Coos Bay, Oregon to Long Beach, Washington – 11th July 2021
This morning I am treated to a full breakfast and lovely it was too. I do get a chance to chat with Gary and the rest of the family a little more before it is time to get going. Gary has had to go out so unfortunately missed the groupie
Scooter then jumps on the bike and zooms up the gravel mountain while I am taken up in the pick up and dropped at the top. Here is a photo they sent to me
as you can see I am well wrapped up as despite the sunshine it is actually pretty chilly.. well for me at least.
I am looking forward to the ride today as this will be the last and arguably most rugged and spectacular part of the Oregon coastline, which includes Thor’s Well… mmmm interesting.
What more can I say… the photos just do not do it justice at all
As I get further north I come across a sign for a lighthouse so pull into the car park for a look…
believe it or not there is Heceta Head Lighthouse behind the trees just to the left of the light keepers cottage. However, behind me is the spectacular bridge that I have just ridden across.
I stop for a couple of photos on the way up to Thor’s Well
Then I arrive at the spot where Thor’s Well is situated and am able to get a few photos… I don’t have time to go down to the shore as it is a fairly long walk along a designated pathway and I need to be at my next stop which is just across the State line into Washington at Long Beach and I’d really like to get there before dark. I have booked a motel there for 2 days to catch up my blog and do some Dhobi… a necessary expense.
Thor’s Well – in action 
…almost…Tn
To be honest Thor’s Well is slightly underwhelming, I think the sea level is too low to really show off the spectacular wave action usually caught in promotional photographs such as these below
Pretty awesome, but I arrived at the wrong time… of course.
Onwards and upwards. All along the coast and for the past several days I have seen these sign posts
however they are now becoming increasing frequent, even to the point of entering and leaving with monotonous regularity, like I would leave one Tsunami zone only to enter another one just 500m later… very odd.
I did ask someone about it and because the western seaboard is directly opposite to Japan, when there is an earthquake there the tidal wave or Tsunami impacts on this coast. Indeed the relatively recent major earthquake there devastated this coastline.
That makes for some interesting thoughts while riding along.. of course I would have no warning of an impending Tsunami and, potentially, a wall of water could come crashing down on me at any moment… not to catastrophize at all.. ahem.
Next I am passing through Newport
and Lincoln City where the road turns inland passing through great sounding places like Beaver, Hemlock and Tillamook. The road then swings back out to the coast taking me through Bay City, (is that where the Rollers got their name?), Garibaldi, Brighton, Seaside and as dusk is falling I am almost at Astoria the last town before the Stateline
But first there is a longish causeway and bridge to cross into Astoria itself
and the wind has really started to pick up in the last 10 miles or so.
Over ok and into Astoria, I immediately see the sky bridge that is going across the Columbia River… this is a blooming monster, so not looking forward to it at all.
Am safely across of course but it was a little bit heart stopping for sure.
Long Beach is a very small town, somehow I think I was expecting Blackpool, very quaint and quirky but absolutely tiny. My motel is actually next door to the iconic arch with the well known American phrase “World famous” well almost. I don’t know if it is or not, maybe in the US ‘world’ but not sure about the whole world, but I guess it could be, so why not shout about it.
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