Days 52-53: Saturday…in the (Redwood) Park
Klamath, CA through the Redwood National Park, and crossing into Oregon to Grants Pass, OR
150.53 Miles | 3:32 Riding Time
It’s Saturday, June 1, 2024, and it’s Day 52 of my cross country motorcycle trip.
Since I arrived too late to visit the visitors center yesterday, I started my day early and backtracked the 20 miles, and took a leisurely ride through the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway to the Redwood National and State Parks. I got my stickers and my National Park Passport stamp and rode the scenic parkway back in the other direction as well. It was beautiful, and I got to see a herd of elk (not a good picture of them, I know).
In the early morning, there were very few people on the road. On the way south, I passed a few bicyclists and one woman on a motorcycle with a sidecar. I met her again at the visitors center—hope you have a safe rest of your trip. I stopped by “The Big Tree,” which is…well…big, and soaked in the sights and relative solitude of the lush, green forest. Being in and among those trees really is a bit of a spiritual experience. You should try it. Here’s a video of that 15-minute ride.
But, my day was only getting started. I rode up to Crescent City, CA on RT 101, which is just about as far north as you can go without crossing over into Oregon. It was a fun town. I stumbled upon the “Forest Moon” festival in the town park. There were food stands (lunch), some vendors, and a bunch of crafts for the kiddos. I got to see the winners of the “droid making” competition and there was also a costume competition. After lunch, I headed over to the town lighthouse, which was very cool, and got to do a little tide pooling before getting back on the road.
I followed RT 199 over toward Oregon. I rode through the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park (CA), along several rivers that ran through the valley and over a few “hills” to cross over into Oregon. Then rode through Cave Junction and up to Grant’s Pass, where I would spend two nights.
In Grant’s Pass, I did some laundry, picked up a few items at Walmart, and got a haircut at Great Clips (nice to meet the three of you—thanks for all the suggestions). I also met a couple at the bar at Applebee’s who told me about a route between Roseburg and Ashland that included Crater Lake National Park and a nice little place to stay in Ashland. I mapped that out to ride in the coming days.
