Road trip day 3 was a day of contrasts. From the spectacular Pacific coast to gorgeous rivers and finishing with a major cruise of the car variety. The day had it all. Sometimes good things just happen.
Having dipped in to road trip USA I decided to look in on a couple of places en-route to Florence. My early morning planning was thrown when I managed to miss both intended stops. On to Florence it was. At one of my road side photo stops another couple on a Victory pulled up, complete with trailer. It turned out they’d travelled from Edmonton, Alberta. Having made the trip before they’d decided to head inland as the coast was likely to remain misty with low temperatures. The seed had been sown.
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The 101 stayed close to the ocean from Newport to Florence and the views, even allowing for the mist were simply stunning. It makes me wonder how much more impressed I’d be if I could have seen the full picture, not just the close up.
Lunch and a coffee in Florence led to my replan. California would now have to wait. The temperatures were too low to make for enjoyable riding and the mist was rolling in once more. I’d learned my lesson and the jacket and pants inners had been fitted, no more chilly riding for me. However, I wanted to chase the warmth and so I was going to head inland, my target for the day was Roseburg as it was within striking distance of Crater Lake.
I turned inland at Reedsport and within a few short miles the rugged Pacific coastline was a thing of the past, replaced by the beautiful Umpqua river. The other major change was the temperature. Things were looking up. My route, Highway 38 on to the 138 took me to Sutherlin. From there, a short sprint down I5 and I was at Roseburg.
I booked in at a Super 8 and the guy on the desk asked if I was interested in cars as there was an event going on downtown that evening. An hour or so later I headed in to town and boy, what a shock.
This was Grafitti weekend. I was totally taken aback. Here I was in the middle of Oregon on the day that a massive cruise around town for 1965 and earlier cars was on. Sometimes good things just happen. Even though I’m a corporate treehugger, it doesn’t stop me from enjoying a real petrolheads night out.
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So, the day really did have it all. Temperatures up to the 90’s F, more stunning scenery and metal mayhem to round the day off.
