Gil's Oregon Trail- Honeyman SP to So. Sister Rd.

Hello Again! I took off early. Too early to get coffee. No coffee stands on the way, not until I got to Reedsport. I did look! There are however several campgrounds,mostly Forest Service. Met Joshua sitting on the roadside. He was the one guy who cheered for me. "Looks like you're climbing a mountain!". He even offered me a toque, but I turned him down. Saw two bikers headed north. That's a tough way to go since the prevailing winds in the summer blow south. When I got to Reedsport, I stopped at the Harbor Light for lunch ( good food and price). After lunch I back-tracked to the Smith River Rd. The river is named for Jedediah Smith. He was a trapper/explorer/wagon-train leader. Around 1822 he made it to Oregon with other explorers and trappers. Around this place there was trouble with Indians, yet somehow, with help, he managed to escape. He learned a lot through his travels and difficulties and ended up working as a leader/guide for many Oregon-bound wagon trains until he died at the hand of the Comanches on an exploratory mission in 1832. My troubles however, beyond mosquitoes and rocks and  sticks under my bed and a few steep hills, have been small. Thinking on Jedediah reminds me that adventures even misadventures are learning experiences that open up vast new horizons. As I pedaled, I noted an old RR running from Gardiner to Coos Bay, The Smith River Road rises very very gradually as you pedal eastward. Interestingly every 1/2 mile, someone had painted mile numbers on the pavement ... it helped keep me going. At about 15 miles, near the North Fork, there's a store where I got ice cream and Gator Ade. The Store, the only one, was built in 1957 and is still going "out of spite" so I was told."More power to 'em", I say. It's decorated with a collection of old antiques like tin bath tubs and old saws and plows. The store owner says " this valley was settled in the 1800's and dairy farms were scattered all up and down the river. Everything moved by boat, kids climbed on boats loaded with milk cans.  At 26 1/2 miles I came to Smith River Falls which is a favorite swimming hole for people around here. It didn't take much encouragement from some daredevil girls to get me to jump off a 10-15 foot rock  into a deep pool. Whew...Refreshing! I ended up doing it 3 times, as I remember. No need to change, I got back on the bike and continued on. I was dry in 15 minutes. The Stream-bad reminds me ;of the Umpqua , basalt rock filled with hollows almost like Swiss Cheese. Small rocks and sand swirl around depressions like pestles in mortars . At Vincent Creek there's a campground. On my  trip 2 years ago , I turned south here for Elkton via Scottsburg. There's an old guard station which has been given over to bats.Townsend's Big Eared Bats, specifically. They eat moths which are harmful to trees. Their ears are so sensitive that they can hear insect's foot-steps...They catch 'em in mid air or hover over plants and lick 'em up. They can live to be 35 years old, yet unfortunately now their numbers have declined. I left the bats and continued down the road towards Lorane. The road forks later on. To the left W Fork Smith River to Roman Nose and eventually Eugene in 68 miles, while the right continues on the Smith River Rd.and Eugene in 49 miles. Creatures seen include: 5 Turkey Vultures ( I evaded them), a frog with red-tan sides, and a garter snake. I continue on the So. Sister Rd. The light is waning as I start to climb higher, so I find an abandoned road off So. Sister to camp. Almost no traffic up here. No cell phone either. There's no breeze, so the mosquitoes have no trouble getting to me. Oh Yay!! I remembered my repellent. I also remembered my iodine tabs so water's not a problem either. I'll leave you all now and get some shut-eye. Good Night!