Bandon to TuTuTun Lodge (Gold Beach)

54.5 miles, 2400 feet of climbing, a very bad day for the animals (1 deer, 3 skunks, 1 porcupine, 1 raccoon, 1 possum, 2 snakes, 2 birds, 5 unidentified furry things)

Well, if you watched yesterday's video, you'd know that it was quite windy last night. After a restful night's sleep (Deborah's sleep = 10+ hours - straight through!), we awoke to a very, very foggy morning. Which, on the coast means cold and foggy. All that was missing was the wind - but not to worry, it found us soon enough!

Our route today was on 101 south through Port Orford, continuing to Ophir and then taking Cedar Valley Road to the Rogue River and making a left to our lodge. We were staying in the middle of nowhere in Bandon and our hotel didn't have breakfast so after a couple of pop tarts, we started out - hoping to catch breakfast on the road. Little did we know that everything was closed on Sunday in these parts. A

About 15 miles out, we began fantasizing about "Crazy Norwegian Fish and Chips" in Port Orford. Really - they were ranked in the top 10 on the coast by Sunset magazine. We were hoping that the crazy Norwegian was crazy enough to serve fish and chips for breakfast since we were going through Port Orford around 10:15. We knew we were crazy enough to eat fish and chips for breakfast! Sadly, this Norwegian wasn't that crazy so we were forced to go to a nice little bakery that serves slow food. Or should we say, serves food very, very slowly.

Though, we did learn something important about this part of the Oregon coast. Apparently, Port Orford and Gold Beach (and everywhere in between) is the crystal meth capital of Oregon. We don't know if that is true (lots of places claim this title), but we can tell you that a graduate from "Johnny Meth-head's School of Asphalt and Paving" paved the shoulder between Port Orford and our turnoff 16 miles later. Graduates from this school excel at driving over wet pavement in heavy trucks forming permanent washboard asphalt for the shoulder. But that's not. They also fail to remove road kill from the side of the road as well. They simply create burial bounds or death traps for cyclists. They also excel at laying asphalt with such precision that it creates simulated earthquake fissures running parallel to the highway - again, another death trap for the touring cyclist.

The good news about all this fog today was that it largely obscured our view of the coastline thus allowing more time to focus on the asphalt. We also had the good fortune to pass "Oregon's Prehistoric Garden." Turns out dinosaurs are roaming this part of the coast though Deborah didn't seem overly concerned about them. Another unusual sight was seeing 3 men at various places on the road - all walking, all looking for a ride. They could have been meth-heads or they could be escaping from the dinosaurs - we aren't sure.
Most of our days we could say that the journey was the reward. Today, the end point was the reward and we are staying at what could turn out to be the best place of the trip - TuTuTun Lodge on the Rogue River. We are a sunny six miles from the coast and dinner looks like it will be nothing short of delicious.
Unless our legs blow up, tomorrow we will cross into California - Crescent City is about 72 miles away - wahoo!!