Back to the Ghetto shack! 08-05-08

Well I made it back to the ghetto shack today! It is nice to be home. Thank goodness my neighbor has yet to secure his wireless network, so I am piggy backing off of him at this point in time. While I had not shut off my utilities, I did shut off my cable while I was gone, hence the Internet was off as well.

I do apologize for the poor blogs the last couple of weeks, after I got through the redwood forest, I had decided it was time to come home, but of course Tahoe and Vegas interrupted things a bit. After my tire episode in the desert and experience with the "diddler" I knew it was time to wrap up this part of the adventure. The negative point was the only way to get home was across the desert and the heat was overwhelming, until I got to northern New Mexico, the days were 120 plus temp wise and it was frustrating not being able to make good progress.

Once I got home today everything was just fine, with the exception of my hot water heater which would not light. I spend about an hour working on it, and finally gave up, while I was gone my crawlspace flooded, hopefully I can repair it with a new thermal coupler. After I worked on the HW heater I was really dirty, not to mention I was still wearing sweat soaked clothes from the last few days, I took a shower with no hot water and it was not uncomforatable at all, quite nice actually.

I am having trouble typing on this full size key board, what a reversal, it took me a month to get adept on the mini-key board, now I am learning all over again.

My AC unit is trying to catch up, and I am still tired and sunburned from the last week or so. I will be posting some follow up blogs the next few days, so don't tune me out just yet. There are a number of people that I need to thank, and I have a lot on my mind that I want to share in regards to this trip.

My plan for the next month or so, is to tie up some loose ends, help dad around the farm, etc...see old friends, and I really need to spend some quality time with my dog! I very much am looking forward to the autumn season and am planing a couple of little adventures, I will fill you in as they develop, and once again hope you will go along for the ride!

Tim

Big catch up blog! July 26th thru Aug 3rd

I am sorry, to combine all of these bogs into one entry, the pictures below are in no particular order, but are some of the sights over the last week.

As I write this blog, I am in the town of Las Vegas "NEW MEXICO" about 60 miles north of Sante Fe New Mexico. I am totally spent! The Last week in the desert has been almost more than I can handle. I have captioned these pictures. I will try to bring you up to date on the last week. My recollections of time and dates are poor, and I hope that you will accept them for what they are, and appreciate the trails of the last week.
Fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
Another fountain pic, with the sun shining through.
Entering Death Valley national Park.
Sand across the road in Death Valley.
The Grand Canyon.
Another Grand canyon pic.
Yet another Grand Canyon Pic.
Hoover dam, the water levels are very low!
I stayed at the Paris casino for a few days.
Motorcycle thermometer pegged at over 120, in death valley, and for many days to come!
Landscape in death valley.

New Bridge going over Colorado river below Hoover damn!


When I last left you, we were getting ready to head across death valley, after my stay in Lake Tahoe. Death Valley definitely stands up to its billing. I crossed the Valley floor at 10:00 am and the temp was already at 125 degrees! I was glad to get across! Aside from the many other extremes I have experienced on this trip, this was a point in time, when I truly felt bare and naked to the potential wrath of Mother Nature! I feel that our human form, and the mechanical aids which we depend upon are generally suited for temperatures that range from 0 degrees to 100 degrees, beyond that temperature range, the risk of failure increases exponentially. In my home I have a "Sauna" I set it at the 120 degrees and sit in it "bare ass" naked with a big bottle of water in my hand just waiting for the 20 minutes to click off the timer. The glue in the books that I read withers, the water bottle which I bring in with me expands, and after those 20 minutes I am glad to emerge to the relative calm of a normal environment.

As I traveled along the valley floor, the thermometer on my motorcycle pegged over 120 degrees which was its limit. It felt as if the tires of my motorcycle were traveling over "chewing" gum as I traveled over the asphalt. All the while in the back of my mind I was trying to keep the thought of mechanical failure at bay. While I had plenty of water with me, just the sheer pounding of the sun and temperature would be deadly in hours.

I crossed the valley floor and ended up in a town called "puhrump", a town of about 5000 just outside of Las Vegas about 50 miles. I was exhausted! I had changed my reservations in Vegas to Monday, and had a day to kill, so I stayed at a small casino complex and got a decent room for $50.00

The next day I headed for Las Vegas, there has been a heat wave going on, and the daytime temp was 115 degrees, the ride to Vegas was not so bad, but once I got into town and was navigating the "Strip", things got real hot, real quick.

I finally made it to the "Paris" casino, I originally was going to stay at "Cesar's Palace" for two days, but since I was running ahead of schedule, they did not have a room at "Caesar's" so they gave me three nights at the "Paris" instead. It was a nice room, not quite as nice as "Harrahs" in Tahoe, but who am I to bitch, it was free and right on the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.

I much enjoyed my stay, no huge sums of money were won or lost, I left town by motorcycle, rather than "Lear" jet, so obviously the cards were not completely in my favor, but I still had my motorcycle and the shirt on my back.

After leaving Las Vegas, I headed over to the "Hoover Damn", I have been there many times before, but always marvel in its "Grandeur", I took a few pics to note the water level. I have a collection of pictures from the first time I visited until today. While I am not a big proponent of "Global" warming, the water level is definitely down and it has been interesting to see its progress over the years.

I stopped in "Boulder City" did some laundry and headed down the highway to "Laughlin" Nevada. I did not intend to stay in Laughlin, but wanted to take the highway, as I had ridden it on a Bicycle in 1997 and remembered the hardship, and on more than one occasion during that bicycle ride, thought how nice it would have been to be on a motorcycle! Before leaving the Laundromat in Boulder City, I called my mother and told her how hot it was and was glad that I had not had any mechanical problems with my motorcycle. Well I should have "Knocked on wood" when I said that, because some bad luck was about to come my way!

The day was extremely hot, 125 degrees, it felt much like "Death Valley", about 25 miles outside of Laughlin, I felt the back end of my motorcycle act funny, I pulled over, and sure enough, my rear tire was going flat. I carry extra tubes, and a patch kit for such emergencies, but even under the best of conditions, using rudimentary tools, a rear tire change takes at least 1hour. Lucky for me I did have cell phone service, and after about 15 mins I was able to locate a "Kawasaki" dealer in "Bullhead City", (the town right next to Laughlin) I told them of my plight and asked if they could send someone out to pick me and my bike up and help me with repairs? They said that their service truck was out and they were short handed and there was no way they could get anyone out today to help me. They indicated that if I could find my way to their shop, that they would fix the tire. I reiterated the fact that I was in a dire circumstance, in the middle of the desert, it was 125 degrees and I needed help! In a curt tone, the person on the phone, said, "Welcome to the desert"! I hung up the phone, and called the "Good Sams' club" which is my RV membership, which is supposed to be the equivalent of Triple AAA for RV owners. In fact before I left on this trip, I up graded to the "Platinum" club level for better service. I called the toll free number and was put into an automated system and never got a live voice.

By this point in time, I had been standing next to the road for over 45 mins in 125 plus temps. I had a couple of quarts of water with me, and had been drinking them, but my energy was waning. I knew that I needed to act on my own. I knew that changing the tire was out of the question, so I removed the rear wheel and tire, and stood next to the road, and stuck my thumb out to hitch a ride. Fortunately it was just a few minutes and a guy in an SUV stopped and gave me a ride to town. I told him about my situation, and mentioned that maybe I would just have him take me to a Hotel, and I would deal with it tomorrow, as the "Kawasaki" dealer had indicated that they could help me the next day. He then told my that I was on Indian Land, and that while no one would probably mess with my bike during the day, that it would never last the night, and I would come back to either a missing motorcycle, or one stripped of anything of value!

He dropped my off at the "Kawasaki" dealer and I set about getting help, much to my disappointment, I found that there was an abundance of employees just standing around doing nothing, I also noticed, two pickup trucks in the lot which obviously belonged to the dealer ship. Fortunately I had also brought along my extra tube, as they did not stock tire tubes for my motorcycle. 20mins later the service tech brought out my repaired tire and wheel, and presented me with a bill for $80.00! That typically is the charge for having a tire repaired, when they take off the wheel and provide a new tube. I was pissed, but kept my cool. I went to the manager and asked if there was anyway that I could get someone to take my back to my motorcycle? I offered $50.00? He refused and said that due to liability reasons, he could not let any of his employees use their person vehicle for service reasons. I asked about the two company trucks on the lot? He indicated that those were used only for personal water craft which they rent for people to use on the river.

I calmed myself for a moment took a long inhale of breath and slowly said, "My motorcycle is broken down in the middle of F#@King nowhere, it is 125 degrees out, and you cannot help me solve this delima. I told him that money was not an issue, and I needed options. He suggested that I call a cab to get me back to my motorcycle! I graciously asked him if he would call one for me. He said yes. He called a cab, I waited until the cab arrived, put my tire in the trunk and asked the "Cabbie" to wait for a moment. I walked back inside to the managers office, and told him, that "A mans worth, in this life is the sum of his deeds which he will carry with him for the rest of his life,("Budda") and to you my friend, you will rot in Hell for the lack of yours! Then I walked out and got into the back of the Taxi.

I was so pissed off I could not see straight! Have you ever walked into a restaurant and were completely famished and the service was so bad that you lost your appetite then left? Same thing!

I got into the back of the taxi and gave him directions to where I wanted to go, he told me the cost would be the metered fare to my motorcycle, then it would have to double it for his return fair. I told him "Whatever, just get my back to my motorcycle". The cabbie then grabbed the stuff in the front passenger seat and threw it in the back seat next to me and told me that I would be more comfortable if I sat up front because the air conditioning was better, I declined.

How could my day get much worse? As soon as we get out of town, the cabbie starts talking about sex, and how he drives whores around, and asks me how I get off, while traveling around the country on a motorcycle? I told him It was none of his F@#king business and just get me back to my bike! As we get to my motorcycle he makes reference to the fact that some oral sexual exploits would make him forget about the cab fare. (Take into consideration that this guy is a sloppy, sleazy, 65 plus year old pervert that in hand to hand combat, I could probably kill in less than a minute). He was the stereotypical "Diddler".

I told him that I would forget what he had just said and be on my way and pay my fare, Then he said, "You may not have a choice" Then I thought, "shit" he might have a gun! So I asked, "What do you mean"? He said, "Your wheel is locked in my trunk". (At this point in time we are parked next to my motorcycle on the side of the road.) I then calmly told him, "No my friend, it is you that does not have a choice."

He opened the trunk, got my wheel out, and told me was just joking with me!

I handed him a $100.00, the one way fare was actually $55.00, but he did not quibble. He was lucky to be alive. As things would work out, the 10 minutes it took me to remove, the wheel, turned into 30 mins to replace it. In sweltering 125 degree temps. I found a new use for my "crock" sandles, they protected my knees from the scalding pavement while I installed the wheel.

After installing my wheel and repaired tire, I rode into Laughlin, thank goodness they have cheap hotel rooms, I checked in for the night at 6:00pm. I had been dealing with this tire issues for over 5 hours in 125 plus temps, I was cooked both mentally and physically. The next day, I called "Moab" Taxi company to register a complaint, they seemed indifferent. So I called the Bullhead city Police department, and they told me that I could register a complaint, but I would have to appear in court and appear as a witness, and it would be weeks before it would come before a judge.

So beware, the Diddler is out there!

I got the Hell out of Laughlin, and headed to the Grand Canyon, still in 120 plus temps, I have been to the canyon more than once, but just wanted to take a few pics, and get a sticker for my side box. I made it there just fine but as I pulled into the gift shop, my back wheel locked up! My rear brakes were scalded, I loosed a bolt and lifted the caliper off of the disk and tied it off with a zip tie.

I headed up the road and ended up in "Winslow" Arizona, yes the same "Winslow" that is in the song. I found a cheap hotel room and stayed for the night. I looked things over and found that the whole break assemply is just coated with tar, from the roads. I cleaned it off the best that I could. I also found that the "O" rings on my chain are worn out.

We are heading home!!!

I would rather camp out, "Slathered" in Bacon grease in the wilds of Alaskan "Grizzly" country, than deal with the oppressive heat of the desert in August, and the "Dilladlah"

I am glad that you all have taken the ride with me, I will not be posting travel logs for a few days. I want things to "Sink" in for a bit.

It has been over 2 months, 14000 miles, we have seen some great things. I plan to be home sometime the middle of this week. How I miss home!

After a trip like this, it is difficult to prioritize what, or whom I want to see the most. During this trip, through thick and thin, I have thought about people, places and things. To a great extent!

What I look forward to the most is stopping at the end of the driveway of our family farm. Miles from pavement, a place that no one would know where it is, if not for the fact they had been there. The place that I started my journey, the place that I will end my journey.

For all of those of you along the way that said, "You ain't in Kansas anymore"

Well, I am back and there is no place that I would rather be!!!

July 24-25-26

Well maybe not so lucky, but holding my own!
Sierras
Into Yosemite
El Capitan!
From the road side.
Another view of the nice granite of Yosemite.
Poor me, I had to take a nap here!!!


I do apologize once again for combining posts, but things happen! When we last talked, I had sequestered myself in Lake Tahoe, at a semi-high roller suite for a couple of days. While I did not leave town on the plus side, the difference in my wallet from my arrival to my departure was only 3 dollars to the negative. While that may seem like a loss, I did stay in a room that normally is $495.00 per night, had 3 square meals a day, and during that time had a bottle of 1992 Opus 1 Cabernet. So all in all I came out a few grand ahead. (More on the gambling strategy later)

I left Tahoe on the 25th, and as I was departing the concierge invited me to stay for a few more days. I told her that I had to go, and was on my way through Yosemite and across "Death Valley"! While I was not a big winner from a personal point of view, I guess "Harrahs" thought that my "Play" was worthy of some attention. Originally, I was offered a couple of days at "Cesar's Palace", but due to a schedule change, and moving my arrival time up a day, I was given 3 days at the "Paris" Casino. I will be arriving there on Monday.

After leaving Tahoe, I rode through the Sierra Nevada range, and headed down through "Yosemite" national park. Spectacular in all forms of description! I stopped at the outfitter shop in Yosemite Village, and it was full of "total" hard core climbers from all over the world! Yosemite is the "Holy Grail" of climbing!

People there actually, know that the words given to high end technical clothing are for a reason. For Example, "Royal Robbins" was one of the first to climb "El Capitan", North Face clothing is named for the North face of Mt. Everest, etc, and on and on. I saw thousands of tourists today, sporting the most expensive clothing that one can imagine, but in the outfitters store in Yosemite, I saw a few hard core climbers who were worthy of wearing the "Brand (s)".

After leaving Yosemite, I headed south through the desert, and ended up in a town called "Bishop". It is very hot here, and I am on the cusp of the "Death Valley" national park. I plan to get up early in the morning and make my way across Death Valley and then be on my way to "Vegas".

Tim

Lake Tahoe-July 23 08

Why do I pick such bad places to go hiking?
I saw this sign, ate some "beef jerky" and was on my way!
I saw this little "Praying Mantis" today. She was small, once they breed, the female eats the male and she is on here way.
Sierra Nevada's, It was the middle of the day, this is haze from the forest fires.
A view of Lake Tahoe, once again the haze is from forest fires.
My room at Tahoe!
The men's bathroom, notice the seat is up!
The Ladies bathroom, notice the tub and the seat is down! I should have brought the "Mantis" she would have enjoyed the dichotomy!


My how things can change quickly! This morning after I left the Casino in "Colusa" I decided to stop and get my hair cut. I have let all of my hair go to the wind so to speak since I left. The last few days it has been very warm, so I went into a "Barber" shop and got a serious trim! When I was sitting in the chair I asked the barber how far it was to Lake Tahoe. He told me it was less than 2 hours away.

I told him about my plans, and while I am always one to multi-task, while he was cutting my hair, he gave me his phone, and I called "Harrahs" to see if I could change my reservations from next week to this week. While I am not what some would call a "High Roller" I do have some what of an acumen for gaming and over the years have build a relationship with "Harrahs" casino. They always take good care of me, and were more than happy to change my reservations to meet my needs! Well you an see by the pics above that they fixed me up with a good "Crib" for a couple of days. So here I am catching up on my blog from my new digs in "Tahoe".

My "Rewards" bank account is pretty flush at this point in time, so while we did not go to the wine country, I do feel that I nice bottle of wine will be in the offing tomorrow night!

That is pretty much it for now, I will be "Chilling" out here for a couple of days. I will be looking at the map to decide where we are going next, I still plan on going to Yosemite, and maybe hit the Grand Canyon, who knows?

Talk to you soon!

Tim

I missed a day July 22 08

The casino treated me good!


I am sorry, some where along the way I missed a day, I think? Anyway, I spent the night in Fort Bragg, which actually is a town on the California coast, I was going to camp out and seek "Big Foot" but due to the tire episode I opted to stay in a hotel. For those of you reading this blog, who have ever changed a motorcycle tire in the field, you know that it is a real pain in the "A#$". When you are done, you are pretty much dirty from head to toe, not to mention the fact that you have to use every part of your body, to break the bead, and use proper leverage to remount the tire and seat the bead.

I thought all was done with my tire issues, but about 10 miles out of Ft. Bragg, the tire whet down again. I was able to pull off next to the road, I pulled the tire off and found that the patch I had put on the day before had failed. Once again an hour later I was off, it was holding air well. 50 miles down the road I made it to a town called "Ukiah" CA, I pulled off at the first exit and pulled into a strip mall to get a phone book to find the local Kawasaki dealer, when I stopped I found that I was parked in front of the local Kawasaki dealer, what good Karma!

I walked up to the service desk and asked if they had any heavy duty front tubes for a Kawi 650, yes they did, and they were only $20.00 ea. I told the parts man about my problems, and I just happened that the service man overheard my conversation, he quickly intervened and asked me about my trip, as he too had just recently purchased a new 650. To make a long story short, 30 mins and $20.00 later, they changed out my old tube, balanced my tire and I was on my way. Big "PROPS" to Doug and all the staff at "Motor sports of Ukiah"!!!

I headed east out of Ukiah towards the Sierra Nevada mountain range, I have booked a couple of nights in Lake Tahoe, but need to kill some time as they are not until next week.

I was planning to camp out tonight, but in the middle of no where I saw a big building. What could it be? It was a large Indian gaming complex in the middle of no where. What should I do? Well I stopped, went in, had a few beers, played some black jack, got friendly with the pit boss, got a $50 room, which was by far the best room, I have had on this trip. Spent the evening, and when I left in the morning was exactly $293.00 in the positive after all expenses where paid!

Life is good!

Tim

Looking for big foot! July 22-08

See there is a big foot.
Here is another big foot, this one also has a big nose!
Look, there are even bigfoot crossing signs.
This big foot is so nice he also provides services to travellers.
Big foots store!
Nail in tire.
Well if you have to fix a tire it may as well be next to the ocean.

A couple of days ago, I put on my new front tire, thinking I would have no tire issues for the rest of the trip. But right outside of Fort Bragg, the front end felt mushy and I knew I had a problem, an errant roofing nail had found its way into my front tire. Well at least I was ocean side to change it. I did find it interesting that during the hour it took to repair the tire only one motorcyclist stopped to offer assistance, while hundreds drove by. Had this been Alaska or Canada, every motorcyclist would have stopped. The only guy that stopped was on vacation here from Switzerland, he could barely speak English, and had no technical skills, but offered anyway. For California being such a progressive, inclusive and loving to all people state, they certainly lack in basic friendliness and willingness to help. May be if I was stoner passed out on the side of the road with a tin cup held up asking for donations, more people would have stopped.

No matter, I work better by myself and would rather not have a cheering section giving me advice, and hour later I was all fixed up and on my way.

I looked high and low for big foot, I found statues of him, as well a crossing signs etc...He seems to be an awfully nice person, he has a convenience store, and offers all kinds of souvenirs. Maybe tonight I will lay in the woods, slathered with Vienna sausage and spam juice and that will draw him in!

I have decided not to travel down to wine country, due to my means of travel, stopping and doing some tasting is not a good idea, I have been there before, and this is one area, that I feel really needs to be shared with other people. Beyond wine country I have no real choice other than to go through San Francisco, once again I have been there before, and have no real desire to go back there again, besides that the crime rate is high due to the protection laws they have for illegal aliens, and the city of Oakland is going through a big crime spree. I think I am going to cut across the state and hit some of the mountain ranges on the east side of the state. I have also made arrangements to spend a couple of days at lake Tahoe next week, so I am going to work myself that way.

Tim

Hanging out in Redwoods July 19-20

Avenue of Giants, fantastic ride.
The drive through redwood tree.
Ferns of forest floor.
Amongst the trees.
Uprooted tree.
Looking up.
Looking up again, this is the only way to get a good view of the entire tree.

Well, I have just been spending the last few days hanging out in the redwood forest. Once again thanks to the abilities of my motorcycle I have been able to get to the road less traveled and see areas that the usual tourist would not see.
Being amongst these trees has been a highlight of this trip, they are so majestic! To walk amongst them makes you feel so privileged.

Of all the places I have been so far on this trip, this would be my number one pick for a family vacation. While I had a great time by myself, I observed many families with children who were having a ball. When you get around trees, kids know what to do, just run around, climb etc. The only down fall is an abundance of poison oak, which one needs to avoid.

The only negative of this area is the towns here, Arcate, Eureka and others are right in the heart of "Humbolt" county which for those of you who do not know about "Humbolt" county, it is pretty much the Marijuana, growing and smoking capitol of the United States. Marijuana is decriminalized here, so basically if you get caught with less than an ounce of pot, you are not breaking the law, also this is where you can get prescriptions for legalized pot, and this is where most of the medical marijuana is grown.

I am an open minded person, and like many recent presidents and candidates I have smoked the evil weed, and I even inhaled, and quite frankly enjoyed it. This part of the country is an example of something that is taken to a complete extreme, not only pot smoking, but hardcore liberalism as well. There is kind of an anything goes type of mentality, and I feel that there is going to be a backlash at some point in time. The area is just over run with teenagers, and young 20 somethings, as well as many old left over hippies, who have traveled here to visit the holy grail of pot smoking and to become, or relive their lives as "Hippies".

There are beggars and panhandlers every where. You literally cannot get out of a vehicle or walk for more than a few yards without being hit up for some change or a few bills. In the towns you see people roaming around aimlessly just stoned out of their minds, then look down any alley or around vacant buildings and there will be people passed out, even in the middle of the side walks. It is really sad.

On Saturday evening I hung out on the square in Acarta, which is the epicenter of everything going on radical around here. The square was buzzing with the beat of drums, and dancing, also there were multiple protests and marches going on, the anti-war people were there, as well as anti-Bush people, PETA, etc. The were roaming around the square, yelling at people and just going berserk. It was a little scary at times, because most of the protesters where just stoned beyond comprehension, they would yell their chants and work themselves into a fervor, they would get right in your face and yell, while spitting and drooling, thier bloodshot eyes while filled with general hatred were windows to vacant souls.

I believe in peoples right to protest, and I think it is a good thing at times, what bothered me about this scene was that I don't feel the majority of the participants had any real idea what they were protesting about or for, it just seemed to be a follow the leader mentality help along with being stoned out of their minds, most of these were young youths, who heaven help us will be the leaders of the next generation. They were probably born of the hippies of the 60's and 70's, if you think they led us in the right direction, just visit these free love and drug areas and you will see what happens when every thing that feels good is allowed. Complete Chaos!!!

I am sorry, I am not intending to preach, visit this area and made judgements for yourself, just be forewarned that you may have a little culture shock, or should I say "Lack of Culture shock".

Tim

The great redwood forest july 18-08

Welcome to California, my 10 state on this trip.
Entering the Redwood forest.
Getting into big trees.
Fog in the tree tops.
Walking among giants.
One of many great ocean views through the trees.
Me next to ocean.
Bike next to tree.
Looking up two trees.
Looking up, you cannot even see the top!


It has been over 10 years since I visited the redwood forest, and figuring many of these trees are over 2000 years old and nearly 350' tall, they maybe have grown and inch or two since I was here last.

I remember the last time I was here the main thought in the back of my mind, was that someday I wanted to visit on either a motorcycle or bicycle. I was not disappointed. For those of you whom have never been to the Great Redwood forest, you need to put it on your to do list, if you have been here in the past, they are still awaiting your return!

It is amazing to think that many of these trees were here when Jesus walked the earth, through the fall of the Roman empire, the dark ages, the discovery of America, etc...Their immensity puts many things into perspective. It makes us and our day to day problems seem so minuscule.

I have always loved the forest, and walking among these giants gives you a feeling of how great, and grand life is. Not only are the trees so fantastic, but the flora on the forest floor is surreal. Even for the size of and density of these trees, they grow so straight, that the sunlight is able to reach to the forest floor and the plant life thrives. The smell in the forest is of a sweet purity which I have never experienced before. The cedar smell of the trees themselves is like opening a cedar chest that has been closed for years. The moist ferns purify the air and the "duff" on the forest floor is as soft as the thickest down quilt, just inviting you to lay down and revel in one of natures greatest creations!

The first ten miles into the forest the fog was still hanging in the tree tops, the slow winding curves were a motorcyclists nirvana! Perfect in every way! After a long winding climb, I then headed down hill, back to the ocean shore and was greeted with beautiful clear skies and blue water for as far as the eye could see.
Back into the forest the road did run, and this cycle was repeated over and over again.

While my breath was taken away by the scenery, it was quickly restored by the perfection of the oxygen infused air of the forest and ocean.

Much to my good fortune, today was just the tip of the ice berg, I have many more miles of forest to travel and plan to take sometime to walk among the giants, camp, live and relish in their glory.

Tim