Paul Dimmick State Park and the Coast

It is Friday afternoon and Deb arrives home from a very busy week. She is ready to get away and off we go. We are headed for Paul Dimmick State Park located on Hwy 128 in the Navarro Redwoods state park just 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean. It is a relatively short 2 hour run from the house and I have already set the camp up so all I need to do once we arrive is prepare a surprise dinner.

Sat morning we are not in a hurry. Once again I have a surprise and treat Debbie to a scrambled egg with chunks of bratwurst and home made banana nut bread breakfast.

Deb took the picture above and then informed me of a low battery message on the camera. I had not checked after the last trip and the battery needed recharging. After eating we road over to the main entrance to Hendy Woods State Park where the ranger was more than happy to allow us to recharge the battery at the gate. While that was happening we took a nice ride across Flynn Creek Rd to the tiny town of Comptche. There we turned left towards the coast on Comptche-Ukiah Rd. to find a nearly new beautifully paved road that is perfect for motorcycles. A magnificant 18 miles with no traffic of two lanes twisting and turning through the trees. Reaching the coast we found brilliant blue skies and a stunning blue ocean. Our camera is not working as the battery was back at the ranger station being charged. Oh well, there will be another day like this for pictures. Today we are forced to just enjoy this truly incredible day as we ride along the ocean watching the numerous colors of aqua and blue as the waves gently lap upon the rocks in the water. We ride as far as the town of Elk where we turn inland again on Philo Greenwood Road. If you don't know where to catch this road it is very easy to miss it, as we did before turning back to get on it. This road takes us back to Hendy Woods so we can retrieve our camera battery. A drive through this park shows it to be a really nice park back off the main road complete with showers as well as camping cabins. The fees are higher and in addition you also have to insert quarters to get hot water in the showers. The location makes it a bit more attractive but the fees are a little high and the park staff tells me the showers are very problematic. We return to Paul Dimmick to spend a quiet afternoon walking along the Navarro River and talking to neighboring campers. Below are some pictures of the campgrounds.

We awaken Sunday morning to a blanket of grey atop the tall trees. A fog layer has moved in above us holding the warmth of yesterday from escaping during the night. After once again serving Debbie a scrambled egg breakfast we casually break camp. We decide to try a new route home which will take us to the coast in hopes the sun will be shining as yesterday. It is not so the camera stays in the bag. We decide to take Comptche-Ukiah road back across the mountain hoping the rest of the road is as nice as the recently paved portion we rode yesterday. This is not to be as the road is rough with some pretty big pot holes and dips. It takes nearly an hour to cover the 28 miles from where the road changed into the town of Ukiah. While it was slow and the road was less than desireable, the views from the ridge line looking across several mountain tops more than made up for it. Home once again and already thinking about when and where the next adventure will take us.

Weekend Getaway

It is 4:30 Thurs afternoon and we are off. Headed west on Hwy 20 to intersect Hwy 101 north headed for the Humbolt Redwoods State Park and the Burlington Campgrounds. The campgrounds are located in the tall trees along what is known as "Ave of the Giants". The sites are spacious and the amenities very nice with nearly new restrooms and showers. Right next door is the State Park Visitors center but we won't be going through on this trip. Tomorrow morning we begin our journey north with the first stop being for breakfast at the Samoa Cookhouse. http://www.samoacookhouse.net/ Even though it was pretty dark the below picture gives you an idea of the campgrounds.






It is now Fri morning and we have finished a wonderful breakfast. We also purchased a loaf of fresh baked bread that came out of the oven as we were enjoying our meal. Leaving the cookhouse we head for hwy 299 and into the Trinity National Forest. The air is crisp and cool with some light fog. We wander east to Willow Creek where we again turn north and head up hwy 96. It is not long before we clear the fog and find brilliant blue skies.





The pictures above are from a vista point we reached after clearing the fogline. The one with the fog shows what we rode through to get to the vista point and the other shows what lays ahead. Below are a couple of shots Debbie took as we were traveling down the road from the back of the bike.






After traveling hwy 96 we turned south on 263 towards Yreka and then continued on Hwy 3 all the way down to Weaverville. This ride took us through parts of Trinity National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest and the Klamath National Forest. Once in Weaverville we headed east on 299 towards Redding and then north on I-5 to a familiar RV park and campgrounds named Wonderland. Tomorrow we are on our way to Lassen Volcanic National Park.



Sat morning we are up early and on the road. By 9 am we are at the Park.
Once again we are blessed with brilliant blue skies and very comfortable temps. The ride through Lassen is an easy one with light traffic since we have arrived early. Being a Sat they are not working on the roads today but it is obvious they do so during the week and there is fresh gravel down on some areas recently chip sealed. Once out of the park we continue wandering through back country roads working our way across hwys 89 and 70 until we reach 395 and turn south towards Reno, Nv were we will spend the evening with good friends and riding companions Tim and Kathy. We are pleased to arrive mid afternoon as the temps have climbed to near 100. A cold beer brings relief from the heat and ends another fabulous day of riding.

The beginning

Never having done a blog I was introduced to it by a good friend. So today I begin. Here is the first entry letting all know that read this it will be a recording of future motorcycle adventures taken by Debbie, my wife and I. Hope everyone that finds this enjoys what they read.