First I am going to change up a bit to save some time. I am going to do three days in one entry. Also this entry will replace the update I posted last night. I am posting a few pictures of the redwood, the Pacific coast and Yosemite. You can figure out which is which.
Going back to the 12th which would be Sunday the 21st. We got a relatively late start today which was planned so we could sleep in a bit. After breakfast we headed off the Avenue of the Giants. These trees are so huge you have to see them to believe them. We first visited a tree called the Chimney tree. It is a broken hollow tree that is still alive and producing leaves branches and cones. You can walk into it's trunk and look up at the sky through it. We then started out riding through the Avenue when we made a stop at one of the pullovers. we wandered the woods in awe of these massive giants. You could hear them creaking as they swayed with the wind. We made a few more stops including the visitors center where we learned a lot about these trees. For instance while these trees can top 300 feet their roots rarely go more than 6 feet into the ground. After riding through one tree on the Avenue we headed to Legget to ride through perhaps the most famous of all trees, the Chandelier Tree. This tree is a 2400 year old tree with a square cutout in the base you can drive a full size pickup through. Most likely you have seen a photo of this tree as it appears in almost any publication or tv documentery about the redwoods.
Day 13:
The next morning was cool and clear as we headed to the famous route 1 that travels virtually the entire coast of California and Oregon. It is also considered by many motorcycle publications as one of the best motorcycle roads in the country. We stopped for breakfast were I told everyone I had been thinking of riding to San Francisco on Highway 1 and taking some pictures at the Golden Gate. Roger and Ginny decide they wanted to go too. The trip was almost 200 miles just to San Francisco but was well worth it. We had the Pacific Ocean to our right most of the way. The Sky was clear so the ocean had the deep blue color it is famous for. We had a great lunch at a general store and arrived at the Golden Gate around 5:00 pm. After looking around we had a good dinner at a good price for Fisherman's Wharf. After taking time to look a little more and take a few photos we headed for Placerville about 130 miles. We arrived at the motel around 10 pm. It was a long day but a very good day. Even after close to 400 miles of hard riding no one regretted takinvg the ride.
Day 14:
Finally today we rode to Yosemite N.P. It was a very impressive park with huge rock cliffs, clear rushing river and waterfalls that fall hundreds of feet. We reached elevations of over 9000 feet and rode among the snow covered peaks. the temperture ranged from comfortably cool or cold depending on who you asked to hot as in over 90 degrees. The temperture rose and fell as the altitude rose and fell. All in all Yosemite is a very beautiful park and worth another visit if I can in the future.
Our luck with the weather is still holding out. Except for the first 2 days we have had no rain. The past few days have been sunny with cool mornings and warm afternoons. Tomorrow we should encounter the hottest day of the trip as we head to Death Valley. I will get that blog up ASAP.
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