Day 8-OR to WA

Day 8/Coos Bay, OR to Randle, WA  
Distance today: 387 miles
Total to date: 2626 miles


We are getting to where the scenery is outstanding all day & my ramblings about how fantastic the vistas & local fauna will be redundant. Suffice it to say that there are no bad views along the Pacific coast! 

We continued north on hwy 101 & saw many port towns that just looked liked they would be really neat to live at. Robert & I both raved about the smell of the sea & talked about how you just can't take the love of the sea from a sailor! Well, most sailors!!

During our travels, did stop to take some shots of some unusual sights. Pics of these are below. 

Had a great fresh fish meal in the town of Garibaldi. In Oregon, there is a state law that one can not pump their own gas. So an attendant is standing by the pumps, you tell em what you want & in our case they hand the nozzle to you & we pump our own gas. They then hand you your receipt. Kind of like things used to be when an attendant always pumped your gas. Let's hit the way back machine on that one!

We ended up crashing at another Mom & Pop operation. Stayed in room 0, which I thought was kind of unusual. Most rooms have a number but I've not ever previous stayed in or heard of a place that had a room 0!  

Had no internet or phone service there so no blog entry this night. Rob & I had an unusual night in that we weren't completely beat, so spent some time shootin the breeze, having some adult beverages & laughs. Was nice for a change to NOT be burned out!

Gives new meaning to
fly on the wall!

Lotta carved bears in this area

O'Brian OR caboose

 O'Brian Cop car

cop car in O'Brian, OR

old but still functioning USPO
somewhere in our travels

Pacific ocean from hwy 101

Pacific Ocean viewed
from hwy 101

one of many creeks that
dump into the ocean

Garibaldi dock-makes me miss
living on a boat!

Garibaldi, OR docks

Crab cages on Garibaldi docks

couple of sailors I picked
up at the
Garibaldi restaurant

Fish of the area

Columbia river scene

Hwy along Columbia River

Columbia River

Day 7-CA to OR

Bird prints on
beach sand

Day 7/Orick, CA to Coos Bay, OR 
Distance today: 264 miles
Total to date: 2239 miles

Today was another really great day! Got a good night's sleep in a comfortable, clean bed. 

former Yurok village site

First thing we did was go down to the ocean, looking for information on the Redwood Forest. But the office was closed so we checked out a site where the Yurok tribe had a former village. Unfortunately there is nothing there now at all. 

 

former Yurok village site

According to the Yurok Tribe website this tribe is currently the largest Tribe in California, with more than 5,000 enrolled members & that, " they were known as great fishermen, eelers, basket weavers, canoe makers, storytellers, singers, dancers, healers and strong medicine people.

found some headphones here
that were perfect for my iphone!

We continued north, up the coast & through the Redwood National Forest. Was neat because the coastline was foggy since this was about 0845 & the sun hadn't burned the fog off yet.

I was so very moved by the trees along this route that I literally shed some tears of wonderment at these ancient ones & their majestic presence. Words seem simply inadequate to describe their beauty. But this route wound us through this band of forest, right along the coast. Well worth going on again! 

We got to Crescent City & found another National Park information center, where one of the employees told us how to get to some dirt road that cut through the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  

This was a fantastic journey! My only complaint was that navigating the bike on this single lane dirt road (but had traffic going both ways) & through the trees where at times there was barely room for one car was a challange & was a distraction from looking at the trees. 

I took a zillion pictures & there was complete silence, except the occasional bird sound. Will let the pics below speak for themselves. 

After this incredible experience, we continued north. We could not locate a two lane road we were trying to cut across west on, so got lost around Grant's Pass but eventually we figured it out & got on 42 which was another very beautiful, twisty road through more very scenic woods with a river right alongside the road. This took us right to Coos Bay. Wikipedia sez that tribal members of the Coos, Lower Umpqua,Siuslaw and Coquille tribes lived, fished, hunted and gathered along Coos Bay and its estuaries, along rivers, and in meadows and forests. I am learning about all sorts of NW nations I hadn't even heard of! 

Tomorrow we will traverse to WA, right up 101 to Aberdeen, then head back eastward. Should be awesome following the coast line. Hopefully we won't get too lost! At least we don't have to worry about heading west & getting lost!!

Magnificent ancient one

Fallen redwood log on forest floor

crystal clear creek through forest

Robert walking on road 

sunlight through the trees

Day 6-NV to CA

Day 6/Fernley, NV to Orick, CA 
Distance today: 354 miles
Total to date: 1975 miles

Cut across CA today & oh what scenery! I see now why people rave about northern CA! The mountain visa to the right was the first 'official' scenery I saw today! It was hard to drive today for there were just too many beautiful vistas & I wanted to stop & capture all of them on film! But somethings just don't portray the beauty, ya just gotta go see um!

We ran into alot of road construction on our travels. Guess CA is paving some roads & cutting the road back from the roads. But well worth it for our entire day was spent weaving thru valleys or cutting thru forests. VERY nice change from the interstate. Fauna & trees right along many sections of the roads, especially since this area cuts thru alot of State parks & National Forests.

Trees at rest stop
along Trinity Hwy

Map of SR 299

We took Scenic Route 299, also called Trinity Hwy, across CA & this road is absolutely fantastic! If I ever drive this way again I will definitely take it!! 

Trinity Hwy winds thru hills for miles upon miles & is a biker's dream, as you have these banked curves & the road runs along Trinity River. These pictures just don't do the scenery justice! Followed this hwy at least a couple hundred miles. Simply fantastic!

Trinity stream along hwy

So travelled hwy 299 west to 101 north & the temp suddenly went down. Was confused about this for we were out of the mountains. Had gotten used to knowing when we were high, elevation wise by the temp going down, so this confused me. Was surprised to pop over a rise & see the Pacific Ocean!! Now I know how Lewis & Clark felt!!  

Pacific Ho!!

Night's destination

We followed the coast, past smaller (relatively speaking) redwoods. One tree was HUGE & was right along the "redwood hwy" that was another name for 101. 

Finally reached Orick, a very small town of about 347 souls that has an elevation of 28'. Wikipedia sez that The first post office at Orick opened in 1887 & that Orick is one of the three Yurok Indian villages at the mouth of the Redwood Creek. The town later became known as Orckw, then Orek, then Orick. Some say it means "mouth of the river." Others say it means "home of the driftwood."

Checked into our motel, which was really noteworthy, mainly because of the profusion of flowers they had growing in containers-probably 100 of them! Really made a difference to the face of an rather old Mom & Pop place that would have looked alot sadder if these splashes of color were lining the parking areas. But the room was clean & the beds very comfortable!

Covered parking too! Note
flowers in background in containers.

Also liked being at this motel for the man that checked us in was obviously a Native, as was another Native that was our waiter at the adjoining cafe. Both very friendly & nice, although I never had the opportunity to visit with them about what tribe they were, etc..

The waiter told me a bit of history about Orick, how the place used to have about 3,000 residents, two saw mills, lots of lumber related jobs, etc...Sadly just another prior logging town that saw its hey day, then declined. 

Enlarge this photo to
read the history of this log

Larger view of pic to right

Went into the local grocery store, just across the road from the motel & reminded me of my childhood, in that the floor of the place was linoleum & that there was an order about the place, the combo of freezer smell & general funk. But the liquor & beer selection was impressive!! Must be alot of drinkers in this town!

Rob & I spent some time sitting outside the place, just drinking a cold one, watching the locals. Then off to bed early for me. Still really tired after a day of riding. Rob mentioned that I have now driven my motorcycle from coast to coast, FL to CA. That's a milestone!!

Tomorrow we check out the redwoods! Won't get as early a start on the road but we can use a break, then we plan to head north. Destination yet to be determined!

Day 5-UT to NV

Life Elevated

Day 5/Wendover, UT to Fernley, NV 
Distance today: 368 miles
Total to date: 1611 miles

Utah section of I-80, desolated
as hell....literally

Got an early start this morn in leaving UT. The saying on the UT license plates & "welcome to Utah" sign is "Life Elevated". I thought that was kinda funny! Is that like a rocky mt high? Oh wait, that is in CO.....!

Anyway, think I finally got my shit together & actually beat Robert in the AIS contest. What is the AIS you may ask....well this stands for Ass In Seat, as in locked & loaded & ready to go down the road. Am getting the hang of this group ride thing.

First item of interest for me was crossing into NV. We did this the first quarter mile out by driving out of Wendover, UT & immediately into West Wendover, NV. They had a white line about a foot wide painted across the street with NEVADA painted along one side of the line & UTAH on the other. 

Next went through another tunnel. Yah hoo! Remainder of day was spent driving across more desolate desert but at least there wasn't any white salt. Just scrub, hills & sand. Did I mention it was 94 degrees today & this was our first day of no rain?!

Wells, NV


http://bellasrestaurant.us
Stopped at this great place, Belle's Restaurant & Expresso in Wells, NV. Rarely plug anyplace on my blog but want to come back here. Home made everything & a fantastic wait staff! 

Drove a long way today before seeing any wildlife & when I did, saw ONLY two pair of very skinny deer all day! I felt sorry for them for as my former neighbor Carlos (whose birthday ironically is today!) would say, "it'd be hard to make a living off this land". Very little water in this state or trees. Ironically the only time I saw any trees was by what little water was visible or in pockets by settlements. The trees appeared to be cottonwoods, which are water loving trees, which was a puzzle to me.


Passed thru Winnemucca which just happens to be the hometown of someone I used to know. What a God forsaken place to be raised at! No wonder prostitution is legal in NV. What else is there to do? But saw this sign along the road & had to check out just exactly what Butch Cassidy did to earn his $. The Wikipedia site sez: "Cassidy, (and two other men ) traveled to Winemucca,
Nevada, where on September 19, 1900, they robbed the First National Bank of $32,640." So is this sign suggesting visitors rob a bank while they are in town?!

Dust devil

We hit a serious head wind just outside of Winnemucca which made the travelling very difficult. Nothing like driving into a head wind in addition to passing semi-trucks to get your knuckles white! And no, I'm not driving the 80 MPH speed limit at all (which surprises even me). It is amazing how much wind blows through these valleys but there is little to stop any flow since there aren't any trees. I did see something I'd not seen previously & had to do some research to figure out what exactly this was. Turns out what I saw was a 'dust devil'. Apparently there are such 'devils' of various materials such as fire, coal, steam & ash. Who knew?

There was also an area about 2-3 miles long where people had spelled their names, words, etc... out of rocks situated amongst the scrub in the dirt & positioned alongside the highway. Must be one of those things people do around here.

Along the way people are always stopping to visit like they know us because of the bikes. They are amazed I have driven my bikefrom Missouri! And that I'm headed to CA, etc....They share their stories, provide good recommendations & help break up the monotony of the trip.

Today a USN vet biker pulled up & parked next to me while I was waiting outside a convenience store for Robert. He was totally tricked out in black leather chaps, black jeans, black T shirt & black skull cap. The only item on his person that wasn't black was the USN anchor & US NAVY stickers he had on his helmet (black of course) & his gray hair & beard. During the course of our conversation I learned (& met) his companion, Jane, who is from Michigan. They met thru some online dating site. She flew out to NV from MI & they are on their way to WS to see the Dells. They are also going to the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. I told them I was planning a trip there too in July.

And earlier today another guy from OK started talking to me, again while I was waiting outside for Robert. He was driving a white corvette convertible but has a Harley & wanted to share his story with me. How ironic that once folks find that common ground-motorcycles-all differences seem to melt away. Really adds zest to the trip however! I really enjoy hearing others' stories & tales.

One of the bikers that
visited with us today

So we are in Fernley tonight, which is about 35 miles east of Reno. Can you believe that according to Wikipedia, Fernley's average annual rainfall is 5 inches!!!! No wonder nothing grows here! Neither Rob or I are interested in gambling or being anywhere around a casino so we decided to NOT stop at Reno. Yet when we went to eat (at a place recommended by one of the local bikers we met today) the casino was on the opposite side of the building that also housed the restaurant.

Casino ceiling is
made of glass &
makes me dizzy 

Today is the first evening where I actually feel good. Don't know if this is because I got a good night's rest or what. Maybe I'm just getting used to the routine. But Robert & I should hit the CA & the coast tomorrow!

We are getting OFF the frickin' interstate -FINALLY- & going to the coast on a "scenic route", two lane road which winds it's way through Redding, CA, various National Recreation Areas & State Parks!! And there will be trees! No more desert! Hoo Yah! Destination Trinidad. Not to be confused with the Lesser Antilles (also known as the Caribbees) or the name given to a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Although I wouldn't mind going back there. But the west coast Trinidad will do just fine!!

This blogger site is on crack tonight & don't have it in me to fight it, so pardon stuff & pics being all over the place!