Motorcycle and Vacation Trip

August 2006

                Phoenix, AZ to:

 Monterey, Calif

Mono Lake

Lake Tahoe

Emigrant Wilderness (by foot)

Mt Lassen National Park (by car)

Orange County, Calif

Sun Valley, Idaho (by plane)

2150 miles.  7 days of riding.

July 26.  Wednesday.  Phoenix to Buttonwillow, CA.

This trip was a combination of motorcycle trip and vacation trip with stops to visit friends. 

My flight from NY last night was delayed and it was a challenge getting organized for the trip this morning.  We left Phoenix early and with a darn comfortable temperature for Phoenix in mid-Summer of about 84 degrees. My cousin, David, and his wife, Amy, were in their air-conditioned camper and I was on my non-air-conditioned BMW 1100RT.  By the time we reached the California border the thermometer was passing 100 and climbing steadily.  Summer is not the time to be riding through the Mojave Desert but it's hard to avoid the desert when that is your departure point.  I arrived at the truck-stop town of Buttonwillow, CA (just west of Bakersfield) about 5:00PM with a temperature of 113 degrees.  I wear a lot of protection when I ride and the only way to keep my sanity on a hot day like this is to stop every half hour, soak my t-shirt, put my perforated leather jacket back on and let the wind do its cooling magic.  In the arid climate of the West it works great...for about 20 minutes.

July 27.  Thursday.  Buttonwillow to Monterey, CA.

Awoke at 7:00AM very refreshed and ready to go.  My route followed Hwy 58 from Buttonwillow to San Luis Obispo and the coast.  This was a wonderful ride.  The grass is dormant and brown this time of year.  Those of us who have lived in California prefer to call it "golden".  The weather was perfect and the road quite enjoyable as it wound it's way over the small mountain range.  Upon reaching the coast I was greeted with the long-awaited marine layer of fog and cold weather.  I say "long-awaited" because this has been one of the hottest summers on record in California and the cool marine layer hasn't been seen much this year.  Unfortunately, it arrived a day early which made for a very cool ride with poor visibility as I made my way up Hwy 1 for Monterey. 

This is a gorgeous stretch of road, when you can see it.  (I've added some pictures I took on a clear day)  On a bike, however, with the hundreds of turns, it's a workout, especially in the fog when the poor visibility makes for a rather boring trip of viewing only a few hundred feet in any direction. 

I arrived at my friend's house about 2:00PM, had lunch, toured their beautiful home, and then we lit out on mountain bikes to tour the Laguna Seca race track.  I think it was Jolynn's attempt to return me to the physical shape I was in when I lived here in California 15 years ago.  It was a great visit and very relaxing, once the wine began to numb the pain. 

July 28.  Friday.  Monterey to Lee Vining, CA.

On the road by 9:00AM to allow time for the many stops I had planned for today.  My route took me back across the San Joaquin, through the small valley farming towns of Los Banos and Merced.  Due to a rock slide along Hwy 140 between Merced and Yosemite National Park I changed my route and wandered the back roads up to Groveland (home of Pine Mountain Lake Resort) so I could enter Yosemite via Hwy 120.  This was another nice ride with moderate temperatures (due to that marine cooling), fun biking roads, and great views. 

The ride through Yosemite and over Tioga Pass is always beautiful.

My day ended at a campground in Lee Vining where I met up again with David and Amy.

July 29.  Saturday.  Lee Vining to Penn Valley, CA.

Back on my own I pointed the bike north towards Lake Tahoe.  I've driven Hwy 395 many, many times and it's always fun.  California is very diverse and, as you can see by the photos, the terrain changes quickly.  Another beautiful day with brisk morning temperatures, clear sky (as usual) and a smooth road.

At Hwy 89 I branched off towards Monitor Pass and through Markleeville to South Lake Tahoe and then continued up Hwy 89 along the western shore of Lake Tahoe to meet I-80 to take up a westerly heading once again. 

I-80 is a miserable road on a bike because years of winter tire chain use has destroyed the road's surface.  Shortly after passing Donner Summit I exited onto Hwy 20 which leads to the beautiful gold mining towns of Nevada City and Grass Valley.  I was stationed in the Air Force near here and this entire area is wonderful with beautiful rivers and old mining towns.  Unfortunately, as with many places in the country, the desirability of this area has led to a bit of a crowding problem since I lived in the area thirty years ago.  I arrived at Jim's house in Lake Wildwood Resort in time for a few cold beers and steak on the grill.  Not a bad day, in fact, pretty darn good.

July 30 to August 5. California by Car

Today, Jennifer arrived for our week of vacationing in California.  We had a wonderful backpacking trip in the Emigrant Wilderness and then drove north to Redding and Mt Lassen.  We spent a lot of time relaxing in the pool at the Scott Resort near Sacramento (you won't find it in the phone book) and celebrated Jim's birthday with perhaps a beer or three.

August 6-7.  Sunday-Monday.  Sacramento to Orange, CA to Sun Valley, ID.

Today was not too interesting but it was leading up to something VERY interesting.  The next few days began with a ride down one of the least-interesting interstate highways, I-5, from Sacramento to the Los Angeles area to visit some good friends.  Now the good part.  John is a pilot and during my visit I had the extreme fortune to catch a quick trip on a Bombardier Challenger private jet to Sun Valley, ID.  We were there for only 15 minutes.  Beautiful airplane, great trip.  And did I mention that this does not even compare to the cattle car trips we suffer through when we fly on the scheduled airlines.  Not even close!

August 8.  Orange, CA to Phoenix.

Another hot one.  Many stops to wet the shirt but it's the home stretch.  Palm Springs is beautiful...in the winter!

The End