Saturday, July 24, 2010

The adventure continues!

Steve & Marilyn & Mark drove to SanFran to meet us. Lots of hugs & photos. Then hurrying of to the bike shop to have my bike shipped home.
Armed with a SanFrancisco street map & tips from locals I negotiated the hills & didn't die in city traffic...a major triumph in my book.
Went out to a nice restaurant & then back to Skinners' beautiful home in Sacramento. Spent the next 2 days sightseeing in Old Sacramento & the Cal State fair and hanging out together.
Friday, Steve had to work & Marilyn took us to the airport.
All was well till we got to Chicago, where there were major thunderstorms (welcome to the mid-west!). Our flight to BWI was delayed a couple hours and finally cancelled around midnight.
Slept (sort of) in the terminal. Actually, I had a good nap since my sleeping bag & thermarest were in my carry-ons. No, I was not too proud to spread 'em out & catch a few Z's.
Today, we're booked on an evening flight & on stand-by for one this morning..It ain't over till the fat lady sings!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

We did it!!

It was a difficult last day, filled with unexpected wind & hills, the chaos of meeting up with family & friends, & the mixed emotions of accomplishing a goal & ending an adventure. Hasty goodbyes didn't seem like enough.

Special thanks to Mark for letting me take this trip & to Sharon for her friendship & steadfastness along the way. What a joy to have her for a companion.

All for now, but I'll post some wrap-up thoughts & photos later.

Monday, July 19, 2010

The changing face of CA

Left Sacramento via the American River Bike path. The river is beautiful & clear. Along it there is a wide variety of wildlife- including mountain lions (which we didn't see), wild turkeys, quail, scrub jays, a small herron I need to look up, & yellowbilled magpie (which has incredible green tailfeathers).
The bike trail connects to others along the way. One went through UC Davis & another parallel to the 6 lane I-80 over the Yolo Causway. (there's also a Yolo County- hope it's named for someone VERY important)
River valley, metro/interstate, a bit of desert, & then acres of orchards near Winters CA with the Pleasants Ridge as a backdrop.
This afternoon Piri & her family surprised us with a quick visit on their way to their own CA vacation. A little later, Sharon's family arrived. After San Francisco, they continue on to the beach, Yosemite & Sequoias for another week.
Camping tonight at a county park along the Putah creek. (can't they come up with better names?) Here there be peacocks!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Free falling!

We got a tip on a short cut & left Silver Lake via the Mormon Emmigrant Trail. 8,000 ft.
Soon we were in Placerville (plasser ville) at a mere 3,000 ft.
We decided to combine two short days & go all the way to Sacramento (near sea level!) so we could have a day off with our friends Steve & Marilyn Skinner.
That was our longest day (84 mi), & even though we went down much of the time it was hot & there were plenty of hills to climb as well. It was well worth it to be with them!!!

Our final mountain pass

Friday we left Lake Tahoe on Rte 89 through Luther Pass & along the Carson River valley, on up to Carson Pass in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada Mts. All are named for Kit Carson a scout for Lt? Fremont.
Spring comes late here & the wild flowers are blooming everywhere. Took our lunch break on the Pacific Crest trail atop Carson Pass & finally got to play in the snow. Then cycled a little farther past Caples Lake to campground at Silver Lake where we enjoyed the lake & creek & more beautiful sunny weather.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

After much desert, sagebrush & beige, entering the mountains at Tahoe was so refreshing. Half the lake is NV & half is California. The water is crystal clear except for the beach in South Lake Tahoe & an invasion of non-native clams that threatens to cloud the water with algae.
We took a day off & lounged at the beach. Sharons & Edwin went kayaking & Sharon's sister, Ruth, drove all the way from Seattle to visit.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Finishing Nevada

Passed through Dayton (the first gold strike in NV). Virginia City & the Comstock Lode are nearby. They stripped the forests to near zero for building etc. So the forests you see now are young.
Stayed with another wonderful wam shower host- Jodie Scott in Carson City Tuesday night. She did a few XC bike tours. Wonderful to meet her & play with her kitties.
Weds. Was short on miles, but a long haul up Spooner Pass to Lake Tahoe. It is gorgeous! Tomorrow will be beach & water day...no biking.
Rate the state-
Roads- okay, but another state with unpredicable shoulders.
Drivers- not great, or maybe it was just the heavy traffic we had on the western end of the state.
Scenery- a lot of barren hills & wide empty valleys till we got to Tahoe. Like other desert states you have to be alert for the beauty. Glad we had the truck & could skim some of it.
Wildlife- new bird- Stellers Jay. Jackrabbits, supposedly bear & elk.
Casinos big & small- even in a convenience store

Monday, July 12, 2010

Ah, Nevada

As you can see we're cycling NV with a little help! Sharon & I are taking turns riding & driving the truck. There's a whole lot of nothing here- some beautiful mountains, rolling ridges covered in sagebrush, vast empty valleys or flats & small towns very few & far between.
It's the Readers' Digest version which is probably a good idea.
Best bird...I think I saw a golden eagle!

Rate the state- Utah

Finished up Utah on Friday July 9.
Roads- pretty good
Signage- sort of confusing at first. Each town does its own signs in quadrants & vaguely in blocks. Lots of dirt roads without signs, but we never had a problem with getting where we needed to be.
Drivers- pretty good, except for the sheer numbers of RVs & the occasional trying to pass a cyclist with oncoming traffic...duh!
Wildlife- pretty amazing. Pronghorn antelope, ravens, bluebirds, bullocks orioles, western tananger.
Scenery- A+ right up there with Colorado. High dessert plateaus, pine & aspen forested mountains, canyons, natural bridges, cliffs, spires...wow.
Don't think I could live here though. Not green enough except in the mountains where they can randomly close your road for drifted snow.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Hoodoos & canyons & stripes, oh my!

Tuesday July 6 we woke to 34 degrees again, packed up & played tourist for the morning in Bryce Canyon.
Awesome! We walked part of the Rim Trail & if we had a couple days, we'd have hiked down into it on some of the many trails there. Saw pronghorn antelopes & ravens.
Headed out into nast headwinds. Luckily they diminished after a bit as we were climbing all afternoon to Panguitch Lake. Had a beautiful ride through Red Canyon (man made tunnels through the rock) on a wonderful bike trail- a little hillier than Rte.89, but so nice to be out of the traffic. There are hordes of RVs here!
Weds. Is a day off at the lake.

Nearly forgot..... 3,000 miles!

Correction on a best bird- not a redstart, but a Western Tananger! Possibly the most beautiful bird I ever saw.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Goodbye drivers, hello granny gear!

Well, we've been spoiled for 2 weeks having Dan & Piri carry all our gear. Dan left last week for other adventures north. Piri left today for Boulder CO having been our tour guide for 10 days. We'll miss them both as they were great company!
We had some big hills today. Carrying our gear was a seriuos reality check! They took much longer & required more cookie & drink breaks. The weather has been good though, cold at night, but not wicked hot in the day.
No amazing landscapes either, but we'll play tourist at Bryce Canyon before heading to Panguitch Lake on Tuesday. I'm sure those photos will make up for today.