Port Orford to Gold Beach (49km)

The north-westerly wind blows fiercely in Port Orford and has a chill in it. The proprietor of our hotel told us that the sea temperature never changes here, so the wind coming off the sea is always cold. At Siren’s this morning, discussing the joys of cycling with this wind behind us, a fellow customer  told us he once received a speeding ticket while riding a bicycle. He worked as a ranger at Mt Ranier. While it took him 5hrs to get to work,  it only took 45mins to get home. He was going at 35mph in a 25mph zone.

Before leaving Siren’s, we caught up with Chris and Shinyoung via FaceTime.

The Grey Whales were still feeding in the kelp beds near shore as we left and we stopped frequently along the road to watch for spouting. Eventually leaving the whales behind,  we continued to enjoy views from the cliffs on the 101. At a lookout, we met up again with Marie, who lives near Sherbrooke and is cycling to San Francisco. We enjoyed a long chat about cycle touring and her time teaching in the Yukon.

Gold Beach is at the mouth of the Rogue River and we are on the traditional territory of the Tutuni people. According to Wikipedia “After the Rogue River Wars in 1856, bands of the Rogue River were split between the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, relocating to either the Siletz Indian Reservation north of the tribe’s traditional lands or to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. Some of the tribal members were never captured and were forced to wander.”