As we head out of town we stop for a photo op at the covered ‘welcome’ wagon that says “Needles California”. I sure wish I had the laptop during this time so that I could write down all the things running thru my brain and people I met. But for now I will just have to try and hit the highlights.

I write these blogs for purely selfish reasons, I want to remember what I felt, saw and the smells of the journey. I want to remember the interesting people I met along my way, ones that touched my life and heart with a simple smile or conversation.

As we leave Needles, we have to join I-40 for a bit. As we cross the Colorado River you can see the old Route 66 Bridge to your right. You can no longer travel on it; there is a gas pipeline that occupies it. Still I wonder how many families stopped to cool off, maybe have a picnic and take a swim. There is nothing but hot dry desert for hours and hours in all directions.

As we take the Oatman Rd exit, we find ourselves back on Route 66 and its sleepy hills and lazy curves. On the crest of each hill is a sign that warns drivers not to proceed if there is water on the road. This area of the desert is known for its flash floods, as we proceed you can seen the remains of the last flash flood on the road. Red clay covers the road, the shoulders of the road look like dried up river beds. The sky is blue, the breeze is warm, there is not a cloud in the sky – so we ride.

The book warns that although the road ‘looks’ like you can do 65 mph, take heed and follow the 45 mph speed limit signs. It was right, the curves are not banked correctly and you find yourself fighting to keep your bike on the right path. We find there is nothing but desert between Needles and Oatman. I can tell that we are getting close to Oatman some hour and half later when I see the signs to watch out for wild burros.

We turn a corner and sure enough, there is a small herd of 6 or so burros being fed by the tourist that have stopped. As we pull into Oatman, it is like stepping back in time. This single-lane town has not changed since the late 1800′s. if you are traveling out this way, you can’t miss the town of Oatman, it is worth the extra drive to come out here. You can read more about the town at http://www.oatmangold.com or http://www.desertusa.com/oatman/du_oatman.html.

We parked at a hitching post and wandered thru the town. This town is booming today, there were so many motorcycles and cars; it was hard to find a parking spot. We met a couple from Canada. They just got married last week, flew to NY and rented a Harley. They are traveling Route 66 to California so that his new bride can meet all his friends in LA. This town is wonderful, they stage gunfights, there is live music and you can walk thru the Oatman Hotel where Clark Gable and Carol Lombard honeymooned in 1939. It is the back drop to several movies, How the West was Won, Foxfire, and Edge of Eternity. There are many beautiful artists that call Oatman home, good thing I was on a bike, or I probably would have spent a lot more money than I planned. I did buy the cutest little monkey shirt – gotta love the monkey.

We ate lunch at the Oatman Hotel, it is covered and I mean covered in 1 dollar bills. The waitress will bring you a black sharpie and a stapler so that you can add your own. The food was good, I had something called “Burro Ears” which is really just homemade potato chips served with a salsa sour crème mix, and they were great. We take time to lube up (SPF 50!) and gear up and head out of town. Even though we used SPF 50, sometimes up to 6 times a day we still got very very dark.

The road to Kingman is filled with switchback corners and drop offs that make my tummy flip flop (no I don’t think it was the Burro Ears). Sitegreaves Pass elevation is only 3500 ft, but there is a spot you can stop at and see 3 different states: California, Nevada, and Arizona! The scenery is breath taking with all the crags and vast desert and Saguaro cactus. There are a few remains to gawk at as we zoom by at a whopping 40 MPH.

Regardless, of whether you travel I-40 and jump off to Route 66 for the sites, or if you stay on Route 66 for the whole trip; you will take the Business Loop of every town you come across. Downtown Kingman has done a wonderful job of preserving the Route 66 feel as you travel through it. There are many hotels that have restored the original signs and some remains of repair shops that allow your mind to travel back in time. Kingman is a good place to stop, refuel, and rehydrate; get your bearings and press onward.

It was somewhere along this long stretch of highway that I came up with the idea for a children’s book. The sky is so blue here and the clouds are so puffy, I found myself picking out a cloud and making up a story about it. I thought if I could start with a picture of a cloud on one page and then on the opposite page draw the image that it evoked in my twisted brain. I could write the story. At the end of book, I would put the same picture of the original cloud and kids could make their own picture from it. It is so weird some of the things that run thru your brain when all you have is wind to listen to.

On our way to Seligman, we stopped at the Grand Canyon Caverns. You can read all about the wonderful story here http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/feb/stories/gccaverns.html

I must say I was amazed at how much I enjoyed the tour. I just wanted to stop because of the giant dinosaur out front; I wanted my picture with him. Clint wanted to take the tour, and I’m glad he did. Our tour guide was animated and captivating.

It was hard to climb back on our bikes when the temperature in the cave is a constant 56 degrees and the temperature on our bikes was not! It was a whopping 104 degrees outside!! However, Seligman and the Roadkill Café called to us, and we had to answer.

Seligman is the birthplace the Historic Route 66 Assoc. of Arizona; they sponsor and annual Fun Run where in the spring classic cars, motorcycles and people fill the streets to take a run on Route 66. The Roadkill Café has wonderful food, their motto “you kill it, we grill it”. Thankfully, they declined the bugs that were on my windshield and fed me anyway. There are so many things to see in this town, they truly believe in keeping Route 66 alive.

The sun is slowing setting as we cruise on down the road, the gust of wind becoming a little cooler. We climb a few large hills and the sun drops below the horizon and I find myself shivering on my bike. The shivers signal that it is time to find a bed to sleep in.

We pull into Williams and call it a day. But the fun doesn’t stop there. The hotel has a fire pit out back by the swimming pool, Clint grabs a drink and we head out to enjoy the cool night air.

We meet a couple of travelers out there. One couple from California they are looking for somewhere to retire. Another couple, mom and son, that are headed east to take a truck to her oldest son that is in the military.

The California guy asks “are you guys part of those bikes out front?”

“Ummmm” Clint and I look at each other, “we are the bikes out front!”

The conversation only got better from there.

I call Barnes and Noble and the girl there tells me that they have several books on Route 66; she will hold them at the counter for me. I thought the store was just up around the corner, well keyword is thought.

We drove for over an hour trying to find this bookstore before my radar kicked in and we were able to find it. We bought several quick laminated pull out maps, one book about stories on Route 66 and this book called “EZRoute 66″. That was the most complicated book of them all. I told Clint not to buy it “there is no way I can use that book on my bike”.

Thank goodness he bought it. If you are ever going to take the adventure of Route 66 this is the book for you. The quick laminated maps are nice to find interesting stops or read a little bit of history now and then. The EZRoute gives you piece by piece details of where to go, what the road is like, the date that section of the road was built and used, and a little bit of history that pertains to that section of the road. It is an amazing book, I highly recommend it. Now I’m getting ahead of myself.

We stumbled over to the Starbucks to pour over our maps and plot our adventure. We are such yuppie riders, “I’d like a hazelnut latte and a side of smashed bug (for my windshield).” We sit down and start looking, a nice gentleman besides says, “I couldn’t help but overhearing your plans, can I help you find a good starting place? These towns can be so confusing.”

I welcomed the help, from what I could see there were at least 6 different ways to get to Route 66 and all of them looked hot! He pointed out the two easiest ways to get there and let us choose. We choose the freeway start, since it was 11:00 am and traffic was heavy and hot.

He was right within 5 min we were on Route 66 and headed to San Bernardino. Oh I am so excited. I never dreamed that I would be traveling like this. The high of being on Route 66 over rides the boringness of the freeway. It takes us a little bit to get thru San Bernardino using the EZRoute book because it takes some getting used to, I think by the time we get to the next town I have got this “Bible” figured out. Until then I struggle and we take lots of wrong turns, find new interesting routes and love it all the way.

We decided to skip the McDonald’s museum and zoom on ahead to Rialto, Ca to see the Wigwam hotel. This is one of two hotels left in a chain of hotels along Route 66. The rooms are unique, individual little tee pee’s to stay in. Although one book suggests that you not stay there because it is the local working place for hookers. I found it clean and well kept; it was just too early in the day to stop for the night. Now is the time I am digging out my EZRoute book and find that it is the best one to use.

In Victorville, Ca we stopped at our first Route 66 Museum. This museum is a must. It is packed full of memorabilia like one of the first Model T’s, the 15 foot tall hula dancer and the famous Teardrop trailer. The man running it has more stories about Route 66 than many of the books he sells there. He has traveled the Mother Road six times. For more information or pictures http://www.califrt66museum.org.

Route 66 takes us away from I-15 now, I’m so thankful. The temperature is around 102 degrees and the desert offers a breeze so hot, you swear you just opened the oven too quickly on your turkey!! The breeze hits my hot engine and blows up in my face igniting my nose hairs. I will have to admit it is better than the interstate where the heat from all the semi-trucks only add to the heat from the bikes. The speed limit is 45 miles an hour and we see an old couple in a 1970′s truck; they look to be around 80 years old, flashers on, as they drive 45 MPH, putting along on Route 66. I think that will be Clint and I one day. I was hoping they would stop somewhere along the way so that I could strike up a conversation with them and maybe beg for a picture but we lost track of them. It’s too hot to do 45mph we choose to 55.

We stop at what is left of the “Bottle Tree Ranch”. It is amazing to think this little secured lot was once a booming stop on the route. Now abandoned like so many other ruins we have seen along the way. I snap a few pictures of all the colorful bottles that are mounted on poles. People are so creative. As we guzzle our water and Gatorade, I picture all the 1940′s cars and trucks pulling in here, woman running for the bathrooms, men chatting as they filled the gas tanks, checked the oil and the tire pressures; children just running wild around the bottle trees after being couped up in the backseats for so long.

“You headed East?” one man ask, as he wipes off the oil dipstick.

“Yeah, we gotta get to Chicago, for her mother’s funeral.” States the other man, “You?”

“California, my brother has a job for me on those new oil rigs. They are putting them right on the ocean now!” The man shakes his head. “Oh boy, this thing uses more oil than any car I have ever had. Still low and I have already put in 12 quarts.”

“Well, you better grab some of those water bags to put on the radiator, that desert will suck all the life out of it if you don’t” the East-bound man states, “see, I placed one on each side, helps cools the engine and you can add water to the radiator when it gets too hot.”

“hoo doggy, what will they think of next.” States the west-bound man as he wipes his brow.

“Good think you have a job waiting for you, there is an army patrol at the border of California.” The east-bound man states, “They aren’t just letting anyone in there.”

“Dad! Dad! You gotta see this Hula girl” shouts a little boy, excitedly “she is bigger than our house!”

The man glances over at his son, waves. “Yeah, I heard rumor about that back home.” The west-bound man replies, as he pours his 3 quart of oil in the engine. “but I didn’t reckon they were true.”

“Hey, you gonna stand here all day and stare at that?” Clint asks me.

Well, I probably could, I think to myself. “Nah, lets head out”.

We gear up and as we drive down the highway, I think “man, my brain can really put together some weird stuff. I totally mixed all my eras together in that last scenario; 1890s and 1940′s. On my left I see the turn out for the Roy Rogers Double R Bar Ranch and decide quickly, it is too late in the day to stop.

California has done a great job of marking the old Route 66; they have painted the emblem on the road every few miles. It gives me comfort to know that we are on the right highway; I don’t want to get lost in the Mojave Desert. The highway is dotted with ruins we don’t stop at them all, just enjoying the view of life gone by.

We pull into Needles, fill up and find a place to stay for the night. The laptop is still dead and I am worried that I will forget all this before I am able to write it all down. After a hot shower and some grub, I find I’m too tired to write, I fall deep asleep.

Highway 1 continues to snakes it way south along the Pacific Ocean, the drive is beautiful and quiet. Around 5:00 pm we hit Malibu, Ca. Now life on this sleepy little highway picks up! I find myself doing 55-60mph in a 40 mph zone just to keep from getting run over.

No longer do we stand along the cliffs and look down at the white beaches, no more para-surfing. Now all that fills my sights are condominiums crowding the way with little glimpses of beach front.

We rounded a corner and there was a van flipped over in front of us. It must have just happened; the occupants were still trying to get out. I pulled over to see if they needed help. The two occupants that made it out were sitting on the sidewalk, a little dazed and scratched but ok.

There was still one man left in the van; it appeared that he was trying to free his leg. Another man stopped to help also, name was Angel I thought it was very appropriate. Meanwhile several bystanders were calling 911. I was trying to talk to the man in the van thru the windshield. I didn’t know if he couldn’t hear me, or if he didn’t speak English.

I was trying to tell him to stop moving and sit still until paramedics arrived. Angel was translating for me in case the trapped man didn’t speak English. He finally stopped moving, and indicated that his left side hurt and his right leg was still trapped. The police arrived about this time.

I was surprised at how rude the police were to us, and even ruder to the men that were in the accident. When we asked the police later how they thought this happened he replied, “Stupidity”. It made me mad that they judged the men before they had the truth.

We left when the paramedics arrived; one paramedic and one policeman thanked us for stopping. Angel wandered over to our bikes as we were gearing up and asked my name. I asked him if he knew the men and thanked him for his help in translating and providing paper towels to stop the bleeding on the other two guys. He didn’t know them, but he wanted to tell me thank you, “most people, when they see Mexicans don’t stop, they just look and drive on by, thank you so much for stopping, I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

What a nice man, I’m glad I met him.

The rest of the drive to Santa Monica was uneventful, thank goodness. I definitely rode differently after seeing that accident.

We got to the Santa Monica pier around 6:00 pm, the pier was packed with people. I was amazed to see the carnival rides complete with Ferris wheel! All the sights and sounds that go along with a carnival, cotton candy, the metallic music from the carousel wheel, all the stuffed animals hanging, begging you to win them and take them home.

One half of the pier is the carnival the other half is shops and street vendors. There are artist there that can carve your image in clay in less than 20 minutes! The likeness was amazing. I saw puppeteers, jugglers, painters and sketch artist. At the end of the pier people were fishing, live music from a one man band echoed out across the water, just behind the Mexican restaurant.

The breeze felt good against the city heat, even this late in the day but the sun would be setting soon and we needed to be on the other side of LA before night fall.

Rumor has it that Route 66 starts at the Santa Monica pier, I tried to find it so that we could take it thru LA. This is probably the most troublesome part of Route 66. If we were in car I could navigate it better but since we were on a bike we choose to get on Highway 10 and cross over LA then pick Route 66 up on the other side.

By nightfall we found ourselves in West Covina. It was a good place to call it a night. Tomorrow we would find a book store and get some good maps and head out.

When traveling on the Interstates you go at speeds so fast you can barely find your exit. They also tend to snake thru the land out in the middle of nowhere; you know there is life out there because you can see the houses in the distance. Interstates were meant for one thing; getting from point A to point B quickly.

I like the slower pace of the highways. There is so much to see. Highways take you through those little towns – remember the houses you saw in the distance? Highways open the window to the town’s history as you travel through it. There are old buildings with the paint peeling, weeds growing tall where people once used to walk. You see old cars, rusty, no windows, no wheels, flowers sprouting out the engine compartment. These cars once used to travel these roads; taking families on vacation – kids fighting in the backseat. Maybe, they stopped for ice cream at the parlor up the road and decided they liked this town so much they stayed.

Highway (Hwy) 1 snakes along the California coast, along the cliffs of Monterey through the mountains of Big Sur and down onto the beaches of Santa Monica. The road is well paved for the most part, there are lots of fun corners most are 25-10mph. You find yourself doing a 180 degree turn and heading back the direction you came.

The breeze that comes off the Pacific Ocean is cool; I still wear my jacket and chaps to keep warm thru the huge trees. As the sun rises and warms the land you can smell the pine tar and the flowers that grow wild along the highway. I love all the smells as you travel; well for the most part. I could have done without the skunk or the roadkill on the side of road.

There is a route we want to take in Monterey, Ca called the 17 mi loop. This loop takes you out along the cliffs of the Pacific along Pebble beach. We pulled up to the toll booth, so excited, the road ahead is shady from all the trees, so scenic. But the toll booth attendant tells us that they don’t allow motorcycles on this loop.

As we head back through town and head towards Hwy 1, I was a little sad that we will miss that part of our journey.

Our next stop is Big Sur. The climb thru the mountains is wonderful, filled with breathtaking scenery of the ocean and the mountains. I was amazed to find Belly dancing stuff at the gift shop at Big Sur!

She had typical coin belts and some of the most beautiful Kuchi cuffs I have ever seen but they were $435 so I just looked. There is a mini bus that someone turned into a store. You just grab a cool drink and head out back to the little creek that runs behind it. There are lawn chairs in the creek, kick your shoes off, roll your pants up and cool off in the creek.

Next stop is San Simeon, Ca., I want to tour Hearst Castle. As we waited for the tour I sat outside and shared a cookie with the ravens. Man I love ravens. The tour last around and hour and is wonderful. This castle sits about 5 mi off the hwy (you have to take the tour bus up there). You can read all about Hearst Castle at http://www.Hearstcastle.com . It was built in the late 1800-early 1900 and is absolutely amazing.

I realized something through this long twisty ride, it is a lot like life. When you are traveling you keep your eyes on where you ‘want’ to go. Once in awhile you glance in the rearview to see where you have been. But then you quickly switch your focus back to where you want to be. You don’t look at the road directly beneath you or you will see all the bumps and rocks that can trip you up. You focus on the horizon.

It is the same with life, don’t look at the past too much or you lose focus on where you ‘want’ to be. It is easy to get stuck, ‘no matter how far down the scale we fallen we will see how our experience can benefit others’. Believe it or not I’m thankful for my past; it is made me who I am today. This statement may shock those that know my past, but it is true, and it has given me peace.

In life it is easy to get tripped up by the little stuff that falls at our feet as we go through our daily life, same as focusing on the ground as you ride. It is better just to glance once in awhile to stay safe, take care of things that you can, let go of the things you can’t.

I discovered that in life, and in riding, I tend to focus on the horizon. I enjoy the scenery, I enjoy the experience, and I enjoy the journey.

All of this came to me because of the one time I wrecked a motorcycle when I was 15 yr. My family was coming home from bike trip to the Oregon Coast. We each had our own bike. My brother, Dale, and I were in the lead and kinda playing around, we went to make a right hand curve, I took the inside and he was on the outside. I hit that small pea-gravel on the inside corner and down I went.

I can still remember to this day, sliding on the gravel, it is all in slow motion in my brain. So now when I take corners, I lose my focus. I tend to look at the ground under my feet, my bike slows way down and my riding is not as effective as it could be.

Clint noticed this and suggested I look as far into the corner as I can, keep your focus there, he said. I did, well I tried, old habits are hard to break and I found he was right.

This new way of taking corners didn’t come easily for me, I had to keep trying and even know 4000 miles later, and I find I still want to look down at my feet, but can quickly switch my focus back to the horizon. It is a good thing.

We stayed the night in San Simeon. The hotel where we stayed had a hotel with an outside patio. Everyone on the patio applauded when the sun dropped into the ocean – yeah there was lots of drinking. Then the weirdest thing, all the wait staff brought out blankets and bundled us all up so we could finish our dinner. It was a great dinner; wish I could remember the name of the place.

We went back to our room and Clint decided to take a Jacuzzi. He filled the tub and checked all the jets, then turned it on. As the water sprayed everywhere – I scrambled off the bed trying to get out the stream, running to the jacuzzi trying to find the off switch. Meanwhile, Clint was trying to block the jets from spraying all over, but he was out numbered 12 to 1. The water shot all the way across the bed to the front door and walls and everything in between, including the bed.

Needless to say, the laptop was on the bed and it too got a jacuzzi. That was the death of our laptop. Sometimes it is the little stuff that trips you up.

Ahhh the first day back on the bikes – had the hotel bus drop us off at the bikes, couldnt wait to see them. They were just as we had left them, safe and sound. We arrived in Millbrea around 6am – so we grabbed a room and slept till noon, we really wanted to ride so we started out of town.

Our plan is to hit Highway 1 and take the coastal route to Santa Monica; that is where Route 66 starts, on the pier. The final destination for this trip will be Cordell, Ok. That is where clint’s parents live. we will store our bikes there, fly home, pay off this trip and earn some more money to start planning our next trip.

We would like to finish Route 66 by the end of this Fall. For those that arent familar with Route 66, it is considered the Mother Road of America. It travels from Chicago, Il, to Santa Monica pier, Ca. Some of the history dates back to the late 1800′s.

The history is rich and there are still some business’ that are still around, most however are just ruins. Some time around the 1970′s the Interstates took over, poor Route 66 was left to die. But there are those in America that believe that “how” you get there is more fun that ‘how fast’ you can get some place.

Route 66 takes you off the fast track and allows you to enjoy the journey. In some places like Oatman, Ca. it is a step back in time, nothing has changed in this town since the early 1900′s (well atleast not on the surface). I will talk about Oatman later.

Since we got such a late start on the day – we only make it to a little town called Aptos. We are just grateful that we were able to find Hwy 1 without being run over by the rush hour traffic in Millbrea.

Aptof is just South of Santa Cruz. It is a quiet town, the streets rolled up at 9pm, we found this out at 9:15pm when we decided we were starving – only to find a vending machine to feast on. Here is a hint – dont get the chips that are good for you, they smell good, sun dried tomatoes and spinch but they taste like cardboard. but at this stage of the game i will eat anything.

The bed is soft, it is late. Im glad just to sleep.

well busy day today, need to get packed up and ready to fly home tonight.

I called several motorcycle shops in this area but they are all closed on monday. Clint found one on the net that is about 11 mi from here I called them.

Mission Motorcycle, Marc answered the phone, he said they had 2 windshields in stock but they fit a 7/8th handle bars. woo hoo i was in luck, the theives only stole the shield itself, i still had my mounting brackets (they are 1in). Marc was so sweet on the phone he wanted to know all about our trip, our plans and how my windshield was stolen.

It was a nice drive down to Daly,Ca where the bike shop is. The town was all misty but warm out. We decided to take the city streets instead of the freeways (those freeways are killer).

we found the shop, no problem. While i was explaining to the service guy about my windshield – marc popped out the back room. He is a little cutie, goatie, dirty blonde hair in braids and dreads under his granola stockin cap.

He points at me “Chick from alaska?”
I smiled.
“one sec” as he went back thru the door. two seconds later he pops out with the exact windshield i need.

It is all dusty and has seen some lovin, he tosses it on the counter. “Guess what i found?” he smiles.

He goes on to tell me that he thought he had just taken a spitfire windshield off his own bike a few months ago, so when we got off the phone he went looking for it. “its yours, if you want it”

I was flabergausted!!! I offered to pay him for it but he wouldnt hear of it.

“Good road karma.” he smiled “enjoy”

we bought a few bike covers and i found a Cortex riding jacket. I had to bring my leather home, it just does not keep you warm like Cortex does. Eventually i will find some riding pants to go with the jacket. The nice thing about Cortex is that it is rainproof, and breathable. It also has pads built into sensitive areas like elbows, kidneys, and shoulders.

I wore it back to the hotel and it was wonderful, the sun was out and i was still comfortable.

we lucked out storing our bikes, the hotel we were staying at has a secured long term parking. So we found a nice spot in the back under a tree and prepared the bikes for the 2 week rest. Unfortunately the bike covers didnt quite fit but good enough for now.

The flight home was uneventful, I read John Grisham’s new book Bleachers. it is a good story about some old high school football buddies that come back to their home town for their coaches funeral. it was just perfect, finished the book as we were descending into anchorage.

James was woke up just as we were falling asleep, cricket brought him in to our bedroom, He has changed so much, he sat up on my lap and was kinda yelling/talking to us. He really seemed like he missed us. He “talked” to us for about 15 min. What a little charmer he is.

hopefully i will see Jesse today after he gets home from daycare.
that is the downside to traveling, I miss my kids/grandkids so much. I get to talk to dakota everynight on the phone, she tells me about school and what she ate for lunch. Her newest thing is “14 days with no accidents”

That just means that she has gone that long with out peeing in her pants. Now she is ‘bigger and bigger’ and can move up to the next ‘grade’ in her school.

I got even luckier today, I was supposed to work but i was able to get put “on call”. So that meant i could sleep in, and just wait to see if the hospital needs me today.

I will be able to unpack and get some things done around the house.

/great to be home
kimber

what a great ride!!! we hung out in Ukiah until the only motorcycle shop that is open on Monday was open. we lucked out it was 2 blocks from our motel.

they didnt have a pop on windshield so i picked up a flimsy face mask that fit my helmet. the only downside (really an upside for me) was that I could no longer carry the helmet cam; so clint popped it on his helmet and we discovered it rides much better on his helmet – better picture!!! Sweet! off we go.

I have got to tell you this Hwy 101 is the best drive ever! It is not the fastest way to San Fran but it is definately the most enjoyable. we dropped out of the mountains into farm country – vineyards for as far as the eye can see. These places must really rake in the dough because each ‘farm house’ looked like a picture out of town an country magazine. They just made you want to stop at each one.

it was waaaaayyyyy to early in the day to be stopping for wine tasting – if i had started that i might not crawl back on my bike for a week. “Will work for Wine”

There are a few gorgeous mountains between Ukiah and San Fran – as we flew down the last one the wind started. Oh My Gooses!!!!! I thought the wind coming off the Arctic ocean was cold. The gust were so strong I really had to fight to keep my bike in my own lane. Regardless of what the speed limit is posted – everyone does 70-80. So keep up or get run over.

I was really feeling out of my element, like a little tiny fish in a great big ocean. Still feeling that way a little bit, but if i lived here – it would be a different story.

There is a little park on the west side of the golden gate bridge. We took the scenic tour with 15-25 mi curves, gusting winds and breath taking views of the bay/Golden Gate. (I will post pics when im done).

We stopped at a little pull out on the way down and parked our bikes with the view of the Golden Gate behind us. Before we could even get off our bikes a lady jumped out of her car and said “can i take some pictures for you of both you and the bikes?”

how sweet was that? There was a huge raven behind us. She commented that she has never seen one that big here (she was taking some friends sightseeing).

I told her it was alaskan size – musta followed us down the alcan. She tried to get the raven in the shot with us, but he wouldnt cooperate.

Going across the Golden Gate was awesome, it is something Clint has wanted to do all his life. he told me today – he hasnt been to California before; well, except when he was 2 yrs old and he doesnt remember it.

Hwy 101 snakes you thru down town San Fran all the hills and trolley cars, the beatiful old sculptured buildings. I really love going to downtown in any town. it is the heart of the city, the birthplace. there is usually so much history that you can just see in the way the buildings are made.

After a little bit of “touring” (i dont call it being lost) we found a hotel by the airport. well, i think it is actually ON the airport it is so dang close. Seriously, I can look out my window and watch them load the luggage.

We dumped our bags and headed out to Belise ( i think that is the way you spell it) Clints friend Tiny lives out there. It was around 430pm when we left here…… always plan your trips according to the time. in other words Dont leave during Rush Hour.

Belise is about 40mi from where we are – it took over an hour and half to get there. I was amazed to see that it is legal in California to “split lanes”. Not that i would ever do it, but it is legal for motorcycles to ride IN BEWTEEN the cars. You dont need a lane, just the dotted line!!! Since clint and I both decided that wasnt for us – that explains why it took an hour half to go 40 mi.

Belise is a wonderful little town that is surrounded on 3 sides by water and the Vallejo. tiny lives in my dream house. a Warehouse – with all the “toys” downstairs and a loft studio apartment upstairs. One day – when my kids are grown (all of them) I will sell my house and by a warehouse, half will be a dance studio, half for bikes/truck and my little loft studio apartment – ahhhhh that will be a wonderful house for me.
we have all day tomorrow to mess around in San Fran. I cant wait.

enjoy the pics

I told clint we jinxed ourselves when we didnt bring the rain gear in from the bikes the night before.

I thought crawling on my bike would be rough, it was cold and wet, but actually once i was on the road it felt wonderful. Now, i can see why people love Hwy 101. It travels along the cliffs of the oregon coast there are breath taking views with every turn. It is also laid out pretty cool. You have a little 2 lane hwy (55mph) that winds in and out of the trees; so there are lots of fun corners to play on then opens up into a 4 lane freeway (65mph) to free up the congestion. I thought it was a great way to prevent road rage and accidents from people trying to pass when they really shouldnt. if you got behind someone going 40mph on the 2 lane road, you knew that in 5 miles or so it would open up to a freeway.

my helmet cam is working great. i thought i would just film non-stop and then put it all on one disk in a higher speed. you know, like one of those videos where you can watch a flower sprout, bloom and wither in 2 min.

the “soft” day continued until we hit the California border (seemed weird crossing into a state where you dont have to stop and talk to the border patrol). We climbed one last mountain and as we decended on the redwood forest the clouds were gone! the sun was shining the birds were chirping – well maybe not chirping, they looked more like buzzards or condors.

I never considered myself a bird watcher, but there is something spectacular about a predatory bird (eagle, hawks, ect) circling in the sky. I love to watch them and see if i can figure out what it is. They were everywhere on this part of the trip, it was hard to keep my eyes on the road.

We dropped into Cresent City, ca so happy just to be in california. even the sun was out there was still a chill in the air. So i kept most of my layers on, 2 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 pairs of pants, 1 pair of cow socks, my rain pants, but ditched my rain jacket with its duct tape cuffs.

I loved how the scenery changed from ocean to redwood so quickly. the redwoods were huge, but not as big as they were going to get. We stopped at Legget, ca and rode our bikes thru the giant redwood, I put some pics up of that one.

Clint and i decided we are going to try and stick to highway driving after this as opposed to freeway. people are so much more friendlier. we talked with this guy who is from Utah, he has rode his bike all over the lower 48 and up into the first part of canada but has not been able to take the trip to alaska. that is his next big dream.

He told us all kinds of wonderful places to ride on our next trip. unfortunately we are going to miss the Sturgis rally (it is the first week of august). however, he did tell us to take the NE entrance of yellowstone park and take the Bear Tooth loop thru it. So that will be on our next trip in August.

We arrived in Ukiah, Ca around 930pm, ordered some pizza and watched the movie Wild Hogs (man traveling is rough). I fell asleep during the last half of the movie, but what i did see made me laugh.

I’m so excited we are a little over 100 miles from San Fran. I just want to get on the road and go, but we have to wait for the honda shop to open next door so i can get a new wind shield (mine was stolen).

talk you guys tomorrow, hope all is well.

Well the trip has been pretty uneventful so far. We spend the last few days catching up with clints friends that he has known since kindergarten. I think the last time we saw them all was about 10+ years ago.

They all look wonderful, their kids are growing up faster than mine i think.

So today marked our first real day of traveling. It has been 80-90 deg everyday, but now that we are traveling along the oregon coast the temp is more like anchorage. it was a welcome change after the sweltering heat.

We took hwy 20 from Corvallis, or to Bandon, or. coming thru the mountains was heavenly. there were so many wonderful corners (bikes love corners). The sun we just breaking thru the thin clouds, warming the air in the forest, the smells were incredible; warm pine, fragrant flowers, fresh dirt. I love traveling thru the mountains.

As we topped the hill coming into Newport the smell of the ocean hit me full force. I used to love the oregon coast, the beautiful jagged cliffs that over look the ocean, the “Dr Suess” looking trees that stand like sentinals along the cliffs. Now, that im older I realize the tremendous wind and rain it takes to create such a picture perfect scenery, so as i was cruising down the highway i thought “man, i would never want to live here – the wind would blow me over”.

Weird how much you think you stay the same but yet are ever changing.

There is a fire blazing in away in the fireplace, the sun has set, the clouds are blushing pink, waves crashing on the beach; it is a good day to be alive.

it was hard crawling in a car, i feel closed in, trapped. went and had dinner with clints parents and his aunt and uncle last night.
I havent seen his aunt marie in 20yrs. what a wonderful woman, she is so welcoming, easy to chat with. i would liek to stop by again when we come down.

salem is a hard town for me to be. I spent most of my teenage years here. I was able to spend the last 9 months of my mom’s life with her here. now when i pull into town, i just miss her so much. she has been gone for 20 years and i have so much to tell her. weird even after 20 years, it makes me cry to be in this town. I wish she was here waiting for me.

I think im ready to come back to alaska. we will drive the rental car to seattle in a few hours and get on the plane. lots of packing to do,

see you guys tonight – we fly in at 730pm – then i have to work sat – tues. it is going to be a long haul

thanks guys for coming on this trip with me, i thought about each of you alot while i was riding – our total trip 2800miles.

/big hugs.
k