Yup. A palindrome. Just like boob ...and kayak.
Last Saturday, the first day of May, I got up damn early and headed north to Yreka.
(The actual Yreka Bakery closed in 1961, as I understand it.)
Yreka wasn't my particular destination, but that's where you can catch Hwy. 96 going west
through some gorgeous country. And it's a beautiful road.
And that's what I wanted to do - ride a beautiful road through some gorgeous country.
There are lots of roads like that around here, but it had been a long time since I'd ridden
Highway 96.
My simple route -
North from Sacramento on I-5, again.
Left turn at Yreka and west - and then southwest on 96,
to Willow Creek, where 96 ends at Hwy. 299.
And since I'd come that close to the coast, (about 50 miles away),
I went ahead and zoomed west to Arcata, for lunch, and then turned
around and headed right back on 299, all the way to Redding.
And then south (again on I-5 :blink: ) and back home.
Didn't need a GPS or maps, really. Simple route.
Including exploring a few side roads, and turning around and back-tracking
for photos, my odometer showed it to be just over 800 miles.
That's sort of a long day for a fellow my age.
But, on nice roads, riding a big,
fast, modern motorcycle, (with a Bill Mayer seat),
it's really not too tough to do.
Especially on a beautiful spring day.
Left about 0430. Got home about 2230.
Here's what it all looked like.
I'll spare y'all the pics of me riding in the dark.
Just after sunrise, I was already up around Mt. Shasta.
Castle Crags. They're veryMadMike craggy.
It's got its head in that cloud there. I can relate.
Big lake. Gonna be wicked hot up in these parts in another month.
Still on 5. Black Butte area.
Time to get off the interstate.
River roads are almost always pleasant for riding.
Good news! I'm going to Willow Creek.
Please forgive some of these over-saturated shots. (I was sorta saturated when I edited them. )
Geez, it's gotten so I'd have a hard time riding without music.
Counting Crows had some groovy lyrics in some of their tunes, didn't they?
...step out the front door
like a ghost into the fog
where no one notices the
contrast of white on white.
and in between the moon and you
the angels get a better view
of the crumbling difference
between wrong and right.
I walk in the air, between the rain,
through myself and back again
where?
I don't know...
Okay.
No more lyrics.
Well. That sounds like a good idea.
A bunch of these photos might be out of order. You get out here in the sticks, and time and space get all
jumbled, ...sorta.
More trees and bushes.
Happy Camp. Downtown.
See the little motorbike on the sign?
Bigfoot is a bigpart of the local lore here. So, they erected a statue for the tourists to look at,.....and take pictures of.
He IS a scary-lookin' bastard, don't you think?
Looked here and there around town.
And then back to the work of being a motorcycle adventurer.
Really quiet out here.
I think.
I had Fell on Black Days blasting through my earphones.
So, I'm guessing about the quiet.
Cold water, probably.
So many roads begging to be explored. Another day.
The Post Office in bustling Orleans. Probably got RenoJohn's picture on the wall in there.
The locals like looking at the exotic machinery that passes though town.
And on toward Hoopa.
Nice stretch of road as you approach Hoopa.
Fun to go fast on.
(Of course, that would describe a lot of roads, I guess.)
Yes, it's in the Hoopa Indian Reservation.
Okay. Not too many more pics. Still awake?
Took a right here, and ran to the coast for a burger.
Then, turned around and headed right back toward Redding. Again, the road follows a river most of the way.
This time, it's the Trinity River. Sorta looks like the Klamath, huh?
I was on my last roll of film by now, so I just got a few more shots as I approached Redding.
Whiskeytown Lake. Near the marina.
I hadda be quick to get this shot.
Then, it was back on the interstate and a few hours rolling south with the truckers.
Sunset is already very late here - um,.....because we're in the Pacific time zone. :blink:
Gonna be a fantastic summer - if you've got an FJR and a few bucks for gas.
Thanks for coming along on another ride.
Happy Mother's Day!
Last Saturday, the first day of May, I got up damn early and headed north to Yreka.
(The actual Yreka Bakery closed in 1961, as I understand it.)
Yreka wasn't my particular destination, but that's where you can catch Hwy. 96 going west
through some gorgeous country. And it's a beautiful road.
And that's what I wanted to do - ride a beautiful road through some gorgeous country.
There are lots of roads like that around here, but it had been a long time since I'd ridden
Highway 96.
My simple route -
North from Sacramento on I-5, again.
Left turn at Yreka and west - and then southwest on 96,
to Willow Creek, where 96 ends at Hwy. 299.
And since I'd come that close to the coast, (about 50 miles away),
I went ahead and zoomed west to Arcata, for lunch, and then turned
around and headed right back on 299, all the way to Redding.
And then south (again on I-5 :blink: ) and back home.
Didn't need a GPS or maps, really. Simple route.
Including exploring a few side roads, and turning around and back-tracking
for photos, my odometer showed it to be just over 800 miles.
That's sort of a long day for a fellow my age.
But, on nice roads, riding a big,
fast, modern motorcycle, (with a Bill Mayer seat),
it's really not too tough to do.
Especially on a beautiful spring day.
Left about 0430. Got home about 2230.
Here's what it all looked like.
I'll spare y'all the pics of me riding in the dark.
Just after sunrise, I was already up around Mt. Shasta.
Castle Crags. They're very
It's got its head in that cloud there. I can relate.
Big lake. Gonna be wicked hot up in these parts in another month.
Still on 5. Black Butte area.
Time to get off the interstate.
River roads are almost always pleasant for riding.
Good news! I'm going to Willow Creek.
Please forgive some of these over-saturated shots. (I was sorta saturated when I edited them.
)
Geez, it's gotten so I'd have a hard time riding without music.
Counting Crows had some groovy lyrics in some of their tunes, didn't they?
...step out the front door
like a ghost into the fog
where no one notices the
contrast of white on white.
and in between the moon and you
the angels get a better view
of the crumbling difference
between wrong and right.
I walk in the air, between the rain,
through myself and back again
where?
I don't know...
Okay.
No more lyrics.
Well. That sounds like a good idea.
A bunch of these photos might be out of order. You get out here in the sticks, and time and space get all
jumbled, ...sorta.
More trees and bushes.
Happy Camp. Downtown.
See the little motorbike on the sign?
Bigfoot is a bigpart of the local lore here. So, they erected a statue for the tourists to look at,.....and take pictures of.
He IS a scary-lookin' bastard, don't you think?
Looked here and there around town.
And then back to the work of being a motorcycle adventurer.
Really quiet out here.
I think.
I had Fell on Black Days blasting through my earphones.
So, I'm guessing about the quiet.
Cold water, probably.
So many roads begging to be explored. Another day.
The Post Office in bustling Orleans. Probably got RenoJohn's picture on the wall in there.
The locals like looking at the exotic machinery that passes though town.
And on toward Hoopa.
Nice stretch of road as you approach Hoopa.
Fun to go fast on.
(Of course, that would describe a lot of roads, I guess.)
Yes, it's in the Hoopa Indian Reservation.
Okay. Not too many more pics. Still awake?
Took a right here, and ran to the coast for a burger.
Then, turned around and headed right back toward Redding. Again, the road follows a river most of the way.
This time, it's the Trinity River. Sorta looks like the Klamath, huh?
I was on my last roll of film by now, so I just got a few more shots as I approached Redding.
Whiskeytown Lake. Near the marina.
I hadda be quick to get this shot.
Then, it was back on the interstate and a few hours rolling south with the truckers.
Sunset is already very late here - um,.....because we're in the Pacific time zone. :blink:
Gonna be a fantastic summer - if you've got an FJR and a few bucks for gas.
Thanks for coming along on another ride.
Happy Mother's Day!
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