Bad Things Come In Threes???

This morning we were greeted by a cloudless sky and a warmer temperature than we have had for the past three days.  Looking from our balcony we had a good view of the Rogue River and the bridge that crossed it.  And it was great to be warmed by the sun once again.



The view from the balcony of the Motel 6 in Gold Beach, OR

Garry loading his Harley an a sunny May morning in Gold Beach

It was a welcome change and our ride from Gold Beach to Brookings, where we stopped for our morning Starbucks coffee.  Route 101 runs along the coast and once again the views were spectacular.  Around every bend in the highway there was a sight that was worth stopping for.  And I did.  Below are more photographs of the awesomeness of the Oregon coast.



One of the more spectacular viewpoints along the coast is the Rock Arch. The rock looks like a miniature version of Canada's Roche Perce.  The viewpoint is at least seventy-five metres above the sea.  After taking several photos I had a conversation with a couple from Madison, Wisconsin.  They were staying at Port Orford and spending several days exploring the coast.  The couple, Brad Meyers and Gretchen Geist introduced themselves by saying that they appreciated that we were riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles.  Something about supporting their local economy, I suppose.

Brad Meyers and Gretchen Geist at Rock Arch.



I made the comment, "You have that governor in Wisconsin." 

"You mean Scott Walker." Brad snorted and recounted how, at his first major commencement speech, Walker made the comment. "I appreciate education. I'm only thirty-four credits short of graduation."  It was apparent that they had no respect for the man.

Rock Arch

With the various stops we made, it took us more than an hour to reach Brookings where we stopped for our morning Starbucks before continuing on toward the California border.  The highway climbed more than seven hundred feet.  The views of the ocean from these heights were spectacular.  Before reaching sea level we made another stop to check out yet another view.

While we were at the viewpoint I met two gentlemen who were a study in contrasts. Roger is a guy who stands more than six feet tall and has almost no hair on his head.  His buddy, Jimbo, is about five and a half feet in height with a beard and hair that it long enough to be tied in a respectable pony tail.  They have been buddies sine they met in the drama club at Franklin High School in Seattle.  I love meeting different people on the road.  Each has a story and if you listen they will tell you things that are important to them even if you don't have a lot of time.

Jimbo (l) and Roger (r)

Since were riding in Washington State we have seen rhododendrons growing wild along the roads.  However, those in southern Oregon and in northern California are incredible.  Some of the plants are five to six metres high and are growing in clumps which can be from ten to fifteen metres across.  And right now they are in bloom so it is not unusual to see a solid mass of blossoms under the redwoods..  We have also been seeing numerous clumps of California poppies along the road as well.  It's not surprising that it is the state flower.



When we were south of Crescent City the highway began to climb and make its way into Redwood national Park through the beginnings of the famous California redwoods.  The highway again began to snake its way up the mountainside through these gigantic trees and some of the rhododendrons here are huge as well.To me, these trees are colossal, but I've been assured that there are even larger one further south and along The Avenue of the Giants.

One of the sights in this area is the Trees of Mystery.  At the entrance stands a huge statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox.  A friend of Kerry's requested that he get a picture of him with Babe so we stopped to do that.  I snapped several which I will send to him when he gets home but which I won't put in the blog because of their sensitive nature.  I think his friend will be pleased with the pics.

Kerry with Babe, the Blue Ox.



For two days now Kerry has been telling us about the wonderful pies that a woman who is called 'Grandma' makes in a little village called Orick.  We arrived in Orick and stopped at the Palm Café so we could sample some of here wares.  Kerry has been here many times over the past thirty years but the last time was six years ago and Grandma was more than eighty years old then.  When we stopped he was preparing himself for the possibility that she might no longer be there.  He tells the story about how he asked her if she would be in a picture with him and she told him that she'd be delighted. 

Kerry asked one of the women running the place what had happened to Grandma.  He found out that she was now eighty-eight years old, was still around but she was just recovering from an infection.  When he told her the story about getting his photo taken with her the woman said, "She always likes to have pictures taken with the good looking ones." I think it made Kerry's day!

The World Famous Palm Café, home to Grandma's pies.

Except for Jim who had breakfast, Kerry, Garry and I ordered pie. Garry had lemon meringue,  I had blackberry, and Kerry had lemon meringue and blackberry.  The pies were as good as advertised.

Leaving Orick we climbed the mountain between it and Trinidad where we planned t stop for gas before carrying on through Eureka to the Avenue of the Giants.  At the service station Kerry's pressure sensor indicated that he was having a tire pressure problem.  Upon further investigation he found a piece of metal embedded in his rear tire.  After checking his tire pressure and finding it to be satisfactory, we used my GPS to find the nearest Honda motorcycle dealer which was almost thirty miles away in Eureka. The wind was picking up even in the hills as we rode and we were beginning g to be buffeted around but were able to make good time.  Kerry made it to the Honda shop and three hundred and fifty dollars later had a new tire.

Now, for a small digression.  Since the beginning of this trip I have been concerned with the latches on the tourpak on the back of my motorcycle.  On many occasions I would go to open the lid only to find that the latches weren't holding the lid down.  When I stopped in Coos Bay yesterday to replace the battery I would have had them fixed but the service people were not working on Monday so I had to leave it until I could find a dealer that had an open service department.

Today, are we rode into Eureka the highway crossed an area called Eureka Slough where the wind that had been buffeting us before turned into a crosswind that I would gues to be blowing between seventy and eighty kilometres per hour.  AS I rode along I heard a loud BANG! and the rear of the bike began to wobble.  My immediate thought in view of the problem Kerry had, was that I had blown a rear tire. but I quickly realized that if that had happened I would have been skidding down the highway with my motorcycle. I was pushed into the fast lane but was able to slow down and move to the left shoulder which was very narrow. 

A quick glance in the mirror told me what had happened.  The latches had pulled away from the catch and the high crosswind had caught the lid of my tourpak and lifted it open where it immediately began to act as a sail causing the motorcycle to react to the crosswind.  I was able to stop and check things out finding that I had lost my travel notebook, pen and leather H-D hat. 

When I could I got back into traffic, made a U-turn and was able to get back to where things had happened.  My notebook was still on the highway so when there was a break in the traffic I was able to retrieve it.  Further along I found my pen and finally, about a metre off the pavement I found my hat.  Relieved, I was able to continue into Eureka and connect with the rest of the guys.  I decided to get the latches fixed at the H-D shop in Eureka and was bale to get it do although it took quite a while.

I thought the day was about as bad as it would get, until we checked into the Motel 6.  Our experience last night was great.  The rooms had a fridge, coffee maker, good TV, free Wi-Fi and coffee in the morning.  When we began to register here things went sideways really quickly.

We explained to the girl who was checking us in that we needed one single smoking room (Jim), one single non-smoking room (Kerry), and a double non-smoking room (Garry and me).  The first thing the girl did was put Jim and Kerry into a double smoking room.  When they realized this and told her, she couldn't cancel the transaction and start again.  Then she wanted to put Kerry in a single smoking room.  At this point Jim, Garry, and I left the office.  As Jim says an old boss once told him, 'You can't fix stupid, but sometimes you can hit it hard enough with a two by four to leave splinters.'  Finally, the manager came by and set things right except for the fact that Jim was paying for a double room.  He later got that problem solved as well.

We never did make it to the Avenue of the Giants but we will make it there with plenty of time to really take our time looking at these ancient giants.