Travels On Taz: Chapter Six

Friday, April 25 - Saturday, April 26, 2014

Fort Bragg, California to Florence, Oregon

Friday, April 25: Fort Bragg to Crescent City, California

As expected, we awoke to cloudy skies and intermittent showers (and some intermittent views of blue skies.  However, by the time we were packed, loaded, and ready to roll, we were glad to have our rain gear on, because it was obvious we were going to be in the wet stuff this morning.

The stretch of Highway 1 north of Fort Bragg took us along the various beaches.  With the weather system today, the water looked pretty angry...that's the best word we could use to describe the wave action that was hammering the rocks and beaches.

Suddenly, the highway veered inland and we were looking at mountains instead of the ocean.

And just as suddenly, after climbing and then descending through a few hairpin curves, we were along the shoreline again.

Finally, we moved inland and into the fabled redwood forests.  Our cameras are incapable of capturing the full majesty of these magnificent trees which grow to heights of more than 360 feet and live up to 2,000 years, but we gave it our best shot (pun fully intended).

Have we mentioned the hairpin curves?  Once we entered the forest stretch of Highway 1, we encountered a highway that didn't have any straight sections of more than a hundred yards (or so it seems).  45 mph was our top speed, and curves were marked down to as little as 10 mph (and even that was too fast for Taz). (And, Barbara!)

As we neared the end of the 37-mile journey along Highway 1 (which, by the way, took over 90 minutes), we veered off the main road to visit the site of the world-famous drive-through redwood tree.  It was definitely time for a break and some photography phun.

As we were leaving the drive-through tree, I spotted a turkey wandering around ahead of us.  I told Barbara and she had me stop Taz so she could take a picture.  Well, we got more than we bargained for...As Barbara took the shot, the turkey started walking toward us, eventually making his way all the way to Taz.  Barbara yelled, "Go, Go...he's going to bite us!"  I said I didn't think he would, but he was so close that I wasn't going to take any chances.  So, I gave Taz the gas and started moving...and the turkey moved right along with us, keeping pace with our speed until we went over the 15 mph mark.  As if riding Taz through a redwood tree wasn't memorable enough, the "great turkey chase" will insure that we will never forget this stop.

After our experience with the turkey, we rolled back out of the park and turned north on Highway 101.  With longer stretches of straight road, Barbara had some opportunities to take some of her famous helmet reflection photos.

We pulled of the highway in the little town of Garberbville to refuel Taz and us, and then hit the road again, with scenery for the rest of the day's ride alternating between mountains with redwood forests and shorelines.  What we are finding out on this ride through Northern California is that if we get tired of the scenery, we just ride a few miles and it will be radically different!  And sometimes, we can get views of both at the same time.

We made an unplanned stop when we saw a sign pointing to an Elk meadow.  Now, we had seen numerous signs indicating elk in the various areas, but hadn't seen elk anywhere.  I thought we would draw another blank, but just as we turned off the highway, we saw a number of elk cows resting in the meadow.  We would have gotten closer, but there was a low place in the road with more than a foot of water in it... not a good place for Taz, so Barbara took the shots and we turned around to get back on the highway.

Continuing up 101, we passed through more forests and rode by more shorelines, each different, but no less magnificent than the previous sights.

We had planned to at least make it into Oregon today, but neither the spirit nor the flesh was willing to go any farther after the long ride, so we pulled off in Crescent City, got a room at a Best Western, and prepared to settle in for the evening.  But first, Taz and the trailer just had to have a bath after being exposed to all the elements of the past two weeks.

When Taz and the trailer were sprayed down, rinsed, dried, and looking almost showroom shiny again, we gassed up and then returned to the motel for a nice dinner and an evening of total relaxation.

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Saturday, April 26 - Crescent City, California to Florence, Oregon

We had a great sleep last night and awoke to a beautiful morning...got dressed, loaded Taz and the trailer, and then went to the restaurant on property to enjoy a wonderful (and even healthy) breakfast before checking out and climbing on Taz once again.

The first part of the ride took about two minutes.  No, there wasn't a problem and, no, I didn't forget anything.  As we looked across the street, we saw the marina and a lighthouse out in the harbor, and that just demanded a photo session.

While Barbara took photos of the lighthouse, I checked the air in all the tires (an important morning task for all motorcycle riders).  When she was finished with the lighthouse photos, Barbara came back and took a shot of me perched on Taz...and then it was time to roll.

We hadn't gotten very far up the 101 north of Crescent City when we began noticing lots of yellow blooms on roadside plants.  We never did learn what the plants are, but they sure were pretty, and we saw many more of them along the highway.

It was about a half-hour ride to the Oregon state line and Welcome Station, where we took a short break and some more photos.

Back on the road, we saw lots and lots of greenery.  And what keeps all this green?  Rain, of course, and one can run into rain (and back out of it) many times during the day.  We weren't wearing rain gear today, but it didn't really matter, because the few showers we encountered didn't bother us all that much.

Oregon (especially along Highway 101) is a photographer's paradise.  We found more than enough Vista Views along the way to satisfy our shutter fever.

The scenery is ever changing.  Just a 45-degree turn from a copse of redwood trees we saw this beautiful sight.

We stopped for gas up Taz at a wide spot in the road...looked for someplace to have an early lunch, but couldn't find anything, so we rolled on up the highway.  Barbara was on the phone checking Yelp for restaurants and found a place in Langlois called Greasy Spoon Cafe. Greasy Spoon had some positive comments, so we pulled in to see what it was all about.  The name was perfect for the place, but the food was wonderful.  There were only eight small tables in the ramshackle building, but seven of them were full.  We grabbed the last table in the back corner and, while waiting for our food, began answering questions about Taz from the other patrons. One couple said that we needed to stop in Bandon for the most beautiful view of the Oregon coast.  Another suggested a great restaurant farther up the highway in Depoe Bay.  Friendly folks and great food and service made this a memorable stop.

Note that Barbara took the time to show off her latest hairdo, a tribute to the helmet.

We rode farther north until we came to Bandon,  In spite of the falling temperatures and rain in the area, we took the advice from the lady who told us about this place and rode out to the Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint to see Elephant Rock and other rock formations.  We weren't comfortable, but we were amazed by what we saw.  Note the elephant head, complete with ears and trunk.

Farther up the road and (thankfully) out of the rain for a bit, we came to Coos Bay.  The primary industry of Oregon is logging, and did we ever see the logs here...tons of them, literally.  Not only that, we saw one of the many by-products of the industry, wood chips...great piles of them.

A few miles farther up the road we saw a turnout for a view of the Umpqua Lighthouse.  It took some tricky maneuvering to get across the highway and into the parking lot, but the view was well worth it.

While we were trying for the "perfect" shot of the lighthouse, Taz was cooling down and waiting patiently for the next leg of the adventure.

Once again, we found that the scenery changes radically every few miles.  After crossing this bridge around Reedsport, we got our first view of the acclaimed Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

The final leg of the trip into Florence was marked by the same beautiful and ever-changing scenery we've experienced all along the 101, but we never get tired of it.

Weary with well-doing (or at least well-viewing, we rode into the outskirts of Florence, Oregon, found our home for the night, and settled in for some more photo phun and a restful evening (and more rain, but it just didn't matter tonight).

+++++++

"Wow!!!  Look at that!!!!!" - Jim and Barbara Little...said many times today

From our temporary lodging in Florence, Oregon,

Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsy

Travels On Taz: Chapter Five

Wednesday, April 23 - Thursday, April 24, 2014

San Francisco to Fort Bragg, California

Wednesday, April 23 - San Francisco to Fort Bragg

After waking up relatively early (for us), we ginned around and packed and loaded Taz and the trailer, finished getting our riding gear on, took the morning selfie (Barbara went solo this morning), checked out of the motel, and began negotiating the morning San Francisco area traffic.

One of our biggest concerns in planning this trip was how we would handle the big city traffic, but we found that should have been one of our least concerns.  It turns out that riding Taz through Phoenix, Los Angeles, and San Francisco was less nerve-wracking and safer than riding the loop around Tyler, Texas...go figure!

Anyway, with each of us keeping one eye on the GPS and the other on the road, we got through stretches of I-280 and I-38 and then onto the 101 for a bit of an urban ride until we reached the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge kind of sneaks up on the driver...we could see just bits and pieces of it until we made the final turn and saw it in all its glory.  Honestly, though, the bridge didn't seem as stunning as the view all around it once we were up there.  Still, it is a magnificent structure.

Once we got through Sausalito, we turned our attention to some beautiful vineyards, bodies of water, and mountains...what a lovely ride!

Barbara took the following picture to show how the folks in this area take whatever land isn't covered by trees and turn it into vineyards...note the vineyard laid out in a clearing on the mountainside.

We stopped in Healdsburg and asked a couple of gentlemen at an automotive repair shop where we could find a good place to eat.  They suggested a donut shop down around the town square.  It sounded a little funky to us, but we rode down to the shop's location and found that they had a full menu for both breakfast and lunch.  We enjoyed our sandwiches and the negotiated our way through the town (not as easy as one would think) until we found the entrance to the 101 and continued to Willits, where we took a short break before turning off on CA 20 for the 33 mile drive to Fort Bragg.

Now, we are from a part of the country where drivers equate their speed with the amount of time it takes to get somewhere. A 33-mile drive almost anywhere in Texas takes about 30 minutes. That does not hold true in California, particularly when one is not on one of the major highways.

We knew we were in trouble when we had gone about a half mile on CA 20 and saw the first warning sign for a hairpin curve marked for 20 mph.  It didn't get any better after that.  It took us nearly a half hour to ride the first eleven miles, with constant hairpin and S curves and maximum speeds of 20-25 mph.  All in all, it took nearly 80 minutes of riding brakes and constant down and up shifting before we got through the mountain ranges that separated 101 from CA 1.

The scenery was beautiful, though, as we passed through forests of humongous redwood trees, growing so close together in some stretches that they completely blocked the sunlight.

We were so thankful when we finally reached Fort Bragg, found our motel, and got to relax for a few minutes after a harrowing ride.

We included Fort Bragg on our itinerary because granddaughter Jayce had been here before and said we just had to come see the town and the glass beaches.

So, after unloading all our gear and getting set up in the room, we set out to find the glass beaches (which happened to be right across the highway from us).

We parked Taz next to one of the dunes and began exploring.

The glass beaches are so named because they have beautiful smooth pieces of glass rather than seashells on them.  Years ago, residents of the area dumped their trash over the cliffs and onto the seashore.  When the trash piles got too large, they were burned.  Over the years, the action of the waves and the friction between the sand and the broken glass wore the glass into smooth shapes and deposited them throughout the three sites that now comprise the glass beaches.  We didn't find glass on the beach across from our motel, but we sure saw some beautiful sights.

After walking around the dunes and taking pictures, we drove through town until we located Silver's at the Wharf, a restaurant that had been recommended by the manager of the motel.

We parked Taz in the lot and walked upstairs to the restaurant and found great service and menu offerings.  I opted for bay shrimp and rock cod, sauteed in lime juice and olive oil and tossed with the house specialty pico di gallo and served with fresh tortilla strips, while Barbara had clam chowder in a bread bowl that had been rubbed with butter and freshly minced garlic.

While we enjoyed our meal, we also enjoyed the great view surrounding the wharf.

Our waiter pointed out one of the fishing boats that came passed the restaurant while we were eating and told us the boat had been built in Fort Bragg and often goes all the way to Alaska for fishing expeditions.

When we were finished with our meal, we climbed back onto Taz and rode back to the motel to settle in for a night of rest and relaxation.

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Thursday, April 24 - Fort Bragg and Mendocino

Pete Lyall, a friend and Sigma Chi brother from college days at Eastern New Mexico University, has given us lots of suggestions about what to see and do on the California part of our adventure.  When Pete heard we were going to be in Fort Bragg, he said we needed to ride the short distance south to Mendocino.  Mendocino was the site for the opening shots of the TV show, Murder, She Wrote, starring Angela Lansbury.  Since we both liked that show, we thought we'd just ride on down and check it out.

So, after breakfast at the motel, we went back across the highway to check out the glass beaches one last time (it was raining, so we didn't get to check very long), and then rode south to Mendocino to see what it was all about.

Before we got to Mendocino we stopped at a turnoff to shoot some photos and found a couple of tourists from Sweden doing the same thing (except that they had rented a car.)  We visited a few minutes and then they went on their way while we continued to take shots of the area.

From there, we drove on through Mendocino to another scenic area before returning to the town center to shop-look and take what photos we could through the rain.

The weather continued to worsen, so we rode back to Fort Bragg where I dropped Barbara off at the Safeway store while I went to gas up Taz.  Then we grabbed a couple of hotdogs at a specialty shop on the main drag and returned to our room to ride out the weather and get some quality relaxation before repacking all our gear and getting ready to roll again tomorrow.

And, just a note in closing this edition of the journal/blog...several Facebook friends said that they didn't know that there was a Fort Bragg other than the military base in North Carolina. Interestingly enough, both Fort Bragg, California, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, are named after the same officer, Braxton, Bragg.  The difference is that the city in California was never a formal military base.  Instead, it began as a military garrison that was posted on the Mendocino Indian Reservation, and was named by the lieutenant who founded the garrison in honor of his commanding officer, then Captain Braxton Bragg, later to become a Confederate general. When the reservation was discontinued in 1866, the land was opened for public sale, but the name of Fort Bragg was kept when the city was founded.

"California is where you can't run any farther without getting wet." - Neil Morgan, San Diego journalist

From a very rainy and wet Fort Bragg, California.

Jim/Dad/Gramps and Barbara/Mom/Grams/Gramsy