Thank you for the lovely stay at the Best Western hotel, we truly appreciate your kind-heartedness and excellent service.
Today we split into 3 teams so we covered more distance and visited more places (that's why the report will be jumping from one team to the other quite often :) )
Leaving the town of Florence with beautiful bridges.
Once again we bumped into a place with many wooden carvings which we thoroughly enjoyed.
The coastline was lined with beautiful trees and lush vegetation.
Claire at River Roasters. At some locations we can now light the torch.
A (big) family both locals and from Las Vegas.
We are in Oregon, so the torch can be lit again (a sight which we didn't see in California...)
The sand dunes were beautiful, creating interesting landscape art.
Sometimes it's nice just to observe.
What a sight! What was first? The tree, the offspring tree branches or the electric wire?
Half of the women's team is preparing lunch for everybody in our RV (recreational vehicle).
There is some amount of chopping to be done ;)
A group of tourists from all around the US stopped by in front of our parked RV and we happily gave them a small presentation of our Peace Run.
Roxana even used the guide's microphone and it was a welcomed stop and a perfect photo opportunity for all visitors.
Tony from Florence News found us at our RV and he stopped by for a quick chat, photo op and to hold the torch himself. He saw the runners and spoke with them on the road.
and the lunch is ready...
... which is delicious Italian pasta with tons of veggies. Yummy!
Rhonda from this gift shop put up a sign of "Peace" just a week ago, thinking how we all desperately need peace in our lives.
We feel we are getting more and more in shape since we increased our daily mileage.
Although already in Oregon, at some parts we get to see the tropical sights.
Many bridges to go run on, which we are happy about.
At the Heceta Head Lighthouse, which is a very well visited touristic spot, we met many curious new friends. These two women were eager to show us the local sea lions through their telescope. The woman on the left, Cathy, is a volunteer and the woman on the right, Dawn, works for the parks. They enthusiastically share their love for the wildlife at this iconic location with around 100 people a day!
... and the same group which saw us at the RV parking space made its way up to the lighthouse sight, where they got another opportunity to hold the torch again, this time with a fragrant wild rose on top of it.
Udita, who joined the team for a couple of days, bravely took on a challenge of running uphill.
Approaching Lincoln City, our destination for the day.
Larry, in the photo, was grateful to meet us in Lincoln City since he has heard a lot about the Peace Run and Sri Chinmoy.
Statue of Abraham Lincoln, namesake of Lincoln City, reading a book on a horse. The citizens chose the name for their city themselves.
This was most likely our last day to see the West Coast's Pacific Ocean on this year’s US Peace Run. We will be turning inland towards Portland as of tomorrow.
Oregon has many things to offer, including fresh produce from the local farms which we got to taste. Fully recommended!
Running into more urban areas. Looking forward to meeting some new friends here as well!
We arrived at the beautiful Salmon River RV Park and got ready for a night camping under the trees and stars.
...time to prepare all the equipment to stay warm. The weather forecast shows low temperatures :O
Papaha receives an early birthday gift
and more souvenirs from Heceta Heads Lighthouse!
Smores time!
Yum!!!
A reflection at the end of the day while we wind up and contemplate on all what we have experienced....
"Where is peace? Not in the blue skies; Not in the vast ocean. Peace is my next-door neighbor." -Sri Chinmoy
