Road Trip

When did it become mandatory that hotel ice buckets had to have a plastic bag inside of them? Isn’t the ice bucket clean enough without it?

Questions like  that race around one’s head on the first day of a motorbike road trip,  along with which truck is the one doing the speed limit?

 But after seeing the artifacts of civilizations of antiquity from Greece to Italy and sailing round Europe on a dirty gondola well just how could a motorbike road trip through amerika, compare? Well you have to start in Barstow California.

Harvey House Barstow

This  really is a great building.  Could those arches on the Harvey house be because of  Moorish influence just like  Venezia’s Saint Marks Square…

Venezia

 

Just imagine rail road track instead of the Grand Canal.

But then again you have to meet up someplace and Barstow is that place, and going north on 395 from here is a very pleasant ride except for when you see a very dark cloud and the road ahead not only appears wet, but looks like it has a thin layer of ground effect fog just lingering a few inches off the pavement, but as you cross the threshold you realize the fog is caused by the rain drops hitting the pavement with such a intensity that they are instantly vaporized into fog, and you are glad you suited up with rain gear because like our guide in France said “it is raining cats and dogs” and some of the rain hitting you feels like the cats have their claws extended.

Raining Cats and Dogs

 

Bridgeport had pretty good food last time we were there, and that is where we ended up. The food was still good and after exploring around we discovered wetlands with flocks of birds. Yellow headed black bird was a new one for me and what a stunning little bird. Maybe it could teach its cousin the Red Winged Black Bird to hold still for a photo.

 

Yellow Head Black Bird

 

The El Camino d Sierra was blocked by a mud slide at Topaz lake, but the detour took us around the eastern side of the Bridgeport reservoir and through rolling sage covered hills into Nevada where we connected with 395 again for the ride through Carson City and Reno.

Just A Little Rain

 

Zumo my trickster gps had no idea the bypass for Carson City met up with 395 at the highway 50 junction, so it was a couple of blocks of heavy city traffic and a u turn that got us headed on the bypass that takes you all around Carson and Reno

Stop & Go

 

Back on the two lanes through green meadows and evergreen hills all the way to Susanville, then some great two lane up to highway 89 (one of my favorites) and some high country with views of Mt. Shasta.

Our destination was the railroad park in Dunsmuir California just, so a night could be spent in a caboose. Well a remodeled Southern Pacific Caboose, that turned out to be quite comfortable

Home For The Night

 



The  resort Rail Road Park Resort  has a pool a nice and hot,  hot tub and a pretty good restaurant.  Well worth the ride. All Aboard.