Day 18 Champoeg to Willamette State Park: A slow relaxing relocation day

July 21, 2017

we could see these lamas from our campsite this morning, peeking up to see what was going on

hiker/biker rates - you can't beat them!

We woke up at 8 this morning, knowing that we had only about 20 miles to ride to our next destination at Willamette Mission State Park. Before leaving Champoeg, we stopped once again to admire the majestic grove of old oak trees near the entrance. I was drawn to the shape of the branches and how the moss grew in interesting patterns along the trunks and branches of these lovely trees.

We left the park (a good uphill first thing in the morning) and set out on our way. The Scenic Bikeway was well signed and we had our turn by turn directions for today, so we were able to relax and just enjoy the lovely countryside around us.

After a short hill, we came upon what we thought to be grapes growing along side the road. Some people were in picking so we stopped to ask. They were blueberries! The bushes were so full and the berries so large, it was understandable that we mistook them for grapes. If it had been later in the day, we would have stopped to pick some as well, but given that we had a bit of distance to cover we didn’t think the berries would survive the journey – too bad, they would have made a great treat!

blueberries so big we thought they were grapes!

Along our way today we saw many fields, and as yesterday, we knew what some were and wondered about others. We had learned yesterday that the many groves of trees we were seeing were hazelnut trees. Apparently this is the new big thing and as we could see, a lot of money has been invested in the planting of these trees.

The groves of trees we saw in the park were filberts, which according to google, are hazlenuts - go figure! Apparently they were first called filberts after a French saint named Philbert. Wow! Oregon grows 98% of the hazlenuts produced in the US! Here is one of the nuts.

another mystery crop. We are learning that we don't know a whole lot about a lot of farming!

hops. There are a LOT of hops grown around here!

Along with the fields of growing things today, we saw much in the way of farm machinery. We stopped to watch and take pictures, trying to stay ahead of some of the more dust producing machines. All day long we found drivers to be very courteous and the people driving farm equipment along the road to be very friendly. What a lovely place this is to cycle in!

a big ole' tractor - the guy gave us a wave as he drove by - nice!

We had to ride up past the dust debris this guy was throwing up to get this picture, then ride fast again before he caught up with us

we think this was broccoli being harvested - anyone care to jump in and let us know for sure?

We briefly stopped behind a church to catch some shade and have a little lunch before making our way finally into the park. There is a pathway that takes you along the back of the park and to to hiker/biker campsite. What makes this park unusual is that camping is only available to hiker/bikers. It is a day use park for everyone else, so at 9:00 the place should empty out and we will be alone, along with our pal from Champoeg, who is also staying here tonight.

the Wheatland ferry - just a few cars can fit on this one. We entered the park along the path by here

Before we could settle in, though, we had to ride back out the 1.5 miles to the park entrance to pay for our camping spot. It would be really helpful if they put the pay box next to the camp ground. We didn't want to pay before seeing the site, just in case.

outside the park area, on our way to pay at the main gate, we saw this platform with some babies in the nest. Are they Osprey? Annie? Matt?

A beautiful field of wheat surrounded the platform

While eating dinner, I spotted a stray disc, so after we ate, Jim and I set off to try our hand at this new-to-us sport. Jim threw his disc off the tee with no problem, but I could not get the hang of how to throw. It is not like a Frisbee and I just kept sending it a paltry 5 feet down the course each time I threw. We finished one hole and decided to try the next. I was teeing off and oops! There went the disc, into the deep bushes. As signs had been posted that there was poison oak around, we decided to end our disc golf adventure there. Oh boy, my career as a disc golfer was over before it even began!!!

Coming back to our lovely camp spot, we (well, Jim) cleaned our dinner dishes (I was working on the journal). We have some pudding for dessert and plan to hit the hay early so as to get up a little sooner tomorrow. We will be riding through the state capital of Salem and we want to make sure we get to see some of the sights before moving on to our next camping site in Independence.

Jim and I are settling into a routine now and more and more are enjoying this adventure we are on. Every day brings something new and new opportunities to meet people and learn about a different place. It seems like forever ago that we said goodbye and left the Lower Mainland, and yet it has only been a few weeks. We look forward to what’s ahead and welcome the coming days, hills and all.

Today's ride: 31 km (19 miles)
Total: 692 km (430 miles)

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