Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area

Jill's Journal: Strangely, immediately after one of the most disappointing experiences on our journey (the Sea Lion Cave), we had one of the funnest and most memorable adventures on our journey (a big buggy ride). The Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area is 40+ miles of sand dunes renowned the world over. The area buts up to the Pacific Ocean and is starkly beautiful.

There’s a harsh wind blowing at all times, constantly sculpting the dunes and shifting the sand. Some of the dunes tower higher than 500 feet above the ocean. It’s a spectacular and magical place.

We strapped into a big buggy with a character named Bob at the helm and half a dozen other tourists. This Bob is not your average tour guide or driver. He’s been navigating these dunes since he was nine (and has got to be at least six or seven times that now). He conjured up images of every redneck joke that starts with, “Here, hold my beer. Watch this!” before someone dies. We were a little scared.

Bob tore up and down and over and around the dunes, thrilling us all every step of the way. Here’s a windswept and joyous Erika after plummeting down our first dune.

It’s impossible to describe just how vast and stark and imposing a 40-mile stretch of sand is…it feels otherworldly. Here you can see ATVs buzzing around; oh, the fun they were having.

The famous science-fiction novel Dune was inspired by this area. I have less than zero interest in sci-fi, but I once suffered through the very long movie inspired by the book more than 20 years ago because Sting played a character in it. (How’s that for teenage devotion to a favorite singer?)

Here’s our buggy (those people in front of us were bundled up even more tightly than we were) and Bob teetering precariously on the top of a sand dune, seeing nothing but sky and ocean…

…before plummeting wildly and (what feels like) uncontrollably down a dune. It is an insane ride, far better and more exhilarating than any thrill ride at an amusement park.

We left the Oregon Dunes in high spirits, all laughing and as giddy as if we’d just ridden a roller coaster. We had a nice reminder of our adventure as well: a lovely layer of sand all over our bodies. Each one of us was thinly caked everywhere, with sand even in our ears, in our noses, and in our eyebrows. When we saw Bob put on goggles behind his windshield before we took off, we had an inkling there just might be some sand thrown around. Why yes, just a touch, but worth every grain of sand I’ll have to clean out of the shower later.