It serves us right for taking the north wind for granted! We awoke to grey skies, a cool 11C and light winds from the south. The forecast was for rain, although it stayed dry. After cycling in t-shirts almost since the beginning, we wore 3 layers today and were only warm when climbing. We had divided the ride to Brookings to allow for sea-gazing and beach time, but the sunbathing, at least, will have to wait, for now. Fortunately, our Best Western hotel room looks directly out onto the Pacific.

Brookings is a fishing port, the infrastructure of which was severely damaged by the tsumani after the Japanese earthquake in 2011.

We are now only about 10 km from the California border. We have cycled 1,046 km,  more than 1/3 of the way. From tomorrow, we will be leaving the coast periodically to cycle through ancient redwood forests. The hills, alas, will continue until well into California!

Brookings is situated at the mouth of the Chetco River. We are on the traditional territory of the Chetco People, another of the groups that were forcible relocated to the Siltz Reservation. An interesting but tragic account of the people’s history can be found here. In this article dated March 2001, it appears that children of Aboriginal ancestry could learn about their culture in high school.