Today is day 18 our our epic ride through the western US. As enjoyable as the riding is, the relentless 100 degree heat is hard on man and machine although the bikes ran well today.
It was a slow start this morning. We both slept until just after 8:00 a.m. and when we were ready to go and called the bellman to bring a cart, nothing happened. Garry called three times before a bellman arrived about 45 minutes after the first call. Needless to say, there was no tip for him.
It was surprisingly easy to get out of Reno and we covered the ninety miles to Susanville, CA, in a little over an hour and a half. The day hadn't heated up to the point that we had to pack away our jackets, but by the time we gassed up it was in the high eighties for the jackets were packed away as it turned out, for the rest of today's ride.
View across the valley from the highway above Susanville, CA
Smoke haze obscures the horizon across the valley.
We have decided to head for Bend tomorrow so our plan was to make it to Klamath Falls, OR today. We took Route 139 north from Susanville. The first several miles took us over a 5500 foot pass before we dropped down to Eagle Lake, the second largest natural lake in California. We rode on to a small town named Adin which had a large old store that looked like it could have come from the 1930s with wooden floors, counters, display cases, and a high ceiling made from boards. Quite amazing but on the outside there was a sign, "Try our 'Stud Muffin'. Two English muffins with egg, cheese & bacon. $5.99."
The run in to Klamath Falls was quite uneventful because the highway ran straight for miles with the occasional curve. Initially it ran through a pine forest with trees that looked like they could have been alive when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth but it descended to a large valley where the farms were irrigated to a high degree. When we rode through fields that were irrigated the temperature became noticeably cooler.
We rolled into Klamath Falls at about 4:30 and decided against going any farther today. After getting a room at the Econo Lodge for $52.00, we had dinner at Sizzlers before packing it in for the day. While we were waiting in the line at Sizzlers we met two guys who had been at Reno H-D yesterday. One of them lives in Burien, WA, and the other in Burlington, WA, and they ahve been travelling with their wives for the past week or two. They are just 'putting along' as one f the guys says so they don't plan on being home until Sunday. Cincidentally, they followed the same route that we did today, as well.
It constantly amazes me when I see the variety of wildlife that have been killed on the highways that we ride on. The largest number of victims of these collisions are deer, closely followed by coyotes. It looks like Wiley's cousins aren't as lucky as he is.
Today all of our riding was done in a thick smoky haze all the way from outside of Reno all the way to Klamath Falls. Visibility was poor and even mountains that were hidden in the haze so I didn't take many photos today. There is a large number of wild fires in the western states including Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and perhaps Idaho & Montana as well and the smoke from them is covering much of the western US. As I write there is a large fire in Mount Lassen National Park and there is another about thirty miles from Klamath Falls.
During our ride we have seen a surprisingly large number of burned areas beside the roads and highways. Most of them are less than three or four acres in size which speaks to the efficiency of the fire fighting crews in this part of the US.
It seems strange to think that in any other situation we would be astounded by how beautiful this area is but compared to the landscapes that we have been riding through for the past week, this part of California and Oregon seems mundane and pedestrian. We have been spoiled by a week of riding through some of the most spectacular scenery on the continent, if not in the world.
Tomorrow it's on to Bend then northwest to Portland or maybe into the southern part of Washington State. When we reach I-5 it will be relatively high speed to the Canadian border barring traffic jams through Seattle. It's looking like the good weather is going to hold and if it does we will have had a perfect trip.
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