Oregon Coast

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For the last few days we have been heading South, down Highway 101 on the Oregon Coast. After a night in Astoria, close to the mouth of the Columbia river, we have had stops in Lincoln City and North Bend, which is next to the Oregon dunes. The views as you drive along the coast are stunning. There are miles and miles of long golden sand beaches, interspersed with rocky headlands and small bays and inlets surrounded by more rock. The forest grows almost to the edge of the Ocean so you are presented with thick greenery on one side and the blues, greens, and white of the water and the surf on the other. At the Northern end we followed the trails of Lewis and Clark, the first European men to map this part of the USA, making it its territory of course. They were charged with finding the Northwest Passage from East to West, over the Rocky Mountains, but never found it. They did however succeed in plotting the course and source of the Missouri river, which flows from the Rockies towards the East, and many other rivers and harbours along the Pacific west Coast. They established Forts in the area and set up treaties and trading partnerships with the Native Americans. The main source of transport in the early days was along the long beaches, until they hit a headland and had to find a way around or over it. Most of the bridges all along this section of coast were built in the 1920's by the same company and all feature distinctive art deco styles. I think there were about 26 bridges in all, crossing the various rivers and some of them are seriously high to allow for the shipping of all the logs out of the area. Logging and Fishing are still the main areas of trade in this region. We had a blast staying in the Oregon Dunes National Park. The dunes are HUGE and stretch for miles along the coast and inland. Vegetation has managed a tenuous hold in some parts and in others there are just vast mountains of golden sand.The camping ground caters to ATV's and everyone who was staying there seemed to have a vast collection of various quads and motorbikes. We hired one each from the store at the entrance to the campground and had an amazing day tearing around the dunes, getting to know the vehicles and what they could do and racing up and down bigger and steeper sand dunes. We both only got stuck once and managed to get ourselves out without too much hassle. As the day wore on the wind increased and so did the sandblasting! It was amazing how quickly it wiped away all traces of tyre tracks and how difficult it could be make out the contours of the dunes it certain lights. Before you know it you were tipping over the other side of a dune you didn't even see coming!(Or maybe its just our old eyes!) Anyway, it was a great way to spend a day! At night, I heard a few bikes take off for a night ride, only to return an hour later because the fog had rolled in. Hard enough to see at night with only a crescent moon; the fog would have made it impossible! There seems to be no escaping the fog that rolls in from the sea in the morning, and stays around some places all day or at least until mid afternoon. Sometimes it will move out to sea and you can see it sitting there, a gray bank on the horizon, only to roll right back in again and cover all there is to see. Eighty miles inland, the temperature is over 100 degrees, but here on the coast, the fog and the sea breezes have kept it at a cool 60 to 70 degrees. Its nice in the sun, but further down the coast and camped in the middle of the redwoods, its cold! I think that the best way to see this coast is driving from North to South. We are on the right side of the road to stop and enjoy the vistas on the Ocean side. We stopped at one such wayby close to Boiler Bay and were lucky enough to see a Grey whale swimming in the bay, spotting the spray from its blowhole as it swam in the choppy surf, quite close to shore. Apparently they migrate up this coast towards Alaska, usually a bit earlier in the year, and usually mothers with calf in tow, but there are always a few stragglers. We are now heading into Northern California, visiting the Redwood National Parks and heading towards San Francisco. The 101 splits and we will head onto Highway 1 for the last 10 days in the van. As always, our love to those at home. Dean and Shelley.

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Photos

Depoe Bay, Oregon Coast
The Smallest Harbour in the World! ( according to the sign)

Oregon Dunes
Riding ATV's on the Oregon Dunes