Sand boarding

The sand dunes in this area just call out to be ridden!  I still get that urge when seeing a snow covered hill in winter – that ingrained drive to fly down a hill on a toboggan, knowing that eventually the thrill will end in a crash, a mouth full of snow, and that cold feeling as it trickles down your back.  Sand boarding gives you the same thrill, without the cold and wet.  (The only draw back, of course, is sand deposits in places that the snow never made it into!)

This is not our first adventure with sand boarding.  Our long time blog followers (and I love and appreciate all three of you!!!) will remember that we tried this in Colorado, at the Great Sand Dunes State Park.  The dunes there are bigger than these, and it seems like more of a desert ecosystem.  Here in Oregon, the environment is very unique with the conifers and underbrush growing right up out of the dunes.  This area has coastal rain forest, dunes, and beach.

We found a place that rents sand boards and sand sleds and spent some time honing our skills.  Sean picked it up again quite easily, while I, as always, am much more afraid of hurting something! This concern was realized when Sean challenged me to a race, and just because I was winning, felt the need to crash into me from behind, resulting in oh so major injuries to the mom. (at least that’s the way I remember it, Sean might just tell a different story) I much prefer the sand sled, which is exactly like a small toboggan.  Both the board and the sled have to be waxed up every time you go down the hill, but they go quite fast! Rianna did well on the sled, but was not too keen on the sand getting on every part of your body.