Getting High in Oregon

[keithu]

I spent three of the last four weeks in south Florida for work, where the biggest elevation change I experienced was riding an elevator to the fourth floor. And it rained, ALL THE DAMNED TIME. I never even took my sunglasses out of their case last week. No offense meant to Floridians, but your "Sunshine State" moniker is questionable. 😁 

Now that I'm back home in Oregon, I felt the need to get out and experience some actual sunshine and get up above sea level. I did a quick little 200 mile Sunday morning loop out to some local high points. My first stop was Mary's Peak:

 

At 4098 feet above sea level, Mary's Peak is the highest point in the Oregon coast range. Someone was kind enough to install a deliciously twisty ribbon of asphalt nearly to the top. Corvallis and Albany are in the background, down at around 200' ASL. On a clear day you can see across the Willamette Valley to the Cascade mountains in the east. Mt. Jefferson (10,495') is 87 miles away and just barely visible:

 

Looking west from the same parking lot, the Pacific Ocean is just barely visible about 30 miles away.

 

 

From Mary's Peak I followed OR-34 out to the coast, and then went south on US-101 to Cape Perpetua. Here I rode up to the cape overlook, one of the highest viewpoints on the Oregon coast at 800' ASL. 

 

From Cape Perpetua I decided to loop back up to Newport and then come inland on US-20. That was a bit of a mistake as traffic was heavy in Newport and on US-20. By the time I arrived home in Albany I needed to relieve some stress with something green and leafy: My garden.

 

Lily didn't want a pickle. She'd rather ride a motorsickle. 

[Salish900]

Awesome photos and story! So glad you had a great trip. Lovely country. I don't mind offending Florida as a landscape. It's a hell hole in my book. I've had to go there several times, and pray I never do again. Flat, hot, ugly. Crappy beaches with no waves. Go NASA, but otherwise, hardest of passes. People are people, nothing against the people, but the landscape? Yikes. 

[keithu]

I have plenty of nice things to say about Florida. There is abundant natural beauty, and I even encountered nice weather one day:

 

Florida seems to be way ahead of their neighbors in the southeast in the craft beer department. I had no trouble finding excellent local brews. Standouts were Dangerous Minds in Pompano Beach and Barrel of Monks in Boca Raton. 

The people I worked with are friendly. And Florida drivers aren't as bad as Oregonians. But then, who is? Maybe New Jersey. 

But yeah... as a motorcyclist I have to say I'm glad I live in Oregon. 😎

[fddriver2]

7 hours ago, keithu said:

I spent three of the last four weeks in south Florida for work, where the biggest elevation change I experienced was riding an elevator to the fourth floor. And it rained, ALL THE DAMNED TIME. I never even took my sunglasses out of their case last week. No offense meant to Floridians, but your "Sunshine State" moniker is questionable. 😁 

Now that I'm back home in Oregon, I felt the need to get out and experience some actual sunshine and get up above sea level. I did a quick little 200 mile Sunday morning loop out to some local high points. My first stop was Mary's Peak:

 

Holy moly! Look at those mirror stems!!!!!!  😱😱

[keithu]

12 hours ago, fddriver2 said:

Holy moly! Look at those mirror stems!!!!!!  😱😱

Yeah I bought some extenders a while back. Now my arms only block about half the rear view rather than all of it.

[2linby]

The roads to and from Mary's Peak are fantastic too!  Nice pictures! 

[keithu]

1 hour ago, 2linby said:

The roads to and from Mary's Peak are fantastic too!  Nice pictures! 

Yes, and they've done some repair work on the Mary's Peak road in the last year so the condition is much better than it used to be.