Bend, OR to Dunsmuir, CA

Today we were kickstands up at 8:00 am again.  We needed to have had gas and breakfast all before 8.  Good to go - I was packed, gassed up and ready to go!  Today was Patrick’s turn to take the lead and we were in for a treat. The air smelled of smoke and we knew we would see some forest fires today!  

We headed to Crater Lake in a National Park.  Well typically each motorcycle needs to pay $25 per bike!  Most of the group had  a National Park pass but there were three of us that did not.  Kim pulled up to the gate and asked how much and if there was a senior discount.  So the gatekeeper reduced it to $20 per bike for the three of us.  But then she asked whether or not there was a rate for first responders as she was a nurse.  The gatekeeper then said - go ahead.  All of you can just go ahead.  Awesome!

Crater Lake was amazing - created by a volcano that had erupted million of years ago.  The first stop was a little eventful with a tip over on behalf of Patrick but not one scratch was on his bike thankfully!  It is not a matter of if you are going to drop your bike but when!  We all do it at some point especially going slow and especially fully packed up!  

We came across these old English cars that were all numbered and riding the same route we were.  One of them had stopped at our first pull out and we asked them what was going on.  They were on a road tour where they drive 250 miles each day for 4 days!  Pretty cool.  One car went past and was spewing black smoke and obviously burning oil - it would be interesting to see if they actually made all 4 days or even back to their hotel!  

Patrick proceeded to stop at several stops along Crater Lake giving us different views all around the lake.  Beautiful.  Would have been even more beautiful if it wasn’t for the smoke that hung in the air everywhere.  

We stopped for lunch at Applebees.  I am not sure that I have ever eaten there.  It was pretty good I must say however service was a little slow as the poor waitress was having knee surgery the following day and was hobbling around.  Dean, Connie’s husband, followed in his truck with their two dogs as he is heading back to San Diego today.  It was so great to see him and have him spend some time with us over the last couple of days!  

Mount Shasta was a spot we wanted to see and stopped at a vista spot to take pictures.  Unfortunately a huge part of the mountain was on fire!  Mount Shasta is the largest volcano of the Cascade Range.  It is part of the Ring of Fire between British Columbia and Larsen Peak.  The mountain itself was built by volcanic eruptions.  The fire looked like they were letting it burn as the path of the fire looked to be going up the mountain and not down at this point.  So sad to see this devastation along the trip.  We rode through areas where the forest was totally destroyed by fire.  There were already crews harvesting the trees that could be along the road allowance.  This not only cleans up the area but allows for a fire brake for the future.  

As we got further away from the mountain areas the flat lands and the lack of vegetation caught my eye.  Interesting how quickly the landscape changes.  I caught a picture of Ken and Joyce riding beside me while I was in the passing lane.  

Tonight we arrived in Dunsmuir, CA for one night.  The hotel that we are staying at is a Travelodge and Penny’s Diner is available in the parking lot.  But not only is it a Diner it is also the registration desk.  There was one woman doing everything, cook, desk clerk, waitress and bottle washer!  Craziness.  But she was quite the lady and did not like any of us trying to help her by bringing anything out to the tables that we had outside on the patio.  She would come out the door kicking it open while singing Shania Twain songs with her arms loaded with plates of food.  WOW - she was awesome!

Tomorrow we are heading to Reno, Nevada for a two night stay.