2000 miles, OR, CA,

[RoxxieRae]

Hi everyone, i just returned from a lovely vacation, during which my dad and I took the long way around 2000 miles of back roads through Oregon and northern California. Thanks for checking out my pics!!

Here we are, ready to leave from my folks' place. My mom left and drove herself up a couple days after we did.

The first flurry of photos occurred on Paskenta Rd. after a stop for lunch in Stonyford. We met a nice guy on a VStrom there and chatted it up for a while before getting on our way.

This is the canopy of trees over the road... this area was VERY "northern california," what with the dry grass, split rail fences and oak trees all over the place.

See what i mean about the dry grass, split rail fences, and oaks? I thought the snag in the middle of the frame was really beautiful.

Here i am practicing for my modeling gig with TourMaster. :hehe

Carrying on, we went through rolling hills on a goaty little road near Corning, CA. The sky was thick with smoke, but only a preview of what was to come!

There's dad in front of what my family used to call "Teddy Bear Hills" on road trips. you know, where the grass covering the hills is tawny, and actually looks like it might be cuddly.

Speaking of cuddly, that little goaty road took us right by a US Bison Preserve. (yes, i know bison are not actually cuddly.)

We rode on toward Corning, passing many of these groves of eucalyptus that are used for firewood. I don't think i really captured just how trippy these look to ride by (i mean really, how can you in a still photo?), but i thought they looked so neat, i'm including it anyway.

Rush hour in a rural area. Those little white specks are goats. That was only half of them!! The adjacent field had just as many.

After riding 299 past Whiskeytown Lake and places where i actually saw smoke billowing out of the trees, we made it to the Red Hill Motel in Weaverville. What an adorable place! Here the 'Strom loiters about the parking lot, keeping an eye on the bear in the distance.

...continued below...

 

[RoxxieRae]

Day 2 of our trip, getting ready to leave Weaverville- who wouldn't backtrack a couple miles for a shot of this thing?

As we made our inexorable way toward Oregon, Highway 3 provided enough roller coaster curves to get my blood pumping. Although really, i should wear a sign if i'm going to be playing Moto GP before my morning coffee!

This little stream feeds Lake Trinity. What looks like coastal fog is actually smoke.

While awful to breathe, it can be pretty to see and photograph:

After breakfast in a small, horsey town that included an adventure with some young cows... (Dad barely missed them, i rode behind them for a good 50 yards revving my engine, honking and yelling while they ran like hell... when they finally jumped down off the road, it was my turn to go like hell and get around them before they jumped out again! Stupid cows.) It was time to get on to Scott River Rd. What a treat! This is an absolute must-ride. Beautiful single lane blacktop, gorgeous scenery, and the only other vehicles we saw were two other bikes, one of whom gave me the most enthusiastic, fist-pumping thumps-up... it made me smile even bigger than i already was, which i didn't think was possible! Here are some photos of a California dream road:

..and the beautiful Scott River down below.

After Scott River Rd. we pressed on, reaching Grants Pass and some lunch with my mom, whose trip happened to coincide with ours at just the right moment. Serendipity! Then it was 80 miserable miles on 5 to reach some back roads around the Umpqua river. By the time we hit Mehi Creek Rd (and my nervousness re: gravel went away), I was at peace with the freeway miles we had done in the blistering heat.

Alright gentlemen... The moral of this story is "Don't be afraid to get the big bike dirty!"

Here Dad tries to figure out the finer points of Tyee Rd. (Thanks, Google. fft)

Did i mention the miles on I-5 were totally worth it?

The mighty Umpqua before we headed into the clouds and fog surrounding the coast, and make way for our motel in Reedsport.

Outside our motel in Reedsport, Dad and I get all the luggage off the bikes and discuss dinner plans involving walking across the street.

Day 3 dawned damp and chilly (shocking, i know), so we put on our rain gear and headed up the coast for our destination- Rockaway Beach on the north coast. Our first glimpses of the ocean were beautiful...

A closer view of the lighthouse:

After that on Day 3, we just pushed forward to our destination, as it was a short ride and we were eager to reach Grandma's house!!

While in Oregon, all kinds of fun ensued. There was hiking:

There was family time:

There was gawking:

There was grilling (i mean, of course... it WAS 4th of July weekend after all!!):

Don't worry. Once my mom turned on the burners, it happened quick. and besides, it was only after we caught him trying to steal the FJR.

There was interspecies cuddling (my favorite!!):

continued....

 

[Silver Penguin]

Awesome pix. Thanks for sharing. The gravel on the road looks scary though. I would not like riding on that.

Jill

 

[RoxxieRae]

Too many images? boooooo... I'll make another thread in a few minutes with the rest!

 

[jordylad]

This is awesome.

I can't wait for the next installment.

Hurry up........

Sincerely, thanks for sharing. Great stuff.

 

[RoxxieRae]

Day 2 of our trip home dawned bright and sunny and beautiful. We made our way from Alturas to Susanville in the lazy morning sun, watching as the air got smokier and smokier. Oh well. it's still good to be back in Cali.

Yes, this is really what that driveway looked like!

A farmer's tribute to the Marine Corps in metal sculpture.

A detail shot of the one that stood out to us for obvious reasons:

Eagle Lake on the way in to Susanville through the Modoc National Forest:

We stopped in Susanville for breakfast and then headed over to Quincy in the name of riding Quincy-LaPorte Rd. on the way home. What a thrill! SUPER tight and twisty at the beginning that opens up to well-maintained, relatively traffic-free, very fast sweepers.

This bridge was built in 1892.

And last but not least, because it can't ALL be iron and tarmac:

That's the last shot i took before we rode with as few stops as possible to get home- out of the smoke and into the air conditioning. Thanks to everyone for riding along with us!!

 

[GunMD]

Too many images?

Not possible. Keep 'em coming.

 

[RoxxieRae]

Too many images?

Not possible. Keep 'em coming.

The FJR Forum disagrees with you. <_<

 

[FJRONAMISSION]

AWESOME RIDE!! .. Great pics and ya got ta ride with your dad....... great vacation...... FJRM

 

[jordylad]

bout time......

Thanks, great stuff.

 

[Roadrider]

GREAT pics. Nice report. Thanks for the virtual ride.

 

[pawtracks]

Great report & pictures!

Makes it almost bearable to sit behind this desk.

 

[tstaff]

Thank you, great photos! :clapping:

 

[ShawnKing]

AWESOME RIDE!! .. Great pics and ya got ta ride with your dad....... great vacation...... FJRM

Yeah - I was thinking both how lucky you were to be riding with your dad and how lucky he was to be riding with you! I'm sure a lot of us are jealous of that relationship - I know I am!

 

[JREW]

AWESOME RIDE!! .. Great pics and ya got ta ride with your dad....... great vacation...... FJRM

Yeah - I was thinking both how lucky you were to be riding with your dad and how lucky he was to be riding with you! I'm sure a lot of us are jealous of that relationship - I know I am!

+1 On that. I can get my daughter to ride dirt bikes with me, but not street. Great ride report.

 

[RoxxieRae]

AWESOME RIDE!! .. Great pics and ya got ta ride with your dad....... great vacation...... FJRM

Yeah - I was thinking both how lucky you were to be riding with your dad and how lucky he was to be riding with you! I'm sure a lot of us are jealous of that relationship - I know I am!

Thanks, it's been really great. Trying to keep up with dear old dad has made me a much better rider than i think i would have been otherwise. He's been a great teacher and all-around good company... it's made riding a motorcycle just that much cooler, which (as you all know) is saying a lot!!

 

[RenoJohn]

! 9 Thumbs-Up ! from renojohn

Well Roxie Rae. I don't even know where to start ................

GREAT trip report and I've gone through it a few times now.

I can't help but follow along and think back on times i've been to those places. Pretty much all of them and I found your trip not only interesting from where you were ..but how you put such sites and locations into the same loop. I also want to comment on the good lookin' men's version of the V-Strom that you wear so well!!!

So, let me make a few more specific comments please:

It was time to get on to Scott River Rd. What a treat! This is an absolute must-ride. Beautiful single lane blacktop, gorgeous scenery, and the only other vehicles we saw were two other bikes, one of whom gave me the most enthusiastic, fist-pumping thumps-up... it made me smile even bigger than i already was, which i didn't think was possible!

Yes, isn't that little road a treat!?! (as you say) and I can't think of a better description! Good on ya for taking the time, many locals don't even know of that road. Did you stop at the lodge(pic). What a great area. 1pic 2pic and the post office(pic) north end.

back roads around the Umpqua river.

You scratched the surface, some really great roads back in there, and the umpqua looks great this year doesn't it!!? I really enjoy riding that area. 1picYou have family in Grants Pass, I went to Lincoln elementary there before they rebuilt it ...and my parents now live in Eagle Point.

we hit Mehi Creek Rd (and my nervousness re: gravel went away),

NICE!!! Good on ya girl!!

and make way for our motel in Reedsport ......... so we put on our rain gear and headed up the coast for our destination- Rockaway Beach on the north coast. Our first glimpses of the ocean were beautiful...

..............A closer view of the lighthouse

Lots of good ways into Reedsport. Next time consider taking the little known road along the upper smith river(pic)been through there countless times and last month actually stayed there for the first time ever. 1pic 2pic 3pic

-------------------------------

We even went to Chinook, Washington for lunch! What jetsetters! :giggle

LOL LOL ...man-o-man!!, I gotta get your autograph! Hope you told Jessica, Britney, Paris, Brad ..and the rest of the gang hello for me!

Me at a store somewhere out the cut on the way to Wheeler... Can you hear the banjos? I sure could, but they carried my brand of smokes so i guess i can't complain too much.

HMMM, renojohn never been here and it looks like a town that I need to come and remodel some weekend. Putting it on the list.

We went into Astoria, where my dad told me that if i had never even driven across the bridge into Washington, it was mandatory that we do it that day. And so we did:

Dads are always right. 1pic

We took a detour to Fort Rock. I really wanted to see the giant, volcanic tuff ring. I was NOT disappointed.

Good on ya! another little-known road!! A real treat IMO!

**OH, and almost forgot ....near Modoc .....look familiar 1pic

and me thinks this might be the same corner as one of your pics 2pic ??

...and I also forgot to comment on LaPorte road and curious if you took Antelope Lake route from Susanville to Quincy?

Again, can't tell you how much I enjoyed your report. Great to see you and your pop having such great fun on moto-bikes while seeing great diverse site in one nice ride. Not much better than that!!

Cheers from reno ....john

 

[raclow]

Nice report and great pics. You are lucky to get the chance to take this trip with your dad. Some many don't have a dad to share these things with.....you are blessed.

Keep the memories alive.

Thanks again.