We left Naselle and walked another 6 miles that day. The burgers definately fueled us well. We were so excited we put off finding a place to camp until the last minute. The first place we tried had scattered animal bones, so we kept walking, the next had elk and or bear poo and was too close to a stream, so we again kept walking. Our blisters practically killing us at this point. We had to camp off of a hunting access road that night. It was a horribly incomfortable sleep, very uneasy.

The next day we walked the 6 miles to the Astoria bridge only to find out we could not walk across it. We waited at the rest area to find someone to give us a ride. Rachel ended up asking a handicamp man, and he gladly said we could tag along. He ended up telling us a story that 13 years ago he was hit head on by a drunk driver on that same bridge. It was very sad, and slightly ironic.

We spent that night in Astoria, and left early the next morning. We walked another 7 miles, then stumbled upon a bus stop and decided to wait at it to see where it went. Just minutes later a bus pulled up that was going about 9 miles to Seaside. We happily jumped on and paid the $3 fare. Once in Seaside, we decided to take another bus that was going to Cannon Beach, for only .75 more cents.

When we arrived in Cannon Beach, a very touristy town, we asked where we could camp. The closest campground was just a mile down the road. We ended up paying a gross $23 dollars to camp that night. Although it was a nice campground, and only 5 blocks from the beach. Another plus was we bought a pint of whiskey for only $3.95, it was amazing.

From Cannon Beach we walked a grueling 10 miles to make it to Oswald State park. It was very hard because alot of the walking was straight up a mountain, or so it seemed. When we arrived at the park, there was a sign saying campground closed. We panicked. We did not have another 10 miles in us or the time to find a good place to camp. After asking around we found a nice couple that was going to Manzanita, just 10 miles south. They were awesome, and gave us a quick tour of the town then dropped us off at Nehalem State park. We were so beat we decided to stay 3 days here, today is our last day. This is the best state park I have ever been to! At a great $4 a day per person for bikers and backpackers, with bathrooms, hot showers, short walk to the beach, it could not be beat. I would reccomend this campground to everyone, I know we will be back someday. We had a very relaxing last couple of days, drinking beer on the beach, watching beautiful sunsets, and making fires with drift wood under the brightest full moon I have ever seen.

So we are not quite sure what our next step is, but we are heading out tomorrow, and will keep in touch as much as we can.

Also, just a word to the readers: be thankfull for having a hot shower everyday, warm meals, a comfy bed to crawl into at night, cold beer, and the comfort of your homes. Its hard sometimes after a long day at work to think about these things, but we should always be thankful for every little thing we have. This trip has helped me realize this. All of my love to you - erin