Yurt check out time is 1p. That only adds to the sweetness of spending the night in the yurt since it rained last night. The resurrected rain dance Bunny made us perform before bed actually worked. She’s an evil genius. We checked out Hiker/biker before we turned in just in case Alba and Jordie had turned up. We were going to offer them reprieve from the rain Bunny was planning.
Whenever I’m with Bunny, rules and laws seem to turn to requests and suggestions which get readily ignored. Today continued that trend when Bunny still wanted breakfast in Yurt-bed. No cooking in the yurt! She told me to make her hot tea or get my ass out of bed, go outside, and make her hot tea. Either way, she wanted hot tea with her biscuits and gravy (also piping hot) but she was not moving until breakfast was ready. What choice did I have? It was still moist outside at the early hour of 10. I followed my wife down the slippery slope which will only end with me being riddled with bullets from a park ranger raid or life in prison. I made breakfast and kept quiet doing so.
Next up was our move to hiker/biker. Most people check out of hiker/biker every day because they have miles to make and schedules to keep. We have neither. We went in expecting to have first shot at the best spot in the site. We found a nice spot in the rear corner but noticed a biker near the spot we chose who opted to spend the day. We knew the camp would eventually fill up in the evening, so we just went ahead and grabbed the primo spot. It was a Mongrel moment from the AT last year. As soon as we set up, he didn’t say a word, but just took his tent down and moved into another spot.
Bunny insisted that he left the camp. I tried to tell her he had moved his tent. As every husband will testify, my word means nothing and I am always wrong. She saw him leave camp on his bike. Once we were set up, we started the 3.5 mile walk out to the Coquille River Lighthouse. Along the way, we saw the biker sitting at a picnic table. I tried to say “hi” but he ignored me. Bunny said she told me he had left. I tried to tell her that he left the camp for the day, just like we have, with his tent set up. I’m the husband, like Jon Snow, I know nothing…winter’s coming.
I saw our future on the way to the lighthouse. We chose the beach walk rather than the road since we had an option. Bunny meandered like an old woman looking for shells and pieces of agate. I tried pointing out that anything she picks up, she’ll have to carry. I gave up the reason and logic approach and just stopped for a 10 minute break after every 10 minutes of walking so Bunny could catch up with me.
The lighthouse wasn’t overly impressive as far as lighthouses go. It was only 47’ tall and was the last of the lighthouses built along the Oregon coast. What was interesting was that it was originally built on an island in the river, but when the jetties were built, the currents shifted enough that sand eventually filled in around the lighthouse and connected the island to the mainland. There’s still a foghorn at the end of the south jetty that sounds 5s every 28s 24 hours a day. It doesn’t take long to get used to it and ignore it. People often wonder why spouses don’t listen to each other. Spend 2 hours around a foghorn and the mystery is solved.
The walk back to our camp was just the reverse with a huge learning experience. The coastal trail is recommended to walk from north to south because of the prevailing winds from the northwest. Just the 3 miles of beach walking heading north showed us why. The constant wind just beats you down. Plus, I’ve never been a big fan of full sun or the beach. I prefer the mountains and trees.
When we got back to our tent, we were ready for a nap. It was already 4:30. Five minutes later, Bunny woke me up and said we need to eat supper since it was already 6:30. I had wanted to go to the ranger program tonight but there was no way we were going to make it by 7. The auditorium is right next to the hiker/biker site so we were able to listen to it a bit while we ate. It was just about local birds so we didn’t miss much. We were able to eat and get back to bed by 8. It had been a long 10 hour day for us with only a 2 hour nap.
EFG