Daddy Daughter Cycle Ride Day 10

Daily Stats:

Time of Departure: 8:10 AM                                   

Departure City: Gold Beach, Oregon

Time of Arrival: 6:38 PM        

Arrival City: Sisters/Bend, Oregon

Total Travel Time: 10 hours 28  minutes (7 hrs 06 min on bike)

TOTAL MILAGE: 334.0 miles

Wow...Oregon has some beautiful and picturesque scenery along the coastline and along the McKenzie River (right through Eugene). We were both in awe during our drive today and are DEFINITELY vacationing here for longer than a few days.

Getting ready to leave Gold Beach.

We started this morning not really sure what to expect since we didn’t really plan our trek through Oregon, as much as we did in California. Our friend, Rick, has been directing us on where to go, how to travel, etc. We are extremely grateful for all of his advice on where to travel because as I have mentioned...BEAUTIFUL! 

Oregon Coast

We drove today along the coastline for a couple of hours north of Gold Beach to Florence, OR, which is where the Oregon Dunes are located and are quite fascinating to drive along. We didn’t get to see much of the early coastline (too foggy), but were quite happy that today was clear skies, though still freezing. Along the way, we drove thru Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, which apparently is pretty well known among golfers and, as I am not one, didn’t know what the hype was all about. But hey, I can say I have seen the Bandon Dunes Golf Courses (their are 4, 18-hole courses).

Entrance sign

Then it was off to the Sea Lion Cave, which is the largest sea lion cave in the world. Not going to lie, the cave, well, a little on the stinky side, but quite a sight to see. Its hard to imagine these massive male sea lions (up to 2400 lbs), can climb up on those rocks. I am glad we went the 11-miles off course to see them. There is also a sea lion lookout, which is where you can lookout onto the “hook” (shoreline) where the sea lions breed and “hangout”. As they were in breeding season, we could heard the males hollering. Another cool touristy thing I can check off my list.

Sea Lion Cave

From Florence, it was a straight shot along HWY 126, bordering the McKenzie River, to Sisters. We drove though stunning rainforest mountains and got to see the destruction from the 2003 forest fire that occurred in the Deschutes National Forest. It’s pretty upsetting, especially when you compare their 100,000 acres to the 500,000 acres that were destroyed in the Wallow Fire in AZ.

Did I also mention that ALL the surrounding mountains visible in Sisters have SNOW on them? I thought it was June not January... come on mountains, get with the program here. Not really a sight I like to see, as dad and I almost considered tent-camping at the KOA in Redmond.

We are happy with our choice, as this RV park is well-maintained and a beautiful piece of land. Only a few more riding days left in our journey, but still filled with adventures. Tomorrow is Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge day...stay tuned! (more photos to come from this adventurous day)

The Most Photographed Lighthouse

Dad in front of the most photographed lighthouse

My Turn

Fire Damage :(