Dave & Hel Tour California

[Bob]

Nice view from the back.
Good luck on "your" new bike.

[BMWJustin]

Great RR. Awesome route. Ive been searching for the perfect route where I can spend a couple (or a few weeks) tearing up the twisties. I think I just found it. Of course, Ill add a little bit to the North into Oregon (Crater Lake, and the rest of the 101 to my old home town of Lincoln City). I still have a couple months left over here in the desert (Iraq) to plan the MegaMoto trip. But until then, great RR and beautiful pics!!!

[erockmapquest]

The best sights are in the North Western area of the park. Hidden Valley (?) campground is awesome. It is very popular with the bouldering/rock-climbing crowd. There are some great stretches with Joshua Trees for miles. The southern part of the park is pretty ho-hum though.

[1200gsceej]

Dave,
Glad I've found your stuff. I like your style and your road selection (with the exception of some of the way-out-in-the-boonies dirt roads ;-). Our Tour d'CA was much like yours, and our Colorado Plateau covered other routes you've reported on. Ol'Badger and I started out doing CA 49 gold town trips, then CA 89, then US 395 (we like the Mamouth area). We actually stayed at the Pierpoint Springs resort, too. At that time the manager and his wife fired up the grill on the patio for dinner and drinks; very pleasent. CA does have a lot of good roads; thanks for reminding me of some. I think it's time to plan trips to revisit them. In the meantime, I hope you continue to enjoy safe trips with your family.
-ceej

Dave: I put together another route based on the twisty red lines in the Benchmark Maps California Road and Recreation Atlas. However; I left the map at home when we switched bikes. The GPS was almost useless as you had to zoom in too far before these roads would even appear.

My complaint exactly! When exploring and choosing roads on the go, a map cannot be beaten. When at a fork in the road, however, the GPS can be quite helpful!

Dave: We stopped for a break at a non-descript area on the shoulder. After climbing over the guardrail we were surprised to find we were directly over a train tunnel and this intersection. I barely had my helmet off when I heard a train coiming. I grabbed the camera and scurry down a steep hill to get these shots.

This is the famous Keddie Wye - train fans come from long distances to watch the trains here, particularly one coming out of the tunnel and another waiting on the other side of the river to come across.

Dave: New Zealand is definitely on my wish list. Maybe someday.............

Do go if you can. I got bit by the bug when I was in High School by my history teacher. Took me 30 years to actually to it, but it was wonderful. The roads, scenery, and people are fantastic. link

Dave: Elephant Seals

Glad you saw them; aren't they incredible creatures?