Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Patches Excellent Adventure (High Sierra Ride) 8/12/2010

Patches Excellent Adventure (High Sierra Ride)
Our excellent adventure started when we met Ken and Gail and Patches, A.K.A. the Skibolds along with Joe at the Costco in Bakersfield Thursday morning. From there we headed up Hwy 99 to the 41 and one up to Hwy 4 where we stayed at Golden Pines RV campground.
Our mascot
Ken and Gail lead the rag tag group on our escapade.

We had many fine views along Hwy 4.

Gail and Patches.
The locals were enjoying the water at Lake Alpine along with many visitors.

Riding on over Ebbetts Pass we noticed a fire on the other side of the ridgeline.

Then we set our sights on getting north of Lake Tahoe.

Our next campsite would be Lake Cove RV Park and Marina on Lake Almanor. We stayed two nights there so we could enjoy riding the area.


Ken and I made a beer run to Chester the first evening and on the way back it was DARK! Ya know how nothing looks the same at night? Well compound that with Ken following me and you have a recipe for “Where are we now and which way do we go from here?” The wrong turn turned out to be the right one and we weren’t turned around for long but we had the girls a little worried and ourselves a little concerned when the deer warning signs along the road had to add “Major Deer Area!” We rode together with our high beams lighting the way and our eyes peeled.
Should have added this to the first post but here's the route we took.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...e=UTF8&t=h&z=6

We got a to meet a fellow in camp who spends a good portion of the year camping and riding the area when he isn’t home in San Diego working as a MSF instructor with Riders Edge out of San Diego Harley Davidson. He offered to lead us on up to and through Lassen National Park and we were only happy enough to tag along behind Rick Case.

Rick and I.
The visitor center at Lassen National Park.
The views throughout the Park were awesome!


Gail and Dee


The lakes in Lassen were crystal clear.
The next day we said goodbye to our new friend and of course told him all about Pashnit. So if the riding weather up north is bad and you happen to be in San Diego you might find Rick hanging around the Harley shop. Stop in, say hi and maybe sign up for a course to improve your skills.

The next day we headed south to Walker, CA. We couldn’t find a campground in the area that had electrical at the sites (I need this to sleep) so we decided to spend our last night on the road at the West Walker Motel which turned out to be a wise decision.

Heading past Lake Tahoe once again Joe had a woman pull up next to him and tell him that she saw something fall off his bike. Sure enough after checking it out it turned out that the rear part on his rocker shifter had fallen off. I backtracked to find it and then Joe went to work trying to make the repairs.



For some reason the shifter just wouldn’t tighten up and stay put the way it should have but luckily Joe had some Harley tape with him and it was repaired well enough to make it home.


This is one of my favorite spots to take our boat when we are on the lake.
Enjoying lunch at the rest stop along Hwy 50.

Here’s the reason that staying in a motel in Walker turned out to be a good idea.
We grabbed a bite to eat at the Mountain View Barbeque and while enjoying a brew in the bar and waiting for the vittles I couldn’t help but notice the Pashnit Tours sticker on the mirror over the bar! Well we had to ask and it turns out our very own Tim stops in this establishment about 4 times a year! Well who da thunk!
Heading south on 395 the next morning.

We had a great breakfast at the Sportsmans.
Gail in route.
The beautiful view of Mono Lake.

Dee and I

Heading for Yosemite.

Tioga Lake.
Following Ken and Gail through Yosemite.
The beauty that is Yosemite.
Tuolumne Meadows
Someone forgot and let me lead again.
 
Ken shooting forward while my wife shoots back
Gail, Ken and Joe yucking it up at Tenaya Lake.

We parted ways in the park and The Skibolds and Joe headed back down 395 while Dee and I headed for the west side. We didn’t stop in the valley because of time constraints and because I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it so crowded there. Heading out we did get a view of Half Dome and the Merced River along which we had lunch.

Hope your enjoyed our photos. There were a lot more. Dee took pretty much all of them and on the fly at that. In 9 days we are leaving for a 2 week ride through Colorado, Wyoming and Utah from which I hope to bring lots of great photos home.





























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