2-week Motorcycle Ride to California

On August 3, Neil & I, along with our friends, Ken & Marian Russ, left on a 2-week Ride on our Goldwing Motorcycles. We traveled along the coast of Oregon and California. On our trip we stopped at the Sand Dunes in Florence; OR, traveled 104 miles in a jet boat up the Rogue River; went through the Redwood Forest in Northern, California; camped along the ocean in California; road the "Skunk Train" out of Ft. Braggs, California; and visited Crater Lake in Central Oregon. And that's just to mention a few of the things we did. Our trip was 2,000 miles long, and we camped at various State & KOA Campsites along the way. The weather cooperated with beautiful sunshine most days. We did have some rain our last night of camping in Redmond, OR, and some strong winds on our way home through Northern Oregon. It was a great time.
Neil & I standing in front of Crater Lake in central Oregon. And, yes, the lake is really that color blue. When you are looking at it, you think it is a painted picture. It is the deepest lake in the United States. It was formed as a result of a volcano erupting.

Ken & Marian at Crater Lake

A beautiful sunset on the last night of our trip in Redmond, OR

Our campsite at Redmond, OR. This is the one night we had to deal with wet weather. But, the guys put the Blue Tarp over the stove and table, so worked great.

Ken, Marian, myself & Neil standing in front of the "Skunk" Train

This is looking back at the Open Car of the Skunk Train. If you look closely, Marian has her hat on and Kenny is in a Blue T-Shirt. The Skunk Train is only one of 3 in the United States that is a "Flag Stop" Train. People who live primitive can flag down the train and catch it as it goes by on it's regular run without making reservations. We were able to ride on a 2nd one up in Alaska in the Denali Forest a couple of years ago, and plan on making a trip to Colorado for the 3rd one sometime next year.

At Westport, CA, Ken & Marian walking on the beach. There was a beautiful sunset that evening.

We stopped in Gold Beach, CA, and took a 104 mile ride up the Rogue River on a jet boat, going over class 4 rapids. The driver also enjoyed doing 360 degree turns in the water which caused all of us to get a little wet. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was breath taking. This is the four of us in our life jackets. Hard to tell here, but we were all a little wet.

On the Rogue River, the scenery was beautiful. Here is a picture I took looking up the river.

Marian got a little wet on this one. It's hard to recognize her because she's ducking to try to keep from getting soaked. I had a hard time taking this picture & the one below because I was being thrown about during the quick turns, and I was also trying to keep the camera dry. Plus ..... laughing a lot

Neil really enjoying the water when we did a 360 degree turn.

This is how we travel! This picture of the bikes with Neil, Ken & Marian was taken in the Redwood Forest in Northern California. The trees are huge!

The four of us standing in front of a huge Redwood Tree in Northern, California. Marian & I wear hats when we are off the bikes to hide our "Helmet" hair.

On the Oregon Coast looking back at a lighthouse. I was standing at the Sea Lion Caves when I took this picture

Enjoying a "Crazy & fast" Sand Dune ride in Florence, OR. It was early and a little cooler this day. It reminded us a lot of snowmobiling. With our goggles on, it's a little hard to recognize everyone. In the back row is Neil, Marian & Kenny. I'm sitting in the middle of the center row. It was really a fun and exciting ride.