And then I finally got to the North Rim. I had seen pictures and movies showing the Grand Canyon, but simply put, until you actually see it for yourself, it just doesn't compare. Words do not even come close to describing the awe I was experiencing. Here are my pictures of the North Rim:
As I was leaving the Grand Canyon, I noticed the sign on the plateau that showed it's altitude of 8800'. I guess I never realized the sheer size and altitude of the Grand Canyon plateau. The ride out was significantly nicer as the temperatures were now in the mid 60's. I also noticed that there was a recent forest fire in the area. Here are the pictures of the sheer size of the plateau, and forest fire:
The rest of the ride to Las Vegas consisted of less impressive bluffs. It also consisted of extreme temperatures. I took a picture of the bike's temperature guage as I went through St George's, Utah. It actually got about 6 degrees warmer before I got to Vegas. It got really hazy as I approached Las Vegas, so I didn't take any pictures. Oh, and a side comment about Las Vegas similar to that of Page, AZ. Why here? There is a really big lake with actual green plants on the ground less than 30 miles away. Why not build the city there instead of in the sand? Remember Sam Kinison? "See this, this is saaaand, nothing grows here because it's sand!!!"
DAY 8- Thursday, July 31 - Las Vegas, NV to San Francisco, CA:
No surprise here, but I ended up donating my limit to the Nevada economy. It took nearly 5 hours of blackjack before they got all $100 of my money, but they got it. In the meantime, I also learned how to play Craps. I never learned early on because I was a bit intimidated by it. After about 5 minutes of watching, I quickly figured out the way it is played. It really is quite simple. You put your money on the table, then, after a few moments, they take your money off the table.
Anyhow, I woke up early to get an early start on the heat, but after walking out to my bike at 6:00am and realizing that it was already in the mid 80's I thought, "What's the point?" I went back inside, ate breakfast and finally headed out at around 8:00am. My plan of riding through Death Valley was foiled due to the fires in Yosemite. As a result, I ended up taking the superslab all the way to San Francisco. I can't even begin to describe how much I hate interstate highways. But the trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco made me realize something about the west coast compared to the east coast. With the exception of a few swamps there is no desolate land east of the Mississippi. When traveling on the east coast, it's all farm land and forest. But riding through the barren lands of Nevada and eastern California, I couldn't help but think about the complete separation each town has from the next with absolutely nothing in between. Riding through Barstow and Bakersfield, CA, I also couldn't help but wonder the same thing I did about Page and Las Vegas: Why there? Did someone just put a stake in the ground as far away from anything they could find and say, "Let's build a town here"?
I'm a little worried about confessing on this page, but I think I may now be wanted by the California Agriculture police. I rode up to a California Agriculture Checkpoint where they check to see if people are importing any "illegal" agricultural products. Since I was already 100 miles into California when I got there, I guess they see eastern California the same way I did and don't care if the illegal stuff happens east of the checkpoint. When I pulled up to the window, the guy just waved me through without asking any questions. When I got to Bakersfield for a gas stop, I pulled out a banana I had from breakfast and ate it inside the California quarantine zone. I successfully snuck fruit into California! I wonder if that makes me a fruit-legger?
One thing I REALLY LOVE about California is, they allow motorcycles to split lanes (ride between stopped or slow moving cars). Outside of Modesto, there was a 6 mile back up due to an accident. Cars were moving about 5 mph. They literally were backed up for more than an hour due to the lane closures. Because of lane sharing, I was able to get through the entire back up in less than 15 minutes. Once I got into the rush hour traffic in the Bay Area, I did it again and was able to get through traffic in 5-6 minutes that would have taken me 30 minutes if I was in a car. I wish they would allow this everywhere!
I only took a couple of pictures on the way because, as mentioned before, outside of desolate, boring desert, there wasn't anything really to take any pictures of. Here is the agriculture checkpoint, a cool windmill farm just outside the metro Bay area, and the backed up traffic I was able to bypass:
DAY 9- Friday, August 1 - San Francisco, CA to Red Bluff, CA:
While technically part of day 8, I met with Hans (James Burleigh) for dinner in Berkeley. We went for a brief ride, but decided to meet for breakfast and go for a ride. He took the lead and we went over the Bay Bridge into down town San Francisco, along the waterfront, into the Persidio, up over the Golden Gate Bridge to an overlook of San Francisco Bay, then up Hwy 101 and over to the Napa Valley. We ate lunch in the small town of Winters, CA where I headed north to Red Bluff and he headed back home. Did I mention how much I like lane splitting? It really should be legal everywhere! While it wasn't rush hour when we went for our ride, it did save us quite a bit of time....and it's fun!
The San Francisco area is really beautiful. It was a bit hazy this morning, so the pictures aren't perfect. Having only seen the Golden Gate Bridge once before by driving over it, today was a real treat in that I had an insider's perspective for access for wonderful views of the bridge. One thing I commented on to Hans was that the Golden Gate Bridge spans the inlet of the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Bay is quite large, comparable to the Chesapeake Bay on the east coast. The difference though is, the inlet to the Chesapeake Bay is very wide (many miles) whereas the San Francisco bay inlet is only 1 mile wide. The current flowing under that bridge during tidal changes with all that water ebbing and flowing has got to be amazingly strong.
Anyhow, here are the pictures from today's ride. First is a picture of the San Francisco Bay and downtown Oakland from my hotel. Next is the obligatory picture of Alcatraz. No, we didn't ride out there! Then we have several pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, including one of Hans in front of me as we started to cross. Finally, specifically taken for my dad, the wine connoisseur, pictures of a couple of Napa Valley vineyards:
