San Jose CA
It
was a rough night…sleep was neither continuous nor deep. But the werewolves never attacked….they knew
I was in wait for them.
Woke
up without ever sleeping….really……how in the hell can you sleep when you know
Werewolves are lurking nearby?
My
finger joints ached from gripping the hatchet and the blade all night. My eyeballs were sore from the freaking 60
watt full moon. And my stomach was a
little warped over only a can of chili beans for dinner.
I
decided the stomach needed the foremost attention and drank a pint of water
from my camelback water bag. Then ate a
couple of granola bars courtesy of Kirkland/Costco….I felt better. Took some pics of my campsite.
A
pic of Snoopy….per his request/demand.
Got
Sophia loaded, dealt with the really old guy from the RV who wanted to visit
and chat about Vietnam…didn’t tell him I really wasn’t interested in going that
far back in my life….and finally avoided him by excusing myself and going to
the toilet blockhouse.
Coming
out of the toilet I notice a huge notice board on the opposite side of the dirt
road and walked over to read it.
Sombitch…..this park requires a monetary contribution! $10!
Crap! Went back to my camp, dug
into the money wad that I had concealed in the camp, and extracted a fiver, 3
unos and 8 quarters. Went back to the
notice board, grabbed one of their deposit envelopes, filled it out with my
info, inserted the paper/coins and squeezed it down the deposit tube. There were no second thoughts about this…I
could have easily rode outa camp and no one would have known the
difference. But support for these places
is needed for guys like me and those that come after me. Besides, I saved a whole lotta bucks by not
sleeping in one of their motels….even if werewolves made it less than ideal!
Snoopy
and I headed into town and we decided to treat ourselves to a nice
breakfast. There was a local restaurant
named Jenny’s Café that we decided to try out.
It was a small place, with about 12 tables and half of them were
occupied. I selected a small table so
that a larger party or customers of girth may be accommodated. The menu offered good choices but was about
$2 more than any other restaurant. I
placed my order for one egg, toast, ham and coffee, also got a biscuit and
honey with it, all for $11.95 before the tip.
Oh well, it is a small town and the Film Festival is in progress, so
these folks gotta make some $$ while they can.
Regardless, the breakfast was good and so was the coffee, and my hunger
was squelched.
After
that, Sophia and I headed south on US-395 to find the Manzanar Nat’l Historic
Site. This is where, after Pearl Harbor
and during WWII, the American citizens of Japanese descent were relocated. For many years, after reading about what was
done to our Japanese-American citizens, I had hoped someday to visit this
site. I had always thought that Manzanar
was located in Wyoming….maybe because of the background of barren mountains
covered in snow…so it was a pleasant surprise to find that it is right here in
CA on US-395 and that it is one of the SCMA’s National Parks to visit. The site has a new Center that houses the
pictorial history and artifacts of this period in American history and the
grounds has residual framework where numbers huts were located.
This period in American history was a tough time with tempers, frustrations, bias, thievery, everything rolled into one and our citizens were rounded up and relocated, their homes/businesses confiscated by locals or government. It was a very tough time for them needless to say. What I always wondered is why they were not treated the same way our German and Italian citizens were treated. Perhaps one of these days I’ll do a little research into it and read what our historians have to say about this particular event in time.
Next
stop on the list is Devil’s Postpile located in Mammoth Lakes. It was still early in the morning, 11am, so I
had time to ride 100 miles north, visit the Postpile, do a little riding around
Mammoth since I have never been there, then cross Yosemite via the Tioga Pass
and drop down into San Jose to stay with my brother in law
The
ride was a good road, fast moving, the air was a comfortable temperature and
the sun was shining. Ahhh, good ol’
California. Much of what I rode thru was
barren, only some trees, some lava beds, a town named Big Pine with a huge
bodacious pine tree in the middle, just nice new vistas for me as I have never
been this way before.
The
turnoff for Mammoth was easy to catch, signage is easily visible. What was a little limited was signage to the
Postpile. I got lucky and caught the
sign that directed me onto the road that led to the park entrance. From what I had read somewhere I was
expecting to be shuttled to the site due to limited parking or whatever. That wasn’t the case once I made the park entrance. There were no rangers at the main entrance so
I just followed the other cars….then signage for the Postpile and other sites
began appearing.
Then
I caught the big surprise….nowhere in the literature about the site did I read
about the road that leads to the Postpile.
Oh My Gosh! I crapped a brick as
the road turned into a narrow lane that could accommodate 1 ½ vehicles and read
signage advising me to give way to vehicles ascending, and seeing sheer drops
off to my left to a bottomless canyon.
What the hell did I get myself into again???
I
forget now how long the winding, Cliffside hugging road was before it bottomed
out in the “Devil’s” backyard; I think this section of the road was somewhere
around 7 miles. Rangers were at the
Postpile entrance and parking site directing traffic and having cars park in
specific places spots due to the limited parking which was all
gravel/dirt. The Ranger advised me that
I would have to park the bike and then hike to the Postpile. Bummer!
I was not pleased to leave the bike with all my gear unattended, let
alone in the close proximity of anxious visitors trying to get a parking
slot. I imagined poor Sophia being
knocked over….she’s already had enough of that happen to her at my
hands…doesn’t need others to do it. Time
was also passing by. I still wanted to
visit the town and then head across Yosemite to San Jose. I really didn’t want to spend another night
camping.
So
I made a decision not to take the hike and instead, got permission from the
Ranger to position Sophia in front of the Ranger shack to take my photo’s and
to get my stamp, then engage in the constipated ride back up the canyon. Here’s me and Snoopy in front of their Ranger
Shack. While getting my stamp one of the
Lady Rangers started giving me aggressive encouragement to get on my bike and
ride out…..sure feel sorry for her boyfriend.
The
ride up constipation road was better emotionally, but physically the road was
still too narrow for me to say I enjoyed the vistas….no time or opportunity to
really look around given traffic in front and behind as well as oncoming
traffic. It was very slow, requiring
good clutch work.
Once
out of the gorge, I headed back into Mammoth and rode the few streets, checking
out the shops, restaurants, etc. I’m
sure there is much more to see, but what I did see didn’t encourage me to want
to return here often. This seems to be a
winter ski town. There are lots of
condos and a number of eateries, etc., which gives it the aura of a tourist
town. I had a hamburger for lunch/dinner,
tanked Sophia up and headed outa town for the Tioga Pass and down the mountain
to Oakdale and then over to San Jose.
It
was only about a 25 mile ride up 395 from Mammoth when I came upon Tioga Rd
(CA-120) heading west. According to the
map this road is also called the Lee Vining Canyon Scenic Byway. About 12 miles after leaving US-395 the
Yosemite National Park entrance showed up and I had to present my Senior Pass and
driver’s license to be granted a free entrance.
And by the way, if you’re 62 or older, I encourage you to purchase your
senior pass for a $10 one-time fee at any NP; this pass will grant you free
access to all National parks, Historic sites, Recreation Areas, etc., for the
remainder of your life….’tis a good deal!
At
the Ranger Entrance Station I inquired about weather conditions, specifically
the temperatures along the pass. The
ranger told me that, considering the fact that the highway is above 9,000 ft
for about 35 miles, and that the max elevation of the Pass is around 9,900 ft,
the temperature is going to be very cold….then add in the chill factor being on
a motorcycle.
Ooops!......Hadn’t
thought about that. So I bundled up, put
the glove liners underneath the leather gloves, and donned the raingear over
the leathers to act both as a windbreaker and to keep body warmth in. But it was still a very cold ride! And a bumpy rough ride. The road is not the best. And being Yosemite, it was a slow ride. The
speed limit is 45 and less in some sections.
Then there was the tourist traffic.
I’m zipping along at 45 and the car in front of me comes to a complete
stop, the window rolls down, and the passenger extends a camera through the
window to photograph a scene! And I
couldn’t pass the yoyo because of oncoming traffic. Oh well.
At
some point the road finally started dropping in elevation and the air began to
warm up. Finally reached the Crane Flat
area and I headed west on CA120 towards Oakdale after stopping briefly to
remove the rain gear which wasn’t needed anymore in the warm dry air. Passing thru Groveland the low setting sun
began to blast the eyeballs making it difficult to see thru the glare. So I decided to stop in Priest, just before
the twisty-turny descent into the low lands, tank up (not needed) while waiting
for the sun to get lower and stop glaring.
This
of course, delayed my arrival time into San Jose. I now was forecasting a 10-10:30 arrival if all
went well; which now meant riding in the night and facing the glare of oncoming
headlights when on the state and county 2-lane roads. I made it down the twisty turnys before full
darkness and discovered a method to reduce the glare….lower the slightly tinted
visor! Somehow, the tint reduces the
glare without obstructing night vision….sweet J.
In
Oakdale I pulled into Burger King for a rest stop and to make a phone call to
my Bro-in-law to advise him of my late arrival. When he answered the phone he told me that he
wasn’t at home….he was over at my other in-laws place celebrating my
Sis-in-laws birthday. They were holding
a big extended Peruvian family reunion with the surprise birthday party. That meant that no matter what I had to
arrive there tonight. It was 9pm and Garmin
said the distance to the San Jose house was 90 miles. Figure 1.5 hours, I should arrive by
10:30-11pm.
They
didn’t believe me. Despite the country
roads, congested freeways, and other traffic, I arrived at 10:45. The party was still in progress so I was able
to sing “Happy Birthday”, get hugs, eat dinner, chat with my nieces and
in-laws, many Peruvian friends, and enjoy a delicious cake.
It
was close to 1AM when my other Bro and I finally made it back to his house and
I crawled into to bed. It was a long day
for a short mileage, about 370 miles.
But much was seen and accomplished today…2 National Parks got checked
off.
But
the big prize was celebrating a birthday and sleeping in my family’s place with
the promise of home cooked food for the next 2 weeks or so.
Ahhhh,
life is good J.
C ya mañana,Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761
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