Coast to coast in the US back again!

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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#31

Post by Rat »

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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#32

Post by mr west »

DAY 1

Finally got to do the Higway 1! Last time that experience was taken away from us as the bike broke and forced us just to take I5 down through CA... with the fairing full of sandwiches, cheese and cookies this time we went up to around San Semion for our camping debut. We planned for Big Sur, but it was a bit far.

Our 50 dollar tent is really nice and spacious. Unfortunately on of the legs broke right away, but we can still use it....

I also got to get aquinted with more of the wildlife as amanda woke me up 4 am to let me know two racoons were trying to get into the fairing pockets to eat our cookies! And their paws were really muddy, covering the whole bike in mud... well well...
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#33

Post by Sagebrush »

I also got to get aquinted with more of the wildlife as amanda woke me up 4 am to let me know two racoons were trying to get into the fairing pockets to eat our cookies! And their paws were really muddy, covering the whole bike in mud
When you get in bear country do not store food on the bike and really you should have a bear proof cooler (yeti) to store any food in. If that were a bear after your sandwiches you might not have a bike to ride in the morning and if it got inside the tent, well..........................
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#34

Post by mrs west »

Thank Sagebrush! I imagine we’ll stop bringing food to camp. I remembered PCH having less amenities that it does. That trip up to San Simeon was beautiful! By my mom’s recommendation, we went through Lake Cachuma which was really stunning with nice roads. We stayed in a campground next to Hearst castle and watched our first sunset of the trip over the ocean. KG got to practice sitar overlooking the view.

Great to be back on the road! crossy.gif
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Cachuma
Cachuma
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Sunset over San Simeon
Sunset over San Simeon
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First go with the tent!
First go with the tent!
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#35

Post by mr west »

DAY 2

After cleaning the racoon goo mixed with morning dew off the bike and checking out from the camp ground we had the most beautiful stretch of PCH ahead of us! There were a few elephant seals cheering us on as we rode up the winding road through the morning fog. Once in Oakland we catched up with Amandas cousin for some coffee.

After a long day and finally crossing the Golden Gate Bridge we went to Marin County where I had a Punjabi Burrito (!) and where we stayed with an artist that is an old friend of Amandas mother. Still partly in a time zone further east, it felt like we chatted late into the night, but I guess I actually went to around 11 pm or something..
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#36

Post by mrs west »

PCH and family was really fun! We wanted to take Highway 1 all the way up to Half Moon but maybe next time. We got up to Santa Cruz and had to cut across 17 up to the bay area. Really nice ride still. The Bay is really nice too with all the bridges. Great scenery!
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Above the clouds
Above the clouds
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Cookie stop
Cookie stop
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More coastline
More coastline
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Golden Gate at sunset
Golden Gate at sunset
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Punjabi burrito!
Punjabi burrito!
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#37

Post by mr west »

DAY 3

Waking up refreshed after a good nights sleep in a real comfortable bed. After brunch with Amandas aunt, cousin, nieces and nefew in Richmond we set sail for Lake Tahoe! We had to make a second stop in Davis to see yet another aunt and uncle and have a cold drink, but after that we made it to South Lake Tahoe where we found a free camping to set up our tent.

Getting away from San Francisco was really hot, and I spent most of the time trying to find the optimal speed where the bike would cool itself best. Closer to Tahoe the trees provided some relief from the sun to both bike and riders. We reached the campsite just at sunset.
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Guitar collecting uncle
Guitar collecting uncle
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Amanda updating NGWclub.com
Amanda updating NGWclub.com
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#38

Post by mrs west »

Some pics from camping in South Tahoe
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Crossing the Richmond San Rafael bridge
Crossing the Richmond San Rafael bridge
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Brunch spread at Aunt Kristi’s (notice the beautiful banana bread)
Brunch spread at Aunt Kristi’s (notice the beautiful banana bread)
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Coming down the cliffs into South Tahoe Basin
Coming down the cliffs into South Tahoe Basin
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Where we set up the tent, yes it is on a hill, and we slid down a bit while sleeping.
Where we set up the tent, yes it is on a hill, and we slid down a bit while sleeping.
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Luther Pass campsite
Luther Pass campsite
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#39

Post by mr west »

DAY 4

Right after packing up we went for a spin around the lake. Very clear water and nice road all around. Lots of people too on vacation for labour day, so many parkings were full around the lake. We managed to find a free bench overlooking the lake for coffee and bagel watching people launching their boats.

On the other side we came directly into Nevada and down from the lake just went on to ride the really really long straights into Nevadas huge plains of nothingness...

Following a tip on the freecampsites.net we tried to get to a spot just updated there. Thanks Brant!!! After hours through the fields and then some miles on a dirt road and beyond we found the small place just in the middle of nowhere where someone built a small heart-shaped pool in a hot spring. Besides wild horses and rabbits roaming around we were all alone camping by one of the springs, and had a hot bath watching the stars in the night.
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#40

Post by mrs west »

That trip was really spectacular. Tahoe is crystal clear and gorgeous. Nevada on Highway 50 really is the Loneliest Road in the US. Long stretches of nothing! The last stop we made before setting up camp, at a gas station in seemingly the middle of nowhere, no one had heard of the place at which we were planning to camp. I got a bit nervous about it. A lady at that gas station then chose to inform us that we would be coming up on millions of large, black grasshoppers and that they would fly at us and make the roads slick. After driving awhile and seeing nothing of the sort, I wondered if she just made that up to scare me even more. We did eventually find the campsite, down a dusty, empty dirt road. The site had just been listed the day before our arrival. So secluded and really off the beaten path, it really was something special!
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Emerald Bay
Emerald Bay
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KG above Austin, NV in Toiyabe
KG above Austin, NV in Toiyabe
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Sunset from Bartine Hotsprings
Sunset from Bartine Hotsprings
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Hot pink salt flats on Hwy 50
Hot pink salt flats on Hwy 50
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The no name road to the campsite
The no name road to the campsite
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#41

Post by hmax »

Love the picture of your shadow looming over the mysterious dirt road!

Are you finding camping as easy as you thought, with your quick set-up tent?
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#42

Post by minhoj »

Wow, nice ride and nice pictures. I'm proud of you both camping! You'll beat me this year :-(
But Punjabi burrito, how and what was that?
/minhoj

Don't own a GW myself but my friend is wrenching and parking his in my garage...
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#43

Post by mr west »

Camping is for sure easier than I thought! Tent pops up, mattresses and pillows inflate, no problem. Saves lots of money for nice restaurants and drinks!

Punjabi burrito was good actually, just chick peas, rice and stuff all stuffed into a greasy burrito..... there was a mexican guy and an indian guy in the kitchen that had been working together more than 20 years.
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#44

Post by mrs west »

DAY 5

We woke up in the beautiful site with the hot springs and got an early start. We got 100 miles in before breakfast! I think that is a record for us. We stopped in Ely, NV for Chinese buffet then continued on what I thought was Hwy 50. To my surprise about 25 miles north I noticed that we were on Hwy 93 instead. I found on Google maps a seemingly nice, windy road to turn down. After a few miles we quickly reized that White Pines County Road 29 wasn’t much of a road at all. It was dirt and gravel all the way, very reminicint of our trip up the service road in the Idaho panhandle 2 years ago. KG pushed on though! It was a long 45 mile detour but very beautiful scenery. We saw beautiful sheep, serious camping, huge birds, people looking for elk, people clipping wild elderberries and finally, Cave Lake which is where the road came out paved (10 miles east of where we had lunch). That lake was really stunning, and well deserved after a lot of hard driving. From there we drove on to the nearest gas station. The next gas or camping was something like 100 more miles so we decided to stay in the camping area of the Border Gas and Motel, just beyond the Lehman Caves. It was nice! Closest proximity of any of our campsites to beer, food, showers, laundry and slot machines if we needed them. Best part was that we were only a few feet from the Utah border!


:crosso
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Cave Lake
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Gas station camping
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Re: Coast to coast in the US back again!

#45

Post by mr west »

Dirt road takes so much concentration and time... one hour and youre exhausted!
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And all of that was just 218 miles...
And all of that was just 218 miles...
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