Today we got up looking forward to the ride down the final section of the Oregon Coast. The upper sections were beautiful, so we expected a lot from the southernmost portion. But before we got back on US-101S, we decided to take the advice of the lady in the Coos Bay Visitors Center and ride over to Cape Arago, just west of Coos Bay and on the ocean. The road was called OR-540 and it dead ends at a loop in Cape Arago. There were a couple of waysides along the way, including a Botanical Garden that we decided to skip. But the best wayside was a place called the Simpson Reef Overlook as it was home to seals and sea lions. As we pulled into the parking lot, we could hear the noise from the seals and sea lions over the sound of the bike stereo, and we play it loud!
     The reef itself was just a little too far away to see the seals and sea lions distinctly, but with the telephoto lens on the camera, it was easy to pick them out . After the Simpson Reef Overlook, it was only another mile down to the end of the road at Cape Arago. The view from Cape Arago was spectacular, and there were several hiking paths that led aus around to the various sides of the cape. There was even one path that took us down onto the beach, where we wandered around and took more pictures. We visited most of what there was to see in Cape Arago, and then decided it was time to see the rest of the Oregon Coast, and rejoin with US-101S
     After a short drive on a couple of excellent motorcycle roads, Seven Devils Rd and West Beaverhill Rd, we finally reconnected with US-101S with 119 miles to Crescent City, CA. As great as Seven Devils and Beaverhill Rd were though, US-101S was disappointing. It was just a little too far from the ocean to see anything, and there weren't any small towns along the way. By the time we had gone about 40 miles down the road, we were beginning to lose hope for a scenic ride, and thought that maybe we should start checking out some of the state parks .
    Then almost as if on queue, the US-101S takes a sharp turn to the left, and straight ahead on the road surface heading up a hill were written the words "OCEAN VIEW" with an arrow pointing up the hill. Of course we had to check it out, and take a picture of the road as well. As we came over the top of the hill, the ocean was before us with beaches, rocky coast, huge rocks in the water, and mountains in the background. Just exactly what we were looking for. And for the next 80 miles, it was just beautiful. Wayside after wayside with more beaches and more rock formations. Sometimes we climbed the rocks, sometimes we just walked down to the beach. It was a wonderful afternoon, and all the scenery was spectacular!
     The weather changes between the beach and inland were amazing. At the beach, the temperature was about 68 degrees with the wind blowing at 20-30 knots. But US-101S hugs the shoreline sometimes, and moves inland a little at other times. You only had to go inland enough to lose sight of the ocean, and the temperature would go up as high as 88 degrees, and the wind would die down to 5-10 knots . It was difficult to decide what to wear to prevent being too hot inland, or too cold along the shore. We finally crossed the border into California about 4:00 and the shoreline change was dramatic. Where Oregon had pristine beaches and parks, California had private homes on the beach. There were still state parks in California, but in between the parks was normal residential housing, a dramatic change from Oregon.
     The other thing we noticed immediately is that we should have gassed up before leaving Oregon. Gas in Oregon was about $3.11 per gallon. Just across the border in California and gas jumped to $3.73 per gallon. Luckily it only takes about 4-5 gallons to fill the bike. Crescent City, CA is the start of redwood country, and there is a Redwood Visitors Center just down the street from the hotel that we will need to check out tomorrow. We want to take our time in redwood country so that we get to see everything we want to see. But for now it was time for dinner, and now that we are in California, it only seemed appropriate to have Mexican food. So it was chicken enchiladas for me and shrimp fajitas for Jody. Both were delicious!
    Jody got some sand in her eye from all the wind on the beach, so if it's not better in the morning, we will have it checked out, but if it's ok, we will be venturing back into Oregon for the day to visit the Oregon Caves National Monument that we skipped by following the Oregon Coast. It's only 50 miles up and 50 miles back, so it should make for an easy day tomorrow.

173.0 miles today
10,707.7 miles total

0,0 gallons today
254.359 gallons total