Beginning of the End

After a day's rest in Reno, Garry and I left the city and headed north to Oregon. After getting turned around by misleading directions on my GPS, we were able to make our way to Highway 395 and head north. Not long after reaching highway speeds, the visor on my helmet shed the bolt that held its right side to the helmet.  It was flapping in the wind so I pulled over to check it out. I was able to determine that while it was annoying I could continue with it, at least until I could deal with it. During this time we passed out of Nevada through a checkpoint, probably checking for fruits and vegetables as we entered California. As motorcyclists we were waved through. I suspect that the agent figured that we wouldn't be carrying fruits and vegetables.

After making about 50 miles (80 km) we stopped at the at the Honey Lake rest area. I was able to remove the flapping visor. The lake is quite large and surrounded by mountainous terrain, typical of this area of large flat areas with the same surroundings. A smoky haze hung in the air, because apparently there are fires in western Oregon.

Views from the Honey Lake rest area

Remnants of an earlier forest fire near the Honey Lake rest area.

US & California state flags at the rest area. 

We carried on the Susanville, CA where we stopped for breakfast at McDonald's. After refueling we climbed out of the valley  on Highway 139. The road runs along the edge of a mountain giving fantastic views of the valley below. Unfortunately there were no pullouts or observation points so I was unable to take photos. Coming off the pass we descended to the Eagle Lake Basin where Eagle Lake, the second largest natural lake in California is situated. The highway runs along the east side of the lake providing an unobstructed view for the whole distance.

Striking clouds over Eagle Lake, California.

We stopped at the village of Adin, CA, where we stopped to stretch our legs. There we met a man riding an Indian motorcycle at the gas station. He was enjoying the ride but found that the bike wasn't as comfortable as he had hoped. His son is in the US Army's Special Forces and he was going to visit him in Fort Lewis, WA, where they were going to shop for a motorcycle for his son. 

Today's ride was done at elevations of more than 400 feet, and much of it was above 5000 feet. The land is probably a semi desert with grasses and shrubs but there are large pine trees with very little underbrush.  It is a very different forest than I am accustomed to.

After we left Adin we ran north to Canby where we turned west toward Klamath Falls. A real issue for riders on this highway, is that there are few services and there are no places where riders can pull off the highway to take a break. 

After a brief stop in Merrill, OR, we ran the last 18 miles (30 km) in to Klamath Falls where we tried to check into our motel. We had to wait for a while but eventually checked in, finishing for the day. Tomorrow, we will ride to Wild Horse H-D for a brief stop before we continue north. Tomorrow we will change plans and ride as far as we feel like and take the chance that rooms will be available. We will see how that works out. Today's distance was 444 kilometres. We are now approaching 5000 kilometres for this trip and will be close to 6000 by the time we roll into our driveways, probably this weekend.