Dared Sequoia…Well kind of.

October 10, 2007 by bobcatou

Note: You can click on the map to get a better view.

After my hotel stay in Tulare, CA and against my better judgment, I rode to the Sequoia National Park. I called the weather line that morning and they said there was ice and snow in parts of the park. It was beautiful in Tulare though so I figured it couldn’t be that worse, 90 minutes away. Well I was wrong.

I got to Sequoia hoping that the roads would be clear by the time I arrived. The visitors station said no and even told me that 2 motorcycles had gone down in a certain area.

The ranger said it was safe up to the Giant Forest. I don’t know if I would agree if it is in the forest by the picture below.

The above picture was taken at a visitor’s center near the entrance of the Giant Forest. As I approached the road was went with only ice on the sides of the road. It is did make me nervous so I turned around at the visitor’s center. For obvious reasons, I didn’t feel safe going farther.

I’m in Boulder City, NV tonight. It’s about 20 minutes south of Las Vegas.

I haven’t had a chance to import my pictures from my camera but I will in a day or so. I am doing some minor bike work at a borrowed biker’s garage tomorrow. I plan to hang around here until Saturaday most likely.

I met some great people over the last few days and see some beautiful areas. I even got up BEFORE sunrise to take some pictures of the Sand Dunes in Death Valley.

More to come very soon…

Yosemite

October 6, 2007 by bobcatou

My route in Yellow the past few days

I have been at Yosemite the last four days trekking around and enjoying the area.

I never hiked to Half Dome. That is behind me. A 12 hour round trip hike seemed a little daunting for my first hike.

Here are some more pictures of the dome.

I did get some hiking in. I took some trails up in the north part of the park near Tioga pass on Rt120. I saw alot of trees.

The night before I left Yosemite, I got rained on and it got really cold. Popcorn snow even fell.

Yes…I’m cold!!

Yesterday morning, the road I wanted to leave on was closed. I was told by a ranger that my second choice would not be safe for motorcyclists because there was still too much ice and slush on the road at higher elevations. I decided to be safe and take the same road out that I came in on and head south on RT99 by Fresno. This morning, I am about an hour south of Fresno.

I want to go to the Sequoia Natl. Forest and Kings Canyon but after calling the weather line for the park, it sounds like snow tires are needed for some areas so I might have to continue south.

More later…

San Fran trip

September 30, 2007 by bobcatou

I’m staying at a campsite at China Camp State Park just north o San Francisco.

I had a wonderful day yesterday. I took a ferry ride into San Francisco on a beautiful 70 degree day.

On the way to SF I saw San Quentin Prison where some inmates on the grounds kindly yelled some “nice” words at us.

On the ferry ride as well, I saw Alcatraz and the Presido.

While in San Francisco, I walked around Fisherman’s Wharf and ate way too much. It was a fun people watching area. All were in a good mood and it was a very friendly place. I came across these Seals. They were enjoying the day.

This one posed for me.

I would say one of the highlights of the visit was going through this submarine. The USS Pampanito. The vessel was cramped . Neat to see.

San Francisco is a very pretty city. If I made REALLY good money, I would like to live there but I don’t see that in my near future at least.

I want to still go to the Presidio, Alcatraz and Chinatown so I probably will come back through in a few weeks on my way back to my brothers.

Heading to Mariposa, CA now. It is right outside Yosemite Natl. Park, where I am spending 3 days.

I NEED TO DO LAUNDRY.

Cheers