Lost Coast Tour 2017.05
The Oregon Coast just south of Newport. For most of the coast ride, it was cool (60's), clear and partly sunny. Perfect riding weather.
Heceta Head Lighthouse and Lighthouse Keepers B&B
Not far south of Cape Perpetua is Heceta Head. The lighthouse keepers' house once served to house those who provided round-the-clock care and maintenance of the light. Since it was electrified, the house has been turned into a lovely, quaint B&B serving a 7-course breakfast to its guests. We've stayed there on a prior trip and it's highly recommended.
As Paul Harvey used to say, "Now for the rest of the story."
These were plastered on the front of a mini van parked on Main Street. We strapped on our helmets with a swagger, flashed our temporary tats as we threw on our riding jackets, and rode off in a cloud of decibels. Felt like we fit right in!
Like the others up and down the coast, this had the fresnel lens, oil-fired lamp, clockwork rotating mechanism - all replaced with electric.
Someplace between Weed and Diamond Lake we stopped for caffeine. Been awhile since I've seen a pay phone. My daughter picked up the handle and camped it up a bit. then she said ... "There's no dial tone."
As we wound down the Oregon Coast, we turned right at Tillamook to visit this neat lighthouse. Originally lit by an oil lamp, it has been converted to electric. The lens was originally turned by a grandfather-clockwork mechanism, now electric.
Just minutes south of Heceta Head are the Sea Lion Caves (ample free parking). This is the cheesiest tourist rip off ever. For the princely sum of $36 ($13 for seniors) you can descend in an elevator into this sea cave. there are sea lions in the water and a couple on the rock. I have no evidence the ones on the rock are not animatronic.
From Crescent city, we rode south through the redwoods. I have not seen the redwood forest before and it is an impressive experience.
101 was closed due to landslides just north of Mendocino so we turned right down CA 1. Good thing, too. We rode one of the top three or four roads on this trip. Super twisty. Light traffic. No mailboxes (ask me about that).
And like the others, the lighthouse keepers' house has been turned into a vacation rental. I can imagine no better low key, disconnected, games-in-the-parlor, wine-in-front-of-the-fireplace, romantic sort of get away than these B&B's created by repurposing the lighthouse keepers' quarters.
Our route took us through Detroit, Oregon - a bump on the highway between Diamond Lake and Cascade Locks. There's a fabulous pulled pork dive there where I eat whenever I'm there. As an aside, in August 2017, there will be a total eclipse of the sun that will pass over Detroit Oregon. My family and I will be in Depoe Bay, just west of here on the coast to watch it!
This glass lens is the original fresnel lens. The ridges concentrate the light and direct it horizontally so it can be seen far out to sea. We didn't set out to do a lighthouse tour but we saw several great examples of vintage lighthouses along the way.
Actually, the cave is pretty neat but the 8 minutes you'll spend there really aren't a good economic value in my estimation. There is also a "Midge the Sea Lion" memorial gift shop you might as well experience for your $36. This view is from within the cave looking back at Heceta head.
Science tells us the Pacific Coast Redwoods live from 800 to 1,500 years and the oldest known one is 2,000 years old. Science also tells us that when a redwood dies and falls to the ground, it will take as long as it took to grow for it to totally decompose. So there will be evidence these trees were here in the year 3050 - maybe. A sobering thought.
Watch the Video: Top of the Food Chain in Mendocino
Just beyond where the prior Mendocino photo was taken, there was a layby where we stopped to stretch our legs. There was a strong onshore wind buying into the cliffs creating a ridge of updraft air. This hawk was riding the ridge of air looking for prey, found it, dropped and caught it ... then flew away. Fun for us to experience. Interesting to watch. Think about what this bird must "understand" about the aerodynamics of flight to pull this off. Impressive to me.
Weed is a little town on I-5 near the California-Oregon border. I've driven through it a few times in a car and riding through it on a motorcycle didn't really improve it - even powerful, liter-bikes like these. Front bike's mine, rear bike's my daughters's. What I had forgotten was how close to Mt. Shasta Weed was. In the photo we are west of Weed looking southeast.
Just east of Portland on the Oregon side of the river is a fun little town called Cascade Locks. On this site a geological age ago, there was a natural land bridge over the Columbia River. It collapsed and in modern times, we built a bridge over the river here - the Bridge of the Gods named after the ancient land bridge. It's a pastoral place which I quite enjoy.
South of Yachats at Cape Perpetua, there is an interesting formation of rocks. During high tide, the Pacific Ocean breakers roll in and down into Thor's Well seemingly draining the Pacific itself.
In his book Blue Highways, William Least Heat-Moon noted a correlation between the quality of food and the number of calendars visible in "Americana Restaurants." The Ell River Cafe is a "two-calendar restaurant," recommended.
After Crescent City, we rode on to Ft. Bragg ... not the military installation in N. Carolina but a quaint town on the California Coast. Near there is the Yaquina Head lighthouse. Along the rocks below, dozens of sea lions frolicked in the sea. The breeze was cool, the sun warm. We chatted with a vintage photographer (80's) using a large format film camera to photograph the lighthouse. He was interested in us and our bikes. We were interested in him and his giant camera. Fun.
My son-in-law rides this vintage Ducati 900 cc Supersport. It's finicky, like an Italian super model. Every trip yields a list of things to be repaired before the next tour. He's considered trading it ... but fears the "BUMMER LIFE." He has spoken with numerous riders who owned a version of this bike, and sold it only to be bummed out for the rest of their lives that they no longer own it. He gives it loving care. It appears showroom perfect, at least at the start of every ride. In some ways it's like an old farmer's ax - after three new heads and two new handles, it's as good as it ever was!
Here's the modern toll Bridge of the Gods I referred to in the caption of the prior photo. It's an engineering marvel with a long grated bridge deck. many motorcyclists don't like a grated bridge deck much but it's okay if you just give the bike its head and don't try to over control it.
At low tide, the Pacific Ocean breakers rush into a natural tunnel that feeds Thor's Well from below and create a spectacular blowhole. Many signs warn of the grave danger ("Grave danger? Is there any other kind?") of being sucked into the well to drown and be flushed out to sea.
We spent our second night in Crescent City California just steps from this unusual lighthouse. Unusual? First, it was built on a small island connected to the coast by a spit of land that is submerged at high tide. We were warned to consult a tide table before we visited it lest we spend the night there waiting for low tide. Also unusual because the lighthouse and the lighthouse keepers' house are integrated into a single building.
Watch the Video: Eel River Cafe
Inside the restaurant on the wall over the counter was this clock with a rotating ad display. this is straight out of the 50's. So you youngins will never have seen anything quite like it. Talking with the owner, it's been in service since it was installed and has only been down once for repairs.
South of ft Bragg is the Port Cabrillo Light Station. From where we parked, we walked about a mile out to the lighthouse.
Watch the Video: Roll On Columbia Roll On ...
The Columbia here is very deep and very fast. Watch as an ore-carrier navigates downstream at the mercy of the current. Going upstream, full throttle will make about 1 mph progress against the fast current.