Go Big And Go Home - Day 11 - Rest Day

We took the time to have our bikes serviced with an oil change at Factory Power Sports.  They were most excellent to deal with and even washed the bikes!

We then took a little side trip to Arizona with a tour around some of the areas.  Here are some of the pictures of the mountains that surround this city and are in this beautiful state of Utah.  Some are also of the Virgin River Canyon on the way to Arizona.

White building on the left is the Mormon temple which establishes the street addresses for Saint George.

Virgin River Canyon on the way to AZ

These are views from around Saint George mostly Irvin’s just outside of Saint George.

 

Go Big And Go Home - Day 10 - Extra……..

 

Tonopah was an interesting town.  It was much larger than we expected and surrounded by mountains.  I believe it was a mining town at one time but definitely had an old town vibe.  We had supper at Tonopah Brewing where BBQ meets Beer!  We ordered the salad with smoked turkey breast and had to split it cause it was just “extra” big.

We headed out early as we had a long ride ahead of us.  We didn’t expect many stops today other than one or two but we had more miles that previous days.  We continued along Route 6 enjoying the ride and the views.

Along the route we came across some road work with a sign indicating that we should expect up to a 30 minute delay.  When we arrived where the flag man was we were able to get off our bikes and take some pictures of the valley around (the one to the left is one of the pics).  Route 6 brought us to Route 375.

Route 375 is a little “extra”, the Extraterrestial Highway!

Our next stop was in Rachel at the Little A’Le’ Inn.  A building in the middle of no where or as some would say “out there”.  This was a great stop especially since we were stopping here and meeting up with bikers we had met earlier and 3 other bikers heading the other way, one of them on an FJR same year as mine.  We enjoyed a quick bite to eat, lots of pictures and of course lots of chats, story sharing, road recommendations and maybe a trinket or two…definitely a new sticker for the top case.  More pictures below just because it was one of the coolest places for people who love UFOs and all things “extra”

Earlier on the 6 we had passed a US missile base, the only indication was a faded sign and the only reason it was noted was the vehicle, only vehicle, ahead of us turned on to the road…

As we continued along 375 we noted signs regarding low flying aircraft all along the open desert.  I will only say that we heard them many times, however I only had one sighting as it slipped over one of the mountain ridges.  This part of Nevada and along 375 is used for US military testing and training.  The valleys are so big they can easily fly low between the mountain ridges.

Then there are the open range signs….the signs don’t depict cows….they depict bulls.  This open range resulted in one “close encounter” with said bull…..we could see him crossing the road so we stopped on the road a ways back to give him time to cross…the bull, in no rush, decided to stop in the middle of the road and check us out before moving over to the range on the other side.  The best open range signs however, were not just signs of bulls crossing the road!  Some of these signs had alternating flashing little lights around them…..we referred to these as Disco Bulls!….they were just a little bit “extra”

We were still travelling at 5000 to 6500 ft elevation.  As we pushed through some of the passes, it was amazing to see the changes in landscape.  

The mountains were always part of the view but the valleys changed almost from pass to pass.  Most were green and lush, or dry with sage and other brush…..all open ranges as well. 

As we approached Utah, we started to see these cactus type plants, in some areas they were sparse and in others they were thick as a forest.  Todd was able to identify these as Joshua Trees….not really trees, they are cactus.

As we rode the 18 into Saint George, the rock formations and colours started to change.  As we turned a corner we were looking at the a huge red canyon….extra in every way, extra big and extra red.  We found our way through to Todd and James house, rode up into their garage and then knocked on the door…hoping we were at the right place.  As soon as we knocked we had our answer by way of the two alarm system on the other side called Maddie and Moby…..we are going to have a fun couple of days exploring and have some downtime….I expect we will also be getting some “extra” loving from the fur babies.

Oh, we also picked up a friend along the way…..he’s a little extra and we have called him Terry…..Extra-Terry-estrial!  He is joining Teddy for the rest of the trip but we will share pictures later when we get on the road again.  For now we will be spending time with family so don’t expect any posts for a few days as we enjoy our downtime with them!  See you in a few!

 

Go Big And Go Home Tour - Day 9 - Rock Iceburgs

Sorry to be late posting but it was a long great day, one that started out in nice cool temps but ended in much warmer ones.

Before leaving Groveland, we wandered out to the street in search of breakfast which we found right next to the Iron Gate Saloon, two doors down from the hotel.  Groveland is a small and very unique community.  In front of all of the businesses, each has contributed a dressed up “scarecrow” as they approach October.  They celebrate a lot of things it seems, including Movie Night in the Park, the Library and countless other get togethers as we noted by all of the posters.

Waltzing Matilda here was the scarecrow in front of the Iron Gate Saloon but there were many more.  

We headed out to Yosemite, knowing it was going to be a long day, not due to distance but the many stops along the way for photos.  We were not wrong.  Fortunately we encountered many really nice people along the way, one of whom told us about some good spots to stop.  Not only did we stop there but we met him several times along the way as he was showing a friend from out of town some of the same sites.  What was nice is that he was able to also give us some insight and historical background on some of the areas.  We go some great pics but I will post at the bottom and identify them.

As we left Yosemite, the east gate indicated that we were at 9945 ft….so far our highest peak.  Many of the higher peaks remained but you can’t ride them, you can only hike them.

As we started out descent towards Lee Vining the roads were wide with big sweeping turns.  A great deal of fun and less hairy than the road we took going up to Groveland.

At one point it opened up into the great big deep rock canyon or valley, where there was a waterfall (in the distance), and you could see the road we were headed to on the side of a hill which, quite frankly, from a distance looked like a road a kid would make on a hill of sand with their Tonka truck.  Some of these areas we actually had to take video just to get in all of what the area looked like…stunningly huge!  We got to Lee Vining where we had a great lunch and topped up the bike tanks and then headed towards Benton for the next leg of our trip…..Holy Mackerel!  I think we both agree that this was really the best ride and offered some of the best sights as well. 

Again, pictures are hard to scale especially when they are from a distance.  Firstly we rode around a crater lake, this brought us around and into a wide open golden valley where you could see the rain clouds and the rain on both sides of the valley, you could even see communities 15 km away.  The road was straight except for the “dip” signs.  The road dipped and rose like a roller coaster for almost 10 kms…it was a blast.  The first ones were smaller and you could see them coming.  The last ones were thrilling as the rise was quick and you couldn’t see over the top so you weren’t sure which way the road swung, or if it was flat or if you were in for another thrill!  As we came over the last crest we opened up into another valley, this one was flat, and green with the mountains high above it.  We had just passed a sign that said 7000 ft elevation.   So here we are 7000 ft in elevation, looking at another set of high mountains and all I could think of was that we were just seeing the top of the iceberg….we weren’t even at the foot of the mountains.  It is astonishing to think of how vast North America is and how diverse it’s landscape is.  There is definitely not a lot of sameness (except on the Interstates or TCH).  The other thing is that each elevation has its’ own lakes, valleys and communities.  Most of these areas are ranch lands were free range is part of the culture.  It is a step back in time except for the solar farms and power grids….untouched in other ways.
  

We ended the day in Tonopah, Nevada having crossed the state line just after leaving Benton.  Today, Day 10, promises to be an interesting ride…the best part getting to see my family and take a few days to enjoy some downtime.

Go Big And Go Home Tour - Day 8 - A Day of Twists

Today was supposed to be a day of riding from point A to point B to position us to ride through Yosemite National Park to Tonopah in one day.  We had no expectations…..

Now the routes we choose, are routes that keep us off the Interstates and major areas…today that worked against us a bit as there just too many turns and roads to get to where we were going.  To say that we got turned around a couple of times would be an understatement but we are firm believers in no wrong turns just different adventures.  One bonus from the turn around is that we rode past the Sonoma Raceway where they hold NASCAR races, so now we know where that is.  The downside is that we finally gave up trying to find the route we were looking for and took Interstate 80 for a short distance just to make up time and get us there.  It worked.

So back to no expectations…..the routes as I mentioned were to get us from point A to point B.  We rode through so many vineyards and passed more than a few wineries that we were familiar with like Michael David and Lodi Wineries.  It is a beautiful valley surrounded by golden hills everywhere….and contrary to a popular song, we didn’t get stuck in Lodi but if I did….there was lots of wine.

As we left the vineyards we started noticing these large groves….at first I thought they were olive groves as there seemed to be a lot of olive trees or what I thought were olive trees….they were in fact walnut groves…which meant we were in good company with nuts.  We didn’t stop long here as the dogs at the house we stopped in front of seemed to not take to kindly to whatever they thought we were up to.  There were a ton of these groves though, everywhere.

As we started to approach the foothills of the Sierras, we were again captivated by the gold in the landscape.  The gold fields and hills seemed to stretch for miles which I am sure they did.  As we came down into a valley we rode over some really large bridges (one with nothing more than a guardrail).  Here we arrived at Tulloch Lake…now two things stood out about this community…..the twisting road around the lake (and I might add high above) as well as the number of really large homes seemingly in the middle of no where.

It wasn’t long after this that we finally came to 120E which would take us to Groveland for the night (I keep calling it Groverland so if you see the error anywhere I apologize….can’t help myself the air is thin up here). …..then we started to climb, switchback after switchback after switchback….in most places no guardrail and we were riding the outside edge…..I don’t think Thelma and Louise would particularly care for these as you could quite easily see what was coming if you went over but couldn’t see what was coming the other way….butt clenching to say the least.  Pictures below so that I could put them in extra large format.

We arrived in Groveland, hot and tired as the temps had climbed (just like us) to 30 degrees….the hotel had no elevator as it is a historic building and we were on the 2nd floor.  I thought it would be a great way to get our steps in but I am not sure that Mr. J was in full agreement with that one….the real struggle of the day was to find a place to eat.  We got more steps in walking up and down the street of this little town only to find a lot of places were closed and the others were busy, didn’t serve full menu or not what we were looking for…we settled on the Iron Door Saloon which is apparently the oldest Salo0n in California.  

It is a quaint town with a cowboy feel.  Tomorrow we are off to Yosemite!

Go Big And Go Home Tour - Day 6 (and 7) - Tree and Tired Days

Yesterday was a big day!  Big Trees!  Why drive through one tree when you can drive through two….actually the whole day yesterday was spent driving in and out through groves of trees along the 101 but we did take two detours.

First detour was off 101S to 254, the Avenue of the Giants.  

This brought us in and out through some of the biggest grove of trees, one being Founders Tree Grove.  We didn’t venture in but the photo on the left shows the intersection to turn off to that grove.  It requires a hike into the grove to see the Founders Tree which is supposed to be one of the biggest groves with the biggest trees…They were ALL big enough for us!

The fog had lifted by the time we arrived here and the sun was shining through but we had to take off our sun glasses because the trees were so tall they blocked most of the sun and made it dark.  The upside is that it was also cool, and clear like a rain forest.

The other attraction of note in this photo is the squiggly line….we really like those signs.  On the side of the road are leaves that have fallen…these are very soft under foot as well.

The Shriners Drive Thru Tree was the first one we came to along Avenue of the Giants in Myers Flat.  This is at the South end of the Avenue as we had entered from the North.

It is a small park with a lot of stuff packed into it.  The Drive Thru tree, as you can see is actually hollowed and split but is huge.  It is also a tight roadway with lots of bumps.

We got video and photos of us both going through (this is Larry’s) and we might have taken some photos in the children’s step into tree.

We stopped at the little store, had a bit of a bum break, water and may have bought a sticker or two.

Then we were off!  6 miles to get to 101S which brought us to the next tree!

The Chandelier Tree, to me was more impressive.

Found in Leggett, it is set in a more spacious area and also has a small gift store.  We may have bought a Christmas ornament and another sticker since the last one came off my top case.

We got video and photos of each of us riding through here as well, just like good tourists.

We now have driven through two redwood trees!

This was a pretty little park and had some other great photo opportunities as well!

As we continued on 101S heading to our next stop, we passed through vast open areas where the mountains were a deep gold colour and contrasted so nicely with all the trees in rich dark green.  As we started down into the valley, we started to see more and more vineyards.

Now the funny piece of 101 is that this is a freeway, or at least in parts.  This road at times was divided four lane, four lane, or two lane.  As soon as it came down into a two lane you knew you were headed into groves and twisties.  Once we reached the valley however, it became 6 lane and at some points 8 lane.  We had to watch for traffic coming from the on ramps as well as those changing lanes.  It wasn’t too bad and our hotel was just off the 101S.  We had the exit number and the directions were really easy.  We landed at about 4 pm, unloaded the bikes looking forward to a down day today.

We woke up late this morning and had a quick breakfast and proceeded to search our new route for the next two days.  We decided that we would not go further south given how much time we have already taken.  

Our next route will take us to Groveland, CA for tomorrow night and then through Yosemite National Park to Tonopah, NV on Wednesday.  That will take us right into Utah for a weekend visit with my cousin Todd and his husband.  We are so looking forward to seeing them and doing a couple of side trips to Zion Canyon and other sites around there.  We hear that Death Valley may be still closed for clean up due to the flooding last month so the stop in the Valley has afforded us an opportunity to regroup and rework our plan.

Coverage through these areas may not be great so watch for updates to the blog however, they may be delayed.

Go Big And Go Home - Day 5 - Smoke on the Water, Masked version

Last night we were doing our best to decide what our stop would be for tonight…exhaustion finally set in so we put everything away to look at again this morning.  Well the overall plan from the night before wasn’t a bad one but we definitely wanted to make some reservations ahead of time, given the number of people seeking relief from the smoke along the coast, including residents.  So we booked for Fortuna tonight and the wine valley for the following two nights.  This left us leaving a little later than we planned, just shortly after 9 am.  That was fine as we expected today would be a pretty straight ride with not many stops or photo opportunities……man we could not have been more wrong!

We stopped in Port Orford, OR to get gas and to check on the fire status.  Although we check it daily, both the night before and that morning, there is never any guarantee that a fire can start or the smoke can fall into the canyons or the coast.  We filled up with fuel and put some air in the tires all the while we have the slight linger of smoke in the air.  A gentleman who stopped (he was local) told us the smoke was from the Anvil fire and that it wouldn’t be long before we rode out of it.  We headed out expecting that the fog would be pushing the smoke east as it had indicated on the weather station this morning.  

As we road along the coast it wasn’t bad, however true to what we have been experiencing we suddenly turn eastward through the forest and up through the mountains.  A beautiful canyon but the smoke was getting heavier.  We opted to stop and mask up which was a good decision.  The ride through the valley was nice but the smoke was very prominent sometimes mixing with the fog.  That was nice as it seemed to push the smoke out or at least dilute it enough that it didn’t smell. 

We remembered that Teddy didn’t get to visit the beach with us last night so, Teddy needed a beach picture.  We stopped at Gold Beach to see some other rock formations and coastal area….and get Teddy’s picture before we left Oregon.  

He’s not much of a poser but he is very willing to pose for any picture you want him to pose for.

We finally rode out of the smoke in time to have lunch in Brookings which was good timing.  We got to take them off and ride the rest of the day enjoying the coast line again.  

It wasn’t but a few minutes after we left Brookings that we passed through the state line into California.

Generally a smooth ride through on the 101S, through small towns, watching the coast as we were in and out all the way to Crescent City.  While we saw lots of new really neat trees, the really amazing ones were yet go come.  Not long after passing Smith River, the 101S has another name…it is knows as the Redwood Highway.  At first it seemed to be just a highway name derived from what California is known for.  

This too is true, but what is truer is that the road started to move inland, and then it started to swing up quickly with sweeping turns. As we went up the fog hung in the trees above us….way above.  We were now flowing along tall strong redwoods as we climbed and climbed the hill…it had a magical feel to it, almost mysterious but in a good way.  Like the mystical fairies were slowly introducing us to these giants.  At that moment I said to Larry, how happy I was to see the fog as it really gave the trees a beautiful soft, magical feel…I was not disappointed that it was not sunny…..man was I wrong.  As we hit the top of the peak, the fog fell below us, and the sun shone through the base of these trees….they looked like legs on a million giants and the filtered light was stunning.  It didn’t last though as we started to descend a bit and we caught more of the fog.  This is when we got a chance to stop and take a couple of pictures.  We were blown away and yet we know that tomorrow will bring even bigger giants. 

The day ended with more small communities that were really kind of cool.  Our stop tonight at the BW in Fortuna, CA.  We walked to the local Italian restaurant and had an amazing meal and a glass of wine.  We are feeling truly blessed and grateful to be able to experience all of this in the way we chose to.  We hope that this inspires other to explore places in a different way.  Most people will ride the Interstate corridor through all three of the states we have travelled…they don’t know what they are missing on the roads less travelled.  We know them to be less travelled because the roads are perfection and we do not encounter a lot of traffic.  The Interstates and Highways have robbed people of real adventures and do nothing to inspire same….regardless of how you travel or where, try those roads.  The experiences could be very uplifting. 

Tomorrow night we hope to be uplifting some wine as we stay in the wine valley for two nights to rest up, for the next leg.