Day Sixteen

While Graham slept in, I washed the bikes. This can be an arduous task – using the motel wastebasket for a soap bucket and transporting rinse water back and forth from the bathtub with our fold up bucket. Fortunately the motel had an outside hose that I could use (didn’t get permission but the motel police weren’t out at 6 a.m.). By 8 we were headed north to Mt. St. Helens. The mountain is about 50 miles NE from our motel, but we could tell right away that we weren’t going to see the mountain – low clouds. We went to the visitor’s center and took in the movie and the displays. I remember the eruption but had not comprehended the devastation that it caused back in 1980. Literally one fifth of this huge mountain was blown off. There are several visitor’s centers but we opted for the State Park site that was closer to the entrance It was determined that we were as far away from home as we were going to get – straight shot - 2350 miles according to my Gamin Zumo 550. Actually this picture of Mt. St. Helens was taken on Thurs. from the east side (good side)on our way toward Spokane.



We made the 50 mile trip south to the Mount Hood area and stocked up on groceries for the next two days near Gresham. We stopped at one of the parks on the south side of the Columbia Gorge for lunch. The Hood Mountain Loop encircles Mt. Hood – 90 miles total. This was one of the must do rides that I had researched. We went east on I 84 to the city of Hood River and took 35 south then caught 26 back to the interstate. The roads were excellent with gentle, sweeping turns and not much traffic until we got towards the end on the west side. The east side had huge amounts of apple orchards. Several wineries were also in this area. Mt. Hood has several ski and recreational areas on the south and east side. I read at the Mt. St. Helens visitor center about Indian folklore about these two mountains. Passed down from generation to generation were stories of the two mountains (apparently both volcanic active at the time) being mad at each other and throwing fire and rocks at each other across the gorge. Mt. Hood is very majestic, sitting by itself with no comparable mountains close. This picture was also taken on Thurs. from the north side of the Columbia Gorge about 40 miles away from Mt. Hood.



We crossed the Columbia close to Portland and began riding the north side of the gorge and decided to find a campsite early – knowing that they have been filling up quickly. We found a great little campground – Beacon Rock State Park – and it even had a pay shower ($.25 for 3 minutes, unusual for the State Parks we have seen so far).



This is a picture of the Columbia Gorge looking east.



A nice camper stopped by and brought us some fire wood. This has been the only camp area where it has been posted for no collecting of firewood. Dinner was grand. Earlier, we purchased some salmon fillets. We grilled the fillets over the open fire and heated up a can of corn and baked beans (we especially like the Bush’s variety) and sampled the local flavor of brew – Full Sail. All in all a good day of riding. The weather was perfect. It started out a little chilly but by the end of the day we were in t-shirts and enjoying the sun. Tomorrow we head east and north towards Glacier N.P.

Day Fifteen

We woke up to a heavy fog - not dense, just dripping wet. You could feel a heavy mist falling. The tent was wet - everything was wet. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs and sausages. We packed everything away wet with hopes of drying out later. It was just like riding in a light rain. We dressed warm and hit the road. I know the Oregon coast was beautiful, but we didn't get to see much of it until around 1 p.m. Just before noon we stopped in Lincoln City for lunch at Mo's Restaurant - good chowder, clams and shrimp. We continued up Hwy 101 to Astoria. We made a 1 1/2 hr. stop at Fort Clatsop where the Lewis and Clark expedition wintered in 1805 -1806. They have a very nice visitor's center and replica of the fort.



We crossed the Columbia on the Astoria bridge/causeway and rode the north side of the Columbia until we got near I 5 at Kelso, WA. This was a motel night. We found a Super 8 around 6 p.m. Dinner was a nearby Subway and we dined in. The bikes are really dirty - but that will have to wait until tomorrow morning. Clothes were dirty so I did laundry. The tent is drying in our motel room.

Sorry, only one picture, the weather wasn't fit. Tomorrow we hope to make the trip to Mt. St. Helens, Columbia River Gorge and the Hood River/Mt. Hood areas. Big day.

Day Fourteen

We’re back on the road. We broke camp and were on the road by 7:30 a.m., but not without saying goodbye to the nice folks at the campground. Dave and Lynn Soeth invited me into their camper for a cup of coffee and we were joined by their son-in-law, John Richter. These are really nice folks – and we now have new friends from central California. Also worthy of mention were the camp caretakers – Guy and Linda. They really went out of their way to accommodate us.

We rode the cold fog for the first 90 minutes, lots of curves and hills. We were in full gear with everything on we had – long underwear, leathers, jackets, gloves, and was still cold. We continued up Hwy 1 for approx. 40 miles until it ended and we picked back up on Hwy 101, which we will ride all the way to the Portland area.




We arrived at Redwood National Park just after noon and fixed sandwiches and had lunch at the Lady Bird Johnson Meadows Trail. Graham had no idea who Lady Bird Johnson was. We rode through parts of the park and I took a couple of pictures.










Quite honestly we probably saw more giant redwoods along the highway than we did in the park. Highway 101 is a good road – 4 lane in places and has more sweeping gently curves. Most of the time was on or very near the coast – but most of the time fog kept us from seeing the beauty of the Oregon coast. Our goal was to get north of Coos Bay, OR for the night. We tried Umpqua Lighthouse State Park – but it was full. This seems to be a pattern – lots of people camping and campsites a premium. We backtracked a couple of miles to Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area and found a nice campsite with lots of wood to scavenger to make fire for dinner and warmth.

Graham is now in charge of setting up the tent – and does a good job. He hasn’t shaved since long before we left. He is beginning to look like Shaggy on Scooby Doo.




For dinner we each had a ½ lb. hamburger, green beans, pork and beans, peaches and cookies for desert.



The fog has already begun to set in, so we’re anticipating what the morning will be like. It was good to be back on the bikes, although chilly, it was a good day.

Day Thirteen

We have settled in at the Cleone Campground for the day.





J.P. Mohn, owner of Fort Bragg Cycle Supply was still working on replacing the starter at 2 p.m. Pacific Time. He thinks he will finish today. The starter wasn’t an exact replacement, so he is exchanging some parts. We have decided to stay another night at this campsite. We were actually one day ahead in our schedule so we won’t have to make up any time or rearrange our route. It has been a lazy day. I visited with the regular campers early in the morning while Graham slept in. Dave and Lynn South from Willows, CA are here with many of their family. They invited me into their camper and we enjoyed sharing experiences. Their granddaughter is the one that made the monkey bread for us.

Late morning, Graham took a walk to the beach and took several pictures.







I waited by the camp anticipating a phone call from the mechanic, only to get anxious and ride down to the shop to learn of the above status. At 4 p.m. the call came and my bike was finished. I am considerably lighter in the billfold – but where on a Sat. evening and Sunday can you find someone to work on a motorcycle. We have been told that most California Harley dealers are closed on Monday, so it would have been Tues. before anyone could have looked at the bike and who knows when it would be finished.

We decided to celebrate ????? and go into town for dinner. We ate at the Northwest Brewing Company and had fish and chips and shrimp and chips - good meal. When we returned to camp, I walked the mile + to the beach. We’ll try to get an early start tomorrow morning with hopes to make it to central Oregon – staying on the coast. It may be a couple of days before another post – stay tuned.

Day Twelve

It has been a very interesting day – you will find out why later in this post. This morning we slept in – 6:30 for me, 7:30 for Graham. We made the 20 mile trip north to San Francisco. Our destination was Haight Street and Ashbury Street. For those of you out there that experienced the hippie era you will recall this famous district in S.F., it was the most famous intersection in the world in the mid 60’s. Graham did a research paper his senior year on this time period – the drugs, music, culture, etc. When he found out we were passing through San Francisco he wanted to put this intersection on our must do list. Haight – Ashbury District is close to S.F. University and Golden Gate Park. There are several neat shops, coffee places, cafes, homeless people and modern hippies. An inebriated homeless person struck up a conversation with me about the motorcycles and out of the blue mentioned that Greg Allman was coming to town – not sure if he knew what he was talking about but we did share one thing in common – we liked the Allman Brothers. Graham posed while I took this picture.



We walked a couple of blocks on Haight Street and I was surprised at how many people (old hippies I suppose) took pictures of this street sign.





We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in DENSE fog – very typical of the San Francisco Bay in the morning. From the East observation area I took this picture of the bridge shrouded in fog.



We decided to stop at Golden Gate Harley Davidson just 7 miles north of the bridge. Great little store, and the people were so friendly. We liked their selection of t-shirts and picked up a couple of gifts. They advised us to make the quick trip back to the bridge and observe from the west. Usually by 11 or 11:30 the fog lifts. Well we went back to find the fog as thick as before but took some more pictures anyway.



We picked up the famous Hwy 1 about 30 miles north of San Francisco. We tried to get on earlier but the beach traffic was terrible. For the next four hours we rode the coast - turning, twisting roads, and beautiful vistas of the beaches, rocks and ocean. We started out in t-shirts and ended up in full leathers and coats. Just several miles inland we were told the temps were in the low 100’s. Along the coast we had to be riding in temps in the low 60’s. I took this picture when we stopped for a quick lunch at Bodega Bay.



As we got closer to our overnight destination (Ft. Bragg, CA) the weather really changed – much colder and a 30 – 40 mph head wind. We stopped just north of Ft. Bragg at a State Park for a camp site – full. The attendant suggested a private campground just up the road at a little town called Cleone – full. This is where it gets interesting. There was also a small grocery/convenient store there, so we bought some groceries for dinner and breakfast and decided to drive up the road and find a camp site. My motorcycle would not start. I immediately suspected the battery. We took all of our gear off the bikes so we could get to the batteries to jump my bike. No luck. By this time we started to draw a crowd from the grocery and the nearby campground – all very helpful. We learned from the locals that there is a motorcycle shop just a couple of miles down the road that specializes in Harley Davidson’s. What are the chances that at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening that the owner would still be at his shop? Not very good – but he was! Rob, the son of the camp caretakers drove me to the shop and I purchased a battery (did I mention the locals were helpful), drove back, installed it and …….no luck. Now we were in crises mode. Before I left, I purchased road side protection package which included towing and some overnight accommodations. I placed the call and they began to make arrangements for pick up. While on this was going on the crowd continued to gather and one man (fellow biker) took it upon himself to drive back to the previously mentioned shop and tell the owner that the battery was not the problem and I needed help (very helpful). Well, the owner was just closing shop and after talking with me agreed to come and pick up the bike and get it to his shop and see if he could find the problem. Around 8 p.m. he determined it was the starter. He checked his inventory had a starter that he thinks will fit. He agreed to come in on Sunday morning and replace it (extremely helpful). If everything goes well we could be back on the road by noon. If not, we’re here until Mon. or Tues.

Although it sounds like we were in an unfortunate situation, it could not have turned out better – so far. The camp caretaker,Guy,came to us during this ordeal and offered us a campsite that was only accessible by walking, but really close to the showers, restroom, laundry, etc. Graham set up camp while I dealt with the bike problem.. Everyone has been great (have I mentioned helpful)! We even had a fellow camper(last name, Richter - no relation that he knew of the Freelandville Richters) bring us a pan of fresh baked monkey bread last night. After hamburgers, baked beans, potato salad and a shower, we were off to bed.

Day Eleven

It was cold last night! I’m not sure how cold – but our sleeping bags are rated 40 degrees and that wasn’t enough. We broke camp early. This is a picture of our camp site in Tuolumne Meadows Campground:



Breakfast was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We retraced our previous journey down Tioga Road to the West side of Yosemite. Graham took this picture of me all bundled up on the trip down.



We wound our way to the Bay Area passing just north of Modesto. The riding was varied as we passed out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains into the hot, dry valley then back into the cool temps of the Bay Area. As we approached the Bay Area the traffic was terrible – construction delays and I suppose typical big city traffic. I decided to go straight to one of the spots that I wanted to visit – Alice’s Restaurant near Woodside, CA. You might remember the 1969 song titled “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie. It was actually a song about an “incident” in Stockbridge, MA. There is no real tie to the song except there was an Alice that did buy this store/restaurant and she adopted some of the lyrics from the song as her theme – “you can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant – except Alice”. It is a popular biker, hiker and local hangout. Graham and I had lunch – he had a Harley Burger and I had a metric bike burger of some kind – only because I wanted the mushrooms, onions and Swiss cheese. This is a picture of Alice’s Restaurant.



After two nights camping and no shower, we decided that a motel was in order. We drove to nearby Redwood City and found a Days Inn. I took a long cold shower, caught up on my postings, charged my phone, made phone calls and will do laundry later. Tomorrow will be in and around San Francisco then we will head up the coast. Total miles traveled to date: 3,148.

This was our day for Yosemite National Park. We decided to break camp early and try to get a campsite inside the Park. While I fixed breakfast (scrambled eggs and sausage links) Graham slept in. Our camp (the picture below from the pass road) was 15 miles from the Park.



It was cool during the night – no thermometer but it had to be in the low 40’s. We decided on Tuolumne Meadows Campground, just 10 miles inside the East entrance. In retrospect, we should have gone further down Tioga Road and been closer to Yosemite Valley. The reservation station opened at 8:00 a.m. and we were there by 8:05 and there was a long line – an indication of things to come – crowds. This is the peak tourist season. We set camp and unhitched the trailer – the first time I have been able to ride my motorcycle without the trailer.

I hadn’t realized how big Yosemite was. We decided to make the trek to Glacier Point, a must see according everything we read and people we talked to. We’re glad we did it, but construction delays, a managed lightening strike forest fire and heavy traffic made this 75 mile, 2.5 hour trip a very long ride. We stopped and took several pictures along the way. The following is a picture of Yosemite Valley.



At Glacier Point a nice European family took this picture of Graham and me.



Other pictures at Glacier Point:









By this time we were tired of the traffic and delays and decided to forgo the heart of Yosemite Valley. All told we traveled 160 miles inside the Park.

The last two nights we have been in bear country, which means protected food storage. In Yosemite it is 24 hour food and toiletry storage in a container like this one in our campsite. We haven’t seen any signs of bears – and don’t want to!





Dinner tonight was simple – out of the can or box – ravioli, macaroni, green beans, peaches. We packed up everything we could so that we could get an early morning start.