Pacific Coast Rambling

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 1, San Diego to King City

We left San Diego at 6:00am and headed north on I-5. Our plan for the day was to put as much mileage behind us as we could. Los Angeles was Los Angeles, nuff said. Mike had the camera in his tank bag, which gave him opportunity to play around a bit. A couple of shots while he was riding.

We rode by many miles of strawberry fields. The smell was divine.

We originally thought we would stop in Paso Robles for the night but we felt we had a few more miles in us so we pushed on. We made it to King City for a total of 409 miles. This is by far the most riding I have done in one day. There are no campgrounds around so we checked into a Days Inn. The woman at the front desk was very nice and told us we could park our bikes outside of our room in the pool area.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 2, King City to Lake Sonoma

After a breakfast of complimentary coffee and waffles at our motel we decided to take a look at Napa since I had never been there before. On the way to Napa I needed to take break and stretch a bit so we pulled off the highway at Pleasanton. Mike checked the GPS for parks and found one a short ways away. There was a cool looking dog at the park so I made friends with it. At first glance I thought the dog was an Akita mix; a second look had me wondering if it wasn't an Australian Cattle Dog mix. I've got 3 ACDs at home so I should have seen the ACD first. The dog appeared to be with a woman at the park but it turned out he was lost and she was trying to get a hold of him to check his tags. The owners were called and came and got their missing dog. Meet Colby; who turned out to be an Akita/Australian Cattle Dog mix.

On the way to Napa we found this cool overlook just after crossing Benicia Martinez Bridge.

Going to Napa was kind of a mistake. It was beautiful; no doubt about it; but it was also Sunday so it was swamped with people. We really wanted to get away from the crowds so not very many pictures from Napa.

After Napa we headed for Sonoma Lake. The road to Sonoma Lake was gorgeous. The campground we stayed at is called Liberty Glenn. The place was great. It only cost $10 a night. There's no water, no showers, no wi-fi and no people. Out of 90 odd campsites there were only about 10 in use. Apparently the night before the place was full and quite loud. One of the benefits to camping during the week. Another benefit of weekday camping is that all the people from the weekend leave their unburnt wood behind so we got to have a nice fire without paying for firewood.

Here is our campsite.

Here is the view from our campsite.

A couple of shots of the lake.

One thing about Liberty Glenn is that it's pretty far away from civilization. We didn't realize this until we got here so no chance to go to a grocery store. Dinner for the night consisted of some cherries we picked up at a roadside stand, some leftover potato chips and a Mountain House freeze dried dinner we packed from home. No beer for Mike; at least he packed his trusty flask filled with Crown Royal.

[Beezzz 6]

Let the adventure begin. Thanks for posting.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 3, Sonoma Lake to Patrick's Point

The day was truly fantastic. I can't put into words how incredible the riding and the scenery was so I will let the pictures do most of the talking. We left Liberty Glenn and were rewarded with this view.

Mike crossing over Sonoma Lake. It was so foggy you couldn't see the lake at all. It was like riding on a bridge that spanned a cloud.

The wine country we rode through leaving Liberty Glenn.

A shot from Highway 101.

The Drive Through Tree.

The Drive Through Tree Park was a nice place to take a break and eat some trail mix and the rest of the cherries we bought the day before. Pity about the no swimming.

I had seen pictures of Patrick's Point and really wanted to camp there. We were in luck; they had 3 sites left. The cost was $35 a night and worth every cent. We really lucked out on our campsite too; it was completely hidden.

Patrick's Point is an absolute gem. Mike and I would have been happy to spend the rest of our vacation there.

Even the path to the showers is beautiful.

[KTMrad 517]

Nice ! I love road trips to NorCal.

[kkug 147]

Nice --- are you still on your trip? I am up by Tule Lake. Wave. wave.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Nice --- are you still on your trip? I am up by Tule Lake. Wave. wave.

Hi Ken, nope we got back yesterday. We were thinking of you as we were riding south though and wondered if we'd see you.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 4, Patrick's Point to Grants Pass

It was another unbelievable day. We woke up to find we had visitors in the night. Raccoon paw prints on Mike's seat. I love raccoons so I was tickled; Mike, not so much. Good thing the keys were in the tent or they probably would have taken off with the bike.

There were raspberries, blackberries and salmon-berries everywhere and the park encourages visitors to help themselves.

We went a short ways from our campsite to an overlook to have our breakfast of oatmeal and fresh picked berries.

Our breakfast view to the right.

And to the left.

These little guys were everywhere. They were tiny, only about the size of a softball.

After breakfast we went for a stroll. It was overcast but the views were still outstanding.

We reluctantly packed up and got back on the road.

We went north on highway 101 and then on highway 199.

Highway 199 was unbelievable. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy riding. That and if you tried to pull over you had a good chance of being taken out by a tractor-trailer. Highway 199 is super twisty, heavily wooded and follows a river. I think this is one of the most beautiful roads I have ever been on and if you get a chance to ride it don't pass it up.

We chose Grants Pass/Redwood Highway Campground for our lodgings for the night. We had planned on pitching our tent at $25 a night but then we saw the little cabins and decided to splurge on one for $50. A good thing too since it started raining a couple of hours after we got there. Along with our cabin we had laundry facilities and free showers. They don't advertise wi-fi but someone had it and it wasn’t password protected, lucky us.

Our cabin, isn't it adorable?

We decided to ride two up on Mike's RT into town to get some dinner. Since I was riding on the back of Mike's bike I was able to snap a couple of shots before the rain became too heavy.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 5, Grants Pass to Brookings

We had, yet again, another perfect day of riding. I don't know how the Oregonians do it; I mean everywhere you look you have stunning views. How do they get anywhere without riding right off the road?

We packed up and headed into the town of Grants Pass for some breakfast. We wound up at Caveman Donuts & Deli where we shared an apple fritter and had coffee. We spoke with a couple of locals who were interested in our travels. One guy was in the business of restoring vintage bikes. Mostly Harleys and Indians but he also restored the odd Honda here and there. He gave us some good tips on routes to take over to the coast.

After breakfast we had a look around the town of Grants Pass. This is a really nice place and I hope to come back here again. One thing we were told time and again was not to go to Oregon because the Oregonians hate Californians but we found everyone to be very friendly.

I figured these guys were on their way north or something but a local told us that they are in Grants Pass year round.

The Rogue River runs through the middle of Grants Pass.

We rode north on I-5 to Old Highway 99. A picturesque rest area.

From old Highway 99 we took Highway 42 west to the coast. Both roads were super fun to ride with gorgeous scenery everywhere we looked.

Somewhere along Highway 42 we found the ideal place to stop for a break; Bear Creek Recreation site.

We made it to Banning and started our way south to Brookings. Here are a few shots from the road.

Our camp for the night was at Harris Beach State Park. It's a very nice campground for $20 a night. It's right on the beach with lots of trees and foliage. It was a little crowded which made it a bit loud; kind of like having an apartment that overlooks the pool. However, right at 10:00 (quiet time) everything seemed to shut down and we got a good nights sleep.

Dinner was tuna steaks and asparagus seasoned with lime and salt & pepper cooked in foil over the fire, salad, biscuits on a stick, and SOB Woodshed Red Ale.

I read about the biscuits on a stick thing in a ride report on ADV and had to give it a try. Basically you take Pillsbury biscuits, or in this case croissants, wrap them around a stick and cook them over the fire. Turned out pretty good.

[Crawdaddy 96]

What a great trip for you two ....thanks for sharing

[KTMrad 517]

I agree with you, the Hwy 199 awesome road, done it twice. Actually, I put some SDAR stickers on some of the route signs on that road.

You passed right thru the town where Uncle Cameron lives. I'm sure he would've been happy to see fellow SDAR riders up there !

[TrophyHunter 15]

So great you guys get to do this together. Thx for posting.

[Guest Crusty]

Great pics and write up.

You camped in my parents front yard.

They just moved from Whales Head Beach, to Harris Heights

about 5 months ago

We were there in March and loved it..

Glad you had a great time.

Crusty.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 6, Brookings to The Big Trees

One thing we really enjoyed was the air. Once we got north of San Francisco we noticed how fresh and clean the air was. It smelt wonderful and was absolutely invigorating.

We rode our bikes down to the beach just outside our campground before getting back on the road.

The roadside was covered in thousands of wild tiger lilies.

I had made reservations to stay at the Richardson Grove Campground for the night. When we drove by on the way north I took note that there weren't very many places to shop for food so we stopped at a co-op in Eureka to pick up something for dinner. Mike found a mini craft beer haven.

One of the main attractions for this trip was a ride through the Avenue of Giants. I feel so honored to be able to ride amongst these spectacular trees.

The Richardson Grove Campground is very nice. It sits astride the Eel River and is abundant with redwoods and oaks. It was only about a quarter full and most of the campers were nice quiet families.

Our campsite for the night.

The view from our campsite.

This little sapling found a home on an old tree stump.

It was about 80 degrees when we arrived so we set up camp and went for a dip in the river.

Dinner for the night was cheese, salami, smoked salmon jerky, bread, and grapes. Mike had a Humboldt Wildlife Windshield Owl Pale Ale. Lost Coast Brewery donates all the profits to rehabilitate injured and orphaned wildlife. For dessert Mike had a Lost Coast Eight-Ball Stout; very chocolaty.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

I agree with you, the Hwy 199 awesome road, done it twice. Actually, I put some SDAR stickers on some of the route signs on that road.

You passed right thru the town where Uncle Cameron lives. I'm sure he would've been happy to see fellow SDAR riders up there !

You're kidding? Well, we'll just have to look him up next time. And yes, there will be a next time!!!

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 7, Redwoods to Los Altos

To get to and from our campsite we had to cross over the Eel River by way of a cool bridge.

Before continuing on for the day we went for a walk through the Richardson Grove Redwoods. They have a trail system with informative placards along the way. We were there first thing in the morning so we were completely alone. It was very peaceful and awe inspiring.

You can barely see Mike through this Goosepen tree. Apparently there are bats living inside of it. It was full daylight but it's so dark because of the redwood canopy.

Our bikes look so very small.

The rest of the day was spent trying to get to through San Francisco. It was windy so we opted for not crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. We crossed over the bay via the Bay Bridge instead. I'll just say that I enjoyed riding around San Francisco via Napa much, much more.

The goal for the day was to make it to Los Altos where I lived when I was a kid. I moved away when I was eight years old and I haven't been back since. While living there my best friend was Julie. When I moved we lost touch but a couple of years ago I found her again via the internet. It was so cool to reconnect after 30 years. Julie and her wonderful family welcomed us into their home and cooked us steaks. It was a great night talking about our lives now, all the stuff we did when we were kids and motorcycles since Julie is also a rider.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 8, Los Altos to Morro Bay

We said goodbye to our lovely hosts and went to see the house I grew up in. The house looked pretty much the same. We then continued on south towards Monterey. We ran into some traffic along the way, thank you California for legalizing lane splitting.

Next up was a ride down the Highway 1 through Big Sur. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We camped at Montana de Oro campground in Morro Bay. A decent campground with limited facilities right next to the beach. Our campsite for the night.

A cool tree overlooking the ocean.

The beach was a neat little cove with lots of tide pools. Unfortunately there are no pictures because my camera ran out of battery right after the last tree picture.

[Mistress of the dual 1]

Day 9, Morro Bay to San Diego.

Our goal for the day was to get home and avoid the traffic that Carmageddon was causing. In the evening we got a hotel somewhere just north of Los Angeles to get a few hours of sleep and then sometime around midnight we got up and continued on home.

It sure was nice to see these guys again.

[KTMrad 517]

Great write-up, photos and trip !

Thanks !

[KTMrad 517]

Just so y'all know, street ride reports are just as welcome here as dirt / dualsport trip reports.

Road trips are part of the Adventure also !

[dirt dame 561]

Whew....I've seen so many different places in this report that I need a rest.

[bikeslut 1]

[tlking6 0]

Very nice! I used to make a run up there every year! Your pictures made be realize how way way overdue I am!

[zracing 0]

We left San Diego at 6:00am

Truly an epic adventure!! Traveling with your spouse made it one big adventure date.

Thanks for sharing.

[bigwvjumper 0]

Wow!!! Awesome ride report and pictures! I see a trip up the coast soon! Thanks for sharing!