SUNDAY 14th AUGUST 2016 - THOMPSON'S MILL to OREGON COAST

The day started with a bit of a flurry (so to speak).  A hummingbird was trying to fly through a skylight and couldn't get himself out of the pocket to fly away.  It was obvious he was getting stressed and tired.
We managed to catch him and he remained still on my hand for a few moments before flying off, much to the relief of us all.

While on the subject of birds we enjoyed watching the many hummingbirds dart in and flutter about and drink from the various feeders dotted around the yard.  They are quite captivating to watch (but boy are they hard to photograph!)

Paul was quite concerned about the amount of oil Ellie was losing from the gearbox as well as a little from the final drive.  He decided to change the oil type from synthetic to mineral to reduce the leak (it worked).

The morning hours passed and we couldn't delay our departure any longer.  With departing hugs, a tear in the eye and a big wave we were once again on the road.  Unbeknown to Roy & Ruth we'd only popped down to the bottle shop and bought them some wine and before long was right back in their driveway.  I've never seen any one looked so surprised ever - it was great.   We then left for real in a much happier state-of-mind.

Once underway our first stop along the road was a place called Shedd.  We wanted to visit the Thompson Mill, the oldest surviving water-powered grist mill in Oregon.  It dates back to the 1860's.  

There was a massive complicated system of wooden gears, belts and pulleys set in and around the multiple 12 inch x 12 inch hand hewn beams.  We were given a personal guided tour of the facility and learnt much about the operation of  the mill.

I particularly liked the story about the rounded bottomed buckets - it was so the local milkers wouldn't steal them!  A rounded bottom bucket full of milk is likely to fall over therefor not wanted.

It was soon late afternoon and we were yet to do some serious miles.  Our destination was the Oregon coast via Highway 38.  A beautiful ride following the curves of the Umpqua River to Reedsport.

We were thrilled when we came out of the hills and saw Elk grazing alongside the road.

We arrived in Reedsport at 7.30pm.  We were hoping to get to Coos Bay but the light was dimming and it was very cold.  Being so late we were fortunate to get a room in Reedsport.   There were a few motorcyclists staying and they rushed to Ellie, then asked if we were really from Nova Scotia.  When we explained that we were Tasmanian and had just ridden from Nova Scotia they almost fell to the ground saying "WOW".  They really couldn't believe that we'd ridden such an old bike cross-country.  On ya Ellie.
We got changed, had a nice Mexican meal and then did our usual after-tea walk before calling it a night. Our evening was highlighted when we came across this old car.