What I Did On My Summer Vacation

[Backmarker]

This summer vacation was a lot like last years except hotter... and that old Honda ad kept popping into my head, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda". But I found you also meet them on Aprilias, BMWs, Suzukis, Kawasakis, Harleys, Yamahas... Meeting everyone really made this vacation an even more memorable one.

Not unlike last year, there wasn't many photo stops. I'm usually too busy trying to keep up too scope out places to stop. I know that The Man will be waiting a few miles up wondering where the heck I am. Have I finally missed that one turn and done the ultimate 'flying W' or have I just stopped a little too long to drink in the beautiful scenery. Oh man, there was soooo much of that too. The rivers and waterfalls were amazing. I'm so glad others got photos of them!!

I'm also glad that folks got pictures at the Gathering too! I brought my camara but it never even made it out of the truck. Duhhhh.

I took a few photos here and there and they are more 'tourist type' than action photos. But I'll share anyway.

And again, thank you everyone for helping to make my vacation that much better! It was a pleasure meeting you all!!

[Backmarker]

We stayed in Coloma at the Coloma Country Inn. If you ever need a nice little getaway and don't want to go too far, it's a really nice place. Excellent breakfast and the grounds are really nice too. It sits on 5 acres near the American River. You can hear it at night when it's nice and quiet. There is the main house and the cottage. We stayed in the cottage because it had a little fridge so we could keep bottled water and our Camelbak bladders. It also meant we were a little closer to the bikes which we kept parked up in the fenced yard. I would recommend this place. A little spendy but if you want a nice getaway, it's worth it. And yes that's a dog. That's Lucy. She belongs to the owner of the B&B. She's actually quite friendly but just a little camera shy.

[Backmarker]

We took the long way over to Laguna to the races. Everyone loves Mines Rd... but me! Ok, Mines was sorta ok, but the part that goes up to the observatory and back down, NO THANKS! That's a sidewalk with a line painted down it. That's not a road! Anyway, the races. Well, everyone took such wonderful photos of them, not like I can post anything here that will come close. So I'll just post a couple of the line to get in. On Sunday it took a little over 2 hours to get in since we were in a cage. These shots were on Reservation Rd. The line went to Barloy Cyn and all the way back to Davis Rd. It was a loooong wait. Why was I in a cage? My friend had flown in from NC and didn't have a helmet or anything. Oh well. Now we know...

There is a couple of pictures of Nicky's win. I don't have the excellent camera equipment so this is as close as I could get from our spot on the hill. The frenzy when he won was amazing. Everyone jumping the wall and wanting a piece of the action. I had to get a shot of the final order. It wasn't Rossi!! Yea!!

[Backmarker]

We didn't get as many miles in this year as last but oh well. That's ok. I was still sore by the end and that's what counts, right?

We had a wonderful time riding on the 3rd with all of you. A Georgetown meeting shot and a couple in Volcano. I love the little Saloon. According to the sign on it, it's still open. Just not when we were there.

On the way back from Laguna, we did Calavaras Rd. That was fun. Nice little road. Had to stop and wait for the mom turkey and her baby to cross the road only to decide they didn't really want to after all. Of course they were gone by the time I got my camera out. Gotta do something about a mount...

We also did Skeeter Ridge Rd up to French Meadows before leaving the Coloma area. Once we got to French Meadows we decided to take Eleven Pines Rd back. THAT was a nice road. It never got hot and it stayed in the trees and the surface was really pretty nice the whole way. Then suddenly you pop out at Wentworth Springs.

Once we were staying down in Angels Camp after the races, we treated ourselves to all the passes we could right there. I had never done Sonora Pass before. I'm really glad Motorrad got some wonderful photos because I didn't get any except for these few when we stopped at the Donnells Lookout. Then we took Monitor Pass to Ebbetts and back to Angels Camp. Murphys Grade Rd from Murphys right into Angels Camp makes a nice little cut off and eliminates going thru town. Yeah, I know, it's not that big. But it can be slow and when it's hot, every minute counts. Besides, Murphys Grade is more fun than that last bit of 4 anyway.

And just an FYI, if you stay in the Sonora area, it's a little outside of town, but just a bit down Standard Rd (we ended up on that looking for Cottonwood Rd) is the Snowshoe Brewing Company. Good brews and food!

We also did Cottonwood Rd to Cherry Lake and Cherry Lake Rd out on another day. Had to stop and dunk in the river. It was HOT that day. Too hot. I decided I will have to invest in mesh gear if I am to do anymore riding in this weather.

[kluts]

Good pix and the roadway crowd brings back memories.

Nice to have met you Renee, and I enjoyed riding with you July 3, and the BBQ. You are both gracious people and are welcome in these parts any time. Pick cooler weather next time.... or let's do the coast!!!

[Backmarker]

Then unfortunately on the 17th, just after the Gathering, it was time to head back to Phoenix. We had a such a great time riding and meeting everyone. It was a long drive back. Took about 12 hours. Hope Jason made it ok. We took the route that went thru Needles. It's a little blurry but yes, that says 123 degrees. We had stopped for fuel and a DQ Blizzard. It was the busiest place in town!

But we made it back safe and it was back to work today. They actually had me work too! I was busy!! I wasn't ready to be busy! What's up with that?!

Oh well. Now I can just start thinking about next years trip and researching mesh gear.

Thanks again and hope to see you all again. And maybe even another chance to ride sweep!

[Warrior]

Don't worry, made it back fine. Thanks for the concern.
Was an awesome weekend except for the the trip home. Like I said before 395 is just blah. Was nice till we reached Bishop, after that a toaster oven would of been a more comfortable vehicle.

Will post pics of the whole weekend sometime this week.