What a Wild Day!

Notice no link to donate to kids with cancer today?  That's on purpose!  More details coming soon!

Day 10 route profile: click HERE

Total Distance:  568 miles

Cumulative elevation gain: 27,540 

Link to Day 10 Vlog: click HERE

After what was the one of the hardest legs of this trip so far, I think both Katelyn and I needed a bit of a morale boost.  The problem is,  before you have a chance to really recover, the next day is already upon you and you are back at mile 0 for the day.  If I were to do the trip again, I would probably have built in a couple rest days, even if it was only to charge the mental battery that gets worn too low.  I will say, however, that as a testament to how hard we work, we have yet to get a poor nights sleep.  Some of the places we have stayed have incredible beds, but even at a place like the Anchor Bay Inn, we slept like a rock!  (Funny side note here: Katelyn was writing in her journal while we were at the Laundromat the night we stayed at the AB Inn and as we waited for the clothes, she says, Dad, how do you spell "anchor?" I tell her and then she says, "how do you spell 'ghetto?'")  

OK, back to the day.  Unlike previous days where we really move along,  we moved really slow and didn't tax our bodies at all.  A little way down the road, we stopped and bought my wife some Oregon jams as a souvenir of our trip through the state (shh, don't tell her!).  Only a few miles later, we saw a sign for the "West Coast Game Park Safari."  Now I am always skeptical about places like these--we are in the middle of nowhere and then this place pops up?  But, one of the things we have learned on the bike is that if there is something cool to see and it doesn't involve a huge detour, then why not giving it a try?

Katelyn made a bucket list for our bike ride before we left.  On it, she had the following: 1. Pet five different animals in one day; 2. See a buffalo; 3. Catch and pet a deer.  Basically, we were able to knock out a big portion of her bucket list in one shot--the place was surprisingly fun with a great selection of animals.   We spent quite a bit of time fighting off the rams, deer, donkeys, and alpacas--all of which were your best friend when you were holding food in your hand.

The rest of the ride into Gold Beach was pretty uneventful.  The scenery was pretty nice and because we were moving slower, we took in a lot more of it.  The route spent half the time right on the beach and half the time inland. As we arrived at Gold Beach, we got to ride over yet another cool bridge and then pass through town as the Pacific Reef Hotel was on the far end.

The Pacific Reef Hotel was gracious enough to donate a room for the night to our ride to fight kids' cancer.  They have an awesome hotel and we had a great stay with them--big rooms and comfortable beds and an excellent friendly staff!   After we checked in, we walked over to an actual steakhouse and indulged on a nice dinner as a treat for our last evening in Oregon.  

As for tomorrow:  Another 55 mile day, plenty of climbing.  The hard part will be that there is rain forecast for the afternoon so we will leave early and try and beat it into Crescent City.  Hope we stay dry!

We are all so good looking! 

One of the easier days of the trip so far.

Railroad tracks and bridges.  If you like those two things, then the northwest is the place for you!

Break time on one of the bridges along the coast. 

This is Bigfoot country but we found that other creatures are lurking nearby...

Usually I am telling Katelyn to stop for a picture.  This one she wanted herself.

Selfie pictures coming up...

We were cracking up that the lynx, leopards, lions, bears and all other predators were locked up while the deer wandered. The grounds right outside the predators' cages!  

If you had food, these animals would attack you for it!  The rams and the large deer would jump up and put their hooves on your shoulders to get at it!