Update #22 - May 15, 2003
Newport, OR - 3,541.3 miles (5,666.1 kms.)

This past week has been not as wet and cold as the past couple of weeks along the coast. For the most part, there was so rain to deal with. Yeah!!! I was starting to feel waterlogged. A couple of days ago, the temperature got close to seventy degrees.

I stayed at my first state park in Oregon. This was Umpqua Lighthouse State Park south of Winchester Bay. I had an okay night even though the fee was $4 a night.

Four motel rooms were donated by churches in Brookings, Gold Beach, Florence, and Waldport. A motel room was also donated by the Salvation Army in Port Orford. Two nights were spent at the Day Star Church of G-d in Bandon. Even though the church has a membership under two dozen, they have a big heart in compassion ministries. They provide an Elijah Den (a bedroom in a mobile home on the church property), a clothing bank, and a food bank. I finally was able to take a full day off the road in about two and a half weeks.

I did have one bad thing happen last week. Between Brookings and Gold Beach, a link in my chain snapped. It took about a half hour to get the chain fixed. It's lucky that I had a chain tool with me this year or I would have been stuck alongside the road.

I've been enjoying myself on the coast. It has been neat seeing all the great scenery. At an ocean side park between Gold Beach and Port Orford, I watched some whales that were not too far from the beach on their migration back to Alaska.

The neatest thing to happen occured this morning on the way out of Waldport. I was crossing the Alsea Bay Bridge and I noticed some seals basking on a sand bar below me. When I got above the seals, I noticed that one of the seals was having a baby. I watched them for about fifteen minutes. It was really neat seeing the newly born pup nurse for the first time.

I've got under one hundred fifty miles to go to the Columbia River and the Washington State Line. It will probably take me about five days to get to Astoria, OR because the rain is supposed to come back this weekend.

I'll try to post an update as often as I can if there are any changes in my plans.