Day 21

Picture 1 shows the Olympic mountains. Picture 2 shows the same mountains a little more to the west. Carrie Glacier is visible in this picture. Picture 3 is looking toward Victoria, British Columbia which is across Puget Sound beyond the trees. Pictue 4 is one of several ships that were docked in Port Angeles.

This morning the sky was overcast and the temperature was in the 50s when I headed out to ride to Port Angeles and the Olympic National Park. I was dressed for the cold because the temperature was supposed to be even cooler at Port Angeles. I had on my long johns, jeans, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, my leather jacket, and my leather chaps. After about 9 miles on the road it began to drizzle so I stopped and put on my rain suit over everything else. For the entire ride to Port Angeles the sky remained overcast and it drizzled on and off the entire time. Needless to say, even with all the clothes I had on, I was freezing; especially my hands, because I did not have insulated gloves. On the way into Port Angeles, I was looking around for a Wal-Mart so that I could by another set of gloves and possibly a sweatshirt. Instead, however, the clouds opened up and the sun peeked through bringing a little warmth to the air so I decided that I might not need the extra things after all. Instead I headed right to the Olympic National Park information center to find out how best to see the park with what little time I had left that day. They suggested that I ride up to Hurricane Ridge which was a 45 minute ride up into the mountains. From there I would be able to get a great view of the Olympic Mountains, Mount Olympus (the tallest peak in the mountains), several glaciers, and from across the road, I would also be able to view the city of Victoria, British Columbia.
The park ranger at the information desk commented that many visitors to Hurricane Ridge tell her how much this area looks like the Swiss Alps. When I arrived at the site, I could see why people would think that. Although I have never been to the Alps, the pictures I have seen of them look just like the mountains here. They were absolutely beautiful. I was also surprised by the fact that many of the kids that were walking around in the area were singing, “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” I guess everyone was thinking about the Alps while they were there.
Although the trip up was cold, the scenery was great. I was on US101 which paralleled Hood Canal which is part of Puget Sound. US101 passed through numerous fishing villages along the way. It reminded me a lot of the Upper Peninsula around Munising and Grand Island and also along Keweenaw Bay. The woods along that area were very dense and many of the trees and large boulders were covered with a very thick bright green moss.
If you plan to come to the Olympic National Park, be sure to set aside at least two full days for exploring. I was trying to do it in one day, and part of that was spent just traveling to the park. I may have to stay another day to go back to Olympic because I was not able to even get to the rain forest portion of the park and that is one of the most unique features of this area because it is the only rain forest in the U.S.

Day 20

After a wonderful evening with David and Cheri Herr and their family and a wonderful breakfast this morning, I was off again; this time headed north into Washington state and Mount Saint Helen. The weather was cloudy and overcast and after about 20 miles it started to drizzle a little so I stopped at a gas station to put on my rain suit. Luckily it never did really rain at all but it was cool enough to make me glad I had on my rain suit for the extra warmth. It stayed cloud and cool all the way to the Mount Saint Helen information center. At the center, they were saying that it was too cloudy to see the mountain today but it could possibly clear up later this afternoon. The closest mountain observation post was still 47 miles away with an estimated drive time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. After listening to a park ranger presentation about the history of Mount Saint Helen, I was ready to head up to the mountain. In addition to being 47 miles to get there, it was also a climb in elevation of about 4000 feet. The information attendant assured me that the drive was worth the time even if the mountain was not visible. I have to admit, he was absolutely right about the ride. It has to rank among the best rides that I have had so far on the trip; and I have had some good ones. About 20 miles into to the trip, I stopped at another information center and observation deck. This one overlooked the north fork of the Toutle River. The mountains on either side of the river were green and lush with fir trees but the valley bottom still bore the scars of the flood and effects of the volcanic eruption. The elevation here was about 2600 feet and the cloud cover was just above us. After viewing some of the exhibits there I headed onward and upward. Eventually the rise in elevation took me into the clouds and the visibility was terrible, but not as bad as I experienced at the Blue Ridge Parkway last year. It didn’t take long however until I emerged above the clouds to a bright sunny sky and my first view of Mount Saint Helen. I stopped as soon as I could to get a picture of the mountain before the clouds covered it up again. Well the clouds never did come back so I got several good pictures of the mountain from a much closer vantage point.
After leaving Mount Saint Helen’s, I then headed to my niece’s house in Yelm, WA. I will probably be at her place for a couple of days. Tomorrow I am heading up to the Olympic National Park.

Day 19

This morning I left Coos Bay at 9:00 a.m. it was in the 50s so I had my long underwear on along with the usual leather outer covering. It was sunny but it stayed cool along the coast until I headed inland at about 1:30 in the afternoon. From the time I left Coos Bay until about 10 miles north of Florence, US-101 stayed pretty much away from the coast with the exceptions of a short glimpse of the ocean once in a while. For that entire time, there were sand dunes just to my left that even came right up to the back of some of the stores in the towns that lined 101. This meant that there was pretty much a continuous dune from Coos Bay to Florence, a distance of about 60 miles, and it appeared that most of it was open to dune buggy riding. In Winchester there was even a Dune Buggy Festival going on this week, so there were dune buggies, quads, and four wheelers all over the place.

In Florence I came across a delightful little restaurant that caught my eye as I rode by. It was called “Hot Rod Grill.” I have included several pictures of it because it was so unique. It reminded me of several of the places I saw along Route 66, but it was as if it was on steroids. There were classic cars all over the place both on and in the building. There were vintage gas station memorabilia through out the store. Even the seats at the counter were made of motorcycle seats. Two of the booths inside were actual automobiles that had the booths inside the car. You can see a picture of one of those above. When I asked the waitress where I might begin to see the coast, she said that I would see it in about 10 miles and the road would follow the coast for quite a while after that. Sure enough, she was right and I did eventually get to the coast and it was beautiful. I eventually stopped at the Sea Lion Caves and overlook. From their store you could see quite a few sea lions playing in the surf but they were so far down that it was difficult to get a good picture of them. You could pay a fee to get to a closer vantage point, but I opted to skip the walk down because I knew it is also accompanied by a walk back up. From the store there, it was possible to see a delightful lighthouse just to the north. I got a pretty decent picture of it which you can see above.

Eventually I made it to Lincoln City which is where I started to head inland to meet up with my second cousin, David Herr. David owns The Newberg Bike Shoppe in Newberg, OR. After visiting with him at the store, I eventually headed to David’s house in Dundee where I met his family: his wife Cheri, his twin sons, Martin and Garret, his wife’s parents, Keith and Sharon Freeman, and his niece Hanna. They treated me to a great BBQ chicken meal and made me feel right at home. We had a great time visiting and sharing stories about family and travels. The twins were fascinated by the motorcycle so I got a picture of the two of them sitting on the bike.

Day 18

Picture 1 - Beach picture at Bandon, OR. Picture 2 - Face Rock at Bandond. Picture 3 - A really beautiful oceangoing yatch in Coos Bay, OR. Picture 4 - Unique bridge design in Coos Bay. Picture 5 - Coos Bay Dunes Recreational Area.

Well I am back on the road again after spending two full days in Medford, OR. On the way out of town I took a short trip to Jacksonville, OR. Jacksonville is a picture-perfect historic village and center for musical arts in the heart of Oregon's Wine Country. Betty and her sons highly recommended that I take some time to see the town and some of the beautiful homes that can be found there. Jacksonville is also the home of the Gary West Artisan Food Store and production facility. Gary West Foods produces many food products but is best known for making the best beef jerky in the world. They have been featured on numerous national TV shows that have promoted their products. I did a little tasting at the store before purchasing any, but since beef jerky is my main food when I ride, I couldn’t resist buying two pounds of their jerky. I then rode through one the housing areas in Jacksonville and I was really impressed by the homes. The entire community looked like all the houses were Victorian era or Cape Cod type design (but everything was new construction). Every home was immaculate and to set it all off the yards, streets, and landscaping were built and designed to match the beauty of the homes. I was totally impressed.

When I left Medford the temperature was very pleasant. Within about an hour or two, I could feel the temperature begin to drop significantly. My guess is that it was the altitude that was doing it, but I am not totally sure. I eventually had to stop and put on a long sleeve shirt and my leather jacket. Once I turned west, I was heading down hill but I was also getting closer to the ocean, so the temperature just continued to drop the rest of the day. Riding through the Oregon Mountains was absolutely beautiful. The tree covered hills and the beautiful valleys kept me mind active as I soaked up the beauty of the ride. I eventually made it to the coast at a town called Bandon, OR. Once there I headed to the ocean to find “Face Rock.” Face Rock is a large outcropping of rock in the ocean that resembles the profile of a person’s face. You can see it in Picture 2 above. Bandon has a nice little historic downtown area with numerous gift shops, restaurants, and a very active marina. Commercial fishing and charter fishing are quite active here. It was a nice town, but I decided it was too early to quit riding so I headed up the coast to Coos Bay to find lodging for the night.

Highway 101 from Bandon to Coos Bay ran inland several miles so I did not have much chance to see the Oregon coastline. What I have seen of it, however, gives me the feeling that it is going to be a sight to behold as I continue north tomorrow. At Bandon I cold see that there was definitely more beach than anything I had seen in California (Picture 1) and the beach sand looks a lot more like the beaches on Lake Michigan back home. In Coos Bay, there is a huge dunes recreational area that allows dune buggies and other off-road vehicles (see picture 5)much like the State Park in Mears, Michigan. Getting to the Dunes area I had to cross a delightful old bridge that crossed the huge harbor that is located at Coos Bay. This bridge is large enough to allow ocean going vessels to pass beneath it. Its architecture was quite unique. It was like riding through a cathedral. You can see it in picture 4 above.

Day 17

Picture 1- One of the Hellcat Jet Boats. Picturte 2 - the OK Corral Lodge. Picture 3 Jeff Case and Betty. Picture 4 - Betty's son Roger Case on the right and his friend Larry. Picture 5 - Steve Case and Peggy. Picture 6 - The Case Coffee Shop which is owned by Steve's son Tim.

Yesterday was a milestone on my trip. My odometer turned over 4,000 miles since I left Michigan 16 days ago. Today I did not ride the motorcycle at all, but I still had a great day. Betty and I went to Grants Pass to ride the Hellcat Jet Boats on the Rogue River. This is a 36 mile trip all together with a break in the middle to enjoy a wonderful BBQ chicken dinner at the OK Corral. The lunch was great, the weather was perfect, and the ride was wonderful. The temperature today was right around 100 but it was a little cooler on the river and the antics of the jet boat pilot provided us with ample opportunities to spray us with water which helped to this a perfect day. The area we were on at the Rogue River is where two movies were filmed. One was “Rooster Cogburn” staring John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn, and the other was “The River Wild” with Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon. The canyon area, which is as far as we went on the river, was absolutely beautiful and this was the site where both movies were filmed.

The jet boats were 36 feet long and accommodated at least 50 people. There were 4 boats on the river while we were there. At times the boats would stop real fast which would make them nosedive into the water causing a big spray of water to shoot over the bow. At other times the boat would turn real sharply to the left or right causing it to do a 360 degree turn in the river and; this time causing water to wash up over the side of the boat. We did this about 7 or 8 times on the trip and it was great fun. I took quite a bit of video along the river on the ride, including during some of the 360 degree turns. We also saw quite a bit of wildlife along the way. We saw osprey, blue herons, turkey vultures, egrets, ducks, geese, deer, turtles, and more. All in all, it was a fantastic experience that I would recommend to anyone if you are in the southwestern Oregon area.

That morning, I had the opportunity to meet Betty’s son Jeff, and later in the evening we went to visit a couple more of Betty’s kids. I was able to meet her son Roger and her other son Steve and his wife Peggy. At Steve’s we also met Steve’s son Tim and his wife Kati. Tim and Kati own a neat little coffee shop on Siskiyou Blvd. in Ashland right across from Southern Oregon State College. The store is called Case Coffee Shop.

Day 16

Picture 1 - Videa Falls which comes out of the east rim of Crater Lake. Picture 2 - Entrance to Crater Lake. Picture 3 - Wizard Island in Crater Lake (this is one of the newest formations in the Lake - 1000 to 2000 years old). Picture 4 - Phanton Ship. This is the remains of the oldest of the area volcanos that had formed the area (400,000 years old). Picture 5 - Picture of the lake. Picture 6 - That's me with Wizard Island in the background.

This morning in Medford, the temperature was in the mid to upper 70s and it was expected to go up to 100. I was headed up to Crater Lake which is at least 6000 feet higher in elevation than Medford. As I began to rise up in elevation the scenery around me began to improve exponentially. For miles I was paralleling the Rogue River as I headed toward Crater Lake. This is a very beautiful and rugged river. I stopped at one point to view the Rogue River Gorge. This is a 500 foot long stretch of the river that was created by the collapse of lava tubes under the earth. I was impressed with its beauty but I was looking forward to the beauty that was still ahead – Crater Lake.

The woods that lined both sides of the road were just beautiful, but as I went up in elevation the vistas of the surrounding hills and valleys in all directions were as beautiful as anything I have seen on this trip. Eventually, I arrived at Crater Lake. A quick stop at the information center to get some information and view a quick movie about the lake was very helpful in giving me some background information about the lake and then on to the lake. The video describe how blue the lake was and it did not exaggerate. The blue is like no other lake I have ever seen. Some facts about Crater Lake: the lake elevation is 6,173 feet, the rim elevation ranges between 7,000 to just over 8,000 feet. The lake depth is 1,935 feet. It is the deepest lake in North America.

The weather at the lake could not have been more perfect today. I would guess that it was in the low 80s and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky in any direction. This made the riding just delightful and the picture taking perfect. When I headed back to Medford I could feel the temperature rising as I descended down the mountain. About 30 miles from Medford I could see a large cloud moving in my direction. At one point it started to rain, but not enough to warrant putting on my rain suit. Actually the few rain drops that did come felt kind of good in the 100 degree heat.

Tomorrow, Betty and I are going to Grants Pass to get a ride on the Hellcat Jet Boats that provide tours on the Rogue River. This is a 3 hour tour. Midway on the adventure we will be treated to a BBQ chicken lunch at the OK Corral dock overlooking the beautiful Rogue River.

Day 15

Picture 1 is the "Big Tree" in the Redwood National Park. Picture 2 is me by another big tree. Picture 3 is an unusual tree I saw in the RNP (Read more on this below). Picture 4 is Lane, Hanna and Betty. Picture 5 is Rod with his new Ultra Classic. [DON'T FORGET, YOU CAN ENLARGE THE PICS BY CLICKING ON THEM]

This morning I left Eureka, CA to head up through the Redwood National Park and eventually end up in Medford, OR where Betty Case lives. Betty is the sister of my mother-in-law. Not far out of Eureka I came upon a beach so I thought I might stop and take a picture. There were two other bikers stopped there so I pulled up along side of them. They were a couple from Denmark. I am still amazed at how many Europeans and other foreigners that I have seen and met on this trip. Shortly after meeting up with them I stopped at the Redwood NP information center to find out the best route through the park. After watching a short movie on the Redwood NP, I headed out into the park and took the first suggested detour which was the Newton Drury Scenic Bypass. I can’t say that it was any better than the “Avenue of the Giants” that I saw yesterday but it was just as good and I stopped at several of the special turnouts to see some of the unusual trees that were highlighted along the way. First there was the “Big Tree.” It was only a short walk into the woods to get to it but along the way there were some mighty impressive trees as well and I couldn’t help but take my picture with some of them. There was also a really unusual tree that proved to me, at least, that trees do have gender. This was a mighty big and obviously “male” tree. I just couldn’t keep my self from saying, “Wow! Look at the size of that thing.” You can see it in picture 3 above.

After leaving the Drury Bypass, I took the next suggested bypass which was at Requa. This bypass takes you out to the ocean on a very high hill at the mouth of the Klamath River. It is supposed to have spectacular views and is a good place to view seals and also whales when the whales are in season. Today, unfortunately, all I saw was fog, so back down the mountain and on toward Crescent City where I would eventually leave the park and head toward Grant Pass and Medford, OR. I was on CA-199 which follows the Smith River. This river had some spectacular gorges and some neat rapids. Unfortunately the road was rather twisty and it was necessary for me to keep my eyes on the road so I could not get the full benefit of its beauty. I did stop and take some pictures, but this was not in the best parts.

By 4:00 I arrived at Betty’s house. Two of her sons stopped by to say hello and one of her grand daughters: Lane and his daughter Hanna and then Rod. Later that evening Rod and his girlfriend Cindy took us out to dinner at the Roadhouse restaurant. Both Lane and Rod are bikers. Rod just got a new 2007 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic. It is an impressive bike. He and Cindy will be riding it to Sturgis this year. I wish them a great trip.