Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast – September 3rd & 4th

I camped the night of September 2nd   in a small state run park and pitched my tent near the river. It had been a beautiful, warm sunny day and camping was the perfect way to finish. Unfortunately the temperature dropped to 30 Fahrenheit (-1 Celsius) over night and I did not sleep well. It was not until morning that I realized I left the tent fly wide open, letting the cold air inside the tent.

After getting some great advice from a local about Crater Lake, I decided to head south and visit the deepest lake in the US. Crater Lake was another amazing destination. The road around offered beautiful views from far above the lake, passing through some forest but mostly staying close enough to keep the lake in view the entire time. I circled the lake three times, once going east bound just enjoying the ride, a second time also going eastbound and stopping for photos and finally the third and final time going westbound just to see a different view.

By the time evening came I really started to regret not staying for more pie back in Hampton, as all of the campgrounds and motels were full. I was getting tired, needed to rest and was going to pull over and pitch my tent in the woods somewhere. Around the next corner  I spotted a motel that had the “Vacancy” sign on and were advertising rooms for $30. Perfect, available and cheap, just what I needed.  I pulled into the parking lot and for the first time in this adventure, all 26,000 km of it, I dropped my bike. I forgot to put the kickstand down! Must have been more tired than I thought. There was no damage to the bike or to me and picking it up a fully loaded bike was no fun.  The motel owner, who looked like Elmer Fudd, came out and said “looks like you could use a room. I have one with a great view of the river”. A great view of the river it did have, but it smelled like dirty socks and I now believe it was haunted. Great, another night without sleep.

I made it to Coos Bay, Oregon where I booked myself into a respectable place for two nights. After visiting the shore and seeing the seals and sea lions relaxing on the rocks I decided that I also needed a full day of rest.

Links

Crater Lake is a cool place to visit if you’re in Oregon, park admission is cheap and there are many things to see and do. The food at the restaurant is cafeteria style and is awful, pack a lunch. http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm

A great place for wildlife viewing in Oregon http://www.coos-bay.net/simpsonreef.html

Elmer Fudd http://photobucket.com/images/elmer%20fudd/

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