Northwest Tandem Rally 2024 and Oregon Coast
July 5 ~ Travel Day
In the past we have travelled to the Rally Destination a day ealier. We spent the 4th with my brothers and mother to celebrate her 92nd birthday. The to Corvallis was a long day,we had a site reserved at Benton Oaks RV Park which is at the fairgrounds where the rally was held.We got set up and checked in for the rally. We saw our friends that we meet up with every year and discussed the ride options. It seemed everyone was going to opt for the medium ride.
July 6 ~ Corvallis Rally Day 1
The mass start was at 8:15. We headed out to ride the medium ride although some of our group had changed to the shorter route due to the heat. Temperatures were in the upper nineties.
The ride went fairly well. we did struggle with the hear a bit.The food stops were adequate and all ran smoothly. We were very glad to vbe done with that ride and did not hang around at the finish area very long. We headed for the showers and A/C. Rob and Vicky were the only others to do the medium ride and we saw them at the food stops.
We met up with our group in the evening at the rally banquet. We met another couple from Albuquerque that sat next to us at our table. It was a fun day despite the intense heat.
July 7 ~ Corvallis Rally Day 2
Today we did the short ride which was much more enjoyable, although there was a lot of accumulative elevation. We got back pretty early in the day, headed for the showers. After we got cleaned up we headed back to the vendor fair and talked with Swift Ride about retrofitting our tandem to an e-bike. We met up with our group for the BBQ lunch. It was a fun day, but very hot!
July 8 ~ Travel Day
We left Corvallis today to spend a few days at the Oregon Coast. We had booked 5 nights at the Pacific City Thousand Trails. We have not been to this part of the coast before. As is usual with Thousand Trails, we were quite disappointed with the facility. This park was exceptionally poor. The park sprawls over some ridiculous hills and tight turns. The roads are deteriorated to the point of being mostly gravel and dirt and it is very dusty. Traffic is constant in this park and the dust is ridiculous. Spaces are set up so you have to go with two way traffic to back in to the sites.
After we found a site and got set up, we took the trail to the beach. Another disappointment, cars on the beach. Lots of cars driving around and parked. We didn’t spend much time on the beach today.
July 9 ~ Pacific City and Area
We headed out to Pacific City to see what was to be seen. We stopped at Cape Kiwanda Natural Area and explored. It was nice to see that cars are not allowed to drive on the beach in this area. However, it is interesting the way the fishing boats come in to the beach, they build up speed and drive right onto the beach. Boat trailers and tow vehicles are allowed, so the back up to the beached boar and load it onto the trailer. We walked the beach sandstone headland, looked at the tide pools and climed the sandstone for some pretty great views.
After Pacific City and a poor choice for lunch at Stimulus Coffee and Bakery, We drove to Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, where we got a nice hike in. There is also a walkabout that goes up through a field of wildflowers that was beautiful.
It was nice to see some enjoyable areas after the disappointing initial beach experience yesterday.
July 10 ~ Tillamook and More
We headed North from our campground today. Our first stop was Cape Lookout State Park. The beaches and views are much nicer in this area than what we saw to the South. Cars do not drive on the beach here. It is a fee area, (a 5 day pass is available for $10.00), so we chose to just drive through. We did drive through the campground which seems like it would be a good option with full hook-ups in the C loop.
Continuing North, we stopped at Jacobsen Salt Co. on Netarts Bay. We purchased some salt and some amazing caramel and licorice, an interesting stop. They harvest the salts out of the bay.
We drove through Oceanside on the way to our next stop, Cape Meares. Cape Meares has some great views, the Octopus Tree, and a lighthouse. We spent some time exploring the viewpoints in that park.
Tillamook was the next stop for the day. We went to the Blue Heron Cheese Company and were quite disappointed. We had both before and it is not the same as it was in earlier days. We headed over to the Tillamook Cheese Creamery and had a great time there seeing how the cheese is made and packaged. Of course an ice cream purchase happened there, along with a magnet and Christmas ornament.
Our last stop today was the Tillamook Naval Air Museum. We have driven by that place for years and always wondered what it was. The museum is a huge hanger for blimps that were used in WWII to watch for submarines in the Pacific. It now houses many aircraft and artifacts from WW I and WW II. It was pretty interesting and we learned a lot.
Weather was good and it was a fun day.
July 11 ~ Neskowin
We headed south to Neskowin. This litle town has a very quiet feel to it. We took a walk and the beach and checked out Proposal Rock. WE wanted to see the Neskowin Ghost Forest which is across a beach stream from Proposal Rock. We thought we could fid a way around the river, but in the end we ended up taking our shoes off and crossing on the beach. As it turns out, the Ghost Forest comes and goes with the sands on the beach, some years it is visible, and some years (like this year) the trees are mstly buried in the sand. We saw a few tiops, but not much. The beach itself was really nice at the far end around the rock croppings.
We had lunch at the Hawk Creek Cafe, We had the cheese truffel bread and chowder for an appetizer before our entrees. We should have stopped there, it was very good and plenty of food. we visited Neskowin Provisions, a little store next to the cafe and picked up some treats for later on.
We stopped by the Hawk Creek Gallery where we met Michael Schlicting, the artist. He showed us around the gallery and took us upstairs to his studio. We had a nice visit and purchased a print.
After our stop at Neskowin we drove down the road to the Cascade Head Preserve to check it out. There are a couple of hikes there, but it was getting to be mid afternoon so we chose to not start a hike today.
Neskowin is a very nice area and has a tranquil laid back feel. We really enjoyed our visit there.
July 12 ~ Cascade Head
We decided to do a hike today. We have seen a couple of hikes that looked interesting, the Cape Lookout Trail and the Lower Cascade Head Trail that we saw yesterday. We opted for the Cascade Head. The hike was beautiful with some amazing views. The lower part of the trail is very rooted and has steep steps cut in. We were very glad to have our hiking boots and trekking poles. There is a lower viewpoint and an upper viewpoint. It was very windy approaching the upper viewpoint and fog was blowing in so we turned back about a 1/4 mile from the upper viewpoint. The trail between the points is througha wildflower hillside with open views of the ocean and the river valley. Stunning views until the fog began blocking. Fortunately the fog stayed above us on the descent so we enjoyed the view both directions.
After our hike we headed back to the trailer to prepare for departing tomorrow. We did stop at Neskowin Provisions for a couple of treats and got ice cream at The Village Scoop.
July 13 ~ Travel Day
We headed out this morning on our way to Tri-Cities where we arrangements had been made to meet up with Colin & Rochelle. On our drive we learned that they were not available so we ended up driving home. Long day with the driving, unloading the trailer and unpacking.
It was good to see all our friends at the tandem rally, and of course, the Oregon Coast never disappoints. We were glad for the cooler weather on the coast. it was hot in Spokane while we were gone and when we returned.