Tuesday 26 July 2016

Big Guy rides the Left Coast - Day Two - Seaside OR to Crescent City, CA


Day 2 - 570 kms - 10 hours travel time


Today was a fantastic day for touring! There is so much to see on the Oregon coast. I could have easily spent a week going down what took me about 10 hours of total travel time. Lots of photos in this post!

I had a fairly good night's sleep but was rudely awoken with a 5:35 wake up call - one that I hadn't requested! After a quick bath (shower didn't work) I left Motel Gulag 6, hopefully forever.
View from Oswald State Park

Standing in Oswald State Park - photo taken by a friendly passerby.


Now class, an estuary is where the freshwater river meets the salt water....


The estuary but Rockaway Beach.
I made a couple of stops along the way for some nice seaside photos. Great curves and bends in the road making it much more enjoyable for riding. I was away from the Great Slab and doing what I wanted to be doing!



Once I got to Tilamook, the famous cheese factory, I had a really nice visit. There was a self guided tour, a cheese shop where I bought some cheese cubes (which ended up lasting several days), a nice, clean bathroom, and a restaurant where I ordered a brekky sandwich and a late 

Beach view near Cloverdale, OR

Some people climbing the rocks near Lincoln City, OR

One of my favourite shots in Depoe Bay.

Waves at Beverly Beach State Park.
 Unlike yesterday, where I had tunes cranked on my Schuberth helmet SRC, today I enjoyed the sounds of the wind and the waves. Riding on a smaller highway is much more relaxing and is not nearly as loud as riding on the Interstate. 

Interesting rocks at Seal Rock

Beach explorers at Seal Rock

BMW Scooterist at Seal Rock!

Near Florence

Lunch break at a park in Port Orford

The BMW having a well deserved break at a Port Orford park.
I bought a broccoli salad af Rays Food Palace in Bandonn and the found a quiet windy park to eat it in Port Orford.  I chatted with a friendly old guy in the park on a bicycle. He rode off, leaving me with the crows who wanted my lunch.

Found this photo on the web of the painted street sign.

This was the ocean view that the sign painted in the street pointed to. 

An even better ocean view from Port Orford.

One last exhilarating ocean view from Port Orford.

Next stop was just a few streets away - on a street leaving the highway there were giant letters on the road saying "Ocean View" so I had to take a look and some photos. 

Bridge on the way to Gold Beach

Ocean views by Cape Sebastian Park, near Gold Beach. 

Ocean views by Cape Sebastian Park, near Gold Beach. 

Ahh, the helmet is off for a break, near Gold Beach. 

There were other scenic stops on the way - lots of scenery and the highway runs right by the road! It was sometimes a bit difficult to goggle at the scenery and ride safely but I did manage. I did not ride really fast by any means and stopped whenever I needed to. 

I finally rode into Crescent City.  I pulled over to the side of the road and checked my reservations and then checked the Co-Pilot app. Although the map showed exactly where I was and where the motel was, the distance was apparently 73kms! Crescent city just ain't that big! It was my first indication that the CoPilot app wasn't perfect - and there would be others that would test my patience with the app as the trip continued along. 


The motel was America's Best Value Inn - another untried chain. After last night's Spartan accommodations I was a bit worried - however the room turned out to be much nicer! The bathroom was rather grotty but at least it was 1 for 2..... And the girl at the front desk was very nice, even if she didn't get my sense of humour....

After recommendations of the girl at the front desk ,I walked close to an hour to the pier (yes, yet another motel that is located far from any conveniences) where she recommended two different seafood restaurants and encouraged me to enjoy the mob of barking sea lions! Well, as it turned out, one of the restaurants was closed, the other had an hour wait, and the seals were not on the pier, barking, as promised!


I ended up at another seafood restaurant where I ordered the pan fried shrimp because it was healthier. Of course, it was served in a bowl of melted butter. Sigh.

While finishing my dinner, there was some excitement demonstrated by the staff. Apparently there had just occurred an earthquake! It measured 3 on the Richter scale so it was fairly minor - I think you had to have been standing to feel it - or not have sat on a scooter seat for the past ten hours...

After dinner and two glasses of wine I made it back to the motel, watched a little TV, and then had an enormously satisfying sleep.

5 comments:

BayDance.com said...

Another Dave's Adventure Tour.

Anonymous said...

Another Dave's Adventure Tour.

SonjaM said...

Nice to follow you down the coastal highway albeit virtually. And the weather seems to play along nicely.

Dave Dixon said...

The weather mostly held down the coast - some cold mornings, though!

David Masse said...

The Oregon coast is unmistakable with those rock formations just offshore.

I'm playing catch up Dave. Nice ride report. Great ride.