Day 40

Got up and went with Ezra to S.O.U., Southern Oregon University, since he had a crew call today. Got the nickel tour of their theaters and shop area. Pretty nice, I must admit that I’m a bit jealous of their shop area. Anyways, since he had work to do, I went out for a nice little ride outside of Ashland and went by Krystal Lake, and Howard’s Pairie. The roads up and over there were really nice; just had to watch out for the occasional patch of loose gravel washed up on the road. Around lunch time I headed back in to Ashland and this afternoon, I’ve been taking care of personal business, and updating the blog. I also called up the Harley dealership in Eugene since I have 5K service on the bike coming up shortly. Hard to believe, but I’ve almost driven 10,000 miles already! And I’m maybe halfway through the trip! I didn’t figure on doing quite as much zigging and zagging as I made my way across the US. But what they hey, it’s not every day that I’m going to make a trip like this, so I might as well see as much as I can. Now I’m hanging out in a Starbucks enjoying the free internet access. Later on, I’ll meet back up with Ezra and we’re going out tonight to see a band, which his girlfriend sings in.

Here are the pictures from today:

Day 39

Got up very early and was on the road by 7:45am. Got onto the 101 and drove south to catch the “Avenue of the Giants”. This is an old section of highway 101 which goes through some amazing redwood groves. These trees are just amazing! You really feel dwarfed as you drive through these forests. From here I continued on north along the 101, past Eureka towards Crescent City. Along the way I got to see some elk, and I even saw a bald eagle. I got pictures of the elk, but unfortunately I was driving and there was no place to pull over when I saw the bald eagle. The road up the 101 was gorgeous, I pulled off to go see the Klamath River overlook. Basically it was a small overlook, looking down on where the mouth of the Klamath River flows into the ocean. A pretty amazing view, and supposedly during this time of year you can still spot whales from time to time. I hung out for about 15 minutes but did not see any whales. I then got back on the 101 to Crescent City where I turned east on 199. Another amazing road! This took me all the way to Grant’s Pass, OR where I then turned back south on I-5 to get to Ashland.

Pulled in to Ashland around 5:00pm, just as my friend Ezra was getting done with work. Met up with him at his house, and got all my stuff unloaded. Later on we went out to grab a bite to eat and met a bunch of his friends, including his girlfriend Amanda.

Here are the pictures from today:

Day 38

Said goodbye and left Reno around10:30am this morning. Started north on 395, and soon after turned west onto 70. Then took route 89 north and had hoped to take this through the Lassen Volcanic National Park, but a few miles into the park I came across a road-closed sign. Luckily a park ranger just happened to come by and I check with him, but sure enough, route 89 through the park was closed due to snow! Oh well, time to change the plan. I had to backtrack a little bit to take route 36 west, and luckily made it to Red Bluffs without running out of gas! I actually went 202 miles, and did not hit the reserve! From here I continued on 36 west towards Grizzly Creek Redwood state park where I am spending the night. The section of 36 between Red Bluffs and here was just amazing! Great road! Another one that I highly recommend if you ever come up this way.

Well that’s about it, here are some pictures.

Day 37

Today we went up to Lake Tahoe. The road was nice, but it was COLD! Luckily I had my new heated gloves, and so I fared much better than Renaud! I even had to turn the gloves off from time to time because my hands got too warm! Anyways, Tahoe was pretty. Took a couple of pictures and had lunch by the lake. Then we went back to the house in Reno. Later that afternoon we met up with Dawn, a doctor from the vet hospital Renaud works at, and Mike at Black Rock Pizza for an early dinner. Both were very nice, and we had a pleasant time; the pizza was pretty darn good too! After this we went down to the Brewhouse for some drinks and to play a little video poker; after all this is Nevada, land of gambling. Unfortunately, neither Renaud nor I had any luck that evening, but that’s gambling for you. After this we just went back to the house. I did some laundry while we relaxed, because tomorrow I’m taking off back into California and then north into Oregon and Washington state.

Here are the pictures from up around Lake Tahoe:

Day 35

Got up around 9:00am or so, and had some coffee with my brother. We finally got all set and took off for some riding. On the way out of Reno we stopped at the Harley dealership as I was interesting in pricing out both heated grips and heated gloves; I’m thinking ahead to when I head farther up north. Well the heated grips turned out to be more money than I cared to spend, $230 plus labor, and they also just heat up the inside of your palm. I looked at the gloves, about $165, and decided that I’d just hold off on them, and if it really got cold, I could always pick up a pair at a dealership farther north. Then my brother surprised me and bought them for me as an early birthday present! Woohoo! Looks like I’m all set for the cold weather up ahead.

From Reno we went out riding to Fernley, Silver City, and Virginia City. All in all a nice easy day. Tonight I thinking we’re going to go out and have some sushi for dinner. Sorry no pictures from today, but have no fear, I’ll get a picture of me with my brother before leaving Reno.

Day 34

Got up and eventually said thank you and goodbye to my friend Drew, and started heading west for Reno, NV. The road along I-80 was not all that exciting, but I eventually turned off onto route 49, and then 89 which made a nice little loop in the Sierras before dumping me back onto I-80 just before crossing the border into Nevada, and into Reno.
Met up with my brother and some friends of his. Did not make a long evening of it as I had just pulled into town. Tomorrow, we plan on going and doing some riding around the Reno area.

Here are the pictures from today: