Klamath River, California

Monday, August 5, 2002

My stay in Williams was uneventful although I didn't sleep very well. That's not the fault of the hotel, I just never sleep very well the first night I stay someplace -- which has been four nights in a row now. The nice people there not only allowed but actually suggested that I park STraddle near the drive up, in view of the front desk so that the staff could keep an eye on her throughout the night. This alone gets them a ringing endorsement. If you're ever in Williams, California, stay at the Holiday Inn Express. It's right off the freeway. Nice rooms, clean, breakfast in the morning, juice and coffee all day and night if you want it.

As lovely as it was, I decided to leave for my next check point stop in Klamath River. I narrowly missed collecting this stamp in July when, just as I was getting near it, I found myself to be dehydrated and had to stop. (see Agness)

According to my tour book, this check point is closed on Mondays, so last night I called them. I was told that, while the restaurant was closed, the lodge would be open and that I could still collect a stamp. Emboldened with this information, I made my way up Interstate 5 to CA-96.

This is a pretty road with lots of fun twisties for good measure. Care must be taken through some of the turns as there are a fair number of hidden driveways and not a small amount of spilled gravel patches. I also saw a county Sherif and a CHP unit near the fire station. The scenery is fantastic; views of the Klamath River are frequent and picturesque and, despite a bit of smoke in the air from distant wildfires, the surrounding hills are a sight to behold.

After about 15 miles of this, I came upon the Sportsman's Lodge and Restaurant. True to their word, the restaurant was closed. The place was also completely deserted. When I made my phone call last night, I wasn't specific enough -- I had failed to ask for the hours of operation. I arrived at 11:00 but the lodge wouldn't open for another four hours.

I took pictures of the lodge, restaurant, "closed" sign, and one of my bike in front of the road sign. We'll see if those are sufficient to get credit from the motorcycle club. If not, well, I had a good time anyway and I have already collected enough "in state" checkpoints to earn a Finisher's Pin.

I returned to the highway (after enjoying those wonderful curves again) and made my way 300+ miles up I-5 to home. I need to take a break (and to sleep in my own bed) before continuing to my next destination in the great white north.

The GPS says I traveled 474 miles today for a total of roughly 1800 miles since I left the Portland area. The software that came with my uncle's GPS unit allowed me to generate this map of my travels.

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