Seven days and 2,260 miles. We just got back from an epic road trip to the Oregon Coast, July 2-8, 2016. Along the way we sped across sagebrush plains, were ravaged by mosquitoes, played in mountain lakes shadowed by dormant volcanoes, camped on sand dunes (and got stuck!), ate local fried razor clams, photographed lighthouses, stayed in cowboy towns and had an al fresco dinner in the parking lot of a strip mall. Yeah, that's a vacation!
We left Salt Lake City shortly after noon on Saturday, July 2 and drove the five hours to the mountains of the Boise National Forest. There we found a narrow forest trail that led to a ridgetop where we set the parking brake and enjoyed a night of expansive views, ravenous mosquitoes and unadulterated solitude.
For Day 2 we left I-84 at Ontario, Oregon and followed the winding Malheur River to the town of Bend. We tried to connect with schubwa for a beer, but he was too busy having fun kite surfing in the Gorge. After bringing the dogs to Sparks Lake behind Mt. Bachelor we returned to town and checked into a hotel before dining at 900 Wall downtown.
Day 3 led us across the Cascades to Springfield in the Willamette Valley before crossing the Coast Mountains to the tiny town of Winchester Bay. Here we aired down the truck tires and abandoned the asphalt in favor of gliding across the sand dunes of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. I had chosen dispersed camping site 57, as far as possible from the entrance. These aren't campsites like you'd find in a campground; rather, they're just a post in the sand that you have to camp within 150 feet of, nearly out of sight of your nearest neighbor. I overshot my objective and came to a stop as the truck immediately sank into deeper, softer sand. Without a locking differential I had to break out my shovel and spend 20 minutes digging and cursing before I was able to free the beast, turn around and set up camp where we were supposed to be -- but not before taking about 10,000 miles off my clutch.
Here's a link to a Google Photo Sphere that I took on the beach near our camp in the Umpqua Sand Camping area of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (apologies for the poor stitching!).
Day 4 would be our first day following the coast north, stopping for a fresh seafood lunch before arriving at Beachside State Park for another night of seaside camping.
We'd complete the Oregon Coast on Day 5, spending the night camping at Fort Stevens State Park after leaving Route 101 and following the more rural Three Capes Scenic Byway instead.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ6w__2qnOc[/video]
On day six we visited the 100-plus year-old wreck of the Peter Iredale, and the mouth of the Columbia River before actually driving on the beach for a few miles. We then passed through the working fishing village of Astoria (and grabbed some house-smoked wild sockeye at Josephson's SmokeHouse) and headed across the Columbia River into Washington. It poured a steady rain as we visited Cape Disappointment before starting our drive eastward toward home.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws_JXBLro_o[/video]
We'd intended to overnight in Hood River, but wanting to chop some more driving time off our final day we ended up in a motel in the western cowboy town of Pendleton, Oregon instead. That was a good decision, for Day 7 was our marathon drive back home essentially following the original Oregon Trail route. We rolled into the garage around 1 a.m. last night.
We left Salt Lake City shortly after noon on Saturday, July 2 and drove the five hours to the mountains of the Boise National Forest. There we found a narrow forest trail that led to a ridgetop where we set the parking brake and enjoyed a night of expansive views, ravenous mosquitoes and unadulterated solitude.
For Day 2 we left I-84 at Ontario, Oregon and followed the winding Malheur River to the town of Bend. We tried to connect with schubwa for a beer, but he was too busy having fun kite surfing in the Gorge. After bringing the dogs to Sparks Lake behind Mt. Bachelor we returned to town and checked into a hotel before dining at 900 Wall downtown.
Day 3 led us across the Cascades to Springfield in the Willamette Valley before crossing the Coast Mountains to the tiny town of Winchester Bay. Here we aired down the truck tires and abandoned the asphalt in favor of gliding across the sand dunes of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. I had chosen dispersed camping site 57, as far as possible from the entrance. These aren't campsites like you'd find in a campground; rather, they're just a post in the sand that you have to camp within 150 feet of, nearly out of sight of your nearest neighbor. I overshot my objective and came to a stop as the truck immediately sank into deeper, softer sand. Without a locking differential I had to break out my shovel and spend 20 minutes digging and cursing before I was able to free the beast, turn around and set up camp where we were supposed to be -- but not before taking about 10,000 miles off my clutch.
Here's a link to a Google Photo Sphere that I took on the beach near our camp in the Umpqua Sand Camping area of Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (apologies for the poor stitching!).
Day 4 would be our first day following the coast north, stopping for a fresh seafood lunch before arriving at Beachside State Park for another night of seaside camping.
We'd complete the Oregon Coast on Day 5, spending the night camping at Fort Stevens State Park after leaving Route 101 and following the more rural Three Capes Scenic Byway instead.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ6w__2qnOc[/video]
On day six we visited the 100-plus year-old wreck of the Peter Iredale, and the mouth of the Columbia River before actually driving on the beach for a few miles. We then passed through the working fishing village of Astoria (and grabbed some house-smoked wild sockeye at Josephson's SmokeHouse) and headed across the Columbia River into Washington. It poured a steady rain as we visited Cape Disappointment before starting our drive eastward toward home.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws_JXBLro_o[/video]
We'd intended to overnight in Hood River, but wanting to chop some more driving time off our final day we ended up in a motel in the western cowboy town of Pendleton, Oregon instead. That was a good decision, for Day 7 was our marathon drive back home essentially following the original Oregon Trail route. We rolled into the garage around 1 a.m. last night.
