July 17, 2007: Ride to Port Orford, OR

See route
The next day started out wet...
but I perservered, packed up, was
ready to go when I discovered I'd left
my glasses in my now locked cottage.
My next door neighbours were
kind enough to call our emergency
contact (owners of Boardwalk Cottages
on holiday!!).
Clare came by to let me back in.
Now complete with glasses, I was on my
way... in the rain.
I decided to visit Cape Disappointment
before I left the area.
I was able to see the lightkeeper's
quarters/buildings...
...but no sign of the lighthouse.
It seemed at first that I was destined
for Disappointment... the sign read
lighthouse in 25 miles.
On closer inspection, however, the
sign read .25 miles... (VERY tiny
decimal point) so I was not disappointed
after all.
Why did I want to visit THIS
lighthouse in particular? It is the
oldest (1898) lighthouse still in use
on the entire coast.
AND the views from up there are
spectacular.
The cliffs are steep and the
water below is wild.
A southern view... time to
continue on and see some of that.
The bridge that takes you from
Washington into Oregon.
There were a lot of cyclists on the
road on the Oregon coast (101). This
tunnel had a warning signal to let you
know when one (or more) was in it.
To say the coastline was rugged
is an understatement.
This section of the highway is
breath-taking to ride along AND
the stonework which supports it is
a work of art.
Like I already said...
... breath-taking!!
Wherever you are on the Oregon 101...
...you are never far from the ocean.
I met up with a couple from the Coho
several times on this day, this time
in Depoe Bay.
Cool wooden chair at a front door
(Depoe Bay)
Depoe Bay was a coffee stop.
I had nice conversation with the
owner of Pirate Coffee Company.
Good coffee, too!
I believe this just outside Newport.
They had telescopes at the viewpoint
and I believe I saw a whale spouting.
I chatted at the viewpoint with
this very nice couple from Norway.
This bridge takes you from Newport
to South Beach, Oregon.
More rugged (gorgeous) coastline
More awesome roads
The thing is...
... you almost get to the point where
you're at "sensory overload".
Then there'e one more fabulous
site like this lighthouse and you're
ready for more.
When I got to the seal caves, it
was fairly late.
I still had a bit of a ride to get
to Port Orford, so I took this photo
and promised myself I'd come back to see
this costline again, taking the time to
explore more.
When I got to Port Orford, the sun
was "barely there".
One minute it was like this...
... the next minute like this.
Best, this was the view from my room!
Next Day

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