Vegas with the parents

Had a great time in Vegas. We stayed at Four Queens on Fremont St. We meet up with some old friends (Sharon and Suzie) that we hadn't seen in probably 30 plus years. It was great to see them again after all these years. Lots of entertainment on Fremont St at night. I checked out the bands that played nightly on the three different stages as well as the other entertainment on the street.

Putting the windows in the Sprinter

To view the videos

Cold Snap - so no work on the Sprinter

We bought a Sprinter

After 5 years of looking and talking about a Sprinter van, we finally placed an order in Aug 2011, now we just had to wait until it was built and shipped from Germany (est delivery early Dec 2011). The Get Away Van has served us well, but it was time for an upgrade and something with a little more room. We went back and forth about whether we should have someone convert it to an RV or do it ourselves. In the end, Kevin decided he could do a better job and it would be exactly what we wanted. So after visiting a few local dealers and reading info about them on the Yahoo Sprinter Group, we hooked up with David Graham of Mercedes-Benz of Georgetown, Texas. Dave was very helpful and in the end offered the best price. We would recommend Dave to anyone looking to buy a Sprinter, it is worth the trip to Texas.

We picked up our van Dec 12, 2011. We spent a couple of days in Austin with our friend John Meyer checking out the music scene and then headed off for home the long way.

Naches Peak Loop Trail (near Mt Rainier)

On Wed, we heard that it was going to be gorgeous day, so Kevin and I decided to take a drive to Mt Rainier to view the wildflowers.  Usually it would be a too late to view the flowers, but this year has been much cooler and thus the flowers bloomed later.  We drove to Chinook Pass to find the Naches Loop Trail.  The loop was about 4 miles long and 700 ft elevation gain (according to the guide book although the sign at the trailhead said something different) so not a major hike.  The views are spectacular on this hike.  It is a great example of alpine hiking without too much effort.  Great hike to bring your non-outdoor friends to show them a little of Mt Rainier.

Oregon Coast 2011 Day 10 Gold Beach to CA/OR Border

Our last day of our tour, and probably the most continuously hilly day of the ride. While only 36 miles, cumulative elevation gain was about 2,000 feet. The coast was shrouded in fog when we left Gold Beach, and that was fine for us as we faced a fairly long climb first thing as we left The Inn of The Beachcomber.
The highway climbs at a very consistent 6% grade for about 3 ½ miles to reach the summit of Cape Sebastian at about 800’. A fast downhill brought us back to the beach, where we could see through the clouds the spectacular coastline dotted with all kinds of sea stacks and rocks and things. From here the highway continues fairly hilly all the way to Brookings. No hills are the size of Cape Sebastian, but the climbs are short and sometimes steep; 10 to 12% on occasion. Soon we were in Brookings and looked for a place for lunch. We stopped at Wild Rivers Pizza and Brewing Company. We figured that with only 6 miles to ride after lunch we could risk having a pizza. The pepperoni pizza was so-so, the beer okay, and the people there were not particularly friendly. Oh well.
After lunch we backtracked a bit, to hook up with the ACA route along the harbor waterfront in Brookings and Harbor, then rode on small rural roads for a few miles before rejoining Hwy 101 a couple of miles north of the border. The last couple of miles went quickly, and we saw Janet waiting at the “Welcome to California” sign. A couple of photographs, and quick ride into California and back to the car to load up, change clothes, and head home. And our tour of the Oregon coast was complete: about 370 miles and nearly 15,000 feet elevation gain.

Oregon Coast 2011 Day 9 Bandon to Gold Beach

Kevin/Jo: Our longest day on the road, the day started off somewhat foggy, but visibility was much better than 2008, so we were able to see some of the sights as we rode along Beach Loop Drive. Soon we were back on Hwy 101 with light traffic and good shoulders.  We stopped just south of Bandon at Art 101, a non-profit that among other things, makes art from debris collected from local beaches.  We took photos of the art on display-a 15 foot tall eagle, a ten foot tall jelly fish (made from plastic soda bottles),  and some other sea creatures.  They all were quite clever.

The terrain was fairly gentle as we left the coast and followed 101 inland a few miles.  Soon we were in Langlois, where we stopped at the market and got something to drink. We chatted with the owner and some cranky old local about the arrival of Cycle Oregon.  The cranky old guy was going on about how he hated cyclists and seemed to be advocating running over those “sons of bitches” that ride in the roadway.   I kept my mouth shut, thanked the owner and we were back on the road.

Down the road a bit, we stopped in Sixes, which appears to not much more than a post office  and a building that housed the Grange and a “mall” which sold various antiques, second hand stuff and other peoples junk, and objets d’art.  I bought a Dr. Pepper and Jo bought some packaged snacks. We chatted with the couple that worked there. They were quite the characters. Originally from Fresno, they had all sorts of stories from “back in the day”.

The highway gets back to the coast at Port Orford, where we stopped for lunch.  We had heard the the Crazy Norwegian was a good place for a good burger and a beer, but were very disappointed that they were closed, as were most places to eat. We found the only open restaurant in town, and quickly went inside.

The Red Fish restaurant has been open about a year, and appears to be the most upscale restaurant in town.  We ordered burgers (quite tasty) and then Janet met us and ordered a burger as well.  Our server was a cyclist and was very interested in our Hampsten bikes.  During our conversation, we learned tha tthe chef had worked at Moots Cycles as a frame welder, and another guy working at the restaurant lived in Steamboat Springs  for 20+ years, and knew Kent Ericksen (Kent made my frame). After lunch we got back on the bikes and headed to Gold Beach.

The only significant hill was up and around Humbug Mountain, then gently rolling hills towards Gold Beach.  We decided to stay on 101 and not take the ACA route through Cedar Valley.  I figured that 101 was about six miles shorter, and probably less elevation gain.  When we briefly stopped at the Prehistoric Gardens, I asked the owner about the two routes. He said that 101 was “more flatter”. I responded with “That’s more gooder. She (while motioning towards Jo) will like that more better”.

We rode nearly flat roads until we were able to exit on to the original coast highway. Rough with more ups and downs, it was good to get away from the noise and traffic of the highway.  We rode along the Rogue briefly, then crossed the bridge over the river and into town.  While crossing the bridge, both Jo and I were yelled at by some guy driving the other direction.  “Idiot!” he yelled.  Jo responded with “That’s your name!”. My witty retort was “I know your are, but what am I?  Ha Ha!”  A quick ride through Gold Beach and we arrived at our hotel, the Inn of the Beachcomber, where we met Ted, the rather talkative owner, and another guest who expressed amazement that we had ridden our bikes down the coast.

The day ended up being about 56 miles, with about 1,800 feet elevation gain.

Janet: Met Kevin and Jo for lunch at Rockfish in Port Orford.  After lunch, they pedaled away up the next big hill. I went to Port Orford Heads State Park to walk on the trails.  There was a Coast Guard museum there, but since it was Tuesday it was closed.  At least, I got to see the boat.  Then I walked around on all of the very short trails at the park.  The views were slightly obscured by the fog but eventually it lifted and I was able to see more of the coastline.  No bear warnings at this place - Hurray!  Back on the road and before you know it, I passed Jo and Kevin.  Pulled off at Ophir State Park to see if the bikers needed anything.  After they rode on, I decided it was a good place to sit on the beach to read my book, watch pelicans flying over the waves and enjoy the cloudy/foggy weather.  Kevin texted that they were 4 miles from Gold Beach so I loaded up the car and moved on.  We stayed at the Inn of the Beachcomber.  Jo upgraded us to a bungalow which had a beach view where we could see the crashing waves from our deck.  We took a short walk to the beach and sat on a log - freezing.  We met the owner Ted, he's a talkative fellow.  His wife was riding the Cycle Oregon ride - about 1200 riders, we were glad to be a day ahead of them.  Ted rents SUP's to play in the surf or paddle on the Rogue River.  Dinner was at Spinner's, it was an ok meal.  Back at our room, we watched the sunset on the beach/the faux lighthouse at the adjacent RV park.