Gasquet, California

Saturday, June 14, 2003

Don't Blow a Gasquet!

I happened to be in southern Oregon this weekend so I though, "Hey, why not visit some Grand Tour checkpoints?" And then I remembered that the reason I was in southern Oregon was because there were some checkpoints nearby. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between cause and effect.

Starting from Grants Pass (or "Grass Pants" as I often called it as a child), I rode along State Highway 199 more or less in the direction of California. I left early in the morning (too early, it turns out) so as to enjoy relatively cool temperatures and a rising sun at my back, if not over my left shoulder and out of my eyes.

I passed through Cave Junction just prior to the California border. Long time readers of my travel ramblings might remember that I visited the Oregon Caves back in 1998 as part of my sabbatical from work. This time I assumed that the Caves were still there and would not require my personal inspection. Perhaps I'll come back in a millennia or so to see if anything has changed.

Over the years I have had occasion to pass this way many times, and each time I go there, I am struck by the natural beauty (in between the towns) that can be seen even from the road. Gawking at scenery isn't necessarily conducive to successful motorcycle operation, but I found myself running the shutter on my brain's internal camera a number of times.

I arrived at She She's in Gasquet too early to receive a stamp for my book. The tour book says that the restaurant opens at 11 o'clock and I got there at ten. However the sign on the door said Noon. I didn't particularly want to hang around in the parking lot for two hours, so I snapped a picture and took stock of the fact that -- stamp or no stamp -- I had been there and that I had seen a lot of very nice scenery along the way.

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