California, Here I Am!

There's something about making it to California today that made me feel like this trip is already half over. I've surpassed the 6,000 mile mark and I would think this is probably the half-way or further point.

Let's start with last night. I had a dream that I was suddenly back in NYC. I had flown back for some unknown emergency, thinking at first I could complete the second half of the trip later, but then I realized that I was back on the east coast and would have to drive back to the west coast to finish off the second part of the trip. In the dream I was disappointed that I hadn't thought of that before returning to NYC.

Needless to say I was happy to wake up in Oregon and find that I hadn't miraculously transported back to New York. And here's what I found when I hit the road this morning. Lots of cloud cover, but the air wasn't quite as cold as Monday morning, in fact I was a bit overdressed and had to shed my jean jacket (which I was wearing under my leather). I kept the full fingered gloves and turtleneck on all day though, as it wasn't warm enough to drop all my gear just yet.



Rolling along the Oregon coast on US-101 goes something like this: two lane blacktop stretched out through a corridor of tall pine trees with a canopy of clouds overhead. The road twists and turns as it climbs to elevations of 1,000 feet or so. The trees give way to cliffs and a view of the beach. Huge rocks sit just along the coast line.

Giant pieces of driftwood litter the beaches. The wood bleached white from the sun or saltwater or both, so that they look like the bones of Mastodons. Something like this photo below:

After the peak you drive down the elevation, almost to sea level. Then the corridor of trees returns and you glimpse only snatches of water and rocks through the trucks of pines. Occasionally the clouds break apart and allow the sun to bring a little warmth to the day.

This goes on for about 300 miles, with small breaks in between when the coast line gives way to towns. The largest town I went through in OR today was called North Bend. It's one of the few towns where the logging industry still holds stronger than the tourist trade. I could smell the clean, clear odor of fresh chipped wood as I approached the southern end of town. Most of the other towns now rely on tourists more than anything else to survive. They are littered with RV parks and boast hunting and fishing to keep from going under entirely. It looked as if most were doing a fairly good business.
I left Oregon and entered California with little fanfare. There wasn't even a "Welcome to California" sign. There was a "Welcome to Crescent City", that and the fact that my potato salad had olives in it was how I knew I'd made it to the final state on the west coast leg of my trip.

After lunch I made my way further south on US-101. The trees suddenly turned from regular thin trunked pines to the more massive Redwoods. The sun had came out and the temperature reached close to 70's degrees for the first time in days.


Now I had heard about these Redwood trees for the past few weeks from just about anyone who I told about this trip. "Oh you'll love the Redwoods," everyone would say. The Redwoods, the Redwoods, the Redwoods. Nothing is ever how you think it will be. I remember thinking the Oregon coast ride would be spectacular, and I have to say I was a little disappointed with it overall. I think the cold weather was a surprise and I was a bit cranky for much of the OR coast ride, so didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

As for the Redwoods, I thought at first they were a bit overhyped. Big trees, yes ... but they didn't really knock me out. Of course, I was not looking very well. First, I thought the area of Redwoods was larger, so when I reached the end of the Redwood Park, I thought something must be off. I pulled in at the southern end of the ranger station and found I'd just about drove the entire length of the park. So I decided to turn around, even though I hate to backtrack.

I drove back a few miles to the Lady Bird Johnson site and got off the bike. I didn't go too far into the site because there was a sign at the parking lot that said to take your valuables with you and lock your car door. As I can't do either of those things, I hoped for the best and walked a bit into the area to see the big trees up close.

Well, I can say this about the big trees ... they are big. But more importantly I noticed how very still and quiet the area was (when I stopped walking and chomping on my gum). I stood there and felt the silence for a few minutes which was very nice. I popped a few photos and got back to the bike. I did get a shot of the famed Banana Slug, almost on a fluke. I had seen the little guy while taking other photos, then read what it was and went back to take his picture. Ugly, slimy little sucker, isn't it?

OK - so that was my first foray into the Redwood Forest. Next up I drove a few more towns south and finally found one of those "Drive through a Redwood" attractions. I pulled into the parking lot and found a little sign that said $1.50 per person, drop your money in the slot. So I dropped 2 bucks in the slot ('cause I'm a big spender) and drove to the driveway the arrow pointed me to. I drove through this falling over redwood stump held up with guy wire. I wanted my 2 bucks back, but there was no one to complain to about it, so I got back on the highway and forgot about it.

I thought that was it for the Redwoods and felt a little cheated. Little did I know that there were many more Redwoods waiting for me further down the road. Some 75 miles later I came across the Avenue of the Giants, a road that runs parallel to US-101 with huge Redwoods to the left and right as you ride along on a narrow 2-lane road. This is what I thought Redwoods should be. I pulled over at a couple of points and popped some shots. Here's one with me underneath one of these big bastards. Nice tree ... big tree.

It wasn't as quite by these trees, since the highway was fairly close by, but it was a good ride just the same.

Now for the fun part. Here's where I've still not learned to just settle down when the motel room getting is good. I got back on US-101 after about 25 miles of the Avenue of the Giants. At the small town of Leggett, I pulled onto California-1, the Coast Highway. I quickly drove off Highway-1 into Leggett to find the drive-through a tree bit again that was supposed to be much better than the last one I tried. Unfortunately they were shut for the night, so I went back to Highway-1. Heading south on 1 at 7:15 pm with the sun hanging low in the sky, I saw a sign that basically said curvey road, 35 mph, next 22 miles. So with half-a-tank of gas and little daylight left, I forged on ahead like Ralph Kramden on the "$64,000 Question".

The road was a great exercise in motorcycle maneuvering. There were turns suggested at 10 mph (and after the first time I scrapped my floorboard on the pavement, I paid better attention to the suggested speed limits). I thought of it as practice for the upcoming Tail of the Dragon road in Tennessee (318 curves in 11 miles).

Doing that kind of driving as evening approached, with 150 pounds of gear is no way to ride, but I figured it was better then turning around (Leggett didn't have a motel, so I would have had to go back some 50 miles or more ... and did I mention I hate to backtrack?). I got the hang of it quickly and enjoyed the ride for the most part, until it got dark. I was a little worried because earlier in the day I noticed that my passing lamps (the smaller white side lights that are not required, but help give more light then just the standard headlight) had lost their ground connection and were no longer coming on (this happens after a while with these lamps apparently).

So I had only the standard headlight that most bikes have. Though I have to say, once the sun went down, I was the only idiot biker out there. But stupidity sometimes pays off ... this time in spades. First, the full moon popped out at me as I came up a rise, beautiful and majestic. Then I could feel the dampness and smell the sea before I actually got around the curve and up over the rise, but once the trees gave way to the vista, I had a great view of the ocean cliffs at twilight. Then the full moon peaked out from the mountains to the east and I was loving every moment of that ride. Evening coast line to my right, full moon on the left.

Of course, I passed through 2 towns with one motel each and they were both booked. I pinned my hopes on the town of Fort Bragg. As it was completely dark out now and I was trying to stick to the road, I prayed that Fort Bragg was a town of thousands with big comfy, warm motels and lots of vacancies. It turns out to be a town of about 6,000.

The first place I saw that had a vacancy sign lit, I pulled in. It was an Ocean View resort and the guy at the desk said the only room he had left was $180 for the night. The girl at the counter said if I went into town (oh - there's more to this burg than just these few resorts lining the beach?) I'd find something with a lower price.

Lo-and-behold, I arrived in the town proper and there was not only a motel, with a vacancy, but there was an adjoining restaurant that was still serving for the next hour. I got me a room, took me a long, hot shower and dropped myself into that restaurant booth for a dinner of fish and chips with a little salad even.

Fort Bragg, my savior town is within spitting distance of San Francisco (I've already booked me 2 nights in a motel in SF), but I'll be taking the slow route on Highway-1 along the coast tomorrow, just for the fun of it. My only regret was that I didn't get to see about 50 miles of the coast line in the daytime, but I'm sure there's still plenty of it to be had.

Well, this turned into a long day (and a long post - which I hope was better than yesterday's, that was a little lame as I was cranky and lazy after the cold ride). But it was certainly a good day and tomorrow promises to be even better.

Last thing - road signs in the past few states have been funny. Yellow quadrangular signs that have one word, "Deer", "Elk", "Trucks", "Congestion" (should I cough?), or my favorite, "Rocks". At least there's been no major road work (I've seen some, but it's been fairly easy to get around, no pilot cars and long wades through piles of dirt. I've been on pavement all day, thank goodness).

See you in San Francisco!