“Six Days On The Road and I’m a gonna make it home tonight…” Dave Dudley, Trucker Classics
Actually it was 8 days on the road this time. I left on July 24 and returned August 1. Destination: Santa Margarita, California (near San Louis Obispo) to meet up with other members of my motorcycle group, the XS11 Owner’s Association. Headquarters for this rally was a KOA located a few miles out of Santa Margarita.
I try to take one longer motorcycle trip every year. (Last year it was to eastern Ohio.) I’ve made the trip to California before as rallies have been held near Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Santa Margarita. I know many of people who attend these rallies and looked forwarded to seeing them again.
This post will be in two parts, as I took over 200 photos and several video clips. Due to wind and lack of a tripod some of the video is unusable and some of the photos are near-duplicates of each other. It’s going to take a while to go through everything and come up with a video montage and gallery. This post will have a few highlight photos; video will come in a later post.
The only thing I will say about the trip out is — it was hot. I stayed in Las Vegas the first night, and from there I rode through Bakersfield where I picked up Highway 58 which ends in Santa Margarita. I went through 160 ounces of Gator-Aid the second day. That is 5 each of the 32 ounce bottles. I travel with a small cooler strapped to the luggage rack. The cooler will hold 2 of the 32 ounce bottles and 8 – 9 pounds of ice. (I get ice every morning before I get on the road.) I generally start the day with 2 more bottles in a saddlebag. When I finish one out of the cooler, another takes its place. That’s the only way to make it across the hot stretches…hydration is everything.
It was a different story along the California coast. After I arrived and set up my camp I headed for Morro Bay…the forecast high was 58! An on-shore breeze coupled with heavy overcast made for cool temps. Felt good to me!
By Friday night another 15 people had arrived, including the rally host. Here is a photo of the gathering:
Friday night at the KOA Photo by Ray Matteis.
Not everyone who arrived planned to join the group ride; some were on other trips and had scheduled a stop-in to say hello and meet other club members.
Saturday morning was the ‘group ride’ and we headed for the coast. We stopped in Cambria for lunch and Ray Matteis took this photo in the restaurant:
Lunch at Cambria. L to R: Ed, Tom, Scott, Me, Tkat, Mike. Photo by Ray Matteis.
Here are a couple of “bike” photos from various stops on the ride:
Bikes at KOA
Stop along the California coast
With the overcast conditions it was hard to get good scenic shots, but I did get some animal photos. Seagulls, elephant seals, sea lions, pelicans, and other wildlife all came under the lens.
Seagull, Morro Bay
Elephant Seal males can weight up to 1,500 pounds
Sea lions north of Ragged Point
Pelican in flight
When the overcast occasionally lifted I could get a couple of scenic shots:
Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) along the California coast
Wind surfer, California coast
After a weekend of riding, talking, and eating with club members, it was time to start for home. I had decided to return through Yosemite National Park and, if possible, spend at least one night there.
I came in through the southern entrance which is north of Fresno. Riding through the park is a great experience, but I also needed a place to stay for the night. One of the campgrounds had a few tent spaces left so I claimed a spot, registered, set up camp, then took off for Glacier Point. This scenic viewpoint is very popular with tourists and is a great place to see some of the park’s major features.
Half-Dome (Center) with Vernal and Nevada Falls to the right
The next morning I was able to drive across the park and make it to Ely, Nevada where I spent my last night on the road. I arrived home a bit after 5:00 PM on the 31st. It was quite the trip!
A few statistics:
2,920 miles total. 77.4 gallons of gas. Highest price for fuel: Lee Vinning, California: $4.90 per gallon of regular. Average price for fuel was $4.11 per gallon.
I did have a few problems with my trailer. I broke 2 fender braces at different points in the trip. These did not stop me but I had to rig up temporary fixes to continue. I had 1 flat tire, $10.00 to fix, in Barstow, California, and had to replace a part of the hitch when getting ready to leave Santa Margarita. That repair set me back about 2 hours, time which came out of my Yosemite stay. Still, nothing major, just irritating.
My next post will have – hopefully – some video clips taken during the trip and a link to a gallery that will have more photos for those who are interested.
Pam says I cannot close without including some video of Izzy’s kittens. At 4-5 weeks, they are starting to move around and are quite entertaining! (Running time is 1:54.)
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That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
First — HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jerry…
San Louis Obispo — I remember it well, ‘cousin Joan (Koerner) Packenham received her undergraduate degree there (California Polytech)…
It looks like it was an enjoyable, but tiring, trip — more tiring because of repairs along the road.
Quite a bit of “ocean wildlife” along Hwy 1 — I’ve seldom seen Elephant Seals. Yosemite is always an experience — surprised there were any available camping spots — many reserve a year in advance.
Equally interesting would have been a trip to the south, overlooking Yosemite — lots of Sequoia, and interesting scenery “from the falls, down”…
Is there enough time to “recover” before taking another trip to your property?
that was quite the trip! awesome shots of all the wildlife! i am quite sure i’m not as hardy as you–i don’t think i could go that long and far in those temp extremes
glad i get to live it through you 🙂
kittens are SO adorable!! and mom is a pretty girl!
good to see them and hear your voices 🙂
Larry:
Thanks for the B-day greetings. It was a good trip in spite of the repairs which are unusual for me. Last couple trips had no problems.
I was prepared to not camp in Yosemite, was glad to find a spot even though it was a Tuesday night, possible less busy.
Heading for the lot this weekend. Last was spent unpacking, yard work, and cutting up firewood brought home on last trip.
Tabitha:
Thanks for the note. I am used to traveling in the hot temps from the time we lived in Arizona…many trips taken in triple degree heat. Not as bas as you think as long as you stop often enough for fluids.
Wildlife photos taken mostly with my old Canon 10D digital but with a telephoto lens I picked up earlier this year. That lens has proven to give me a lot more range and control and I am glad to have it in my kit.
We hope the kittens continue to do well and we can get them adopted when the time comes. Cute batch, should not have much trouble but there are a lot of kittens up for adoption so you never know.