Staying with Mark & Joanne
In my minds eye I had held the beauty of California. But the reality is a stretch better. I crossed into California yesterday morning and watched the nature of the desert gradually change. The desert is so vast and majestic and so very hot. I was traveling along I-10 for most of my trip westward.
But to avoid the metropolis of Los Angeles I had to re-route myself pretty far off the rhumb line, but was well worth it. I turned north at Palm Springs and climbed into the mountains, and then descended into Yucca Valley. The grandeur is tough to get your mind wrapped around. Certainly not a ideal location for a breakdown. All of this scenery was totally unexpected and really made the long drive pleasant. I would have loved to camp in some of these areas but the temperatures preclude any thing like that.
I guess what I am saying is I really did forget how absolutly beautiful California is. I spent the night in Mojave California not far from Edwards Air force Base. Another desert oasis of a town.
This morning the terrain changed again into mountains, then straight into the bread basket of California. I stopped in Arvin, a sleepy agriculture town south of Bakersfield that felt like Mexico to me. Maybe because the population is 87.8 percent Hispanic according to the 2000 census. I picked up a authentic breakfast burrito from a little Mexican Tacoria and then spent the next 3 hours north bound on I-5 through the central valley. The central valley is a sea of commercial farming operations. Water is a gigantic issue in California. The system of canals that has been created to divert water to the LA basin and the farms is a gigantic political football. With that, I noticed thousands of acres of farming land burned out. Signs abound reading "Congress Created Bustbowl." Something is afoot; not unusal in a state where the government is in a constant state of crisis management.
I've spent the past few months in warm temperatures and air conditioning. But in true San Francisco fashion, as soon as I negotiated Altamont Pass, the temperatures dropped dramatically and the fog started to appear. The Green Hornet felt the influence of the mighty Pacific for the first time. Once upon the San Mateo bridge which spans the south San Francisco Bay, I could see a typical 15 to 25 knot westerly breeze churning up a chop. And once again I had that stupid grin, boy was I happy.
It's nice to be back in the hood. Now I just need Christa to make it safely here. More on that tomorrow.
Capt Chris
1 comment:
Chris, you should check out "ADV Rider" on the net. All about adventure riding with lots of Cali, PNW and all around the world. Lots of folks riding a little (some cheap- found a 175cc for 200 bucks on Craigslist!) street/trail on weekend get aways to remote and off the beaten path type stuff, along with street riding on anything from Harleys to mopeds. Glad you made it safe and had a good time. Ken (formerly of Satori)
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