From the North Oregon Coast

I eat too many turkey meals.  I should find a backup eatery but Subway is good and fast and... well, fresh.

Wednesday morning I headed for the coast to work for three days.  I used our place at the beach for two nights as a base for working from Newport to Astoria.


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This was lunch in Newport on Wednesday.  The ride through the mountains in the morning was mostly wet but at the coast the weather was nice.  It was in the low 60's (F) with the usual onshore breeze of good fresh air.

The weather for the three days was suppose to be mostly dry.  There was only a 30% chance of showers on Wednesday morning.  I debated on whether to take a regular duffel bag or my Helen 2Wheels waterproof bag.  Amber reminded me that this is Oregon and it can rain at any time. I didn't really need a reminder. I ended up getting the 30% on 100% of me so I was glad I had Helen's bag.  I've had this large roll top sack for over a year and it has served me well.  It's surprising how much one can pack in it when items are rolled into tube shape.

When I first started using it I was a little nervous about leaving it on the bike when I'm inside on a sales visit but so far it's been fine.  I don't put anything too valuable in it and I generally park in areas which are not too public.

Below are some road trip photos.

A beach chapel that has weathered many storms.

Twin Rocks (Rockaway Beach) as high clouds approach. 

This one is titled, "Waiting for Sunset".

It's nice to stop and explore in these small coastal towns.  I stopped here Thursday afternoon to get something to drink.

Friday morning the clammers were out during low tide in Tillamook Bay. Homemade clam chowder sounds good.

I have many photos of this lake.  On a clear morning when it's calm I can't help but stop and click a few shots.  It's a serene view that's quite different than the hustle and bustle of downtown Portland only 90 miles away.  What would life be like without the push and pull of a BlackBerry and computer? 

The trip was a little over 400 miles.  It was a pleasure to be on the bike.  For a while now I've been experimenting with riding at higher rpm.  On the way back to Portland through the mountain range I stayed in 4th gear most of the time.  The speed limit is 55 mph with nice sweeping curves. The bike handled better at the higher rpm with easier ability to roll on and off the throttle and less shifting.   

I hope you get some higher rpm this weekend!

God's speed.

Coastal Serenity

After a visit to the jail Friday afternoon I headed over to our place at the coast. It was to be a quick trip to get some much needed work done then come back home Saturday. When I got on the road about 5 pm Friday there was a steady rain falling. It continued through the coast range which made for absolutely stunning scenery. This time of year the Tillamook Forest is lush and hyper-green and the rain just exaggerated the colors. The two lane road meanders through the mountains with the Wilson River alongside on the coast side of the range. At times I found myself thinking, “This could be like Europe, maybe even Germany. Yeah that’s it, this is Germany and I’m on a BMW!” 

Many of the timber laden mountain slopes and peaks had those wisps of fog hanging on them. Several times I restrained myself from stopping to takes photos. The speed limit for most of the canyon is 55 mph with just the right amount of slow developing sweeps and curves. As with many canyon roads, especially on the Friday night of a holiday weekend, slow driving folk can be persistent obstacles. After passing some of these folks, I didn’t want to stop for photos and have to start all over with the passing game. It's a dilemma that has two options.  I guess the only solution is to take most of a day going through the pass making many stops for photos.


I stopped in Tillamook to pick up a few things at the store then headed up the coast in the light coastal drizzle and wind. Breaking out from the protection of a wooded area just before the road drops next to Tillamook Bay, the onshore ocean wind gave the bike a hit which allowed me to lean into it yet still go straight. It’s generally a surprise and a fun one at that. Looking left out onto the bay at the peninsula that juts out from Cape Meares, I could see the gray out-of-focus look that an oncoming squall reveals.

Arriving in Garabaldi on the north end of the bay, it has that misty and quiet look that a fishing town has at the end of a work day.  Around some more curves north of town and past the tide pools which are now covered with high tide, the road gently drops down near a serene looking Lake Smith. The drizzle has all but stopped; it’s getting darker and I’m almost to the house so I stop to record the scene. 

The return trip home yesterday was almost a milestone. I only encountered one vehicle ahead of me for the entire 50 mile trip on Hwy 6 through the coast range. This was probably because most everyone was going towards the coast instead of away from the coast. It was a rarity that I gladly accepted.  The sun was out and the temperature was just right at 60 F.  A perfect day to be on two wheels enjoying the amazing scenery.

Weekend at the Coast

We went to the coast for the weekend which means going through Tillamook again.  I thought I would just post some images from our time there.  No motorcycle pictures because this was a family weekend.

As we came into town late Friday afternoon I stopped to capture "the cows coming home."  It was about 4:45 and they were heading back to the barn for chow.  I guess you could say this is their rush-hour traffic coming back from a day at "the office."

Above is one of the bulls. This guy was big compared to the cows. I would hate to see him in the rode at night when I'm on the bike.

Saturday morning I drove into town to get some goodies at the bakery.  I decided to stop by the pier to get some photos. I found a bunch of people clamming.

Here's a guy who caught his limit of Cockle Shells.  He'll put them in a little flour and egg and have fried clams for lunch.

Saturday afternoon we drove into Tillamook and stopped at the cheese factory.  This is always a mandatory stop when the grandkids are with us.

I think it was either break-time or shift-change because no one was working.  The big blocks of cheese in the foreground are cut into 2lb blocks and packaged for retail sale.

There's always a line for ice cream. It's well worth the wait.

Our granddaughter looks like she's praying for more ice cream but I happened to catch her clapping. 

Here's a shot of "Mother and Daughter."  It's our daughter and granddaughter as we left the cheese factory.

Our granddaughter and I took our bullmastiff, Zoey, for a walk this morning.

We found this woolly guy crossing the road. I laid down in the street to get some closeups. Of course there weren't any cars on the road at this hour but I did learn something. It's hard to get a good shot of a caterpillar crossing the road while holding 140 pounds of curious dog.

Hope you had a good weekend and were able to ride.  Oh yeah, watch out for caterpillars... and bulls.

Trip to the Coast

I don't know if I've written this statement before but I wish I had discovered the bliss of motorcycle traveling years ago.  Last week I had the privilege of working on the coast for a couple of days.

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I'm still delivering our new catalog.  Here's my first stop on the way to the coast in Grand Ronde with the bike loaded with 10 catalogs plus my gear.

About 15 miles north of Newport on the coast is a famous resort called Salishan Lodge.  This landmark golf resort is usually bustling with people and cars. This time of year they're generally busy with corporate meetings and banquets but as you can see the parking lot is pretty sparse.

Lincoln City and Newport are two large cities on the southern end of Oregon's north coast. I usually make a couple of sales calls in Lincoln City before heading south to Newport, about 20 miles away.

Lunch in Newport was my usual fare of "eating fresh" at Subway.  There were two older guys who had big Harley touring bikes eating lunch here as well.  A third guy who was in line with me also is a Harley owner.  We had a nice brief conversation about motorcycles before he joined the other two guys.  When they left I noticed the leather vests on the first two guys.  It said, "Vietnam Veterans - Newport, OR" I think that's pretty cool to be in that group.

After working most of the afternoon in Newport I usually head back north through Lincoln City for the 60 mile ride to Rockaway Beach where I'll spend the night. This market in Neskowin is about 15 miles north of Lincoln City.  It's in a great spot to grab a soda and maybe a candy bar.  The candy bar is to keep my focus sharp and I only indulge once and awhile. At least that's my theory. If you look closely, this market comes complete with a dog on the porch.

This is "The Ghost Hole".  It's a popular Tillamook Bay fishing spot. The first photo of the post was also taken here.  This is also a popular view-point for the Bay.  The two posts that you see in the water are for mooring a small dock that has portable bathrooms during the fishing season.  Fishermen have been known to drink a beverage that increases bladder activity.

This is Lake Lytle in Rockaway as I left town Friday morning. This is only about 90 miles from downtown Portland yet so different.  Being almost due west of Portland, Rockaway was a popular vacation and weekend get-away spot in the early 1900's. It was Elmer Lytle who promoted the first steam engine train that ran from the western edge of Portland's farmland to Rockaway in 1906.

After making more sales calls in Tillamook I had lunch before the ride through the coastal range back to Portland.  Heading out of town through the dairy farms I stopped to check out some of Tillamook's most prominent citizens.

Evidently it's been quite some time since number 108 has seen a guy wearing a white helmet with a day-glo green jacket.  She came over to get a closer look.

Or maybe she's thinking, "is that a Beemer?"

Astoria and Beyond

 

Yesterday I worked in Astoria, the gateway to the Columbia River on Oregon's north coast. This is the view looking east from atop the hill on which The Astoria Column sits. This is looking back at the water that enters Young's bay and then out to sea. This body of water is on the south side of the Astoria Peninsula. The Columbia in on the north side.

 

This is looking west at the entrance to the Columbia River. What a beautiful day. It's rare for Astoria to see sunshine in February. The ride here from Portland on Hwy. 30 along the Columbia was a chilly 44 (F). There were times of sun, clouds, and slight fog but by the time I got near the coast it was all sunshine.

 

Here's the Astoria Column. After spending most of the morning in Astoria and after having lunch, I headed south to Warrenton and Camp Rilea. Do you recognize this view below?

Irondad had his FJR in roughly the same spot (I think) and it was his header photo for a while. He allowed me to drop his name at the Camp for business purposes. I'm pretty sure the door opened wider for me here for future business.  Thank you Dan!

 

The original plan was to spend the night at the coast but I decided just before leaving home that I would come home. So after Camp Rilea I headed down the coast taking photos along the way. Here's a sea stack rock in Tillamook bay.

As you can see, the sun was getting low as I was getting ready to head inland through the pass from Tillamook. I wanted to make the 50 minute ride through the mountains before it got dark and too cold. I was also concerned about deer and elk moving.

On the way out of town I stopped at this dairy to capture the cows having dinner. On my other blog I posted a different photo of these cows. The owner of the dairy, unbeknownst to me, saw me taking pictures and somehow found the posting and commented. I'm still amazed at that.

 

When I got back to the farmland west of Portland the sun was already down below the coast range. The weather was nice for the 256 mile round trip. I was pretty beat when I got home. When I left Tillamook I was kind of wishing that I would have stayed but it was nice to be home.

We seem to have good weather in the west when the rest of the country is not doing so well. I hope your weather is good or will get better soon. Spring is only about a month away. 

On the morning ride along the Columbia I was thinking about how just a 3 degree rise in temperature can make a person feel warmer. I guess it felt colder because the river is cold and the air felt heavy and damp. At times the air felt a little warmer and lighter as the elevation would rise. Yet another interesting phenomenon we don't get to experience when in a cage.

A PARROT ON THE COAST

The first business trip to the coast with the motorcycle was in June and was my usual overnighter while working Lincoln City, Newport, and Tillamook.  We have a place in Rockaway Beach that makes a good “field office” on the North Coast.  From here I can conveniently work from Long Beach, WA to Newport, OR.  The twisty Pacific Coast Hwy is loaded with coves and small beach towns and makes for a great scenic ride.  I was looking forward to this new experience on the motorcycle.

It was the encounter with the parrot that made this trip unique.  Had I been in my car this meeting wouldn’t have taken place.  As usual, I work Lincoln City and Newport on a Thursday then drive up to the beach house in the late afternoon to spend the night.  Friday morning I make a few sales calls in Rockaway then work in Tillamook and come home Friday afternoon. 

On Thursday afternoon as I left the hustle and bustle of Lincoln City, which is a fairly big coastal town, I was looking forward to making the hour long trip up the coast.  North of town the road is flat for a few miles then rises and opens up to two lanes on each side with 60 mile-an-hour sweeping curves up to a nice elevation.  The road is wooded on both sides so there's not a view of the ocean.  I had been riding from Newport and my plan was to stop in the first small resort town, Neskowin, nestled on the north side at the base of the mountain.  I wanted to stretch my legs and get a cold bottle of iced tea and take a little break.

Soon after I rolled into the parking lot at the local market, the guy who was sitting in the car next to me got out and starting asking questions about the motorcycle.  He was a retired salesman on vacation from California with his wife and dog and it turns out, their parrot.  He was intrigued about me using the bike to commute as a salesman.  I was intrigued about the parrot in his back seat.  After quite a few minutes talking with him, his wife came out of the store with their two ice cream cones.  The three of us continued to visit, then about 4 kids who were sitting on a park bench with one of their moms ran over and asked, “Can you make her do her trick?”

The lady got the parrot out of the back seat and said, “da-da-DAAH”.

The parrot repeated what she said and did a little singing routine while fanning it's feathers.

This all happened so fast I didn’t have time to get my camera but I managed to snap a few pictures with the BlackBerry.

The couple with the parrot were staying in the RV park as where the kids and their parents.  This explained why the kids were familiar with the “trick”

After saying goodbye, as I got back onto the road I thought to myself how neat it is to stop and meet good people, have conversation and see something that’s out of the ordinary.  I think being on a motorcycle had a lot to do with meeting them.  I wouldn’t have stopped there with my car.  I’ve passed by that general store many times before.  This type of incident isn’t going to happen everyday, but my thought as I got down the road that day was if riding gives more opportunity to meet people and engage with them, I’m looking forward to more of it.