March 26
Home again, home again, jiggety jig. But not before stopping in Portland to see Zack and take him to breakfast :). We managed to get home by 4:30!
March 25
Great hot breakfast at the hotel and then onto Bandon to charge. This time we stopped in their little museum and managed to find pictures of Mom as a Cranberry Princess in 1956. Then through Reedsport and east on the Umpqua scenic highway which followed the river on one side and steep, mossy walls on the other – gorgeous! One more quick charge got us the rest of the way to Corvallis, to the home of my brother and his wife. Neal and Michele made us right at home and we were able to watch the Sounders real time beat Sporting KC (Morris set a club record with 4 goals!!) with pizza and beverages. We even got to see Preston and Erica. Such a great stay!
March 24
Woke up to no power again today (!) but it came back on shortly after and we had a hot breakfast (including waffles!). Mostly driving today, but we took the scenic byways through the Redwoods which we love. Like September, very few people driving through the Redwoods. We had planned to stop and bike a stretch of them again, but the rain really didn’t let up so we took a lot of pictures through the wet windshield. We also stopped at Wild Waffles in Del Rio and had maple and egg waffle sandwiches – couldn’t forget that!
And we visited the Humboldt Bay Social Club on a peninsula near Eureka; we had stayed at their other property in Scotia on our coastal trip. Worth a stay next time!
We had to stop and charge in Crescent City and ate dinner at the Seaquake Brewery but we decided to drive a little further before stopping for the night and ended up at a great beach hotel in Brookings, just over the Oregon border. Getting closer! Managed to do laundry there because it was so accessible – nice to have clean clothes for the last few days of the trip…
March 23
Went through a car wash today in Oakland, even though we knew we would hit more rain before getting home. Delilah was actually blue again! Avoided the San Francisco crush and headed up into wine country. Great stop at Benziger Winery in Sonoma, which we have been members of since 2012. Beautiful property and excellent wine.
We pushed on to Ukiah to charge and then just stayed at a stock hotel there.
March 22
The next morning (breakfast in bed!) we rode our bikes north to Castroville, almost entirely on bike trails, including a paved trail through Ford Ord Dunes state park which was brimming with early color. Still a little cooler, but blue skies! Again a repeat of part of the ride we did last September. It was fun to recount our travels, although the details we remembered were less about where we ate or stayed and more about the things we saw and the people we ran into (or the pee stops). Overall we rode another 36 miles – yay!
A non-descript dinner and another chill evening. Another short power outage that didn’t really effect us, but still… We were lucky really; the whole city had lost power for three days the previous week!
March 21
Speaking of power outages…. we woke to no power (insert eyeroll). So a few pastries but no coffee. We headed north on 101 which we decided would be our main route home, at least well into Oregon. We planned to go to Santa Cruz, but more weather warnings and road closures encouraged us to hit Monterey instead, stopping to charge in Pismo Beach (which required a visit to Old West Cinnamon Rolls, yum!) and Greenfield. We quickly settled in a great hotel in the Cannery district and had them stow the bikes for us, then we had a top notch dinner at The Sardine Factory. We already planned to check if we could stay another night so we could ride the next day since the weather was supposed to be nice.
March 20
We had a nice continental breakfast at the motel and then headed south on our bikes to recapture part of our coastal trip ride, which included a great trail from Rincon Point and only a minor stint on 101. We saw paragliders on the way, turned around at Mussel Shoals, and stopped at The Sacred Space on the return, an idyllic store and gardens where we spent along time looking at crystals and sculptures and the like. I posed like a Buddha outside. Highly recommend if you need a little Zen and you’re in the area :). We took a few different roads on the way back for a total of 36 miles with little elevation gain. Then we had a Poke bowl at a small seafood place just before they closed early and a few beers at one of the local watering holes (Finney’s). Many restaurants and stores closed early (if open at all) – quite a different scene than the bustling one we experienced in September!
March 19
Leaving the park early was no problem. We went out the south end, stopping a few times to see the sights, turning the wipers on a few times, and charged first in Baker at a massive 40-car supercharger. Delilah was definitely one of the old-timers in the bunch. Then we debated where to go. We had already (obviously) ruled out Las Vegas and returning through Utah because the weather was daunting on their passes as well. We finally settled on Santa Barbara because we had enjoyed it so much on our coastal trip. We found a quaint, newly remodeled motel near the beach and walking distance to the main restaurants and shopping on State Avenue. The weather was slated to improve dramatically the next day so we opted to stay an extra night so we could repeat part of our ride. One of the best things about traveling in March is it’s before the high season, no spring breaks are in motion, and so it’s easy to get impromptu lodging and meals! None of the nearby laundromats were good options so we abandoned that side goal and settled for dinner at a great Mexican restaurant (Santo Mezcal).
March 18
Happy anniversary to us! We had a nice, sit-down breakfast at the hotel. Then we drove Delilah north to the Ubehebe Crater, about 60 miles away. We had decided we would probably leave the next day instead of Tuesday when another storm front was predicted – we knew the resort would honor our choice (as well as charge us half price for the first two nights) and so we forewent a second bike ride and went for a hike instead. This was a short but awesome hike (maybe 2 miles) around the crater, and just the drive exposed us to some new landscapes. It also allowed us to get back in time to try and watch the Sounders game which we could watch on regular channels only because we were playing LAFC.
The only two bummers for the day were that the charger was occupied when we returned and that the Sounders tied (when they should have won, bad reffing). After the game we relaxed by the pool (much quieter than the other resort) and then I drove Delilah to the other resort to plug her in since we wanted to leave the next day. I just rode my bike back the one mile and it was no problem – I had snagged the last free charger.
We had reservations for our anniversary at the elegant dining room at our resort. Lovely views, nice service, and a great meal. Here’s to the next twenty-three years!
March 17
The next morning we geared up and took a change of clothes so we could shower at the other resort at the end of our ride if needed. We parked Delilah there, had a buffet breakfast, and headed out on a beautiful, sunny morning. We had originally looked into a guided trip for an obscene amount of money but when I looked at the itinerary it seemed so obvious that I couldn’t see paying for guides. There’s basically two main highways through the park (with some additional options for hiking and mountain biking). So we headed south to Badwater, the lowest point in the park (and the States) at 282 feet below sea level. Death Valley typically sees less than 2 inches of rain a year, and often 0, but we saw remnants of the previous week’s storm. The temperature got up to the mid-70’s which was perfect. Alas, too early to see the fabled Super Bloom. April will be amazing.
18 miles to Badland, but we added some miles on a side loop on the return and ended up riding over 40. How could we not do a detour called “Artist’s Drive?” Well, in retrospect, it was a little more than we bargained for. A constant, serious climb that rivaled Flowery Pass on our cross-country trip only not as long. The main climb was 3 miles long with an average gradient of 7% climbing over 1000 ft. If the road hadn’t been one-way only, we might have turned around after the first mile… But the views were fabulous and the downhills almost made up for the grind. In the end, we were really glad we did it!
Of course when we returned, the hotel was still without water, and the showers at the other resort’s pool left a lot to be desired – picture concrete floors, queues of parents and kids, no soap or shampoo, and all the clean pool towels were taken. I planned to ask the resort if they had ANY other way to accommodate us since not taking a shower was out of the question but they were busy checking in a slew of new guests for the day so we were logical and went to have a beer and pizza while we waited for the line settle. Amazingly (luck of the Irish, maybe) when we finished, we learned the water was back at the other resort and we were able to return to our room! We spent the rest of the evening chilling.
March 14-16
I normally only write about the bike rides, but it seems worth it to throw in a few extra details about our twelve day trip in what would normally be early spring in California, especially Death Valley. When I started planning the trip a few months earlier, March seemed like the best month (average highs in the 80’s, very beginning of the high season) but the epic snow and rain across the Pacific Northwest hadn’t taken hold yet. It’s difficult to get reservations in Death Valley – there are only two (affiliated) resorts, and they have very stiff penalties for changing or canceling dates. Considering the effort it takes to get there and the fact that it’s in a national park, I was not surprised.
So the few weeks leading up to our trip we started to sweat a little. Driving to Death Valley requires going through multiple mountain passes no matter which way you go. We considered various routes and we heavily debated whether taking an electric car was the best idea – should we take the gas-guzzling truck or the more efficient Subaru instead? The latter would require either a bike rack or taking wheels off to fit two bikes inside. And in this economy, I really wanted to test the Tesla out, even if she’s eight years old and has half the range of the newer models. The day before we left, we decided to risk it!
Two bikes fit well when Delilah’s back seat is laid down, and we put the rest of the bike gear in the “frunk” since we would only need it at our major destinations. That still left room for a few suitcases, a computer bag, charging cables and adapters for the car, and extra shoes. We left only a little after our (my) 8 AM target, not worried in the least about our one remaining pet (Midnight) as she was in kitty heaven already with Mary staying for the duration! We had decided to take I-5 as far south as Bakersfield before cutting over to Death Valley, figuring that there was less snow risk further south (which was true). Surely I-5 remains bare and clear at all times, right? Not so much as it turns out. The forecast for Ashland was snow, and we kept watching red and black traffic indications in that area as we approached. It was late enough to be getting dark and we considered just staying somewhere before Ashland, but we were both anxious to push through since it would be even colder in the morning. Despite having the luxury of flexibility, we did have to get to Death Valley by Thursday or forfeit our reservation for the first night. So we took a side road in Ashland to avoid some of the slowest traffic on I-5 and then when we were finally merging onto the freeway (amidst falling snow and slush on the road), we saw a sign requiring chains unless you have 4WD or AWD, and luckily Delilah has the latter. Before long there was more gravel on the road than slush though, and once we passed a jack-knifed semi, things improved substantially, allowing us to make it to Yreka before settling nowhere special for the night.
The next day was less worrisome, passing through Shasta Lake without incident. We stopped to charge I think three times, including one by Sundial Bridge Park in Redding where we walked and even rode Bird scooters along the river. Charging at a supercharger is an interesting event. Of course, we had been to them many times already, but generally just the same ones between home and Spokane or Port Angeles or Portland. In California they have places with as many as 40 charging spots, sometimes alongside other EV chargers. They are either 150kw or 250kw and when you first plug in, if your remaining mileage is under 70 or so, it charges at a rate of 350-400 miles per hour! But as it fills the battery cell, it slows down exponentially, so it still took us 30-45 minutes most times to get us close to the top range. Unless you need the full range you usually stop charging at 80-90% capacity because then you are lower at the next charging station and it charges faster, etc. Tesla is pretty good about making sure there are amenities nearby – usually some form of restaurant or fast food chain or a hotel that allows you to use their restrooms. The ones next to parks or malls or places of interest are always preferable! So we definitely added hours to each day by driving electric. BUT we paid $0 for gas (and $0 for charging for that matter – she’s old enough to be grandfathered into free charging for life). And the required stoppage time is usually welcome unless you are in a hurry.
We detoured from I-5 to Highway 99 in Sacramento to head to Fresno (Clovis actually) where we met Eli for dinner and stayed at his and Kim’s lovely new home. Kim was actually back in Washington so Eli was a gracious host on his own. They’ve lived there since November and are already more settled and decorated than I’ve ever been within a year of moving into a new home! But we got up early to head towards Death Valley. No snow concern about the climbs up and over into the valley except that it might test Delilah’s range ability since there are only a few superchargers close to the park (and by close I mean within 150 miles. She can do close to 220, but steep inclines draw more energy than what she regains on the downsides. So I was nervous enough that we took a detour into Bakersfield to fully charge, and even then we rode without air to conserve energy. (The temperature was in the upper 50’s so not a problem at all anyway.) I had called ahead to make sure we would be able to charge there since it wasn’t a Tesla charger but they couldn’t give us much information. They did, however, warn us that they were having a water issue and we might want to bring some extra jugs of water. Hmmmm.
We rolled into the Inn at Death Valley with 60 miles left. No problem! And furthermore, their one working charger was free when we got there and our adapter fit fine. It would take eight hours to charge, but we were golden. The other resort, about a mile away, had four chargers, but most of the time they were all in use. Come to find out, many people had arrived and immediately left (without penalty) because the resort was still without water. Not an option for us so we hauled our jugs with the rest of our luggage to our beautiful room and tried to ignore the fact that we couldn’t take a shower or use our bathroom. Sani cans – sheesh! They were assuming the water main would be fixed that night or the next morning and luckily the other resort had water and restaurants so we shuttled there for the evening and had a decent albeit way overpriced meal.
Breit Bikes 