West 2007
  
 

Day 07

September 18

  
  The excitement of the day ahead of me pops my eyes open at 4 AM. I get up and get a shower and am ready to go. The sunrise over the treetops at the motel is a gorgeous opening act to the incredible scenery I will take in today.  
 
 
  Rich and V.J. are up soon and we decide that we'll just catch breakfast somewhere along the way that looks interesting. We slowly ease our way out of Redding on highway 299, headed for highway 3, with the intent of following highway 36 to the coast. We had been warned that highway 36 has some construction on it south of Redding, so we pick this route to avoid it. And it turns out to be a great choice - various elevation changes, great sweepers, then tighter stuff - just the way to start out the day. We swap the lead on and off as the mood strikes us, just three boys playing with their ST toys. As we come down off the mountains into Hayfork, I see a restaurant that catches my eye - well worn drive, work trucks parked in front, and the smell of pig meat and hen fruit cooking. I pull off and motion V.J. and Rich to come on in when they catch up.  
 
 
 

It's name is Irene's Cafe and it is just the sort of local place I like. Straight forward folks that know how make good food. I prefer to eat at local places rather than chains because most of them taste pretty much the same wherever you are. I order an omelet and some gravy and it is right up to snuff. V.J. and Rich do themselves pretty well also so we all leave full and happy. Before long, V.J. needs some gas, so we pull off at a little market and take a break.

  
 
 
 

Before we pull out, Rich tells me -

"There's a special place we need to stop at just down the road a bit."

"Well, I reckon we'll just follow you. Lead on fearless leader" I tell him.

He's right, it is just down the road and it's beautiful park area. It's right at the beginning of the big trees with a nice stream running through it. I make a mental note that it has a campground and would be a nice place to spend the night.

 
 
 
 

Before we saddle up, Rich tells us -

"There's another special place I want to take you on the Avenue of the Giants. I think you will like it a lot."

"I'm just following you, my friend" I tell him.

So we're back at it and soon turn left off highway 36 onto highway 101. This is the road that will take us to the Avenue of the Giants, technically known as highway 254. To me, the Avenue of the Giants is a special place where the giant trees hovering over the road give you a feeling that you have entered into one of God's great natural cathedrals. The Redbird has been here and I have a picture of her at the sign, so I stop for a moment to give the SweetTreat equal treatment.

 
 
 
  It's an incredible ride where you traveling right up close to the big trees, so close you could stick your hand out and touch them if you wanted to. The stillness is comforting and the shadows draw you to a state of peacefulness. We ride among the trees as if we are connected to each other by some invisible cord.  
 
 
 

Before long, Rich leads onto a turn off that will take us to the Founder's Grove. I've never been back in here, so it is indeed a real treat. Once again, I am profiting from following someone who knows the area and the places to see. We line our STs up in a convenient spot for a group shot.

 
 

Rich is a serious photographer, so he and V.J. wander off into the woods a bit to get some shots. I manage to sneak a shot of the 'shot' without them knowing it.

 
 
 
 

Our intentions are to make it all the way to San Francisco tonight on highway 1, which is another part of my goal on this trip. Rich, who is very familiar with the route says

"Well, we are running a bit short on time and part of the Avenue south has been washed out due to recent storms. Why don't we head back to 101 since it would be a bit quicker?"

We all figure that's probably a good thing, so at the next connection we're back on the main highway. Rich has another place he wants to stop in Garberville to get a few things for his house, so we gladly oblige him. It is the tourist center for Sasquatch, who is more affectionately known as Bigfoot.

  
 
 
 

They even have a Ms. Bigfoot so I get V.J. and Rich to pose with her Bigness.

 
   
   
 

I pick up a pretty bracelet for my lovely wife while I am there, and Rich selects some more redwood stuff for his house. With the mission accomplished, we're back at it and soon we are at Leggett. Here we come to the road I've been waiting for - Highway 1. This is probably the most scenic road that I have ever been on and once again I am delighted for the opportunity to ride it again. But before we can ride very far, we come to a major road block. A sizable tree has fallen across the road and there is this poor lady on a Harley staring forlornly at it. I realize that we are losing daylight, so I just tell her,

"Excuse me ma'am, but if you'll just move back a bit, I'll see what I can do."

I test the branches and fortunately they will break if enough effort is applied. So I figure we'll do this like eating an elephant - one bite at a time. I jump in like my pants are on fire, knowing that adrenaline will help speed the process.

  
 
 
 

When the folks behind us in the cars see what's happening, they begin to join in. We finally get it down to one major limb. This stuff is really springy, so I tell the fellers

"Watch it now, when this thing breaks, we're all going to go a flying."

We keep pushing, pushing, pushing - then there's a snap like a gunshot. And just as I predicted, we fall all over the place. One man is about to go tumbling down the hill, but I grab him by the heel and put the old death grip on him. He thanks me profusely

"Man, that was close" he says.

"No problem. I'm glad to do it and I sure am glad for the help."

With roadway cleared, we suit back up and are on our way again. The most difficult part of riding highway 1 is not the technical stuff but the scenic stuff. Many places do not have guard rails, so if you're looking when you should be driving, it can be a long way to the bottom - and it's awful hard not to look!

 
 
 
  It's kind of funny how perspectives change as you travel about, but the scenery now reminds a lot of the Scottish shore line that I saw last year. It's just rugged and beautiful and here I am once again being able to enjoy on two wheels.  
 
 
  Time is slowly slipping away and so is the fuel, so we make a gas stop in Gualala. V.J. calls Miss Mo, his lovely bride, to let her know where we are and the estimated arrival time. Little does he know of the chain of events that will greet us a little further down the road.  
 
 
  We travel as quickly as we can down highway 1, but we just can't seem to extend the daylight. The old sun continues to drop as we make our way southward toward San Francisco.  
 
 
 

It's a race that we will not win, given the ever increasing difficulty of the road and the lack of daylight.

 
 
 
 

Finally the sun is all but gone but we continue cranking the wick, knowing the distance we have to cover.

 
 
 
 

As darkness surrounds us like a cloak, we become separated by some distance with me in the lead. I try to keep looking back for their headlights and I see them a ways back in the hills. As I near the Petaluma turn off, I notice that highway 1 turns hard to the right and the road to Petaluma goes straight. I think to myself -

"You know, I ought to wait here at this turn just in case they miss it."

But then I realize that Rich has GPS and is familiar with the roads, so I decide to rock on along. After quite a while, I realize that there are no headlights behind me at all. Immediately I wonder if they have had a problem, or maybe an accident. There's nothing else I can do, but to turn around and go back and see if I can find them. I make it all the way to the turn off, but there's no V.J. and no Rich. So I take the road straight into Petaluma for quite a while, but I don't see them there either.

"Well, maybe I just missed them and they are on highway 1" I convince myself.

So it's back to Plan A and highway 1 which calls for another about-face. In case they are in front of me, I put the SweetTreat into high gear and burn the road as fast as I can in the darkness. When I get to Point Reyes, I realize that we must be separated by a good distance or else they're GP racers and I didn't know it. I figure at this point I'm a big boy and if we don't reconnect tonight, I'll just get close to Woodside where V.J. lives and grab a motel. So I pull off at the first decent flat spot and leave a voicemail message for both of them as what my plans are. I figure there is no reason to worry about something I cannot do anything about. I tell myself,

"Well, at least I'll get to do the rest of Highway 1, even if it is in the dark."

There are worse things than being by yourself on highway 1 and watching the coastal lights shine as welcoming beacons. I just hope that they don't worry to much about me and feel bad about getting separated. I've learned that things like this just happen and you pick up and move on. The road is challenging and I have it pretty much to myself, which makes it even more fun. I descend down the last long hill which is almost like a corkscrew and come to the junction of highway 1 and highway 101. As I make the turn, lo and behold who should be pulled off on the side of the road waving and making a commotion but the fearless twosome! I pull over, much relieved that they are okay and that we reconnected.

"Which way did you guys go?" I ask them.

Rich has this sheepish look on his face and says -

"I missed the turn and kept going straight into Petaluma. I was so busy watching the road in the dark that I missed the sign and ignored the GPS. We figured you stuck to highway 1 and would have to come out here."

"Well, so much for the value of a good GPS" I kid Rich.

We all have a good laugh, then head across the Golden Gate Bridge. It is the first time that I have crossed it at night and it is quite a sight. The traffic is frantic so I stick close to V.J.'s taillights. We split after we get through town, Rich to his house and V.J. and I to his place in Woodside. It's been a long, interesting day and I'm glad to reach a place of rest that V.J. and Miss Mo have so graciously provided. It doesn't take long before I'm drifting off, thinking how nice it will be just to take it easy for day.