Well it finally happened. I had to get out the rain suit! The sky in this picture is what it looked like all day. It was raining in Brookings when I got up, but I didn't actually drive in any rain or wet roads all day. But it stayed in the mid 50's and so the extra layer was nice and I just left the rain suit on all day.
When I pulled into the scenic pullout to take this picture of Heceta Head Lighthouse, north of Florence Oregon, a gentleman with Oregon plates pulled in to talk to me about his BMW just like mine. Turned out he got a mechanical engineering degree at CU Boulder. I think by the end of today I had talked about the "mothership" with at least 5 or 6 people. It has been quite the conversation starter.
Hwy 101 up the Oregon coast is two lane with three lane on the hills, logging trucks now and then but tourist traffic pretty light this time of year. It does seem to slow down into some tight turns fairly often, but a lot of big sweeping turns that you can set bike over on a line and hold that angle for a long sweeper of a turn, lots of fun today.
The water looked rougher today under the gray sky and it seemed like more wave crashing on the shore, more foam. It and the grayness, plus the fog shrouded hills gave the area a wildness next to a dark foreboding feeling ocean. I kept waiting for Bigfoot to step out of the trees.
I found Florence to be nicer than I remember and much bigger. I loved the little communities of Yachats and Waldport. And the Bridges over the big rivers were amazing. I crossed the Chetco River, Rogue River(and had breakfast in Gold Beach) and the Umpqua River. I traveled through the big sand dune country before Florence where you could get a tour out on the sand in a big tired buggy or rent your own four wheeler and go play. Or back in Gold Beach you could get a jet boat tour up the Rogue River.
When I got to Newport Oregon I checked into my motel and then went down to the beach. I was surprised by how many people were down at the beach in this weather. It was pretty windy but people kept driving up and heading out for a walk on the beach. This is Nye Beach here in the center of Newport, there are lots of Inns and restaurants in this area and along the streets coming down the hill from Hwy 101. Just up from this beach on the street out from the public parking was a little restaurant called the Sandbar. I got a cup of clam chowder, salad and fresh bread for dinner. It was perfect, and after a short tour of some more of the nearby streets, I am back here in my cozy room, out of the fog and communing with my community here in the internet. I love all the likes and comments you all are sharing with me, it really makes me feel my tribe we have around us in life. Thank you all.
Will by the Pacific Ocean
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