day 18

after a cool and rainy night just west of astoria, i continued down 101 along the oregon coast. again traffic was horrible, but the scenery and twisty roads made up for it. there were plenty of small towns along the way. some were very touristy and others looked like real coastal fishing towns.

after about an hour or so, i jumped off 101 to check out cape meares (see picture below). there was a bit of fog, so i couldn't get too many good pictures. i then continued down the coast along the three arch rocks scenic byway before getting back on 101.

the rest of the scenery along the coast was pretty similar (rocky cliffs), until i got to heceta beach (see picture below). it was a pretty dramatic change.

i then took 126 from florence to eugene were i was staying with rob, the brother of mike with whom i play hockey. we had a nice dinner with his family, took the dog for a walk and then hit the town.

by popular demand, below are some pictures from today (last two) and some others from two days riding in washington.

this is a shot from the top of a canyon road on east side of the columbia river, just north of chelan falls. notice the twisty roads in the distance in the center of the picutre.

mcneil canyon road, wa - 08/23/2006

this picture is of the walls along coulee meadows, just south of highway 2. there was a similar wall on the other side. i think the rock making up the walls is basalt.

coulee meadows, wa - 08/23/2006

it was a tight squeeze, but luckily i was on a motorcyle and not in a car.

farmer, wa - 08/23/2006

luckily the clouds were not in the way for this picture of mt. rainier. you can see them creeping into the picture behind the tree to the left.

mt. rainier, wa - 08/24/2006

these two large rocks off of cape meares are homes to many birds.

cape meares, or - 08/29/2006

this is quite a change from the rocky cliffs just a mile up the road.

heceta beach, or - 08/29/2006