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Yosemite and Sequoia by Dave Norton
Dave's Trip to Yosemite and Sequoia
by Dave Norton
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Saturday, May22: I set out from Phoenix to spend the night with my daughter in Los Angeles before heading up to Fresno to see my son Walt and do some riding. Daughter Sheri has been very under the weather, but she called me today and told me they have finally diagnosed her problem. Looks like they finally have a course of treatment, she should be recovering soon.
Sunday: I was getting ready to leave for Fresno and opening the garage door, I saw that thunder I'd been hearing was accompanied by a rainstorm. I decided that I needed my rainsuit as a defense against the rain and splashes from the many puddles. I quickly stepped into the pants of the rainsuit and found I couldn't pull it over my hips! Good Lord, have I gotten fatter? Or has the rain has made me swell up? Or... Looking in the jacket, there's a tag that says "medium". So, I'd brought Anne's rain suit and mine is still at home! Well, it's not raining too hard, so off I go to Fresno.
On the way, I made my usual stop for breakfast at the diner in Gorman. Gorman is a very small town near Tejon pass on I-5 travelling north from Los Angeles. I stopped there some years back and have since managed to stop there every time I go by. The place is pretty, it's very cool, and the food at the diner is decent and inexpensive. After eating, its on to Fresno.
I arrived in Fresno in the middle of the afternoon and was greeted by Walt. I parked the bike, unloaded my stuff and went inside. I was attacked by his two huge (100 lb each!) dogs who deal with strangers by climbing onto the lap and licking the face. If his place is ever burglarized they can recognize the criminal by the dog slobber on his face. It's fortunate that I like those two, otherwise I'd find them a little hard to take....
Monday: Walt and I rode to Yosemite. We'd decided not to camp but to do a day ride to Yosemite and then the next day go to Sequoia National Park for the day. When we arrived at Yosemite it immediately began to rain and it looked like a very serious storm. So, back to Fresno! That's OK, the ride up is a great one and, even though we got a bit damp, we had a good day.
Tuesday: We rode to Sequoia National Park. It's nice being old enough to have a "Golden Age" passport! I get into all these parks for free and, since Walt is my son, he also gets in for free! The ride to Sequoia is a little longer from Fresno than the ride to Yosemite, but the scenery is great. Sequoia is located almost due east from Fresno while Yosemite is north. We got cool as we climbed past 4,000 feet and enjoyed the park. Those trees just leave you speechless! How in the world can a living thing be THAT BIG?
We rode back to Fresno the same way we had come, figuring to keep cool by staying at the higher altitude as much as possible. Fresno was in the 90s and the surrounding country was about the same. Even staying at altitude as long as possible didn't save us from a warm ride home, so I decided to cancel going to the 49er rally in Auburn. The city of Auburn's web site showed the temperatures in the high 80s and 90s and I really didn't want to camp where it was hot. I hope they consider changing the rally back to Quincy.
Thursday: Walt went back to work, and I headed home. I skirted around the north end of the Los Angeles Sink and, after passing through Banning and Beaumont, began the long descent into Indio. The Harley-Davidson had run flawlessly so far at speeds from 70 to 110, but now problems arose. Approaching Indio, I realized it was HOT, and the "air conditioning" wasn't working! As a matter of fact, I couldn't even find how to turn it on????? Just prior to melting, I arrived in Indio, got a motel, and decided to continue on the next day.
Why stay in Indio? Because within walking distance of the motel is "La Pinata," located on Highway 111. La Pinata serves the best chicken mole (that's "mow lay" for you non-Spanish speaking types, accent the second syllable.) Mole sauce is a very hot, very spicy, delicious sauce flavored with chocolate of the unsweetened, bitter variety. At the La Pinata, the mole sauce is the best I've ever had. So, after stuffing myself with chicken mole, chips, salsa, rice, beans, etc., I hiked back to the motel happy to notice the temperature had dropped down to around 101 since the sun set.....
Friday: Up and gone early. Stopped at every rest stop along the way for water, made Phoenix around 12:30. It's too hot to ride! Summer has come.
BUT - The back worked! No pain, no problems. I think I can say now the surgery was successful.
by Dave Norton
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, May22: I set out from Phoenix to spend the night with my daughter in Los Angeles before heading up to Fresno to see my son Walt and do some riding. Daughter Sheri has been very under the weather, but she called me today and told me they have finally diagnosed her problem. Looks like they finally have a course of treatment, she should be recovering soon.
Sunday: I was getting ready to leave for Fresno and opening the garage door, I saw that thunder I'd been hearing was accompanied by a rainstorm. I decided that I needed my rainsuit as a defense against the rain and splashes from the many puddles. I quickly stepped into the pants of the rainsuit and found I couldn't pull it over my hips! Good Lord, have I gotten fatter? Or has the rain has made me swell up? Or... Looking in the jacket, there's a tag that says "medium". So, I'd brought Anne's rain suit and mine is still at home! Well, it's not raining too hard, so off I go to Fresno.
On the way, I made my usual stop for breakfast at the diner in Gorman. Gorman is a very small town near Tejon pass on I-5 travelling north from Los Angeles. I stopped there some years back and have since managed to stop there every time I go by. The place is pretty, it's very cool, and the food at the diner is decent and inexpensive. After eating, its on to Fresno.
I arrived in Fresno in the middle of the afternoon and was greeted by Walt. I parked the bike, unloaded my stuff and went inside. I was attacked by his two huge (100 lb each!) dogs who deal with strangers by climbing onto the lap and licking the face. If his place is ever burglarized they can recognize the criminal by the dog slobber on his face. It's fortunate that I like those two, otherwise I'd find them a little hard to take....
Monday: Walt and I rode to Yosemite. We'd decided not to camp but to do a day ride to Yosemite and then the next day go to Sequoia National Park for the day. When we arrived at Yosemite it immediately began to rain and it looked like a very serious storm. So, back to Fresno! That's OK, the ride up is a great one and, even though we got a bit damp, we had a good day.
Tuesday: We rode to Sequoia National Park. It's nice being old enough to have a "Golden Age" passport! I get into all these parks for free and, since Walt is my son, he also gets in for free! The ride to Sequoia is a little longer from Fresno than the ride to Yosemite, but the scenery is great. Sequoia is located almost due east from Fresno while Yosemite is north. We got cool as we climbed past 4,000 feet and enjoyed the park. Those trees just leave you speechless! How in the world can a living thing be THAT BIG?
We rode back to Fresno the same way we had come, figuring to keep cool by staying at the higher altitude as much as possible. Fresno was in the 90s and the surrounding country was about the same. Even staying at altitude as long as possible didn't save us from a warm ride home, so I decided to cancel going to the 49er rally in Auburn. The city of Auburn's web site showed the temperatures in the high 80s and 90s and I really didn't want to camp where it was hot. I hope they consider changing the rally back to Quincy.
Thursday: Walt went back to work, and I headed home. I skirted around the north end of the Los Angeles Sink and, after passing through Banning and Beaumont, began the long descent into Indio. The Harley-Davidson had run flawlessly so far at speeds from 70 to 110, but now problems arose. Approaching Indio, I realized it was HOT, and the "air conditioning" wasn't working! As a matter of fact, I couldn't even find how to turn it on????? Just prior to melting, I arrived in Indio, got a motel, and decided to continue on the next day.
Why stay in Indio? Because within walking distance of the motel is "La Pinata," located on Highway 111. La Pinata serves the best chicken mole (that's "mow lay" for you non-Spanish speaking types, accent the second syllable.) Mole sauce is a very hot, very spicy, delicious sauce flavored with chocolate of the unsweetened, bitter variety. At the La Pinata, the mole sauce is the best I've ever had. So, after stuffing myself with chicken mole, chips, salsa, rice, beans, etc., I hiked back to the motel happy to notice the temperature had dropped down to around 101 since the sun set.....
Friday: Up and gone early. Stopped at every rest stop along the way for water, made Phoenix around 12:30. It's too hot to ride! Summer has come.
BUT - The back worked! No pain, no problems. I think I can say now the surgery was successful.