Cascadia: Part II

7,115 km

Hey everyone, I'm a little behind my posts cause I have been taken in by the nicest people in Sacramento, California and have had little down time. So I have taken a minute to sit down here at Insight Coffee Roasters in Sac before we play polo to grind out a post or two. Here is what I got up to the last week I was in Oregon. Enjoy!

I took the bolt bus back to Portland with my friends Niki and Lachie from Sydney and intended to stay there for about a week. The weather when we arrived was sunny and relatively warm so we seized the moment, borrowed a friends car, and drove out to the Oregon coast to take in Cannon Beach and Point Lookout State park. 

Cannon Beach is a very long beach on the north coast of Oregon State and is lined on both ends by large and picturesque igneous rock formations. It was on my Oregon to do list and I'm definitely glad I was able to get out and take some photos.

Next it was off down the coast to Cape Lookout State Park which is located near Tillamook. The park hosts a a pretty standard campsite fitting for RV's, cyclists, families, and road trippers. We set up camp and took in the amazing sunset, and then drank the evening away, and even tried to get the pesky raccoons drunk with some bourbon.

In the morning we cooked up breakfast, then I hit the beach for a walk south from the campsite and tok some great photos. Later in my journey I would learn that it was indeed a better idea to trek the other way, north, to the actual cape. It is supposedly very beautiful where the the Cape wraps up Netarts Bay. Oh well, here are some photos.  
 

After a morning on the coast it was on the road again for a very scenic drive along the Wilson River(Hwy 6) back to Portland. 

 

The weekend that followed was full of polo, craft beer, bike rides, and street food. I met up with my bud Jordan for the last time while in North America only an hour before my train ride down to Oakland, and I met some interesting people over a few beers. 

I boarded the Amtrak Coast Starlight on the 8^th of October for my journey into California. If you are looking for a great way to see some scenery of the west coast, this is Not the way to do it. At least the stretch from Portland to Oakland is operated as a commuter type of deal. You board the train at 2:30pm in Portland and it is dark by Klamath Falls, then you wake up in Sacramento in the morning only to get mediocre views of the Bay Area's less than interesting industry and suburban sprawl. This is not to say the stretches between Seattle and Portland, or Oakland and Los Angeles are not great, as I have not done it. 

Anyways in summary Portland proved to only further perk my interest of the city and of Oregon, leaving me wanting more. It is a great city with great beer, great food, great scenery, even better bike lanes, great polo, and even greater people.

Farewell Portland!.

For a more in depth review of my favorite stops and shops, check out my FYI: Portland post.

W