DAY 8

Its hard to believe we were in San Francisco just a week ago.  We have already made it up into the chewy nougat of Oregon's coast. 

The first half of this day was spent riding through the Oregon dunes recreation area. I didn't even know Oregon had dunes. But they have a whole lot of them. 

This picture below is just north of Florence, one of the bigger coastal Oregon cities. 

This stretch was bbeeeaaaauuuutiful. I wish I had gotten more pictures. 

The giant rock in the picture below is called Seal Rock. Why? I dont know. 

After about 80 miles we landed in the South Beach campground in Newport. We quickly found out that this is the home of the Rogue brewery so we had no choice but to have a beer.

DAY 7

Oregon continues to make me say ooooooo. We rode through some foggy rural areas but eventually made it back to the coast. 

The weather cleared up around noon as we rode up a big hill through a surprisingly secluded area. 

It had some nice views from the top.  

This was one of the most scenic and secluded roads so far. At one point we passed by a couple groups of people shooting guns at who knows what. Its like the wild west out here. 

Just kidding sort of. After around 80 miles we made it to William Tugman SP around 3:00. This was the earliest we ever made it to camp so we had some time to relax and take a swim in the lake. 

And free shower!!!

DAY 6

Day 6 was a big day becausewe finally crossed our first border.

After buying some grocies (with no sales tax!!!!) We left Bookings, Oregon. This area is what is known as a "banana belt", which basically means the weather is real nice.

We had planned to take it easy anyway, but if was hard not to stop every couple of miles to see views like these. 

Easily one of my favorite stretches so far

Once we actually got down to sea level,that famous southbound wind finally tried to punish us for riding the opposite way as alllll the other cyclists. But we're tough. 

This light day turned into another big one when we realized that the state park we wanted to stay at didn't have camping. 

We ended up riding 30 miles more than we had planned to which put us at around 80 miles for the day. Our first experience in an Oregon state park was beautiful. We stayed in humbug mountain SP. Hiker/bikers are treated like kings. 

Free showers!

DAY 5

On our fifth day we started in Eureka CA. We rode through a real nice bike path just north of Arcata (which is a real cool town with a Santa cruz-y feel to it).

We climbed up highway 101 and fought a few headwinds and saw some pretty stuff. Its real lush up there.

There were a few tourist traps along the way. This giant Paul Bunyan was saying creepy things so we saw it and promptly left.  "Can I have a bite of that ice cream cone?"

Here's the ocean 

Our original plan to have a light day didn't pan out. But it was alright because after almost 90 miles we landed in a great campsite in the mountains called mill creek.

DAY 4

On our fourth day of riding we had the pleasure of cruising through the Avenue of the Giants, a 33 mile stretch of smooth road which makes through a beautiful redwood forest. My pictures really Dont do it justice.

At the end of the avenue we hit an organic farm stand where we treated ourselves to homegown homemade blackberry popcicles.

We rode through a huuuge stretch of farmland with a whole bunch of cows. 

Moooooooo

After a total of roughly 80 miles we set up camp in a backyard at a generous stranger's home in Eureka.

DAY 3

We woke up in a thick cloud of fog over Mendocino county. It stayed overcast all day in a real beautiful way. 

We saw the Pacific ocean. 

A lot.

The day ended with a huge climb up and away from the coast all the way into lower Humboldt county. The scenery got real lush and green and I didn't take any good pictures. We landed in Richardson grove for the night. This area is full of old growth redwoods and is definitely worth checking out. 

We ended the day with a swim/shower in the Eel river.

DAY 2

Day 2 was a big day. We woke up bright and early and scooted out of bodega bay. This section of highway 1 is a real treat. 

Its full of gorgeous views and great climbs and decents. 

About 60 miles in we hit Point Arena, a small coastal town. Here, my mom's friend Lisa runs a luscious jam and jelly kitchen out of her house. She was nice enough to show us around and let us sample a bunch of her creations. She also gave us a jar of golden raspberry jam which was made into several tasty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

After a total of roughly 90 miles we set up camp in Van Dam me state park