Friday, August 22, 2014
Crazy Travels on 2 Wheels: Tahoe Bound....
Crazy Travels on 2 Wheels: Tahoe Bound....: Randy, Jan, Terry and I at Findleton's Estate Winery on the way up to Lake Tahoe. What better way to make the trip up except to stop...
Tahoe Bound....
Randy, Jan, Terry and I at Findleton's Estate Winery on the way up to Lake Tahoe. What better way to make the trip up except to stop by for some wine tasting?
After packing up the vehicle with necessities for our four night stay at South Lake Tahoe, we made a leisurely trip up through Apple Hill. It is located in the western Sierra Foothills in El Dorado County on US 50. There are fruit orchards (many variety of apples--hence the name), tree farms, breweries and wineries. We stopped at one of the farmer's markets to check out what they had to offer. Jan and I tasted some of the fresh jams, oils and vinegar, while the guys checked out the produce. It was a beautiful drive with rolling fields of grape vines and other produce growing on either side of the winding roads.
Randy and Terry chat with the server (Eldon) from Findleton Estate Vineyard and Winery. Wooden barrels decorate the place, as well as artwork from the owner's wife, Pamela. She also designs the labels for their wines.
Eldon and winery owner Tom (black and white shirt), serve us one of their 14 varieties of wine. It is a family run vineyard, with their five grown children being involved as well.
So of course, we had to add our names to the ceiling!! The ceiling was covered with others who have visited their winery. Randy and Jan are members of their wine club....and so you know that we had to join as well!! If you want to check them out online, just go to
Next up...we walked next door to the Illuminare Winery. Owners Aaron and Cherie Hill fell in love with the area and scenery in El Dorado County when on a trip from Alaska...and that's how it all began. We enjoyed tasting their unique and flavorful wines, especially the Pinotage. Cherie was our hostess for this day of tasting, and her assistant was their five-year-old son, Chase. I had fun sharing silly pictures with him...I am sure that his mom wondered why there were crazy pictures of me on her phone later that night. Here are the ones I got of him...
He was quite a character! His giggle was precious and contagious....and so of course, we had to join this wine club as well! If you want to check them out more...
Some of the scenery as we traveled to Tahoe. Oh...by the way...we were not traveling on the Harley this time. Randy drove his truck, and Jan organized food and supplies for the four nights we were going to be in Tahoe. They were quite experienced at preparing and organizing for these expeditions!
Breathtaking views...
Terry trying to figure out his phone....just kidding!! It is impossible to be surrounded by all of God's natural artwork and not snap a few photos.
Stopping to take pictures as we leisurely made our way to South Tahoe.
You can see so many different land forms as you travel the California highways.
We finally settled into the condo that we would call home for four nights in South Tahoe. The view of the mountains from the deck with the sun preparing to disappear for this Saturday evening. (these two photos courtesy of Randy Beckman)
The view of Lake Tahoe from our deck. So relaxing...and so amazing to finally see Lake Tahoe. It was a place that I had never been to but had always wanted to see---a lifetime dream come true!
The wines that we picked up from the two wineries that we stopped at on the way up....Jan was wondering how we would get them all back to Oklahoma on the Harley....let's just say that not all of these seven bottles made the trip back down from Tahoe!!
Join me for the next installment as we travel all the way around Lake Tahoe...and find some yummy places to feed our faces!! Enjoy!!
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Crazy Travels on 2 Wheels: California or Bust....
Crazy Travels on 2 Wheels: California or Bust....: Who is ready to travel again today?? The final leg of the journey to California! After resting the night in Salt Lake City to avoid ...
California or Bust....
Who is ready to travel again today?? The final leg of the journey to California! After resting the night in Salt Lake City to avoid an incoming storm, June 13 (Friday) arrived with plenty of sunshine! Since our original plan of getting to West Wendover, Nevada by Thursday night dissipated when rains developed, our "easy" last day of travel turned into a fairly long time in the saddle. No worries...gorgeous sunshine and adventure awaited us as we continued through three more states.
This was what I called a "castle" on the western edge of Salt Lake City. Actually this is now called Saltair III or The SaltAir. Originally it was built as a Mormon resort, but was twice destroyed by fire. Now it is called Saltair III and used primarily for concerts by bands, singers and DJ's.
It wasn't far before we ran into what at first appeared to be snow---in June! This is actually the Bonneville Flats that stretches for over 30,000 acres west of Salt Lake City. It looks like salt clear to the horizon...and it actually looks like snow---for a minute I thought we had landed in the movie Frozen.
Interesting thing was that people had used rocks, empty bottles and whatever else they could find to spell things in the salt. I am pretty sure that I saw my name spelled out there....but traveling at 80 MPH (yes--the legal speed limit) you can't always get the picture that you want!! At one point I saw a giant tennis ball statue...not really sure what the point was. It is called the Tennis Ball Tree and was designed by Swedish artist Karl Momen.
We had just pulled onto the interstate to start the day when this couple waved at us and looked as if they were enjoying their drive too. The car in the photo above shows the Corvette with the couple that waved at us....I will tell you the significance of this in a little bit.
This sign showed us that we were 54 miles off of our original target spot. Oh well...
There is a rest area at the west end of the Bonneville Flats located at one of the most scenic spots. When we stopped to take a picture...the couple from the vehicle that had waved at us (Corvette) were stopped there too. He took the picture! They were both pilots with commercial airlines (United and American), and had flown to Denver to pick up this Corvette and drive it back to their home in Fairfield, California, which is near where we were headed. The lady had done her pilot training in Oklahoma. It is such a small world sometimes. You can meet the most interesting people while you are traveling...if you are open to chatting with people. As we were leaving the rest area, a van pulled up and I heard what sounded like an Australian accent from the people getting out of the vehicle. I waved at them and off we continued! (Now you know---there is going to be more to this story later in the blog too, right??)
The scenery in Utah continually changed as we got near the Nevada border. It would be flat (hence the name Bonneville FLATS) on one side of the interstate, and then the other side would have mountains.
The Bonneville Speedway has been the setting for lots of land speed records. It is 10 miles from Wendover, just north of I-80. It has been used for automobile and motorcycle speed trials since the early 1900's. It is completely flat and has a naturally stable surface made up of salty soil. We did not have time to actually go and look at the speedway...but someday we will make it there!
This was fascinating to me that there was writing on the side of these mountains....I certainly couldn't have climbed up there to write on it! I am still amazed at the towers placed on the top of these places! Kudos to those who install them. Not a career that I am interested in!
We were headed towards the end of Utah and getting closer and closer to the other state that we also needed to get all the way across this day....
Finally we made it to the Nevada border! Little did we know what was in store for us as we trekked from one border of Nevada to the other.....WIND!!! It put western Kansas to shame!!
Such beauty!
I did take notes as we traveled and with the crazy winds of Nevada...this is how I carried the pen! Trying to keep the pages from disappearing into the wild blue yonder with the gale force winds proved to be a challenge. (And yes---I had to write things down or I would NEVER remember them! Blaming that on age!!)
Dirt Devils!!
We call these Dirt Devils where I come from...but I have never seen them quite this tall!! I have also heard them called Dust Devils. Some appeared to be swirling for at least a mile up into the air! There were many of these all through Nevada. It could be very hot and stifling outside, but if you held on and went up in elevation the temps would drop in a hurry. As you travel along the interstate you see many things, some good and some not so good. One bad car crash looked grim, so I prayed as we went past and hoped that they would be okay. When we stopped to fuel up at a quick shop just into Nevada, we met a couple who were headed to Maine on their motorcycles! I know that some people thought we were crazy for taking on this endeavor to California on a Harley...but I feel like the crazy people are those who don't explore our country.
Uh oh!! You know...each state has their own laws as far as helmet requirements go. Some let the adults decide if they want to wear them...others require adults and children to wear them. Apparently, Nevada requires you to wear a helmet. I had my helmet on throughout the trip....someone else in our group of two did not! Surprisingly, we made it almost half the way across the state before we were stopped. Deputy S. Sherwood pulled us over and had a great chat with my husband, but kindly asked him to put his helmet on! Thanks Deputy Sherwood for just giving him a verbal warning!! Wear your helmet Terry!!
This photo shows a correctional facility out in the middle of nowhere! What better place to stick a correctional facility?? Where will you escape to?? Perfect.
For the longest time I thought that was a funny cloud in the sky....but now I am relatively sure it is my fingernail as I try to steady my phone in that gosh darned wind!! Oops!
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Just a few more photos of the Nevada beauty. So many different land forms and scenery...it was a gorgeous day to travel and would have been perfect if it wasn't for this....
Just a SLIGHT understatement!! We would be driving along and then a wind gust would just about blow your head off of your shoulders!! Yikes!!
The Nevada sun shining down on us.....along with the fun wind!
Terry wanted a picture of the speed limit!
There was a group of Porsche owners heading to California for a car show. They were all stopped at the same gas station we were at in Lovelock, Nevada.
Also at that same Lovelock gas station was the group of people with the Australian accents that we saw at the rest stop in Utah at the Salt Flats! They recognized me and came up to chat! One couple was from New Zealand actually, and the other couple from Germany! We had fun discussing our travel plans....said our good-byes and headed our separate ways! Just such a small world sometimes! (...and now you know the REST of the story!)
After traversing all across the state of Nevada with those lovely winds (yes---I know I have stated this many times, but seriously!!) we hit Reno, which would mean that we had finally made it and would soon be arriving at the border of California!!
Oh yes baby!!! The border and we knew we had made it to California....but still had almost two hours to travel yet! But we were getting close!!! It was such a different view after being in Nevada for so many hours! Not to speak negatively of Nevada...as I am a firm believer that there is beauty in every state...I just think that the interstate is NOT the best way to experience it...especially on a motorcycle!! CALIFORNIA---my head just couldn't swivel around enough to take it all in! Travelling through mountains with twisting, winding roads, we were soon close to Truckee and the elevation climbed. I was happy to have my hoodie tied around my waist so that I could put on! It is really crazy how fast that the weather can go from heat to pretty darned cold! The view on this part of the trip was beyond gorgeous! Thankfully, my friend Jan had given me these perfect directions to get to their house in Roseville. Some of their neighbors were outside waiting to see the crazy people from Oklahoma that had ridden a Harley to California. As we came around the corner....there were several people in their yards watching us....almost felt like we were in a parade! But guess what??? The crazy people had finally made it to California!!! It was a 633 mile and almost ten hour ----day but we made it!!
Seriously time for a cocktail!!! This is me with Jan in their backyard shortly after arriving!! Leap of faith paid off and we were having fun!! Join me next time as we head to Lake Tahoe...one of the most spectacular spots of beauty in the U.S.
The lessons that I learned on this day of travel...hmmm...here goes:
1. Music does help the time go by as you travel.
2. It is VERY hard to blow bubbles with your gum in the Nevada winds on a Harley.
3.Nevada is basically just ENDLESS!
4. Just like people...mountains come in all shapes and sizes.
Oh wait....one more thing to share....proof of the wind in Nevada....and the second video shows Bonneville Flats. Enjoy!!!
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