This would have to be what bike touring is all about - a day with plenty of time on the bike, but fun and interesting things to do as well, and folks to meet and good food to enjoy, and of course - a stop at a bike store!
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| Entrance to lava tube cave |
All this came to pass on the day we arose in Lava Beds National Monument. We took time on our ride through the park to stop and explore one of the caves. It was super cool (figuratively and literally!) and well worth the stop.
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| Landscape in Lava Beds Park |
Then a pleasant downhill out of the park, past the lake and wild life preserve, and finally - finally! - across the border from California into Oregon. After 1124 miles traversing California from side to side and up the middle, we finally hit our first new state. To be honest, as we came in on a small farm road, it was pretty anti-climatic.
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| California on the left, Oregon on the right! |
Our next Warm Showers host worked in the town we had targeted for our lunch break, so we stopped in to meet her and I had a wonderful time exploring the fantastic quilt shop there. Tater Patch Quilts and the Sewing Works, it's called, and it has wonderful quilts and fabrics everywhere!
Lunch was at a local taqueria, and it was wonderful - particularly after our meager dinner and breakfast in the park. And we found a diner on the way back down the street to get a piece of pie. Marion berry is sort of the national pie of Oregon. Just delicious!
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| Yum! |
The rest of our ride to Klamath Falls was an easy Tuesday morning type of ride. Great views of Mt Shasta from time to time - it was covered with snow top to bottom.
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| Snow covers Mt Shasta |
And when we got to Klamath Falls, we stopped in at a bike shop to see if our new rack had arrived. (It had not.) But we left the bike for a little tuning on the new gears, and walked down the street to have a beer.
Later, we arrived at Lorena and Dick's home, and enjoyed a delicious meal and stories with our hosts. All in all, I could not imagine a more enjoyable day.
The day's report: Lava Beds National Monument to Klamath Falls, 51.2 miles/1148 to date
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