2004 MOTORCYCLE TRIP

Catherine and I had such a good time riding to LA and up the California coast last summer that we decided we would visit the northwestern U.S. and ride down the coast this summer. We were able to take 17 days off for the trip. Our plan was to see a lot of country we had not seen before, do some hiking, and a lot of camping. Normally we look for ways to stay off the interstate highways, but to get where we wanted to go in the time we had, we resigned ourselves to riding the interstates some. Here is a brief travelogue.

Friday, July 9: We got an early start and followed the route we usually take when going west. Hwy 70 goes straight west to Davidson, then south to Vernon, TX. I was singing Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” as we hit the relatively open landscape west of Lone Grove. At Vernon we picked up Hwy 287 to Amarillo. We hopped on I-40 west to San Jon, NM, and then took Hwy 469 and 39 through Roy, where I had an interesting ride a few years ago, and 56 into Springer where we ate an early dinner of enchiladas and green chili. The Brown Hotel is an old hotel that has been converted into more of a bed and breakfast, but they have a dining room that serves good food. From Springer we took I-25 north through Raton where we got into a light rain for a few miles. We crossed into Colorado and found a campsite at Trinidad State Park just west of Trinidad. We got a great campsite where our tent was up a little hill and surrounded by small trees and bushes. For the first and not last time on the trip I had to turn down a fellow camper’s offer of a cold beer since my doctor told me to quit drinking ( I know….get a new doctor). We rode 645 miles today.

Saturday, July 10: We hiked 4 miles in the hills and valleys of the park early. By the time we got back most of the other campers were awake so we warmed up the bikes and prepared to leave. We had the usual questions of where we were from and where we were going from some other campers and wishes that they could go with us. We rode on Hwy 12 west and then north. This is a little two lane that goes through the mountains and passes the Cuchara ski resort. We ate a good breakfast at Pub & Grub in La Veta, and then hopped on Hwy 160 west to South Lake at the base of Wolf Creek Pass. For some reason I was singing Bob Seger’s “Night Moves” all day today. At South Lake we got on Hwy 149 north. We had ridden this stretch of road from north to south a few years ago, loved it, and wanted to ride it the other way. It is a beautiful ride along the Rio Grande River through Creede and Lake City over Slumgullion Pass into Gunnison. We then took Hwy 50 west, crossed the Gunnison river at the Hwy 92 dam and stayed on it north. We have ridden this road before and love it. It follows the edge of the cliffs and one can get great views of the river far below. We passed through Crawford and stopped in Hotchkiss for supper at North Fork Valley Restaurant. We then got on Hwy 65 going north and stopped at Ward Lake Campground overlooking Ward Lake in the Grand Mesa National Forest.

Our camp was very close to the very pretty lake. As soon as we arrived, the guy camping next to us told me he knew where there was a fallen tree where I could scavenge wood for a campfire. He and his little daughter took me in his truck and helped me gather it. I had started the trip with a sore heel, and as I was trying to break a limb off while standing on the trunk I lost my balance and fell for what seemed like 10 minutes, all the time envisioning a tree limb impaling me or breaking my head open on a rock. Luckily I only hurt my heel more. The guy named Clay of course jumped to help, asking if I was ok, but I suspect he was trying not to laugh at me. His daughter Shelby didn’t bother to hide her laughter. I was probably the funniest thing she’d seen all day. We had a good campfire which helped keep the mosquitoes away. They were about the worst I’ve seen. We put 410 miles through beautiful mountains under our tires today.

Sunday, July 11: We walked around the lake for a little while and watched as a doe mule deer almost came into our camp before hitting the road. We rode up Hwy 65 to I-70 west through Grand Junction to Hwy 139 which we followed north till it intersected Hwy 64 which took us to Dinosaur, CO. The ride through Colorado had been really pretty till we got to this stretch. Hwy 139 goes through some arid, bleak sand dunes and desert type country. The prettiest thing about this part of the ride was the sky. It was such a deep blue with no clouds that I couldn’t stop looking at it as I was singing The Eagles “Take It Easy” to the world. Thank goodness nobody could hear me over the sound of the bike, because Catherine and the boys say I don’t have a pretty singing voice. I don’t understand how they can think that when I think I sound just like the people who recorded the song. We didn’t stop at Dinosaur National Monument, but we have in the past. If you’re ever up that way and have time, it’s an interesting stop. We rode Hwy 40 into Vernal, UT, then north on Hwy 181and 44 around the western edge of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The scenery was a lot prettier north of Vernal than it was on the previous leg of the trip. Our route took us west on 43 in UT which turns into 414 in Wyoming. We followed it to Mountain View where we got on I-80 west to 189 north into Kemmerer. From there we took Hwy 89 which turned into Hwy 30 as we skirted Bear Lake in UT and turned into Hwy 89 in Idaho. We had tentatively planned on camping at Bear Lake, but we found it is a large pretty lake in the middle of a big valley. It was hot and there weren’t many trees and it just wasn’t what we were looking for, so we got on Hwy 36 west to Emigration Campgrounds in the mountains west of Liberty. There were a lot of people camping there, but we got a spot that backed up to a tree covered hill and was fairly isolated. Wood was easy to gather and we had a good fire. We had bought some freeze dried backpacking food, and with the little backpacking stove and 2 person cook set we dined on beef stew and canned peaches. I was mildly surprised at how good the food was and how easy it was to prepare. We rode 450 miles through vastly contrasting scenery today.

Monday, July 12: Our campsite was up enough of a slope that we were able to coast down to the entrance and warm the bikes up without disturbing anyone, so we got an early start. We took Hwy 36 west to Hwy 34 north into Grace, ID where we stopped for breakfast. The ride from Mink Creek through Banida into Grace was really nice with almost deserted roads and lots of hills and curves. There is a lot of irrigation so the rolling hills are filled with little farms growing alfalfa, wheat, and potatoes among other crops. From there we rode Hwy 30 west to I-15 which we took north through Pocatello to Blackfoot where we got on Hwy 26 going west to Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is 75,000 acres of black hard lava from a massive volcanic fissure in the earth which started 15,000 years ago and periodically erupted till about 2,000 years ago. The massiveness and different shapes the lava takes is very awesome. It’s not what I would call pretty, but it is very interesting and mind boggling.

From Craters of the Moon we went west and south on Hwy 20/26. We intended to go west on Hwy 20 then north on 75 to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. I didn’t catch the turnoff so we went about 50 miles out of the way. During this detour it got pretty warm so we stopped in Shoshone to cool off. We had iced tea and I had a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie. Catherine said the detour would have been worth it if they had coconut cream pie, but the café was out of it. With pie on my brain I sang Don McLean’s “American Pie” the rest of the day. We finally got on the road we wanted and went north through Ketchum which is the location of Sun Valley ski resort. There was a lot of traffic through here. The ride through the Sawtooths was great with lots of pretty views and curvy mountain roads. At the northwest edge of the Sawtooths we turned west on Hwy 21 at Stanley and followed it till we found a deserted campground in the Boise National Forest. We camped there in Helende Campground about 7 miles north of Lowman. While Catherine fixed our supper of Chicken and Rice and canned pears, I used the little hatchet I had bought in Stanley and found enough wood so we had a great campfire. We walked a short distance to the south fork of the Payette River and enjoyed just watching and listening to the water. We rode 450 miles today.

Tuesday, July 13: We took National Forest Road 24 west from Lowman till it intersected Hwy 55 at Banks. This is a narrow 2 lane blacktop that winds along the river through a canyon. I found myself singing “It’s a Beautiful Morning” by the Young Rascals as we navigated 25 miles of a road as pretty as any I have ridden. We stopped in the little town of Garden Valley and I had a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and chorizo sausage at the Garden Valley Country Inn and Bakery. At Banks we went north and rode along the west fork of the Payette River on winding forest roads to New Meadows where we got on Hwy 95 south to Hwy 71 west which took us to the Oxbow Dam across the Snake River at the southern edge of Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. It was very hot and steamy here, so we stopped just across the dam in Oregon for a break, and the woman at the store told us about a little road that wound through the mountains to an overlook of Hells Canyon. If not for her we would have missed it. Hwy 71 turns into 86 in OR, and about 4 miles from Oxbow, the little National Forest Road 39 took off north. One navigates very twisty roads for about 20 miles to the Hells Canyon scenic overlook, and then follows the same road, which turns into Wallowa Mountain Rd as it leaves the NRA, another 35 or so miles into Joseph. It may be the twistiest road I’ve ridden. Joseph is named for Chief Joseph, the Nez Perce Chief, and is the gateway to Wallowa Lake, which is a beautiful lake set between several large mountain peaks. We rode on into Enterprise, OR and got a motel for the night so we could wash clothes and clean ourselves and the bikes up. We ate at a Mexican restaurant called La Laguna, which was very good. Because of all the twisty mountain roads today we only rode 303 miles.

Wednesday, July 14: We rode Hwy 82 west to Elgin, where we ate a good breakfast at Boltz Restaurant and Bar. After fueling the bikes and ourselves we took Hwy 204 to Weston and Athena then Hwy 37 west to Hwy 730. The ride along Hwy 37 is through more really pretty productive farm land and the farm equipment started me singing “John Deere Green” by Joe Diffie. At the junction with Hwy 730 we saw the wide Columbia River for the first time and we were to spend the next couple of days not far from it. We rode within view of the river as we crossed into Washington and hit Hwy 12 into Kennewick, WA. There we stopped at Shumate Harley-Davidson and bought oil and filters and changed the oil in our bikes. We then took I-395 south to Hwy 14 west. On the map it looks like this highway follows the Columbia, but we were very disappointed. The first 70 miles of it were hot, dusty, and filled with semis. If you’re in that area, a better plan might be to cross to OR and take I-84 to Biggs. At Maryhill the trucks became less an annoyance and the scenery was a lot prettier. We had entered the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, which spans about 100 miles of the river east of Portland. We crossed back into OR on a toll bridge east of Bonneville called Bridge of the Gods. It’ not as impressive as the Golden Gate in California, but the view of the Columbia from the bridge is very pretty. Our intention was to get on I-84 west a few miles then take Hwy 30, known also as the Columbia River Scenic Highway. Shortly after getting on the interstate Catherine’s bike blew out the rear tire. After several phone calls Harley-Davidson Roadside Assistance sent a wrecker out.

While waiting for the wrecker, we got the bikes off the highway into the parking lot of the Bonneville Dam Historic Area. We looked around there till John the wrecker driver arrived and loaded the bike up. Catherine said he was stretching it pretty tight and he told her he was gonna make a Harley Limo out of it. Harley-Davidson made arrangements to get the bike into Latus Motors H-D in Gladstone, OR and for us to stay at the Oxford Suites motel about a block from the shop. It was a very nice motel with a large tub which Catherine used to soak in, complimentary food that evening and the next morning, and a pretty view of the Clackamas River. After riding 386 miles we visited with a group of bikers from Washington as we ate, then retired for our second straight night in a real bed.

Thursday, July 15: The Harley shop picked Catherine’s bike up at 9AM and after talking with the service manager we left the bike there and rode my bike a mile or two down the road to the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. We spent a very enjoyable informative 2 hours here learning about the way the pioneers traveled on the Oregon Trail and the hardships they endured. The journal entries posted on the walls are humorous in ways and some are very heart wrenching. The displays are good and a movie about the Oregon Trail is excellent.

At noon we went back, picked Catherine’s bike up and loaded all our gear and retraced our route from the previous evening onto Hwy 30 (Historic Columbia River Highway) going east. This is a little two lane that hugs the side of the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side. It goes through some little towns and has some great overlooks of the river. We particularly liked the Portland Women’s Forum State Park viewpoint. The Vista House is an old building on a point of high land that offers a gorgeous view of the river and is quite an impressive sight in itself. The road takes one by 6-8 different waterfalls as they cascade from the mountains above down the side of the gorge into the Columbia. They are all pretty, but the most impressive and best known is Multnomah Falls. At 620 feet it is the second highest year round waterfall in the U.S. We hiked up a 1 ½ mile trail to the top of the falls. It was a good hike, but the view from the top is not as impressive as I thought it would be. If you’re thinking about hiking up for the view think twice. It is a pretty steep grade and takes an hour or so to complete the 3 mile round trip. After the hike we ate an early supper of smoked salmon, bread, and fruit at the Multnomah Falls Lodge. We relaxed on the patio with a beautiful view of the falls.

We continued east on the HCRH till it intersected with I-84, and then crossed the Bridge of the Gods back into Washington. We then went west on Hwy 14 a few miles to Beacon Rock State Park where we rode the bikes up a steep hill to the campgrounds and secured a camping site for the night. After setting up camp we visited with a very nice man who works for the National Forest Service and he gave us some good ideas on roads to take in Washington. On a day filled with Harley Shops, sightseeing and hiking we only rode 70 miles.

Friday, July 16: We woke early, packed up and coasted the bikes half a mile down the hill before stopping and warming them up. We rode east on Hwy 14 a few miles then went back north on National Forest Road 90 through Carson, WA , then north on NF 25 and west on NF 99 into Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. We didn’t see the sun much because of the dense growth of trees on the forest roads and when we broke out of them and the sun began beating down on us I broke into my rendition of George Harrison’s “Here Comes the Sun”. There is a visitor’s center on the west side of the monument, but it was easier for us to get to the east side and several people told us in ways it was better, so we went there. The end of the road stops at what looks like the base of Mt. St. Helens, which erupted in May 1980 doing unbelievable damage to the surrounding area, but we were actually still 5 miles away. A ranger gave a talk about the eruption and the volcano which was interesting and we had a view of the side of the mountain that blew out. It was an awesome sight and definitely worth the visit if you’re in the area.

After spending a few hours at Mt. St. Helens we went back to the main road, headed north to Randle where we ate a late lunch of good ole American cheeseburger and fries. Then we took Hwy 12 west to I-5, zipped down it and got off on Hwy 4 west to Longview and crossed the Lewis and Clark Bridge back into Oregon. We followed Hwy 30 west along the south bank of the Columbia until we came to Astoria which if you remember your history was originally a settlement for gathering and shipping furs. It looks like it would be an interesting town to explore to this day. We picked up Hwy 101 going south and headed down the OR coast. We began looking for a campsite, but Friday evening on the coast proved to be popular with lots of folks, and we didn’t have much luck till a park ranger told us to try The Jetty Fishery.

It turned out to be a private establishment at the mouth of Nehalem Bay where the Nehalem River empties into the Pacific Ocean. It mainly caters to fishermen and crabbers. It sure wasn’t the prettiest of our campsites, but it was a pretty neat unusual place. A crusty old seaman and his sweet wife run it. After setting up camp we walked up to the dock area and bought some crabs, oysters, and clams the man had caught that day. He cooked them for us and his wife showed us how to take the bottom of the crab off, dispose of its guts, and use the body as a bowl to contain the melted fat inside which tasted like butter. We dipped all the meat in this as we ate it. The crab was excellent. The oysters were the largest I had ever seen and the clams were very tasty. We bought a box of crackers from their little store and sat at a picnic table and grabbed shellfish out of the large metal bowl he brought it in after it had been cooked. Their cat found us and delicately begged for tidbits. After having a nice visit with the family camped next to us we went to sleep. We rode 314 miles during the day.

Saturday, July 17: We got up early the next morning and hired a guy to ferry us across the bay to a long narrow peninsula that separates the bay from the ocean. We were the first people there and spent an hour or so hiking on the beach finding shells. There were some very cute little deer we watched for awhile. After a return ride across the bay which allowed us to view some crabbers checking their traps, we loaded up and headed south on Hwy 101. I had heard how beautiful the Oregon coast is and after riding along the California coast last summer expected the Oregon coast to be similar in that one can take a smaller road that follows the coastline giving new views of the coast and ocean with each turn. Unfortunately there is no such road in Oregon. In order to see the coast one must get off Hwy 101, go into the little towns and go to the coast. We talked to several people who were very enthusiastic about the coast, but as near as I can tell they were spending a lot of time exploring the towns and visiting the old lighthouses and other scenic viewpoints on the coast. Catherine and I really didn’t have time to do that so we continued on 101 south taking little scenic loops when possible. Even with the scenic loops we did not have a good view of the coast. We stayed on the busy 101 to Newport, then decided our time could be better spent somewhere else. We headed back inland on Hwy 20 to Corvallis, I-5 south to Roseburg, and then Hwy 138 to Bogus Creek campground in the Umpqua National Forest. It was one of the nicest campgrounds we stayed at. The volunteer NFS “hosts” were very friendly. I gathered wood and we had a great campfire as we ate our supper of Mountain Chili and canned apricots. The coast was pretty but it was sure nice to get away from the masses of people and hear the birds and frogs and crickets again. In retrospect and after looking at some maps, we might have seen more and enjoyed it more had we spent the time on the south OR coast instead of the north. It looks to be a little more suited to what we were doing. Maybe next year? We rode 302 miles today.

Sunday, July 18: We left camp on Hwy 138 east and stopped at some waterfalls on the North Umpqua River that the campground hosts had recommended. We continued east to Diamond Lake where we ate a wonderful breakfast at the Diamond Lake Lodge. After breakfast we continued on into Crater Lake National Park and rode through lots of snow fields to the lake. I wish I could describe how beautiful it is! The water is the deepest blue in contrast to the steep banks of the old volcanic crater the lake is in. The visitor center does a good job explaining how the lake was formed and what keeps it like it is. The top of this mountain blew out, instead of out the side like Mt. St. Helens, leaving a crater which filled with rain and snow melt. There is no inflow or outflow from the lake. The water deposited by rain and snow is balanced by absorption into the ground and evaporation. The lake is 1,943 feet deep and 6 miles across. There is an island to one side of it which is a mile across which is what is left of a smaller volcano inside the caldera of the larger one. We were mesmerized by the beauty and serenity of this national treasure.

As we grudgingly left the south entrance to the park, we got on Hwy 62 west then 234 west and crossed under I-5 around Gold Hill and continued southwest on Hwy 199. We saw a sign for Oregon Caves National Monument, so we decided to risk the 20 mile detour to see it. The little road leading up to it was really pretty. It winds through trees and little farms for awhile, and then turns into twisty mountain roads as it climbs to the cave. The cave has the same features most caves do, but they are all slightly different and it’s always amazing to see what water and minerals do and how long it can take. We have been in a lot of privately owned caves but this one was a little nicer as far as walking paths and tour guides since it is a National Monument. After the tour we took a little 2 mile hike to the top of the cave for some gorgeous views of the surrounding area.

Well, we did it again. We strayed from our intended path and took too much time. Oh well, we saw something we’ll always remember. The cave tour took longer than we expected so instead of making it to the Redwoods of California we stopped at Cave Creek campground just downhill from the cave. The campground was almost deserted. We rushed to set camp up in a light rain. The rain stopped and I gathered wood as Catherine cooked our supper of freeze dried Black Bart Chili. We rode 238 miles today.

Monday, July 19: We broke camp and rode into Cave Junction for breakfast, then headed south on Hwy 199 into California and began to get into the giant Redwood Trees. The northern California coastline is home to the Coast Redwood which is the tallest tree in the world, reaching to 370 feet, 22 feet in diameter, and up to 2000 years old (their cousins the Giant Sequoia of the Yosemite National Park are 311, 40, and 3200 respectively). There are 3 State Redwood Parks which make up Redwoods National Park in the 50 or so miles of the northern coastline. I know it’s hard to think of a tree as being amazing, but when a person stands beside one or tries to see to the top, he or she has to be in awe of the massiveness of the thing. I found myself singing “Norwegian Wood” by the Beatles as we weaved our way between the giant trees.

We got into a light rain for a few minutes as we went through Crescent City, then rode south on Hwy 101, which hugs the coast and winds through the redwoods. South of Klamath we took a short detour on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway which was beautiful. After making it through the redwoods, we stopped for a late lunch at Seascape Restaurant, which is on the pier in Trinidad. We had a nice meal there and decided to find a motel nearby where we could wash clothes and ourselves since we were getting a little gamey. One advantage to camping and not being able to shower or wash properly is you never have a big crowd around you in a restaurant. We got a room at Patrick Point Inn, showered, washed clothes, and reorganized everything. We went back to Seascape Restaurant for supper and had another very good meal as we watched seals, sea lions, sea gulls, and cormorants playing in the water around the pier and watched the bustle of fishermen around the pier. We fell into bed and slept like babies after riding 170 miles.

Tuesday, July 20: While packing the bikes to leave, as usual we were barraged with questions from some men who were working in the area and staying at the motel about where we were from, where we were going, etc. And as happens often, they told us of a good road to take in the direction we were going. We rode into Trinidad and wound our way to Trinidad State Beach where we walked along the beach and looked through the tide pools where we saw large numbers of starfish, sea anemones, a few sea urchins, little mussels, a few crabs, and some sand dollars. It was a very enjoyable way to spend an hour or so. Maybe it was the relaxation of the ocean, but when we hit the road again I was singing one of my all time favorites, Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”.

We continued south on 101 and stopped in Fortuna at a place called Hot Brew which was recommended by a man at a gas station. It was a very friendly place with nice people and they served a great breakfast. In case you haven’t noticed, I like breakfast. We continued south to Pepperwood, and from there got on a little road called Avenue of the Gods. This is a really pretty road through more redwoods. It is a smaller road and one feels as if he is closed in by the giant trees. We stopped at a couple of little shops that sell redwood art, furniture, chainsaw carvings, and knick knacks. One little sign caught Catherine’s attention and she showed it to me. It said “Some people live rich, other people die rich”. We liked that! Some of the merchandise is very pretty and original. We got back on 101 at South Fork (there seem to be lots of South Forks) and followed it to Leggett where we got off on Hwy 1.

There are about 25 miles of very steep, winding road between Leggett and the coast as the road goes over the coast mountain range. Once it breaks out onto the coast the gorgeous views begin. Hwy 1 may be my favorite road ever to ride. If you read about our trip last year you know we rode up Hwy 1 from the LA area to Point Arena and loved it. If anything, the part in northern CA is prettier. We rode down the coast stopping at pullouts to look and take pictures until we got to Fort Bragg, where we stopped at MacKerricher State Park and got their last campsite. After setting up camp, we rode into town and ate at The Cliffhouse which had very good seafood. Back at camp we walked about half a mile to the beach and explored up and down the almost deserted sand and rocks. We watched about 40 sea lions playing and sleeping on large rocks out in the ocean, and sat on a big piece of driftwood and watched the sun set over the ocean. Today we only rode 181 miles, but almost every one of them was gorgeous.

Wednesday, July 21: As we woke up and packed the bikes for our 13^th day on the road we knew we had to start making our way east, so at Fort Bragg we took Hwy 20 east across the mountains. Even though this is a fairly major highway it is very hilly and winding and a slow go. We came out on Hwy 101 just north of Ukiah and rode into town for breakfast at The Fork Café. We had discovered it last summer when we had my bike to the Harley shop in Ukiah for a little problem. We ate a great breakfast of their huge biscuits and gravy, then continued east on Hwy 20 around Clear Lake. Once a person drops out of the mountains and foothills into the Sacramento Valley it gets hot. We’ve tried it several times in different locations, and they’re all hot! There is a lot of farming and irrigation, and with the traffic that goes with it, this leg of the trip was the least enjoyable. I had to keep telling myself “Well, you could be home working.” The good thing is it only lasts a couple hours and you begin to climb back into the foothills and mountains of the Sierra Nevadas.

At Yuba City, we went south on hwy 65 where the traffic was terrible for about 10 miles to Lincoln, then got on Hwy 193 to Newcastle. We hopped on I-80 north a few miles to Auburn then took Hwy 49 south through Cool (which wasn’t) to Placerville. This is the area where Sutter’s Mill became the focus of the California Gold Rush back in 1849 (he’s a miner 49er and his darling Clementine…..remember that song?). There is a little park there where one can walk back to the mill, but Catherine and I decided to skip it and get a few more miles under us. We took Hwy 50 east and then began working our way south and east on smaller roads that zig zag back and forth. Hwy 89 zigs to Hwy 88 and zags back to Hwy 89 to Markleeville where we rode up a secondary road to Grover Hot Springs State Park.

We got a neat campsite that was situated up a little hill with large rocks surrounding us so even though there were other campers and the bathroom was nearby it seemed like we were isolated. After setting up camp we hiked about half a mile to the hot springs the park is named for. There are a couple of small swimming pool like enclosures where the water from the springs is regulated to maintain a temperature of 104° in one and normal swimming temperature in the other. We soaked in the pool for 20 or 30 minutes, and then walked back to camp. I was wearing my swimsuit and boots and a man commented that I was making a real fashion statement. I replied that I was from Oklahoma and that was the way we dressed there and we both laughed. Back at camp we ate a supper of black beans and rice, read a while, watched the birds and chipmunks play, watched the stars come out, and fell asleep after riding 342 miles.

Thursday, July 22: Today was when the wheels started coming off the wagon. We hadn’t made any plans because we didn’t know where we would be at this point in the trip, but we knew if we were somewhere near Lake Tahoe we could make it home on smaller roads in 4 days without rushing a lot. We decided from where we were to ride down, get a motel as close as possible to Death Valley, get up early the next morning, ride across it in the relatively cool weather and camp somewhere around the Grand Canyon the next night.

We broke camp and took a 2 mile hike on a little trail to let the other campers wake up before we fired up the Harleys and took off. We stayed on Hwy 89 till we hit Hwy 395 just north of Topaz, CA and headed south. We rode fairly hard till we saw a sign for Devil’s Postpile National Monument. Being suckers for National Monuments, we decided to ride in and see what it was. Our plan was to spend an hour or so there and be back on the road. Welllllllllllllll, it didn’t work that way. We rode about 5 miles on Hwy 203 to the town of Mammoth Lakes, then another couple of miles to Mammoth Mountain ski area. From there we bought tickets for a shuttle bus that took us another 5 or 6 miles over a narrow one lane winding road. At the headquarters of the monument, we stashed our leathers in one of the bear proof containers and hiked up a short trail to a pretty amazing scene. Less than 100,000 years ago basalt lava erupted upstream from the postpile. It flowed into a valley and pooled close to 400 feet deep. As it began to cool it contracted and began to crack. For some reason probably explainable by someone who learned anything in physics the cracks were uniform due to stress and it formed vertical hexagonal “posts” with about 10” on each side. Later a glacier came by and scraped material away exposing tall bunches of these “posts”. I have never seen anything like it in all the volcanoes, caves, and other natural related sites we’ve visited. The wall is 60 feet high and post after post is visible with many broken posts visible on the slope beneath the wall. By the time we finished looking and hiked 4 or 5 miles round trip to see a pretty little waterfall and took the shuttle back to the ski resort we had killed 4 or 5 hours.

We still thought we were ok. We dropped out of the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas and continued south on 395 through the hot Owens Valley. We thought we could still make it just outside of Death Valley, but about 30 miles south of Bishop, CA my bike died which killed our chances of getting where we wanted to get. I found a wrecker who came out and picked me up and hauled me back to Bishop where we got a room in a nice little motel. We ate supper at a good little Mexican restaurant and went to bed after riding 233 miles today.

Friday, July 23: I got in touch with Larry Edmonds from Longhorn Scooters in Lone Grove, OK and after visiting with him early in the morning decided to take the battery out and check it. I got it out with advice from some of the old men staying at the motel then walked all over town till I found an auto parts store that could check it. Sure enough the battery had broken inside or just picked that time to die. Unfortunately that store didn’t have a battery and the Honda/Yamaha dealer down the street didn’t either. They found one for me at the NAPA auto parts store on the other end of town. I borrowed Catherine’s bike and went over and got it and installed it with more advice from the people at the motel.

By now it was 10 AM and any hope of going across the desert while it was cool was gone. We decided since we were running late to not go through Death Valley but take a shorter route through Las Vegas to Kingman, AZ. We rode south on Hwy 395, then east on Hwy 168, and got on Hwy 266 at Oasis, Nevada. We rode east on 266 till it intersected Hwy 95. Hwy 168 from the little town of Zurich just east of Lone Pine is a little sometimes one lane but mostly two lane that winds up through some small mountains. We encountered no traffic there and it was fairly cool. The scenery was the high desert cactus and cedars that I really enjoy for some reason. It winds through canyons, then suddenly tops out with a vista of all the surrounding country. Catherine and I both really enjoyed the 30 or so miles of that road. At the junction of Hwy 266 and 95 there was one building which I hoped would be a gas station since Catherine was running low on fuel. One could get recharged there, but not with gasoline. The sign proclaimed “Bunny Ranch Brothel and Bar”. We rode south on Hwy 95 and found no fuel at the little towns called Goldfield and Scotty’s Junction. She finally ran out 20 miles north of Beatty, so I rode in, picked up fuel and rode back to get her up and running again. We rode through Las Vegas, with me singing Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty”, on Hwy 95 in late afternoon and the traffic was horrendous. We rode across Hoover Dam which is an awesome sight if you’ve never been there. I can’t fathom how they got that bridge across the river there. We finally made it to Kingman, AZ and found a little motel on old Route 66 about 8 PM.

We walked down to a steakhouse and bar called Dambar Steakhouse and Bar (now where do you suppose they got that name?) for a really good supper. After supper which filled us up, we asked the waitress to take our picture since it was our 27^th wedding anniversary. She took the picture then proclaimed that we had a free desert coming for it being our anniversary. We really were full but we forced ourselves to eat the big fudge brownie topped with ice cream and whipped cream. We walked back to the motel and fell asleep after a very hot, tiring day in which we rode 419 miles.

Saturday, July 24: We got up early and headed out. There is a 120 mile stretch of old Route 66 that goes between Kingman and just west of Ash Fork, AZ. We knew most of our riding till we got home was going to be interstate so we took this one last chance to stay on a 2 lane. It was a good ride. The weather was cool and the scenery was nice. We hit I-40 and kept a steady pace of 70-75 mph and fought the wind from the semis through Arizona, stopping only to fill up with fuel and go to the bathroom. We stayed hooked up most of the way through New Mexico and made it to Tucumcari by around 8 PM. We had a few little rain showers between Santa Rosa and Tucumcari. We walked across the street from the motel and ate at K-Bob’s Steakhouse. We then crawled into bed and fell asleep after riding 672 miles today.

Sunday, July 25: We ate the continental breakfast at the motel and continued our journey east on I-40 under threatening skies and almost cold temperatures on the bikes. I figured by the time we hit Amarillo it would be hot, but we were still pulling leathers close there. I KNEW that by the time we hit Oklahoma it would be hot, but it was still chilly. We stopped in Oklahoma City at Crabtown in Bricktown and met Joe for a late lunch and it was still cool. We beat a track south on I-35 to Davis then took Hwy 7 east almost to our place. The leathers were still feeling good when we got home. I have never seen it that cool in OK, but it sure made it easier riding on us. We rode 502 miles today.

We ended up riding 6,087 miles in the 17 days through parts of 12 states for an average of 358 miles per day. We saw a lot of country we had never seen before, most of it pretty. We enjoyed a lot of nights talking with each other and enjoying each other’s company….well I enjoyed Catherine’s…I’m not sure if she enjoyed mine. We learned a little more about camping on motorcycles. Unfortunately it had to end and we had to come back to work…you know…one of those dirty 4 letter words.

In one of my favorite movies “Easy Rider” Wyatt and Billy went “looking for America and couldn’t find it anywhere” according to one of the promo posters. I think that is debatable, but that’s not what I wanted to say. Catherine and I didn’t really go looking for it, but I think we found it. The small farming towns of rural OK, TX, ID, WA, and OR are representative of what America used to be and still is. Even if most of the people live in large cities, we’ve found the ones we meet are good people for the most part. The vastness and awe inspiring scenery of the country has always been and still is a lot of what makes America America. So it’s still out there if you get off your butt and try to find it. If you’re still reading this I hope it didn’t bore you too much and that it gives you some ideas on some wonderful trips of your own.