As we reach one of the goals of our trip, to get to the Pacific Coast, we realized that this one place in our country encompasses all of our earth in one small place. From the coast to the heavens in an area of a couple hundred miles. From the coastal waters of Oregon to the majestic trees of the Redwood Forest, the beauty here is breath taking. The ocean spray to the “bark” of sea lions on the rocks. It’s all as if it was a different world. The fog and low clouds along the coast can suck the color from the day while the sun can bring brilliant colors to the shoreline.
We started the day heading out to Astoria Oregon, grabbing a cup of coffee and putting liners in our jackets and rain pants on to warm us from the cold sea air. We worked our way down the coast stopping to shed some gear, and stock up on ice. While leaving to head down the coast, we had our first freak issue arise. As we accelerated to head down the coastal road, we attempted to dodge some debris on the road. As Mike Prince went past it, the debris (Sheets of roofing shingles) flew up into my bike striking me on my shin. We pulled over for a quick check of thing and found some minor scratches and a chunk of shingle wrapped around my engine guard.
We shook that off and got back onto the road. The coast snaked up and down the coast, curving around cliffs and inlets providing spots to turn out and park to view the beauty.
We crossed the border into California, and we were surprised that ALL traffic had to stop for inspections. The inspection was for an agricultural check but the first thing going through our mind was that we would pull up to the gate and the man would say with a German accent, “Let me see your papers” LOL. We stopped off in the town of Eureka to visit the Blue Ox Millworks. The shop is owned by a man, Eric Hollenbeck who opened his shop to challenged kids and also brought his craft to TV and the web through his show, The Craftsman.
We continued south into the Redwoods and were just in awe of the size of the trees as we drove past them. Trees with ten-foot diameter trunks were right at the edge of the pavement and made us feel so small it was ridiculous. The forest stretched for miles and around each corner was another amazing cluster of giants.
