jwhite518
Well-known member
In which I meet Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox, and some Snow.
My map of California courthouses has had some notable holes in the northern corners for a few months. I keep wanting to go visit, but the weather has always gotten in the way. Finally the clouds and the calendar aligned this weekend. The weather prediction for the north state and southern Oregon was party cloudy and a chance of showers. I knew that in the higher elevations this could mean snow, but I was willing to risk it. After all, my license plate frame doesn't say "World's Toughest Riders" for nothing. I planned the route to be in the mountains later in the day, so that any morning ice would be melted. But still, I would be crossing the Sierras in winter on a motorcycle. Anything could happen.
Before getting up into snow country, there was the little matter of riding to the northwestern corner of the state. I've started many an IBA ride by leaving my house in the dark and riding north on Highway 101 to Eureka. However I think that 4 AM has definitely been the earliest start time. I chugged north and eventually saw the very first wisps of light in the sky. I said to myself, "Here comes the sun." That immediately led me to fire up Abbey Road on the MP3 player. Not until the entire album was over did the colors change on my GPS, indicating official sunrise time. But it was a great way to pass the morning, riding through the dimly lit redwoods and listening to the best album ever made. Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl, someday I'm gonna make her mine.
Next stop was Rio Dell. I filled and drained the appropriate tanks, and then called forum member FarWestFastEddie. He lives in Eureka and wanted to meet me and ride together for a bit. Twenty minutes later I parked next to Ed's FJR in front of the Humboldt County courthouse. It was great to make a new friend from the forum. We took each other's picture holding my rally flag in front of the courthouse and then cruised north together out of town. He rode with me all the way up to the town of Klamath. The route passed through some redwood groves and an elk reserve. Ed pointed out the herds of elk in the woods next to the road. We didn't get to see any close up, which is probably a good thing for safety's sake.
Shortly after waving goodbye to Ed I saw the signs for Trees of Mystery, which is where Paul and Babe live. What a thrill to finally photograph these guys. Cross that one off the bucket list.
Crescent City was a quick and easy stop. It's one of the smaller courthouses I've visited. So far the weather had been great. Even though the forecast had predicted rain in this part of the state, it had been dry all morning. The temps were in the 40s.
I turned onto Highway 199, which winds northeast from Crescent City to Grants Pass. The California part of the road was absolutely gorgeous. It follows an emerald colored river through a rugged canyon. After crossing the state border the terrain changed and the road mellowed out into a local connector route for the local towns. There was a bit of a traffic jam in Grants Pass, then I rode a few miles south on I-5 to Medford. Mt. McLoughlin looks down on the city.
At this point I found Lake of the Woods Highway, which I would follow eastward toward the town of Klamath Falls. This was my first encounter with high elevations. Fortunately the weather remained clear, though it was a bit chilly. The road was mostly dry, though there were patches of sand and runoff. When the road flatted out near the summit I pulled over and took some pictures.
The road descended into a high valley and ran next to a lake. I stopped in the town of Merrill, OR, just north of the California border. This was roughly the halfway point of my trip. I stopped for gas and a phone call home. Across the border and into Modoc county, the road was straight and fast. I rode an hour to Alturas and found the courthouse. I thought it was a cool bvilding.
Then I got on US 395 southbound. I've never been on this stretch of the road before. It was really enjoyable. A light dusting of snow covered the surrounding hills. I felt like I was all alone in the high desert landscape. I took a little moment to thank God for making such a beautiful, lonely place, and for putting me there on a motorcycle. I have the means to own the bike, and to set it up for the kind of riding I like to do. I have a wonderful family who loves me and wants me to be happy. I'm spending the next many weekends off the motorcycle with my family, and that's going to be great too. I have been richly blessed in this life.
The road turned west for a few miles and then I was in Susanville, the Lassen County seat. I found the courthouse. The building facade was engraved with words "Lassen County Courthouse." There was also a plaque in front that had the same words, along with some other inscription by the Clampers. I thought this double insignia would satisfy my courthouse critic, the stern James Burleigh. Apparently he thinks I'm faking these photos when they don't have the name of the county on them. Take that, Jimmy B!
Climbing out of Susanville I found myself back in the snow. Both sides of the road, and all the terrain as far as I could see, were covered in the white stuff. The road remained dry and traction-ful. The temperature was in that perfect range where it wasn't warm enough to cause a lot of runoff, but not cold enough for new ice to form. I was in the Sierras on a motorcycle in winter, and having a perfectly wonderful time! My GPS altimeter read 5100 feet. It would have been great to stop and get some more landscape photos, but I was racing the clock to get to Quincy as early as I could. I rode along the east shore of Lake Almanor, then went through a town that I remember visiting on some Cal 24 awhile back. It was the middle of the night then, and a bunch of riders were off on some side road looking for a roadside monument. As I made the turn for Quincy, the road began descending again, and the snow was getting less frequent. I made it to town at 6:15 PM, with plenty of light still available for the photo. There were bits of snow on the corners of the courthouse steps, but basically the town was dry.
And so my northern courthouse run is complete. I stopped for gas and dinner at the Quincy Chevron that was Bullet #3 last year. Warchild, where are you today? Hare Krishna, my friend.
Now I've got one of my favorite roads just ahead, Highway 70. This road must have been engineered by a motorcyclist. The curves are perfectly smooth and banked. It follows the river for miles and miles. I recommend this road for all riders. It's not the most thrilling or the fastest, but it has a perfect rhythm. By the time I got down to Oroville it was dark. All that was left was to ride home.
I arrived back in San Leandro at 10:15 PM, with 1054 miles on the odometer. All that tough guy talk was in vain. The ride could have been done by anybody with some warm clothes and enough tread on their tires. My total mileage for the SJC10K is now 7305. After re-reading the bonus pack for the SJC10K, I realized that the rallymaster included a rest bonus. I'm going to take that bonus starting right now.
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