Northern CA Adventuring - Pixs Posted

ionbeam · Sep 27, 2014

*#*%&%#*(#

At 1:00 am this morning I checked our South West flight status: Confirmed At 4:00 am this morning I verified our flight status: Canceled

Almost all possible flights for today and most of tomorrow morning are now 100% booked. Any other flight to SJC adds $1,250 to the cost, takes >12 hrs and arrives at SJC an hour after all the car rental places close (midnight). No hotel shuttle between the airport, cab fair is the same as a one day car rental. With 2 plane changes I'm afraid my luggage won't arrive and it contains my clothes for the wedding and my riding gear, I'm sunk without either.

Because some little person lit the Chicago control tower radar equipment on fire because he was unhappy. I'll be sending him my bill. I'm going back to bed and see if I can sleep.

Bugnatr · Sep 27, 2014

Man that sucks! Keep us posted on your plans.

James Burleigh · Sep 27, 2014

Very sorry to hear it. What a drag.

gregory · Sep 28, 2014

That SUCKS!

ionbeam · Oct 4, 2014

10/4/14

We have finally got everything sorted out. Last Sat to Tue was a major thrash to get past the chaos that the airlines created.

We have been up coastal Rt 1 then inland to 101, up to Oregon. Yesterday we did a lot of sight-seeing but unexpectedly returned to Klamath Falls in the dark, with deer and cows in the road. We are just about to hit the road down to Shasta, to Lassen and will hopefully reach Chester Ca on Lake Almore.

We will look at Sunday's routing during the day today. Every day so far has been the best ever!

BTW, Doug-Bug would be proud of the massive quantity of bugs we have terminated with wind/face shields.

CAJW · Oct 4, 2014

Alan,

I don't recall if you'd made it to Yosemite, but if you're headed that way, shoot me a PM. I'd be honored to be your tour guide on a bike with knobbies and no windscreen.

ionbeam · Oct 5, 2014

CAJW said:
Alan,I don't recall if you'd made it to Yosemite, but if you're headed that way, shoot me a PM. I'd be honored to be your tour guide on a bike with knobbies and no windscreen.

Thanks for the offer! Last time we were here we spent 2 days in Sequoia and 2 days in Yosemite. In fact we spent the night at the Wawona Inn(1) in Yosemite. Yosemite is a stunning place! Rt 41, 140 and 120 aren't too shabby either.

After leaving from Klamath Falls this morning we wandered through Shasta and then Lassen Forest and on through the Volcanic park. We spent quite a while in the Volcanic park and lost a lot of metal off of the peg feelers

We rode through a lot of fire damage most of the day with some places where only scorched earth and volcanic rocks remain.

At this point if we don't have any better plans tomorrow we are going to meander south east towards Tahoe and then head off to ????? We don't really care where, just looking for someplace interesting. After 6 days of wrestling a porky K1600 through 30 very sharp corners and 6-8 fifteen mph hair pin corners per mile for 25 miles at a stretch I'm getting tired of the work

(1) Wawona was one of the most expensive rooms I have ever taken. Our room was typical of the inn and was also one of the worst rooms I have ever had with the exception of a room in Abbot Village in Maine (which I suspect normally rents by the hour...) I'm sure that there are submarines with better bathrooms than that room had. On the other hand, I had one of the best meals in their dining room.

Bugnatr · Oct 5, 2014

Bodie State Park down past Bridgeport on Hwy395 is worth the time to see. PM sent

CAJW · Oct 6, 2014

Bugnatr said:
Bodie State Park down past Bridgeport on Hwy395 is worth the time to see. PM sent

We were there a couple of weeks ago, buildings are looking fairly run down.

The real treat was getting the 3 miles each way down that washboard road without picking up any new rattles in the Jeep. Just the ticket for a rental though! One tip, if any clouds are present and you talk the wife out of carrying her umbrella, be prepared to give up your hooded windbreaker!

zip · Oct 7, 2014

Hi Alan! Sorry I'm so late to respond, just seeing this post today.

You're very near the Zip household now, though, if you're in Tahoe, and it'd be great to see you. Feel free to drop by for a visit, or even to stay the night if you'd like.

We're in Rocklin, just off of 80. We have a fine guest room, and we may even be able to get out for a sightseeing ride near here. We've got various family things happening right now, and I am away in the Bay Area on Thursday, but let me know if you're still around.

I'll PM my contact details.

Barry

Bugnatr · Oct 7, 2014

I had the pleasure of meeting and riding with the Beams today. They hit Bodie yesterday and over the hill on 108 to Jackson for the night. 49 this morning was heavy with all slow vehicles so they didn't make it to Grass Valley until 12:30. I did escort them up the better end of 49 out of Nevada City to where we had a terrific late lunch in Graeagle. ( Found a new place for a rte soon) and then after some relaxed conversation they left to ride hwy 70 north and the Feather River canyon toward Chico to see some family before heading to Sonoma Wednesday.

Alan bought my right side bag after Bambi wrecked the left side so a part of my Feejeer rides with him all the time back east. That K16 he is riding just isn as purdy as the 04 FJR.

ionbeam · Oct 15, 2014

Well, the stunningly magnificent journey comes to an end. It will take a while to sort through the 3k pictures we took

Our timing sucked because all the bestest west coaster riders decided to go to NAFO and EOM just as we arrived. Our trip couldn't have had better weather or gone much better. Our eyes are full of wonder and we have banked away wonderful memories to replay as we age. I compiled a list of all the places that were suggested in this thread and in PMs and it looks like we hit just about every one of the recommendations -- thanks!

We had no real plans, routes or goals, just get out and see where the day takes us. In spite of taking long walks on the beaches, bays, lakes, mountains, volcanoes, forests, lava fields and ghost towns we still managed to put 2.5k miles on our BMW K1600GT. The following is a list of some of the main roads and places we traveled, there are a lot of other places and roads that are too numerous to list.

SFO arrived @ 2:00 am the next day ( should have been San Jose @ 1:00 pm same day, damn radar equipment sabotage in Chicago)
San Jose wedding 2:00 pm, we arrived 30 seconds before the bride and groom walked down the aisle
California Motorcycle Adventures picked us up (free) and drove us to -->
San Jose California Motorcycle Adventures to get our BMW K1600GT and wire in some of my electronic devices
Helen's sister and Bobbie met us at CMA and provided tour duty
Rt 84 area and Alice's Restaurant *Recommended! with Helen's sister and Bobbie on his Harley FLHTC BGFUK Dresser
Golden Gate Bridge
(lane split, traffic filter, jump to the front at lights) (saw a bagless FJR with a rider wearing Gray/Red suit lane splitting at warp speed)

San Gergorio
Half Moon Bay
Coastal Rt 1 to Bodega Bay, sister & Bobbie had to go back to SF the next day
Coastal Rt 1 on to Fort Bragg
Rt 20 to Clear Lake and back to Willits on errands
Leggett
Drive thru Redwood tree
Garberville hotels were full so we went back to -->
Benbow Inn, hugely expensive, worth every penny, historically correct = no TV but we don't watch TV; did have decanter of local Sherry on the dresser
Avenue of the Giants *Recommended!
Eureka
Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway *Recommended!
Rt 199 to Grants Pass Or
Klamath Falls Or
Lava Beds National Park
Modoc National Forrest; herds of dancing deer as it was getting dark; returned back to -->
Klamath Falls
Mt. Shasta
Lassen National Forrest
Lassen Volcanic National Park *Recommended!
Chester on Lake Almanor
Lake Tahoe
Minden Nv
Rt 395 to Rt 270 plus 3 miles of bad dirt road to Bodie Ghost Mining Town *Recommended! (Mono Lake views from Rt 395)
Rt 108 Sonora Pass *Recommended! *Recommended! Re-do from 2012 when the sun was setting and it got dark
Rt 49 to Jackson for the night
Rt 49 to Grass Valley where we arrived late to meet with Doug Bugnatr due to road construction and traffic
Rt 49 to Rt 89, Doug was the ride leader and tour guide for Rt 49/Rt 89
Rt 89 lunch at the Coyote Bar & Grill in Graeagle *Recommended!
California 89 to Rt 70
Rt 70 Feather River Highway *Recommended! *Recommended!
Chico for family duty
Calistoga
Rt 20/53/128/29 to Sonoma, Napa, visited the Culinary Institute of America Graystone and had a bite to eat, thousands of acres of wine vines
Castro Valley for family duty
San Jose California Motorcycle Adventures after 2.5k miles and a toasted set of PR3s with tread feathering and rolled up rubber on the sides of the treads
CMA drove us to the airport hotel (free)
SFO --> Home in time for peak New England foliage

Still stunned from all the dramatic beauty!

Edit: If you must fly 'n ride I highly recommend San Jose California Motorcycle Adventures, ask for Ilene, nice people, tremendous customer service.

gregory · Oct 15, 2014

Congrats on a great trip, Looks like you did indeed hit most of the best parts of Nor Cal, looking forward to the RR.

wheatonFJR · Oct 15, 2014

Thanks Alan for the quick report. Sorry the Aurora, IL FAA guy who didn't want to transfer to Hawaii ruined things for you on the front end of the trip.

Louanne and I will want to get out there in a few years, flying and riding likely...so your reccos are very helpful.

Loved this...

"Harley FLHTC BGFUK Dresser..."

Tyler · Oct 15, 2014

ionbeam said:
Edit: If you must fly 'n ride I highly recommend San Jose California Motorcycle Adventures, ask for Ilene, nice people, tremendous customer service.

Looks like you hit a lot of the favorites in the area... but there is a ton more... so I guess you need to come back again, huh?

Sorry I missed you when you were in San Jose... not far from where I live and I would've loved to meet up with you... next time, m'kay?? B)

SacramentoMike · Oct 15, 2014

Ditto. You were west, I was east. I always like to meet the folks behind the avatars, and I didn't meet enough of them on my trip (, though the ones I did meet were choice). Dang NAFO and EOM though! Next trip, maybe. Totally concur with all your recommended rides, BTW.

FarWestFastEddie · Oct 23, 2014

Alan, So I kick myself for being busy fishing lately and not reading your planned trip to my neck of the woods. I kick myself again for not taking the opportunity to thank you personally for your technical assistance a few years ago when I installed my AVCC cruise control. I hope you had a great time in our area, enjoyed Eureka, and you also enjoyed the Scenic Bypass, which I call the Redwood Autobahn, twelve very remote miles of big sweeping curves, all 2 lane each direction. and Elk. Bugnator liked it at 95.

I will pay more attention!

FWFE

Bugnatr · Nov 7, 2014

FarWestFastEddie said:
Alan, So I kick myself for being busy fishing lately and not reading your planned trip to my neck of the woods. I kick myself again for not taking the opportunity to thank you personally for your technical assistance a few years ago when I installed my AVCC cruise control. I hope you had a great time in our area, enjoyed Eureka, and you also enjoyed the Scenic Bypass, which I call the Redwood Autobahn, twelve very remote miles of big sweeping curves, all 2 lane each direction. and Elk. Bugnator liked it at 95.I will pay more attention!

FWFE

Anytime you need a kick in the ass Eddie, just call -I'll be glad to help you buddy!

BTW Mr. and Mrs. Beam are wonderful folks, I really enjoyed my day with them.

ionbeam · Nov 15, 2014

I have finally got a few pictures posted from the trip and have a few captions, a few more may trickle in once the snow piles up. There are some pictures that I'm sorry we couldn't get like the Sonora Pass (108) where Pillion preferred to hang on for dear life instead of taking pictures and the beautiful Feather River Highway (70) where we were straight into the sun. I will be adding another gallery or two for Bodie and other specific locations.

The pictures.

Link to the routes.

Old Michael · Nov 15, 2014

Great photographs, ionbeam. Thank you.

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