Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/751464
47 www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS nDecember 2016n Astoria Astoria Astor 30 101 aside Sea nnon Beach Cannon Beac anzanita anita Man an kaway Beach ay Beach wa Rock Tillamook ook Tilla Tilla fic City fic City Pacif acifi ific ic incoln City ncoln Li Li epoe Bay B De ewport Ne ort ewport Waldpor aldpor port W chats ats Yac ence nc nce orence nc Fl Florence orth Bend Be No Coos Bay Co andon Ba Ba rt Orf rd Orford Orford Orford Por or ld Bea Beach Gol ookings kings Boo Boo Boo escent City sc scent City Cre Cres 101 101 101 101 Clatsop latsop Clatsop State Forest te Fo tat res es ate Fo Tilamook ilamook Til State Forest ate Forest rest ta t lus Slushaw re State Forest Umpqua National Forest Roque River-Siskiy River-Siskiyou st National Forest Klamath F National Forest Pacific Coast Ranges 5 5 5 26 47 4 6 22 99W 20 126 38 199 138 410 18 PORTLAND AN A ORTLAND SALEM LE SAL EUGENE G EUGE EUG ROSEBURG SEBU GRANTS PASS GRANTS PA R MEDFORD ASHLAND AND Tillamook Rock Cleft of the Rock Cape Meares Yaquina Head Yaquina Bay Heceta Head Coquille River Cape Blanco Pelican Bay own gas in Oregon, though most sta- tion attendants will just hand you the nozzle once they arrange the payment there at the pump. No need to even get off your bike if you don't want to. Our stops after Crescent City included overnights in Coos Bay, Rockaway Beach and Astoria. Coos Bay included visiting local farming friends in a community that has a heavy concentration of riders. The Coos River meets the Pacifi c Ocean here and farming and fi shing are two main industries, with cranberries being a major crop, but the unmistak- able scent of the lumber mill in town announces the presence of the timber industry's infl uence as well. The 7 Devils Brewing Company (www.7devilsbrewery.com) offers great craft beers and tasty treats. Shark Bites (www.sharkbites.cafe) is another favorite eatery and it can be found right on the highway through town. Locals are warm and hospita- ble and we hung out a couple of days before puttering up to Rockaway Beach, some 180 miles north over a twisty road that hugs the rugged cliffs. Rockaway Beach is where Portland residents used to travel by train to vacation during the 1920s and there's a steam locomotive that still makes a trek up the track to delight tourists on a regular basis. The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad operates on schedule in the summer months with trains chugging beside the ocean between Tillamook, Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. Lines continue up the coast along the remote Nehalem and Salmonberry River canyons and for those of us who are history buffs with a streak of train freak tied in, it's a fun trip. The views along the coast are mesmerizing. They also offer a three-hour scenic dinner tour that's well worth the bucks. (www.oregon- coastscenic.org/dinner-train.html) During the 4th of July the town gath- ers at City Park for the annual Wiener Locals were talking about the algae that was turning the usually bright blue surf into a mud- dled brown, even so, the 363-miles of rugged Oregon coastline is always a beautiful ride Sunset can be mesmerizing at any point along the Oregon coast See "Oregon," page 53, column1