Florence, OR To Rosebug, OR
| Up and at it Kurt joined in for a few miles to show me a
local elk refuge. After a quick jump down 101 we were there - and so
were some elk. A parting shot and I was off to points south and east. The morning was mostly dry with some spits of rain. I checked out the coast often which made the going slow. Some dunes, some trains, a new railbed under construction, some bridges - and some beach riding. While at the beach I heard a roar from above - then saw some odd white whisps in the air. It looked like a series of parachutists with white smoke trails - but in a spiral fashion - and the roar - then I saw the jet. A military jet had spit out some anti-missle decoys - a training excercise. Bandon for some lunch. Suggested lunch spot found - a suggestion from family friends Don & Carolin. Whenever you're in Bandon head down to 1st Street SE (the waterfront) and across from the "cranberry" candy store you'll see the fish shack - the small blue building with picnick tables outside. Get some fish. From there my next stop was Crater Lake via the road less chosen - one that Kurt suggested. Less chosen was just that - at one point, well into the route and just before the gravel section, I passed a couple out walking their dog. In my mirror I saw both of them turn around to see me head down the road - struck that I _must_ be lost. The route less chosen was just that - perfectly. A nice mix of remoteness, twisties with a touch of gravel. Thanks Kurt! I didn't quite make Crater Lake - guess I took too much time to smell the roses. |
Video
Dogs playing, beach riding, roads
2005-10-26.mpg
MPG, 18.1 MB, 2 min 18 sec
Kurt & Georgeanne
ST.N folks
Following Kurt for to the Elk refuge
And we're there
(click for a larger size)
Dunes to play in...
The makings of a new railroad bed - something rare in the U.S.
Ground leveled, black ground cloth laid down, stone spread, orange "straight line" painted so the ties (composit (not wood)) can be set aligned.
Cuts in the asphalt parking lot, asphalt removed (except for the driveway section - not yet)
Rail set into place and locked to the ties. More stone poured over the setup.
An initial smoothing of the stone.
Rails to be welded together
Crossing plates - where the railroad crossed an auto road
Landscape folks doing their thing.
The rail alignment tool. I think it uses the front cart - with laser alignment - to tell if the upcoming rail is out of line. The machine then pushes hydraulic feet down between the tires, grabs hold of the rails, and pulls them up (and over - left or right as needed). Stone falls below the ties to fill in the void when the ties and rail are pulled up in the alignment process.
This next set of pictures shows the originally laid rail and the "raised and aligned" section.
At the end the stone / rockbed machine comes down to work the stone into place.
Looks nice!
Some of the white whisps in the sky - anti-missle decoys - military jet training.
I didn't initially think about riding on the beach - until I saw other tire tracks on the firm sand...
One of the top pic's pictures
The fish shack - the blue and blue building - "Fish and Chips." Picknick tables outside.
Not these fish and chips places...
Mmmmmm.....
Thanks!
Sitting on one of the wood benches taking in the nice afternoon.
Back to the roads...
A logged section being burned. Scrub matter is piled and burned.
The foreground bushes obscure the scene but we're looking up to joining valleys with a nice ridge in the middle.
A bull with the pasture all to himself
(click for a larger size)
Another keeper - two on one page - Oregon must be a good place!
