 |
| Rumblings Recent Rides Other Riders' Stories Coming Attractions Favorite Links Send me E-MAIL |
 |
| Day 1 - Santa Clara, CA Day 2 - Eureka, CA Day 3 - Florence, OR Day 4 - Poulsbo, WA Day 5 - Poulsbo, WA Day 6 - Sandpoint, ID Day 7 - Kalispel, MT Day 8 - Sulfer Springs, MT Day 9 - Jackson, WY Day 10 - Orem, UT Day 11- Estes Park, CO Day 12 - High. Ranch, CO Day 13 - High. Ranch, CO Day 14 - Richland, UT Day 15 - Lee Vining, CA EPILOGUE |
| home l rumblings l recent rides l other riders' stories l coming attractions l links |
|
| The next morning dawns sunny
but cold, and we are on the road by 8:30 a.m. The lack of fog or
gray skies provides hope of better things to come. The Oregon coast
is a visual treat, giving the rider a variety of things to look at.
After passing forestlands and more depression era, WPA bridges across
several rivers, we come to long sand beaches (photo 1) and
actual sand dunes, then back into the rugged cliffs again. In about 20 minutes we make a quick stop to take a picture of the bike with Heceta head Lighthouse in the background (photo 2). This is supposed to be one of the most photographed lighthouses on the West Coast and I can see why. The white lighthouse is crowned with a red/orange roof surrounded by evergreen trees as it sits on a point of land that stretches gently out into the sea. We have seen this lighthouse several times before and our reaction is almost always the same, “Hey, stop so I can get a picture of that!” The trip past Heceta Head keeps us on the coast for the next thirty miles or so before cutting in slightly to some broad, green valleys as you get closer to Tillamook, Oregon. We cannot go past the Tillamook Cheese Factory (photo 3 & 4) without stopping, so we stop so Linda can replenish the cookie jar. We usually buy an ice-cream cone or some beef jerky and cheese. Of course, Linda did a little shopping in the gift shop and bought me a tiny bear dressed as a sailor. The good thing about traveling by motorcycle is that you don’t have room to carry anything large so anything you buy must be small. After leaving Tillamook, the road tends to straighten out so we pick up the pace some. Unfortunately the traffic also picks up but we still did all right. By 2:30 p.m. we were in Astoria, where I always stop at the Columbia River Maritime Museum for a tee shirt. The museum was in the middle of an expansion project so construction forced us to walk down the railroad tracks to the temporary entrance. We bought a shirt for Lou Bodiford, a good friend, and for our son, Brian, but I couldn’t find one to fit me. Well, there’s always the next trip. As we left Astoria, we had to cross the Astoria Bridge to get to Washington State. For some reason, this bridge made me more nervous than crossing the Golden Gate Bridge yet it’s not nearly as high. The fact that it is only two lanes may have something to do with it; I’m not sure. We got across without mishap. In Washington we continue up Hwy. 101 towards Aberdeen but turn East towards Shelton. The road threads itself through several small towns and the speed limit seldom climbs to more than 55. Wouldn’t you know it, a Washington State Trooper falls in behind me for several miles while the traffic in front of me slowly pulls away leaving just me and the cop. Still, I’m not brave enough to break the speed limit so I finally hook a right turn at a sign saying there’s a fish hatchery close. Of course I don’t actually go to the fish hatchery, I just want to get the cop off my butt. We finally hit a minor freeway in Hwy.12 before Shelton (WA) and are quickly passed by a Harley riding two-up like us. I fall in behind them for the next 15 miles while we both break the speed limit by about ten miles per hour. I’m not sure what’s gotten into me. One minute I’m Chicken Little and the next minute Easy Rider. I think it had something to do with the fact that I didn’t want the Harley rider to think my Beemer couldn’t keep up. I know, male ego. We finally have to pull off to make connections with Hwy. 3, which will take us all the way to Poulsbo. Our original plan was to stop in Shelton, Washington for some dinner but when we finally got there, there was nothing that looked promising. After a brief conference on the side of the road, we decide to head for Poulsbo and eat at Mitzel's when we get there. Now it’s just a matter of putting in the last fifty miles trying to go as fast as the law and common sense will allow. We pull into the Mitzel’s parking lot almost at 7:00 p.m. exactly. We call Brian and Tami from the restaurant and invite them to join us. They’ve already eaten so we take our time. We pull into Brian’s garage about 8:00 p.m., the end of our longest day so far, 359 miles.
|
|||||
| back to top |