“Where are you now?”That is often the first question my friends ask when I call to a visit on the phone.Lately though, I’m getting: “Are you still in Oregon?”The answer is “Yep!”
On this entire 10,000 Mile Grand Tour of the US and Canada, Ed and I have not dallied in one place for longer than 10 days.Oregon is the exception. We’ve been in the Florence, Oregon region since August 19th and it is now October 23rd.That’s two months and I am not ready to leave yet.It’s all because of the Pacific Ocean.I just love it!
The ocean air rejuvenates me.I never tire of the sight or sound of the waves.I can walk the same beach over and over because it changes with the tides, sometimes sending me scurrying high on the beach to keep my socks and shoes dry, sometimes washing away the sand to reveal perfect shells, the beach gems. I like watching the seals almost as much as they like watching me. And, I don’t mind that the water is too cold for a swim;I am content to be near it.
I simply love the ocean! It’s a place where we may be for awhile longer.
“It’s a go!” Ed called to me through the RV’s bedroom pocket door.“We need to be there by 11 AM.”
I’d been waiting for this day, watching the weather, and managing my calendar so when all the conditions aligned, I’d be ready for this adventure.Today, we had a clear blue sky, no wind, no forecast for rain – perfect conditions for a scenic ride on the Oregon Dunes.
Avery Duman, President of Torex ATV Rentals, reserved a red Yamaha Rhino for Ed and me.We tucked extra jackets and a day pack full of water and snacks in the back of the 4-seater then gave Avery our full attention.He thoroughly explained the mechanics of the ATV - high gear, low gear, gas pedal and the ever-so-important brakes.Ed was eager to take the wheel; but first, there was a waiver to sign in event we got hurt.Yes, we will promise to wear seatbelts.At the time that I nodded my head to this safety instruction, I had no idea my promise was so important.
Next, Avery showed us a place mat sized laminated photo of the dunes. “I allow my ATV to run this area of the dunes.” He pointed to two separate clusters of green trees which looked out of place among the landscape of the dunes. He called them North and South Islands. “Back here is the Forest Service sound buffer and private land. Do not venture there. I will lead you to the dunes and we will review this again out there.” He traced a road on the map. “This is Chapman’s Sand Road. It goes to the ocean. It’s a whoops trail.”
“A whoops trail?” I puzzled trying to figure out what Avery meant.
“It’s kind of bumpy,” said Avery. “You’ll see.”
Later, I did but for now I just wanted to hit the dunes.Avery showed us how the little doors on the Rhino open and latch, then he added, “You can just hop over top of them.Most people do.”I hopped over top and buckled my seatbelt.We were off following Avery down the paved driveway to the access road to the dunes.He zipped and we jerked along as Ed tried to find the right gear.I am glad I had that seatbelt.Avery stopped and waited for us to catch up to him.Along our route, he pointed to the string of low hanging plastic red, white and blue flags.“Turn there to return the ATV when you finish riding,” he said above the sound of the engines.We nodded.
Then, he took off riding his quad standing up, tipping it on a few curves onto two wheels. “Did you see that?” I punched Ed’s arm. I could tell by the gleeful look on Ed’s face that he’d try two-wheeling given the opportunity. He made the manly response, “I could take him.”
Avery led us along a sandy road through a shaded forest up a hill.The trees gave way to an open sky full of sunshine and expansive view of the dunes.This was a landscape like no other.We stopped for a long while high on a dune to take it all in – the mounds of sand, the big sky, the islands of trees, the view of the ocean.
“Let’s head to the ocean,” Ed suggested.Avery was fine with this but first he wanted to give us some landmarks. He showed us the real stuff, things we had already seen on his map of the dunes.“Do you see that windsock high in the pine trees?” he asked.“If you get disoriented, just look for it.The windsock hangs over the road back to the rental site.”
Avery said lots of people with rentals do get lost but we weren’t to worry. Just keep his cell phone number handy. He knew the dunes and had been riding them since he was a little kid. All he needed was a description of what we could see and he’d know how to find us or direct us back to his place. “Sometimes people really get off track and I get a call from the police telling me they have one of my rentals at the South Jetty, come get them,” he added. Ed and I did not want to be one of those folks so I really paid attention to the scenery.
Avery took off again in the lead, this time with more caution.We were riding on narrow crests of the dunes.One miscalculation or a slip of the tires could send the ATV sliding down a steep drop.Ed followed Avery’s tracks without mishap.As we neared the ocean, the dunes flattened and opened to a level plain of damp hardened sand crisscrossed with hundreds of quad, dirt bike and ATV tracks.
“Here’s Chapman Road,” Avery called and signaled for us to follow. We took the road slow with Avery close beside our ATV. He talked about the wildlife – deer, bears, coyotes, cougars, skunks, and possums. After passing an intersection for another sandy road – Hunter Sand Road, we picked-up the speed.
The road ahead looked like a trail full of troughs. A better description might be speed bumps three times the size in a normal parking lot.Our ATV bounced as we went over the first few rollers.It bounced some more lifting me out of my seat again and again. My seat belt held me in the ATV but not in my seat. I was up high then down over and over.We rocked from side to side all the while bouncing some more.My head felt like an out of control bobble head wobbling.I wasn’t scared; this was fun!Laughing aloud fun!Ed just said one word, “Whoops!”Yep, we were on the Whoops Trail!
Roller coaster aficionados will understand when I say this Whoops Trail felt like a ride on the Jack Rabbit at Pittsburgh’s Kennywood Park.You just feel like you will fly out of your seat, but you don’t because you are strapped in tight.What makes this Whoops ATV ride better is that it lasts longer and you can do it over and over again without standing in a long park line.
Avery left us on our own when we reached the beach, checking again to be sure we had has phone number. We did.For hours, we cruised along the beach. When we had enough of the smooth, bump-free coast, we turned inland.We found some more Whoops Trails and rode them laughing aloud.
October 15, 2008
The ATV was provided by Avery Duman, President of Torex, Inc. at
Sand Dunes Frontier located at 83960 Highway 101 South, Florence, OR
“This is like a mini-Sahara Desert!” I stood surrounded by sand dunes some gentle rolling mounds, others with sheer cliff-like drop-offs. I had a 360-degree view of sand, ocean, and forest. “It’s breathtakingly beautiful, amazing, how wondrous!”
“What you see now will look different tomorrow or even later today. Blowing sand will erase those tire tracks as if no one has ever been out here on quads or ATVs,” Avery commented as two quads zipped by sending a spray of sand flying off the back tires. “The wind constantly moves the sand clearing the surface and changing the terrain.”
He pointed to two clumps of trees, one on the left and another to the right. “That’s North Island and over there is South Island. The sea wall is straight ahead. Behind you is the Forest Service land, a sound buffer to mute the noise of the engines.”
Avery Duman, President of Torex, Inc., an ATV rental service in Florence, Oregon, knew these dunes intimately. He’d grown up here and now dune excursions were the source of his livelihood. He escorted Ed and me to the Oregon Dunes on a quad. Avery never sat on the seat, rather he straddled it standing and powered ahead of us. Taking a turn, he tipped the quad. He wasn’t showing off when he maneuvered on two wheels, just cutting to the right. When I commented to him about his little trick riding, he laughed. He promised more of a show saved for another day, a day when he’s on a dirt bike.
He told me that in November, around Thanksgiving time, there can be 300 to 400 riders on dirt bikes careening down Competition Hill, a huge dune he claims that people have been riding for 30 – 40 years, before he was even born. He called it a launching pad for racing. We didn’t see any airborne riders on this weekday, but on the weekend there’d be some daredevils giving the dune a go.
Daredevils we were not. In the ATV, Ed cautiously followed Avery to the crest of a dune overlooking the North Island. From here we could see a moat of bright blue water around the isolated forest of trees. “Heavy rains later in the season will turn that into a fresh water lake,” Avery said. Previously, I read about the Dunes history in the Visitor Guide to the Oregon Dunes. It said that these tree islands are remnants of larger forests that were overrun by sand. The article warned that the trees live a precarious existence because their steep slopes will eventually erode away. It also confirmed Avery’s assessment. Rainwater seeps from the vertical, sandy slopes of the dunes around these trees and collects in shallow pools right in the dunes. The dunes are more than just sand and seasonal pools of water. The area around the dunes creates a unique habitat for assorted wildlife. Hawks, ducks, geese and bald eagles live here. Foxes, coyotes, possums, and skunk make it their home too. Avery said there’s an abundance of bear and deer as well. He later showed us deer tracks in the sand, proof of their presence.
The Oregon Dunes represent the largest coastal dunes in North America. Designated the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area in 1972, the area extends from Florence to North Bend along 32,000 acres of coastline. About half of the land is open to motorized vehicles. We were in just a small part of this recreational frontier confined to the riding area, located less than a mile from Florence, between South Jetty Road on the northern end and Siltcoos Beach Access Road on the south. Still these boundaries were expansive enough. We sampled a thrilling ride on the dunes and took in the scenery produced by millions of years of wind, sun, rain and erosion on the Oregon Coast that created these mountains of sand, some measuring as high a whopping 500 feet above sea level.
So, as I told a close friend who checks on my whereabouts and adventures regularly, add this scenic place to your Bucket List or 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. The natural sculpture of the dunes is unforgettable, majestic, and ever-changing.
October 15, 2008
The ATV was provided by Avery Duman, President of Torex, Inc. at Sand Dunes Frontier located at 83960 Highway 101 South, Florence, OR 541-997-5363 www.sanddunesfrontier.com
Typically, when I wander along the Pacific Ocean beaches, I walk and linger for about an hour then leave.This trip was an exception to my usual routine.Avery had said, “Take as much time as you need” when he left Ed and I on the beach with one of his ATVs.Having wheels made a big difference in how much seashore I could explore and how energetic I felt by riding, not trudging on the sand. With Ed at the wheel, I could ride along as a passenger snapping photos of the crashing waves and scenic shore.
We arrived on the beach one hour before to high tide at 12:57 PM. Our Tide Table predicted a rise of 9.5 feet, one of the highest for the month.Against a backdrop of clear blue sky, rows of five waves at a time churned the surf.Monster sized ones caused Ed to ask me how they compared to the ones I’d seen in Hawaii ages ago.What we were watching in Oregon wasn’t quite like the Bonsai Pipeline, but these waves were BIG.They were loud too making almost a deafening rhythm.
The hard packed sand near the water’s edge gave us a smooth ride in the borrowed ATV.Occasionally, one of those sneaker waves would inch close to our wheels.Ed reacted by steering clear of the water every time.He also steered clear of the coastal birds feeding on critters they pecked from the sand.Once he pretended to be heading for a beach sign steering clear at the last minute just to get a rise out of me. He let out a devilish laugh; I gave him a wrinkled nose sneer back.Yes, we were having fun.And, when we reached the boundary where ATVs weren’t permitted, Ed would turn around to drive the beach again.
Each time we made this turn, first north, then south, over and over again, I observed the changeable sky and water.In a short time, blue sky and pounding waves changed to clouds overhead and surf that from our perspective looked like a rolling field of white snow.As we headed north, the wind velocity took Ed’s hat off his head.The rush of air made my eyes sting even with the protection of my eye glasses.Sand exfoliated my face. In the distance, blowing sand created a hazy curtain restricting the long view of the beach.We debated, did we feel rain or was it the ocean spray?
At our turn around point to return south, the wind pushed at our backs.Bright glimmers of sun slipped though the parting clouds.The contrast of sun and clouds again caused the ocean to appear different.Now, it glistened like crystal in a lighted showcase.
In a window of time, nearly three hours, the sky and ocean were like Las Vegas performers changing costumes for each upcoming act and dazzling the audience.Ed and I were dazzled especially when we turned the ATV north for one more run.Where earlier we had seen a curtain of tan sand in the air, something else had appeared.It was a rainbow!
October 15, 2008
The ATV was provided by Avery Duman, President of Torex, Inc.
Sand Dunes Frontier located at 83960 Highway 101 South, Florence, OR
"The only thing better than telling old stories is creating new ones."
Some call it wanderlust. Others say my lifestyle is counter-culture. For two years beginning in September 2007, the journey began aboard our Prevost motor coach,bus conversion. We logged over 28,000 as I chronicled this extraordinary journey filled with experiences on this blog. Then in 2010, a new bold journey began - living in Switzerland and touring Europe.
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