol. An ‘eagle’ (possibly a turkey vulture?). Two deer.

Things we saw: A wooden building called Clarks Restaurant which was just a shack but advertised homemade ham soup and ice cream (sounded very appealing). Huge timber processing plants. A lovely cream and green weatherboarded library in Raymond. A turquoise coffee shop I photographed for Cathy in the middle of a flat expanse. Piles of silver oyster shells. After unloading, for the first time this trip, we went back out exploring, inspected the oyster shell piles and then found the Chinook tribal office in Bay Center. The sunset – over the ocean (totally unexpected! I thought we were on another estuary).

People we spoke to or saw: A customer in the small grocery store who teased that we’re cheating using e-bikes and asked if we’d be crossing the Astoria Bridge. The cashier in the big supermarket who said he liked my accent. The campsite managers.

Incidents: A massive fight between two dog owners just as we left – oh Aberdeen! $50 to hire linen at the campsite!

Shopping: A small grocery in Raymond with no prices and little choice. Then a bigger supermarket where we got bread and a courgette.

Accommodation: A log cabin at a KOA camp (pricy but convenient).

Today’s sound: The screech of a peacock at Bay Center.

Today’s smell: The old oyster shells.

Special moments: The frogs. I sing on many stretches of road, my buff always over my face for warmth so no one’s any the wiser, my American anthems – Land of the Silver Birch, Blue Ridge Mountains, Running Bear, Breakfast in America, Dreamer, We are Young, Sailing to Philadelphia, the Logical Song. Sunset over the ocean, the sandpipers running up and down. The family of deer.

Positive experience from my journal: Finding the ocean so unexpectedly, vast with gentle waves.

Appreciation from my journal: Making dinner out of a poor selection at the grocery. Making hot water bottles for Philip’s back.

Social media reply from Francisca Blackman.

Video: sunset over the ocean (40s). Sandpipers flying off and disappearing (15s).

Mementos: Raymond Grocery and Deli receipt, Raymond. Thriftway receipt, Raymond.