We had a nice day today. Kids got their school work done early and got to play RoBlox, I got some work done and went for a ride and hike around here, Carol got some shopping done, some organizing and a nap, and later we went downtown.
Our morning routine was good. Girls got their school work done early, they were booking it again and were done just before lunch. I even got some science caught up with Bella. I had a work call and spent some time reviewing documents, updating posts, helping the girls, etc. Carol went shopping and was out for a good portion of the morning. She came back with some goodies for everyone. Girls got some new pants and shorts, they loved the shorts and put them on right away. Carol also got me a foldable and portable computer desk, and it worked great for my little hideaway spot in our bedroom. She also got a stool so we can sit on all 4 sides of the dinette, and it worked perfect.
We grilled some chicken for lunch, and had lunch while making some plans for the day. I was going to try to get us into a Dunes tour, and if we got it, we’d do that around 3pm. But, I called, left a message and never heard back from them, so I hope it works for tomorrow. Backup plan was that Carol wanted to take a nap, and the girls wanted to play RoBlox with friends, so they all did what they wanted :).
I wanted to go for a bike ride since I didn’t do my run in the morning, so I went. I took a right as I left the campground, and the road had a small shoulder to ride on for a little while. Speed limit was 40, then turned to 25 so no concerns. I had an uphill first and that got my legs going right away.
Then right away I get to a park\beach, super pretty, lots of fluffy sand, rocks, kind of tucked in. I got in there, took some pictures, rode around and saw the beach had a north, middle and south part. I was in the north part, so I started going to the other end. It’s not that big of a beach, but they divided it that way, so I went through it.
When I got to the other side, there was a path into the woods, so I decided to follow it. It was a quick trail that came out on the other side of the road, but it was pretty. I continued riding the road “south” and soon saw another hiking path on the side of the road, this one looked like it went up into the side of the cliff that we see from our beach access area. I stopped the bike and decided I’d pus the bike through the path and check it out, and I’m glad I did.
I did see a sign that no bikes were allowed there, so I didn’t ride the bike in that trail, just pushed it. The trail was narrow, just enough room for my bike and I, and maybe a bit more to spare.
It was thick “forest” with big tall trees and vegetation. Very cool trail. Soon enough I started getting the rewards for trying that trail, with awesome views of the ocean from above. The deeper I went in the trail, the nicer the views got. I really enjoy those trails where you are in the thick of a forest type of scenery. I was stopping at every little side trail that got close to the cliff edge as those spots had great views. I would leave the bike near the trail path, go into the side trail which was always small and enough for 1 person. I’d take pictures, and go back and do it again.
In one of those stops I got to a cliff that ended on a beach, and it looked like there was no other access to that beach besides that cliff… and a couple of cords that were tied to trees at the top. Well, I can’t run away from an adventure, so I found a spot to leave the bike, and went down the cliff, holding on to the cord (see first picture). The ground down the cliff was very crumbly, so it was falling apart as I went down, it was all like sandy/clay that was very dry and crumbly. And it was quite steep, so without the rope that was there, I don’t think it’d be very possible to go down and come back. Going down was not too bad, just hang tight and keep a low center of gravity and you won’t fall :).
Once I got down there it was very pretty, water is very clear, sun was setting on the opposite side, a few rocks close by and far. I walked around a bit, climbed on some rocks, took some pics and enjoyed the place. When I was ready to go, I walked towards the cliff and was reminded that the first 15 feet or so did not have a rope as it didn’t got that far down. Well, that was interesting. I tried my best to go straight up towards the rope, but got stuck about 3 feet short. The ground under me was breaking and slipping down, and I had no traction or anyplace to hold on to. After being stuck for like 30 seconds trying to figure out how to move forward, I decided to slide back down a bit, and try to climb towards the edge where the ground looked a little firmer, even though the area looked smaller and it was right by the edge. So I did that, and it was actually easier. I got some more solid ground to grip onto, and made my way to some tree limbs and eventually the rope, and I used that from there. Definitely got me sweating, and it was all worth it. I had fun.
I continued the trail from there and went as far as I could go on top of the cliff. Then on the way back I followed the trail but started taking left turns, which took me back to that first beach which had the three sections.
The trail took me to the south side, and I had to cross a little creek that ran into the ocean. I hopped on the bike for that part as it was not too deep, but deep enough to get my shoes wet. I rode the bike back from there. That was a fun ride/hike. My Strava event is a bike ride, but most of the time I was pushing the bike on a hiking trail :). Fun, enjoyable and lots of nice pictures.
When I arrived back, girls were still playing with their friends, they were in the living room playing Roblox. Carol was still laying down. I told everyone to get ready and I washed the dished from lunch while they got ready.
We went downtown to check out the Coos Bay Boardwalk and to check out the 7 Devil’s Brewery. We are about 15-20 minutes from downtown, it is a beach, port and Bay Area so kind of windy roads and zig zags and low speed.
We have to go through some fisherman areas, a port, and Coos Bay downtown is there. It is small, the boardwalk is also small, and everything is closed as it is “winter” hahaha. But it is a nice little area. We walked around a bit, checked out the boardwalk, but didn’t do much walking as the girls were cold. So we went to the brewery.
The 7 Devils Brewery is close to the boardwalk, so it was a quick walk. They are in a nice building, and have some interesting decor. We started out sitting outside to enjoy the sun while it was there. They have good beer.
Some people had their kids and dogs next to us, so it was interesting and nice. Cute kids. Cute dogs… now the girls want labra doodles. Those dogs looked like they were wearing fluffy rugs as coats. We played some games with the girls. They had some interesting drinks. Bella had a carbonated apple juice, which was pretty good.
