Sunday, June 1, 2014

Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area

We left California on Thursday morning and continued north on US-101, through Crescent City where we saw the Battery Point Lighthouse,

Battery Point Lighthouse

and then continued on into the next state on our route, Oregon.

Oregon -- another new state!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day, and the views along the coast were amazing!

Pacific Coast Highway

Oregon Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After 175 miles, we turned into the little fishing village of Winchester Bay,

Winchester Bay

and settled into the Windy Cove Campground, a Douglas County park with full hookup sites, including wifi and cable TV  (Bryce was thrilled!).

Site 19 -- Windy Cove Campground

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we took a drive down the road to check out the dunes.

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The dunes here don’t appear to be as tall as some of the dunes we’re used to in Michigan, but they seem to go on forever! 

Lots of room for riding!

The boys thought they looked fantastic, and they were dying to rent some ATVs and get out on the sand . . . we promised to check into it the next day!          Beach Overlook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped on the beach to watch the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean.

Sunset at the beach

On Friday, as promised, after everyone was done with school and we had some lunch, we drove over to the local ATV rental and booked a 2-hour rental of (3) ATVs for later that afternoon.

We met the rental guy just down the road from the campground, and he went over the basics of each ATV.

Getting their instructions

With everybody up to speed,     Tom

Nicolas

Bryce

 

they were all set and ready for some fun on the dunes!

They took off down the trail, and I drove down to the parking area at the end of the road to wait for them.

 

 

 

 

 

Ready to go!

They're off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They made better time than me, though, and were already out playing on the dunes by the time I got there!

Lots of room for riding!

Riding on the sand

 

After awhile, they came by the parking lot and I was able to get a few pictures. 

When they got there, the boys informed me that Tom had already had a mishap!  He apparently wasn’t listening when the guy told them not to go fast over any hills until they had checked out the other side!

Tom took a hill pretty fast and found out that there was a 4 foot drop on the other side!  He flew into the handlebars and hit his chest pretty hard – luckily he didn’t fly over them!

 

He was sore, and would be sore for quite a while, but he kept going!

Tom -- still going

 

Going back out for more!

While they were off having a blast, I walked down to the beach.

At the beach

It was getting pretty windy, and a little chilly, but it was still a nice day for a walk on the beach.

Footprints in the sand

The beach here in Oregon is so different than what we saw in Florida last year . . . there are almost no shells to be found . . . just sand!  It’s really beautiful!

Beautiful sand beach

At the beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The surf is a lot rougher than we had in Florida, though!

Big waves

Walking back over the bluff to the parking lot, I could see some ATV riders off in the distance – it looked like it could have been them, but I wasn’t sure.

I think that's them over there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking the safe route!

It was them, and they made their way over to the parking lot.  I was glad to hear that there had not been any more mishaps!

Nick & Bryce

They only had about a half hour left of their rental, so they didn’t stop for long.  They took off, and I told them I’d meet them back at the staging area where the rental guy was going to pick up the ATVs.

Nick

 

Bryce

I watched them drive off, as they disappeared over the hills.

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Bryce

 

Tom

 

They’re getting smaller!!

They disappear into the sand!

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I waited in the staging area for the rental guy to arrive, and told Bryce I would send him a text when he got there, so they would know to come back. 

This deer was wandering around while I waited!

 

A few minutes later, it was time for them to come back, and their ride was over . . .

 

All done!

The boys could have kept riding, but I think two hours was more than enough for Tom!!

He survived!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great day, and they sure had fun!

4 comments:

  1. you are at our favourite place! the Oregon Coast!!

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  2. Boys will be Boys!!! What fun for the three of them:o)) Great beach photos!

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  3. It's strange that boys love to play in the dirt and sand when they are younger and still do it when they grow up. Tom will probably feel some discomfort for a few weeks.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  4. What fun. I will have to remember this for our trip later this year. Yep, Tom will probably be sore for a few days, the price we pay for fun. Becki

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