Wild Wild West 2

[freefallen]

The official site says the following:
No place else on earth combines a deep, pure lake, so blue in color; sheer surrounding cliffs, almost two thousand feet high; two picturesque islands; and a violent volcanic past.

Indeed, a very beautiful and majestic lake, a lot can be said about it.
Yes, it's the deepest fresh water lake in America, yes it's perfect for photographers. But there's something elusive here that I can't put into words. The lake didn't hook my interest, I wouldn't come here a second time. You can definitely spend a whole day, take a boat ride but we made our loop and hurried back to route 1.

Mountainous road to the lake:



One of the two islands:



Continuing our ride around the lake:



The drop was very sheer and it wasn’t solid ground but very fine gravel. If you get too close to the edge it can give way and you’re not stopping till you hit water. Fatal accidents do happen here are the signs told us:







Despite the high altitude and random snow patches, it was rather hot:





The roads were nice, the people were sparse and the views were great but again it didn’t leave me with much impression:

[Ruan]

Beautiful. Congratulations.

[Blacknblue]

Nice photos!

The last time I went to Crater lake I hiked down to the boat launch and swam in the lake on a nice hot day.
I've been there in the summer when the lodge was still covered with snow and had a sign asking visitors
to stay off the roof!

Another time it was really smokey from fires, or cold and scary windy on the ridge tops.

I don't know, somehow volcanos like Crater Lake and Mt. Shasta have just gotten into my blood.

[ttr]

This is a great trip!!

Good that you are out of the desert. Keep driving...

[Ot tuda]

Edik. klass.

[pfdavidz]

Nice trip!

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by Ruan

Beautiful. Congratulations.

Thank you, Sir!

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by Blacknblue

I don't know, somehow volcanos like Crater Lake and Mt. Shasta have just gotten into my blood.

Mt. Shasta in CA?
Well, we all have different preferences. Perhaps we were tired from the previous days and we needed awaiting rest in SF. Maybe next time it will be different.

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by ttr

This is a great trip!!

Good that you are out of the desert. Keep driving...

Thank you, Sir!

[freefallen]

Originally Posted by Ot tuda

Edik. klass.

otkuda-otkuda? ne uznayu. spasibo!

[slide]

A Pacific Northwest Russian fur trader apparently heard from.

[freefallen]

Redwood National Park, CA - Home to the tallest trees on Earth.

Along route 1 towards San Francisco, we took a small detour and rode through a forest of giant trees. They are truly enormous. The road is very enjoyable: lots of curves, shady, near the main road but at the same time away from the hectic traffic. No one here is in a rush and there aren’t even a lot of people here.

I don’t even know how many people are needed to hug this tree:



It’s so peaceful and quiet:



We toppled one of the trees to count its rings :



Even further south we rode through Redwoods State Park - the world's most ancient redwood groves. They are very similar but the roads here are curvier and go along a river. It’s very pretty but we wanted to get to SF already. We rode in the park for 30-40 minutes and returned to route 1.

[freefallen]

A few pictures my son took from the back of the bike.
He landed in Calgary at noon, I picked him up and we rode 300 miles to the town of Jasper which is located to the north of the park. There we stayed at a hostel, it was our first time in one. It’s was rather enjoyable. Mostly it was occupied by students and backpackers. The sleeping area has 40 bunk beds.

We made many stops: near glaciers, waterfalls, nice roads and mountains. The park is beautiful on its own.

En route to Jasper National Park, Canada:



All the following pictures are from the park:






Despite the fact I was here 1 day earlier and paid for my entrance, I had to pay another entry fee of $20.
Learn from your southern brother that allows you access for the whole week for one entrance fee.











Route 1:



After this was Vancouver and Oregon, which I already wrote about. After that San Francisco. After 1 day of rest I departed for Yosemite Park. From there Death Valley, god dammit.

[freefallen]

San Francisco is my most western stop after which I turn around and head back completing my giant loop of almost 10,000 miles.

Entering the Golden Gate Bridge:



Son's self portrait:



The ride down route 1 was impressive. Somewhere between Oregon and California:



Still Oregon:



So we wanted to see the golden bridge in all its glory? It’s almost always covered up by puffy white clouds:



But on the following day my son went with his friends and managed to capture some clear shots:





Having stopped in the center of SF, we went looking for some good food. As my son rightly noticed SF is a large farm with paved roads, tall buildings and many lights. After the sunset the streets cleared out and everyone went to sleep, by 10pm it’s practically a ghost town. Whether you want to or not SF is compared with NY, the city that never sleeps. Certain areas in NYC only liven up after 10pm. In Greenwich Village everything is open 24/7.

A few parks were still in front of me, including Death Valley, where I planned on doing some heavy offroading. My rear tire was cause for some concern, I would have made it back home but the protector in the center of the tire was noticeably worn out. I didn’t want to risk it so I decided to get a new tire while in SF, in the morning I took my bike to a local shop. So my bike was now ready for the next leg of my journey.

Right in the center of SF, not far from Lombard Street:



While we had a free hour to explore, we decided to walk around:



We stopped by Super Duper Burger for lunch. I think the burger had something like 3,000 calories because I was full for the remainder of the day:



You can’t find a better view when playing golf. These ladies were practicing:

[ShimrMoon]

What a fantstic ride report! The pics are stunning to say the least. I'd like to know which model of Garmin you used. It appears that you've dispelled the myth that you have to have a Zumo 5XX or 6XX for motorcycle travel.

Thanks again for a great report.