Okay, so this was not a hike or anything ambitious. It was just a day where I needed to get away and have some rest and relaxation. The last two weeks of my life had been so hard and exhausting. Starting a new job, having new students, and trying to establish yourself in a school can be so challenging. I worked through my last weekend, so finally on a Friday, I decided that I needed a break. We jumped in the car and drove out to Florence. The drive out there was good though the road was winding and there was lots of traffic.
Florence was about 2 hours away from where we were living. When we got there, we found a place to eat first and then the closest beach we had access to. We hopped out of the car got down to the beach and boy was it great. Just to hear the ocean and see the surf was wonderful. The kids enjoyed a little sand castle building while I enjoyed a little R&R. I really did not move too much and just enjoyed the waves, the view, and the kids. It was strange to me just how quiet it was out here, but I guess if you have hundreds of miles of beach access, a little quiet can be had.
It was just what I needed. As we left though, we got stuck in a long traffic jam. We ended up sitting there for an hour only to see someone get life flighted out of there. The traffic was horrendous the rest of the way back as everyone was going to Eugene. When I got into Eugene, it was not much better. I was in an unfamiliar city trying to find my way to the right exit in a busy part of town. I looked down to check the GPS briefly and then back up to the signs and before I knew it I was going too fast into a small truck right in front of me.
I hit it at a slow rate of speed, but quick enough to mess up our hood. The truck was fine and they left without a scratch. We called our insurance company and a tow truck came. In the process of waiting, we saw possibly the creepiest people I have ever seen. They were definitely strung out on something. The tow truck was able to give us a ride to a car rental place where we were able to get a rental for the week while our hood was repaired.
All of this was of course very stressful and embarrassing. We took our new rental car and had dinner at Applebees of all places. I don't like Applebees but it was just what we needed tonight. Quick decent food and a place to just sit and relax. We found our way out of Eugene after that and back home. The car was fixed by the next weekend when we were able to pick it up. So much for the rest and relaxation, but the Oregon Coast was definitely high on my list for places that are awesome!
My one day of free time and a chance to get out I took with a trip up the Foley Ridge Road to the Separation Lake Trailhead. I had gone for a hike with the kids and my mom to the viewpoint overlooking Rainbow Falls earlier in the month. I figured out that this like many other long dirt roads in Oregon was in pretty good shape. So I came back and went a little farther up the road. The road was in fantastic shape all the way there. I was able to park in the early afternoon and get a hike in. This one, I was by myself as my buddy Conrad would not be joining me. Having a little less weight on my shoulders, I was able to really get moving. I was still feeling like I was in pretty good shape even with the challenge of the new job with early mornings and late nights. The trail was mainly flat from the beginning. I ran into a couple doing an overnight. They seemed in such a good mood and I felt jealous of all their free time. I kept moving and the trail stayed mainly flat going next to Separation Creek here and there. I was really moving. I talked to some other older ladies who were out there and let me pass. The trail was mostly wooded. Eventually I crossed a couple of bridges and I was on my way to Separation Lake. I arrived at the lake and honestly it was a little non-descript. It was like any other wooded lake you might see. The main thing for me is that I was back out there in the beauty interacting with nature and really just able to move. My job was really keeping me tied down and I was starting to really need these weekend trips.
During the week, I had been trying to find time to continue to run and I figured this trail would be a good one to come back and run some day. I had been enjoying running in Oregon, but there was nothing as good as being out in the wilderness and really interacting with the trail. I headed back. It started downhill and then once I crossed the last bridge, I went up. I ran into those older ladies again and I stopped to talk to them for a bit. The rest of the way there was nothing to get in my way except for a section of muddy, wet trail and a giant colorful spider hanging over the trail. Back to the trailhead in under 5 hours for a trail that is 13 miles round trip made me feel pretty good. I really enjoyed that trail and knew that I would be back there to enjoy it again as it was in such good shape, very comfortable being along the creek, and it just made for such an enjoyable day. After this though it was back to work for the rest of the weekend.
