Here's an overview of our fantastic eight day, 1,739 mile, road trip up the Oregon coast and across the state on the R1200GS. The many stories and stops to tell about are just too much for one post. So, I'll be writing a few posts on this trip, but for now, I will begin at the beginning.
I left on a Friday morning planning to be in Crescent City, California by Saturday evening. Nikki was already in Crescent City staying with family. Our plan was to meet up and ride Highway 101 north along the Oregon coast. We had camping reservations at Newport and Cannon Beach. Next, we would ride through Portland and then back to Idaho. The week we had planned for this seemed like plenty of time.
On my first day of solo riding through barren the expanse of eastern Oregon, I visited Fort Rock and Crater Lake National Park. The long day of riding ended in Grant's Pass, Oregon. On Saturday, I passed through the redwood forests of northern California and arrived in Crescent City as planned.
On Monday morning with beautiful sunshine overhead, Nikki and I headed up the coast with Newport, Oregon as our destination. Along the way we had crab for lunch and spent some time at Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. By evening we had reached Newport and we camped overnight at South Beach State Park.
The following day we continued north toward Cannon Beach and the famous Haystack Rock. By the time we reached the camp ground that evening, we were talking about going further north. We had heard many good things about the city of Astoria and being so close, it was difficult to pass up the opportunity for a visit.
After camping at Cannon Beach, we rode north to Astoria and crossed the Astoria-Megler bridge into Washington. This was our finish to traveling the entire Oregon coast on Highway 101. Astoria was everything we had heard, and more. We visited as many sights as time allowed. Then with the late afternoon sun sliding down toward the Pacific, we headed east on Highway 30 to I-5, then down to Portland.
After Portland we continued east with several stops to see the many beautiful waterfalls along Highway 30 in the Columbia River gorge. After a brief stop at Cascade Locks and the Bridge of the Gods, we kept heading east and reached the historic town of Pendleton just after dark. We had planned to return home the following day, but plans change.
We were having a great time on the road and neither of us wanted the trip to end. We took most of a day seeing the sights of Pendleton and rode on to Baker City where we spent another night. After the Baker City stop we reached home the following afternoon, tired, but wishing we had more time to spend on the road.
I left on a Friday morning planning to be in Crescent City, California by Saturday evening. Nikki was already in Crescent City staying with family. Our plan was to meet up and ride Highway 101 north along the Oregon coast. We had camping reservations at Newport and Cannon Beach. Next, we would ride through Portland and then back to Idaho. The week we had planned for this seemed like plenty of time.
On my first day of solo riding through barren the expanse of eastern Oregon, I visited Fort Rock and Crater Lake National Park. The long day of riding ended in Grant's Pass, Oregon. On Saturday, I passed through the redwood forests of northern California and arrived in Crescent City as planned.
The following day we continued north toward Cannon Beach and the famous Haystack Rock. By the time we reached the camp ground that evening, we were talking about going further north. We had heard many good things about the city of Astoria and being so close, it was difficult to pass up the opportunity for a visit.
After camping at Cannon Beach, we rode north to Astoria and crossed the Astoria-Megler bridge into Washington. This was our finish to traveling the entire Oregon coast on Highway 101. Astoria was everything we had heard, and more. We visited as many sights as time allowed. Then with the late afternoon sun sliding down toward the Pacific, we headed east on Highway 30 to I-5, then down to Portland.
After Portland we continued east with several stops to see the many beautiful waterfalls along Highway 30 in the Columbia River gorge. After a brief stop at Cascade Locks and the Bridge of the Gods, we kept heading east and reached the historic town of Pendleton just after dark. We had planned to return home the following day, but plans change.
We were having a great time on the road and neither of us wanted the trip to end. We took most of a day seeing the sights of Pendleton and rode on to Baker City where we spent another night. After the Baker City stop we reached home the following afternoon, tired, but wishing we had more time to spend on the road.
