Got up this morning and decided this was a good day to charge all of the batteries for the electronics I was carrying and do laundry. Even had time for a pancake breakfast at the campground. Caught up on my travel notes and downloaded pictures from the camera onto the laptop. Back at the campsite I begin packing up the bike. Tia and Vince were already gone when I got back. I guess they went out for more crabs. I left them my e-mail address and was off. Stopped for gas and a few water bottles for me and was on my way to the Pacific Coast highway for a nice ride along the ocean. The ride from Petaluma to the ocean was nice. It was July fourth, Independence day and everybody was out enjoying themselves in the parks and on the rivers. However as I got closer to the coast it started to become foggy and cold. Cold? This is July in California. Shouldn't it be warm? It stayed like this the remainder of the afternoon. I found a nice little campground at Albion alongside the Albion River. Spent the next two days here hoping the fog and cool weather would break. No such luck.

Well here it is Monday already. The day after Independence day. A new week that finds me in a small town called Albion, California located along the Pacific Coast. Where I'm staying was once a logging company during the late 1800's. Today it's a campground along side an inlet from the Pacific Ocean with moorings for the local fisherman. As I look at the photos from that era, there isn't a tree in site. Now one hundred years later, the trees are back. Sixty to one hundred feet tall. Although logging trucks are plentiful here, they must be getting the trees from some where else. Did a little site seeing this afternoon. It's a nice little town. Wouldn't mind coming back here when it's warmer.

Down at the docks I've met a few of the locals. Big time swimmers. Harbor seals. The locals even had names for them. Friendly bunch of seals. They'll come up close to you, but not that close.

Time to move on. Obviously the warmth from sun will not be here today either. I left Albion and continued up the Pacific Coast highway. The road has many ups and downs, tight turns, switchbacks and no guardrails. A favorite route for bikers I'm told. The weather was still overcast, foggy and cold. Hard to believe this was July. After talking to the locals later on in the day, I discover the best time of the year to ride this road is from September through October.

As I left the Pacific Coast Highway and headed back inland towards US Highway 101, the temperature jumped up at least fifteen degrees if not more. Now that felt good after two days of cold. I continued riding this winding highway through California's Redwood Forest. God these trees are huge! They go straight up! And I do mean up. Anywhere from 150' to 200' in height with some trees even taller. The trunks on these giants are anywhere from four feet in diameter and larger.

As the ride through the forest came to an end, I arrived at a town called Leggett. At the State park I visited there was a Redwood tree that you can drive through. Of course being your typical tourist, I bit. This tree was over three hundred feet tall, twenty one feet in diameter and twenty four hundred years old! Oh yeah, I got some pictures.

Continued North on Highway 101 towards Crescent City. From here I elected to take US Highway 199 into Grants Pass, Oregon and then South a few miles to Gold, Oregon where I called it a day at a KOA Campground. Just outside of Gold is highway 62. This would take me straight to Crater Lake.

All packed up and ready for a nice country breakfast. Pulled out and found myself in Rouge River, ten miles out of my way of where I wanted to be. I guess these things happen when you don't pay attention. Oh well. While I was there I gassed up and found a nice place for breakfast. All was not lost.

As I was getting ready to place the key into the bike and head out to Crater Lake, I met Tom. Tom, who by the way calls himself 'Tired Old Man' (Tom), is an old school biker. He's sixty eight years old and rides an 01 Wide Glide and is proud to state that he has logged over 54,000 miles with it. He used to live in Fairbanks, Alaska but moved down to Oregon because it was getting too cold for him and was tired of the five months of darkness. We talked about the old biking days and riding the bike instead of trailering, unlike like the new generation. We swapped some more tales and then parted. I headed out on Highway 234 North looking for Highway 62 and into Crater Lake.

Made my way into the Park at the Steel Information Center Station. Paid my entrance fee and headed up Rim Drive to Crater Lake. Wow! Is that water blue or what! Spent some time gathering information on how Crater Lake came to be. The eruption of Mt. Mazama and the creation of the six mile wide caldera which we all know now as Crater Lake and Wizard Island. The Lake by the way is Nineteen hundred feet at it's deepest point.

Took my fair share of pictures and continued on with my journey. I will return here again. Headed out of the park to pick up Highway 138 and the East to Highway 97 and into Bend Oregon.

Along the way I came across an interesting gorge. So I stopped and walked around taking more pictures. With a Digital Camera and a few memory chips stashed away, you can take as many pictures as you want. As I continued walking I came upon an unusual scene. It was called 'The Living Stump'. A tree was cut down and the stump was left. However the bark continued to grow and seal the top portion of where the tree was cut. It's believed that prior to the tree being cut down that it's roots had grafted onto the tree alongside of it. As a result this other tree continued to provide nourishment to the stump. And, although only the stump remains, it is still living. See it's always a good idea to stop along the way on a journey and take time to smell the roses. You'll never know what you'll run across.

Continued North to Bend, Oregon. Wanted to get there in time for the oil and filter change and a new battery. Found the local Harley Dealer and stopped in for service. Not much on customer service at Bend Harley Davidson. They were too busy. Told me to come back in few days. Got a campground for the night and left town the next morning.

Continued North on highway 97 and merged onto highway 197 towards The Dalles, Oregon. I would then head West alongside the Columbia River and check out the river scenery. I stopped at the Bonneville Dam alongside the Columbia River for a tour of the fish hatchery and fish ladders. Checked out the locks and watched someone count fish. And you think your job is boring?

Back on the road two hours later and found a hotel with High Speed Internet Service. Finally! They even had wireless service in the rooms. But was I in for a surprise. I can't access my web files. Checked a few things on my end and then called my Web Hosting Company. They said it wasn't their problem it must be my PC. Funny, I can move all around in my domain but cannot access my html files. Let's see if I can fix this problem over the next few days.

Note to myself. Don't install critical updates from Microsoft while on the road.

Left for Gladstone, Oregon and headed to Latus Harley Davidson. I gave them a call first as I didn't want to go out of my way and then finding out when I arrived I couldn't get the service needed. When I arrived at the dealer I couldn't unpack the bike fast enough. As soon as the last item was removed from the bike, they took it in and set me up with a new battery along with an oil & filter change. I was on my way within the hour. Now, is that service or what?

Continued up I-5 into Washington State and stayed at the Silver Lake Campground, just East of Castle Rock on highway 504. The only road into Mt. Saint Helens, 47 miles away. I setup camp and afterwards took a walk around the lake shore and soaked in the scenery.

Next morning I head out to Mt. Saint Helens. The ride up to the Johnston Ridge Observatory Center was interesting. Along the way I learned about the harvesting and replanting of trees for lumber. It appears that every forty to forty five years the trees are ready for harvest. That's a generation for us. Unlike the harvesting of crops every year.

Made a few stops along the way to take pictures of the destruction and the path it took. I arrived at the Johnston Ridge Visitors Center, just in time for the showing of a video on the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens and the devastation created. The earthquake, landslides and the destruction. After the debris from the explosion landed in Spirit Lake, the water was forced up the sides of the mountains. Well what goes up must come down, including the loose wood and debris. The lake is now filled with these items. A seven hundred mile an hour wind and stone force felt in a seventeen mile radius. And all of this happened in our lifetime on May 18, 1980. If you ever get the chance to visit Mt Saint Helens, stop in and watch the video presentation given at the new "Johnston Ridge Observatory Visitors Center.

After a few hours I left Mt. Saint Helens and headed West for I-5 and North to Bellingham, Washington. Ran into some rain just before Seattle. Let it rain. I was ready for this and more on the trip so I came prepared. I was wearing my CyclePort Riding Suit guaranteed to keep me dry in a one hundred and fifty mile an hour rainstorm and warm down to minus twenty degrees. I was only traveling around fifty five miles an hour and the temperature was around fifty nine degrees. But I was warm and dry so I'm happy.

Passed by the Seattle Space Needle on the way up to Bellingham. Seems awful small standing next to those skyscrapers. I hear they have a Web Cam on top. Check it out. Finally made it to Bellingham and found the only room left in a Motel Six. Grabbed it, and left looking for some dinner. Returned back to the room, caught up on some notes, hit the shower and called it a day. Or at least I tried to call it a day. Did I mention that after I paid the bill the Innkeeper handed me a package of earplugs. "Not all people need these to sleep, she stated with a smirk on her face, but just in case". You can't believe the noise coming from I-5 into this room. I've slept through worse so it wasn't a problem.

As of today I've logged 2,580 miles on this trip with the Harley. Tomorrow I head for the Canadian Border.