Volcanoes & A Head On

Rain again this morning.It rained overnight and when we headed south on I-5 we ran into some serious rain, but it was more in the nature of localized showers and not the heavy sustained rain that we have experienced at times during the past several days. It wasn't encouraging when we began to climb the passes south of Medford, OR, that the temperature dropped to 48F (9C). This is the middle of July, for gods' sake! Not February!

For the past several days I have been regaling Jim with the virtues of the Contigo insulated coffee mug that I bought for twelve dollars when Target was going out of business. In addition to keeping my coffee hot for five or six, and sometimes even seven hours, it fits perfectly in the carrier I have attached to the crash bar on my Harley. With this mug, I can have hot coffee for most of the day. 

This morning we stopped at WalMart in Medford, OR, to stock up on PowerAde and on a whim decided to check out coffee mugs. Lo and behold, there was a wide selection of colours of the exact mug for $12.84. Jim picked up a green one and I bought a blue one so now the Harley has its own dedicated mug. And now Jim is singing the praises of Contigo as well. Across the street is the Rogue Credit Union. That name might do with a rethink.

I might hesitate to put my money here

Every day as we drive we see some whimsical if not strange names. Today we saw two worth remembering; Jumpoff Joe Creek, and Louse Creek. I can't even begin to imagine where those names originated.

As we drove south the climate appeared to be drier and the evergreens that were farther north were replaced with wide expanses of arbutus and oak trees. The oaks aren't the tall, massive and stately ones of eastern Canada and the northeastern US, but they seen to be stunted, not reaching heights of much more than ten metres. 

Oak & arbutus trees

As we drove Jim remarked that other than the poor Norton rider who was broken down on the side of the interstate yesterday, we hadn't seen any Nortons. Not more than ten minutes later we passed a truck that was pulling a trailer and there was a black & gold Commando in the truck box. I decided to remark that it looked like it was going to rain soon. That seemed to work because we had no more rain either. We met the couple in the truck at the next rest stop. They are from near Tillamook, OR, and they had a Harley in the trailer. The serial number on the guy's bike was only 41 earlier than mine. At one of the rest stops we saw this truck. If Jim was associated with the company, he would probably be travelling with a higher class companion!

In another universe

Shortly after we crossed into California, we passed the town of Weed. All sorts of ideas came to mind. If California legalizes the 'Killer Weed' I would like to patent the phrase 'The Weed Store', because it could apply to any store in the town. As we approached the town we stopped at the Weed Rest Area, saw a sign that said, 'Weed Like To Welcome You' as well as exit signs giving direction to various streets. 

Advertising or directions?

At the Weed Rest Area, there is a great view of Mount Shasta, a large shield volcano similar to Mount Baker or Mount Rainier. Today the to top was shrouded by clouds for most of the time we could see it. Next to Mount Shasta is Black Butte, a plug volcano. I'm not sure what that means but you have Wikipedia available and can check it out if you're interested.

First view of Mount Shasta shrouded in clouds

Mount Shasta

Black Butte

Black Butte, near Weed, CA

Mount Shasta

Farther south we crossed Lake Shasta. Two years ago when we were here the lake was down close to fifteen metres below its usual height. Today, it was almost back to normal so the people in northern California have at least had bit of a respite for the multi-year drought they have been experiencing.

Lake Shasta

When we arrived at Redding, we decided to check out Red Lobster because that has been a wish of Jim's for quite a long time. We were there at about 3:30, not the busiest time of the day, but we had to wait for at least ten minutes to get a seat because of a staff shortage, so we gave it a pass. It was a bit of a disappointment for both of us, but we bravely soldiered on and headed south to Red Bluff, CA, where we took Highway 36 east. Almost immediately we saw the back side of Mount Shasta as well as Mount Lassen, another shield volcano that erupted several times between 1913 and 1917. This is part of a chain of volcanoes that stretch up the west coast into Canada.

Mount Shasta

The land is open and as we drove east we gained altitude. At the beginning we saw open country with scrub oak and pines and as we climbed, the trees became larger and the highway was closed in by tall Ponderosa pines, I would guess.

Through the pines

More than a mile high

We topped out at about 5700 feet before we gradually began to follow the Feather River. This is very rugged country and it surprised me to see a railway running along the other side of the river. It seemed like a most unusual place to run a railroad, but there is was. I found out later that it was the Western pacific Railroad, one I'd never heard of before. It was established in 1903. I can only imagine the back breaking work the navvies had to endure to push this road through these rugged mountains using mostly manual labour. The road runs to the west with a branch heading north. this was done with two trestles and a tunnel being involved very close to Quincy, CA.

We tried to find a motel in Chester, CA, but the town was shut down so we took Highway 89 south along the large and beautiful Almanor Lake. As we approached the junction of Highways 89 and 70 we were stopped by two forest firefighters who were waving people down. We learned that a head on collision had just occurred and as we pulled over, officers from the Plumas County Sheriff's office, firefighters in four or five trucks, an ambulance, and two tow trucks arrived. 

The scene of the collision

We found out that a small truck had drifted across the centre line on a 30 mph curve and collided with a larger truck that was pulling a trailer with Ford Mustang on it. We were held up for more than an hour and a half as we waited for the scene to be cleared and the California Highway Patrol to do its investigation. Jim spoke to a young nurse who had pulled up behind us. I'm not sure if she had helped before the ambulance arrived, but she suspected that alcohol was involved. Three people in the larger truck were injured and taken to Quincy by ambulance, but the man in the smaller truck had to be removed from the wreckage with the Jaws of Life. He was apparently medevacked to Quincy Hospital where he would be stabilized and then flown to a larger hospital. It seemed like such an unnecessary thing to happen as the curve was clearly marked.

Three people were injured in this truck

The remains of the truck that crossed the centre line

When we arrived in Quincy it was after 8:00 p.m. and we were concerned that we wouldn't be able to get a motel room. The first place we stopped at was full so we drove to the next. Jim didn't see the NO  above the Vacancy sign so he pulled in and miraculously, there was room available. And better yet there were at least five Nortons parked in front of the rooms. 

While Jim was checking in, I walked over to three guys who had three really well cared for Commandos. They were from Seattle. Paul, Doug and Jamal trailered their bikes down just as we did. They are old enough and smart enough to know that it is better to truck all that old British iron here and enjoy the ride than to wear yourself out riding them here. 

As we were getting settled in, another character who is well known to Norton owners not only in California, but among riders of old British iron all over North America, showed up. Ken Armann has an encyclopedic knowledge of how to restore Nortons and how to keep them running. He is an accupuncturist and has even applied that knowledge to keeping Nortons healthy. He explained to us how to use an accupuncture needle to clean Amal carbeurators. Who knew that ancient Chinese medicine would come in helpful with old English motorcycles? We found this out and the rally hasn't even begun.

Ken Armann

Jim, Ken, Paul, and Jamal. What could possible go wrong???

We covered about four hundred miles (about 625 km) today so in the past two days we have made about 850 miles (about 1450 km). Now the fun begins, because tomorrow we get to ride Nortons, and from what we have seen so far, the roads are going to be terrific. And we are going to see some pretty fantastic motorcycles in the bargain.