Carl G Washburne State Park, Oregon to Sunset Bay State Park, Oregon

75 miles - the hard way!

May 6, 2014
Carl G Washburne State Park, Oregon to Sunset Bay State Park, Oregon
75 miles

We began the day with a steep climb and just as we were getting grumpy we were treated to the Cape Creek Tunnel - we got to push a button to let cars know there were bikes in the tunnel.  We were really excited at the bike friendly concept, yet also terrified at the thought that drivers might not notice or care.

Cape Creek Tunnel, Oregon

After surviving the tunnel, we continued to climb and were rewarded with stunning views of the Heceta Head Lighthouse.  This lighthouse is a working lighthouse and said to be the most photographed light house in the USA.  It is also the brightest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast.

Heceta Head Light House 

We continued to work hard climbing to earn the miles and finally descended into Florence where we treated ourselves to a romantic second breakfast, curbside at Freddy Meyer's.  True to form, as I was in shopping for the morning feast, the bike magnets began attracting the curious.  Rob managed to gather quite a crowd and by the time I arrived back at the bikes the tales were taller than the upcoming hills!

The morning route took us by the Oregon sand dunes...miles and miles of sand!  We had to stop at Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park and play in the dunes...they were irresistible.  There are actually two miles of sand dunes between the park and the ocean.  Plenty of room to play and explore.

Sand dunes at Jessie M. Honeyman State Park

As we continued on, we found ourselves in forest and were surprised to see the most magnificent rhododendrums growing wild.

Our afternoon ride was less exciting as we left the coast and rode inland.  Unfortunately, the traffic on 101 was quite heavy and by the time we reached Winchester we were relieved at the opportunity to travel along the back roads.  We enjoyed a quick visit to the Umpqua Lighthouse and Whale Watching station.

Umpqua Lighthouse - Oregon

It was a long, hard day, but we were determined to arrive at Sunset Bay State Park. As we approached North Bend and the final leg, there was only one obstacle in our way - the Conde B. McCullough Memorial Bridge.  The bridge is 5305 feet long and does not feature a bike lane.  We took one look at the bridge, and immediately memories of a terrifying bridge experience during last years tour came flooding back.  Unfortunately, it was rush hour and the logging trucks were screaming over the bridge.  We decided to take a shot at hitching a ride.  We backtracked to a safe spot, stuck out our thumbs and our guardian angel, his dog Goose and a big, pickup truck came to the rescue.  He loaded up our bikes and drove us over the bridge.  What a relief!

The last few miles to the campsite were uneventful...we even managed a quick stop at Dairy Queen.  About time I say....we have been riding for 5 days and this is our first ice cream stop.  Things will have to change!

Sunset Bay State Park, Oregon

Giggle of the day:

One of the old timers we were chatting with at our Freddy Meyer pit stop excitedly shared stories of his youth.  When he was seventeen he loaded up his backpack and left Missouri with his life savings.  $200  His goal was to make it to California.  The attraction - bikinis!  He had fallen in love with Annette Funicello and all the gals in the Beach Blanket Bingo movie and was determined to head to the coast and track the ladies down.  We will leave it to your imagination as to how the story ends....