Day 19 - June 30, 2015

Fort Clatsop.  

Crossing the Columbia River from Astoria, WA.

Duffy's Tavern,

The view from the rear deck at Duffy's.

The highway headed east.

Mountains in the distance.

Day nineteen.  June 30, 2015.  Overnight in Packwood, Washington.

Last night we stayed at a motel in Seaside, Oregon.  As the name indicates, it was along the ocean.  Our room presented a view of the ocean but the relentless fog hindered that.  I thought it was interesting that the motel in which we stayed did not have air conditioning.  Although it was not a new motel it was of recent vintage, with the usual hotel accommodations.  Five stories.  Quite large.  Just no AC.  We didn’t need it last night, so I assume that the cool temperature was normal for the area for the last of June.

When we departed Seaside this morning it was 59 degrees.  We saw cooler temperatures until after lunch today.  More on that later.

Our first stop was the Lewis & Clark 1805-1806 winter encampment, now a National Park, This took longer than expected, in part because the parking area and the road leading to the visitor center were being repaved…thus closed.  We parked about a mile away in a small overflow parking lot and followed the path through the forest back to the visitor center.  There we watched the 22 minute video and did the self-guided tour.  It was nearly 1:00 when we got back to the bikes.

We then rode toward Packwood, Washington, (Pop. 1, 130) crossing the US 101 bridge over the Columbia River at Astoria and then took an alternate route inward, leading away from the coast.  By chance we stopped at a restaurant in Grays Lake, Washington called Duffy’s Tavern.  It was filled with antiques, but no customers.  Places to eat in this part of Washington are few, so we decided to give it a try.  The food was very good, and the wait help was attentive.  We ate on the deck at the back of the restaurant where we overlooked a small inlet that came up to the building.  The luck of the Irish led us to one of the most unique food stops along the trip.

The temperature while we were at Duffy’s was about 70 degrees.  We left Duffy’s about 3:00, headed west, with the temperature holding near that mark.  Within the next 50 miles the temperature increased to the low 90’s, and held there all the way to Packwood, Washington.

Based upon a recommendation by a southbound couple on a motorcycle with a sidecar we had made reservations for tonight at The Hotel Packwood the previous evening.  The Hotel Packwood was reportedly (by the lady that owns and runs the place) built in 1903, and Teddy Roosevelt stayed at this hotel during his presidency.  I don’t know.  Maybe.  It was/is clean and in a good state of repair.

No air conditioning at The Hotel Packwood.  But I have a fan.  Provided by the owner.

Another good day.