Day 6 – 6/24/2017 – Red Bluff, CA to Bandon, OR – 360 Miles
Red Bluff, CA to Bandon, OR – 360 Miles – MAP LINK
The lady that checked us in the pervious afternoon was super slow, but she was nice. She let us park our bikes up front in a blocked off zone. She also said that there were rags and Windex that we could use to clean off our windshields. I took advantage of that in the morning after breakfast, cleaning up our bikes in preparation for potential glamour shots of the bikes on the coast.
We took off and did a quick hop on and off of I-5 to get to CA 36 on the other side of town. CA 36 was immediately a blast to ride. It was an absolute treat for 130 miles all the way to the coast. We stopped along the way for a couple of breaks. Here are some shots from the first break.
Mid-way through, the scenery changed from rolling hills to mountains in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
There was a section west of Dinsmore that was really tight and twisty, and the center stripe went away. I wondered if we were still on the correct road, but the GPS said we were. It looked like they have plans of expanding the road in the future and have started with tearing down trees. We came across a nice little overlook and I told dad I was going to loop back and stop there. We turned and passed it, then planned to do another 180 degree turn to get back on the right side of the road. I pulled on the edge of the black-top to make my turn and stopped as a truck was coming the opposite way. Dad pulled up behind me, and then all of the sudden I heard a commotion behind. I looked back to watch him tip over on his bike. He had pulled off the edge of the back-top to make his turn, and when we went to put his right food down, it was a little too far downhill and once it started going over, he couldn’t save it. I felt bad that it was my idea to make the stop. But, I also gave him a hard time for pulling off the road and basically into the ditch to make the turn. The lady in the truck got a good show as she drove by.
HERE’S THE SCENE, LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD
Thankfully dad didn’t hurt anything on himself other than his pride. It took a little extra effort for us to get the bike upright since it was down at more than a 90 degree angle. We finally completed the turn and pulled off at my intended spot, accessing the damage to the bike. His right mirror was crunched and the saddle bag was scratched up.
And here are the costly shots that I stopped for.
After shaking off the tip-over, we moved on and continued riding towards the coast. The road began to follow a river as we entered the Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park area. It was absolutely beautiful through there, but a bit crowded. We found a little spot to pull over to take in the trees, looking at these giants never gets old.
In Fortuna we intersected with US 101 and headed north. We worked our way through Fortuna, Eureka, and Arcata, just waiting for a grand view of the Pacific. It wasn’t to be just yet, and it was time to look for gas, so we exited US 101 in Trinidad and found a Chevron station. We filled up and then moved under a nice shade tree for a break. We both noticed a guy sitting on the corner by the station, you can just make him out in my picture below, directly above my bike. He had, what looked to be, all of his belongings scattered around him, including a couple jars of cannabis. Dad went into the store and then a couple Sheriffs pulled up, with jet skis in tow. They went into the store, then came out and started talking to the guy. They started walking back to their truck and then the guy started yelling something at them. They came back over to him and I’m assuming they told him to pack up his stuff and leave. They left, then dad came out so I headed into the store to use the restroom. As I was walking by the guy, he asked me where we were from. I told him Houston, and he asked me what I thought of California. It was a very brief conversation and I entered the store. When I came back out, he was in the same spot, but when I walked over to dad he looked at me and asked what in the world I told that guy. I told him I said we were from Houston, and that was about it. Apparently as soon as I went into the store the guy walked over to dad and was speaking in tongues with a few “F” Texas’ thrown in. Dad just kind of stood there shaking his head in agreement and the guy walked back over to his spot. For the rest of the trip, and for all eternity, we will refer to him as the crazy hippie leprechaun. Another guy pulled up on a ratted-out cruiser (I should have taken a picture) that could have been the crazy hippie leprechaun’s uncle. He mumbled something to us and walked across the street. We started to wonder if everyone in Trinidad, CA was a little bit different.
A family from Illinois pulled up next to us in a car. They appeared to be on a road trip. A guy, probably in his mid 20s, was letting the dog walk around. It was then that the crazy hippie leprechaun made his final performance. He had packed up his bag and headed our way. This time he chose the young man for his victim. He noticed their license plate and started aggressively asking him about Illinois. The young man acted as if they guy wasn’t there, and dad and I sat back and watched the show. When the young man wasn’t answering, the CHL started speaking his gibberish and dropping “F” bombs. He finally moved on, and when we looked at the dog we started laughing because it had a very skeptical look on his face. Ha!
With fond thoughts of Trinidad, it was time to move on. We continued north and took a little detour off of US 101 on Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. It’s a 9 mile ride a then meets back up with US 101. It was a scenic little ride through some beautiful redwoods within Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.
We stopped one more time along the parkway because dad wanted a shot of the bikes in front of a tree for perspective.
The next stop was a planned one at the Klamath Tour Thru Tree. When we pulled up to the booth to pay, there was no one there. No worries though, they had clearly written instructions on their signs. Dad put our money in the slot and we headed for the tree.
It was a short, but steep trip there. The paved road took us right to the tree, and did I mention it was steep! There was one car in front of us, so we waited until they took their pictures and then I drove through and took a picture of dad as he went through.
A few miles up the road is Trees of Mystery. We pulled in there, not to do the gondola ride, but because I wanted a picture of the bikes with Paul and Babe.
A couple turns later and we finally hit a good view of the Pacific Ocean.
We ran into several construction zones with the automated signals. It seemed like every time we were able to clear the traffic in front of us we’d catch one these and had to do it all again. We crossed the state line into Oregon and continued north, making our next stop at an overlook just south of Gold Beach.
(Click for larger pano size)
The next attraction I had planned on stopping at was the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. It’s a short 2 mile ride one way down Cape Blanco Road. Access was restricted past a certain point, so we couldn’t get close. The breeze off the ocean was strong here and it was chilly!
There was a guy here flying a RC sailplane. As I was taking the pictures above it went flying by my head, a little too close for comfort.
We rode back out to US 101 and finished off the day’s route, arriving at the Bandon Beach Motel at around 6. We checked in and unloaded our stuff into the room. Mom had told us earlier that the place I was planning on eating at this night closed at 7. It was a mile and a half from the hotel, so we just kept our gear on and headed that way. We found a spot to park on the street and walked down to the Bandon Fish Market.
The line to order was just outside the door, but moved at a reasonable pace. There are maybe 12 tables inside with more picnic tables outside, but we definitely wanted to sit inside. After ordering, a small table opened up and I was able to snag it. Dad ordered his food and then we waited.
It took about 20 minutes until our food came out. Right before it did, we started discussing what we got. I told dad I couldn’t believe he didn’t get fish and chips. He didn’t offer a good explanation, and then said if I’d split some with him, he’d get them to try. So he got back in line, this time shorter and ordered more food. The first round came out, I had ordered jumbo prawns. Dad ordered a shrimp and crab sandwich along with some chowder. As we were eating that, the Rockfish and chips came out. Dad ended up taking half of his sandwich to go.
After eating we walked back to the bikes along the water.
My plan was to get some sunset shots on the beach directly in front of our motel. When we got back to the motel I had a little bit of time to get my stuff together and ready to shoot. At the Bandon Beach Motel, every room has a great view. The rooms are updated enough, but it’s really not about that, it’s about the location. It overlooks the beach and the rocks directly in front of it. I had the choice of several rooms when I called to make the reservations. They asked if I wanted first or second floor, which I chose second, and then if I wanted a better view of the beach or the rocks, which I chose the rocks. Here’s the view from our room.
Dad had taken off to walk around and explore on his own. Once I was ready, I headed out. There was a nice golden light at first.
The stairs in the shot above lead down to the beach, about 120 steps later. I started looking for different angles and photo opportunities along the beach.
As the sun started to get lower, I tried walking for a better view of the sunset over the water, since it was blocked where I was at by the rocks.
There wasn’t a way to get past those rocks on the beach without doing some serious climbing, and that wasn’t going to happen. So I settled for walking around on the south side of the point.
After playing with some longer shots, I broke out the wide angle. It was definitely nice having waterproof riding boots.
I made my way back over to the stairs. Before walking up, these logs and puddle caught my eye. While I was taking pictures here a young couple walked by that I had seen earlier on the beach. He ran through a flock of seagulls and made them take off. I made a comment to him, joking about it and we talked for a bit. They were asking me how I was getting pictures, since it was almost dark and not much light. I gave them a quick lesson on exposures. It turns out that they just picked up moved to Bandon 2 days prior from St. Louis. When I asked them why, they said they wanted to move away from the hustle and experience life at a slower pace. The feeling of jealousy washed over me.
I headed back up, took a few final shots and then went to bed.
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It was filled with bacon. But sure, it could have used more. There's no such thing as too much bacon. 
Anyway, she wanted us to help her draw a "psychic map" to the place in the forest where she planned to do her incantation thing. My 11 y/o daughter was so freaked that she went & hid in the outhouse until the nutty lady left.
about your seagull comment!
