Wandering Retirees

Eureka, CA to Cottage Grove, OR

We had to make a change in our plans today. We were intending to head for Crater Lake National Park in the Cascades in Southern Oregon. It’s such an exciting place to visit (in my mind) – a collapsed volcano that Native Americans had witnessed erupt almost 8,000 years ago. It’s elevation is very high, over 6,000 feet which makes it susceptible to cold weather. Yeah.  Weather forecasts are for snow tomorrow. This is June 8th.  Yea. Snow and motorcycles don’t mix particularly well. So we’ve rerouted our escapade to get around that white sh#!%t. So we headed to the burgeoning metropolis of Cottage Grove, Oregon (it is possible to find it on a map) on our way around that white stuff toward Glacier Nat’l Park in Montana and our meet-up with my sister, Judy. 
While it’s disappointing to miss out on Crater Lake, we did manage to find a wondrous lane through immense and beautiful redwoods. It is the Newton B Drury Scenic Road through Redwood National Park and … it… is … stunning. Pics are attached, wonderfully shot, that give the barest hint of its beauty. Saw some elk in the bargain. It took us almost an hour to make our way through this 5 mile lane. Couldn’t tear ourselves away. Do you have any idea how much peace attends a grove that is filled with ancients like these? I think of the Ents, from Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. Or maybe Mirkwood, or Lothlorien. (Yep, fantastical fictional settings for a wondrous place.) “Wow” came up a lot. 
On the way through, we passed a man struggling up a hill on a fully laden recumbent cycle who later passed us on the downhill side as we talked with Arnie Summers who’s Harley was parked on the side of the road. (More about the bicyclist in a minute.)  Arnie is on a two month tour like ours and was headed toward Crater Lake, like us.  Arnie is from Florida and was a little disappointed with the weather forecast. But he had so much to offer in terms of riding experience and suggestions on what to see and do on a tour of the US. We had a fabulous conversation and are so glad to have met. He is riding solo and heads wherever the spirit takes him. We exchanged contact information and look forward to hearing from him again.  It turns out we will be in Rapid City, SD at the same time.  Who knows, maybe dinner?
We stopped for lunch at a little diner fashioned out of a log cabin a few miles down the road. We had a simple but sumptuous lunch to die for and met, lol and behold, Mike the recumbent cyclist. He is on a perimeter tour of the country that started on January 1st and (he hopes) will conclude by Christmas. Yep, you heard that right. He’s on a year long tour representing the Fender Music Foundation for music education,  www.fendermusicfoundation.org.   Heis soliciting donations donations for his worthy cause. Though we passed him in the park, he has way surpassed us in the ambition of his tour. He says he’s behind schedule because a truck hit him and his bike in Texas. It took a couple of weeks for him to recover and get a new bike shipped. As you might figure, Mile is disgustingly fit and trim for his ancient stature (by my standards). A really nice guy, to boot.
The diner was situated right next to an emu farm. While Connie and I were getting ready to resume our travels, a young boy came out and had a face-to-face with an emu. All went well until the boy poked his fingers through the fence.  Finger food is tasty, it seems. It was a brief encounter to be sure.
We met the combat vet, Craig, again on the road. We didn’t have a chance to talk, but it was fun riding with him for a while. Someone asked how he can take his dog along on a road trip. (see yesterday’s post.) Seems he has a trailer for his trike that has a compartment in front tailor made for his pup. Remember the folderol around Mitt Romney and his family dog? Same general idea. According to Craig, Sophie LOVES to travel that way. Think in terms of turbo charging a dog’s sniffer. Sensory overload, so forth.
We covered almost 300 beautiful miles today along CA Rt 101, US Rt 199, and I-5. Tired but happy. Lots of twisties and graceful curves. Tomorrow, further on our way to Glacier.

California coastline

Redwood National and State Park

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Great perspective here.  Arnie’s bike looks so small compared to the trees.

The ride for Mike, a bicyclist from Georgia. 

It’s amazing how many sculptures we’ve seen in Northern California and Oregon.  Very cool.