Day 40 (7/5): Miles traveled: ~ 160

Location: various OR coastal sites, ending at Panther Creek Campground, WA (Gifford Pinchot)

Science: air quality measurements (both particulate counter and MicroTops measurements) at Short Beach and Oswald West State Parks (coastal sites) and Panther Creek Campground (some campfires nearby, on creek, in gorgeous old growthy woods)

Today we set out earlyish so we could explore the OR coastline. First stop was Short Beach (on the Cape Meares Loop), where we had lunch and did some strenuous beach napping. The place was crowded (like most of the spots I had been to from the start of the roadtrip).

Next stop was Oswald West State Park, which harbors one of the most incredible beaches in the world, as far as I am concerned -- the hike to the beach is itself an impressive exploration of huge trees -- towering hemlocks, spruce and firs leading the way into Short Sands Beach. For Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze fans, this beach was the site for the final scenes of Point Break (I appear to be the only one I know who is impressed by this fact, but hey....).

Having discovered a mutual love of aerodynamic things, Beate and Rosie brought model airplanes and a kite down to the beach......

And the kite was a huge success. Sorry about the finger in this picture..

We were all pretty exhausted after the beach adventures, so we stopped at the McMenamins in Hillsboro, OR for dinner and some of their famous beer.  Please ignore the lack of beard in this picture......psee previous posts for explanation.  

We ended up getting to our campsite well after dark. The campground was a bit tough to find, but the site was wonderful in the daylight the next day.