Day Eleven and Wrap Up – Whew! – Monkeybutt Chronicles

Last night we went to dinner at Beasy’s on the Creek and then walked up to the Thomas Theater to see ‘As You Like It.’ The show was terrific and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Today began at 5:30am. We had a long, hot ride ahead of us so we wanted to get an early start. We said a sad goodbye to Ashland.

We took Hwy 66 east from Ashland and soon rose in elevation. We noticed a faint smell of smoke.

Once on the other side of the ridge, the smoke increased and the visibility was worse. We thought about rerouting but we just kept on the planned route. We think the smoke was from a large California fire in Siskiyou County and it was being swept up against these hills.

Once we descended back into valley, we were clear of the smoke.

We rode past the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, temporary home to many migrating bird species.

We then entered the Lava Beds National Monument. The monument is on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano, which is the largest volcano by area in the Cascade Range. It offers many caving opportunities but that was a hard “No” from Cathy.

Once out of the park, we passed through beautiful farmlands.

We stopped for gas here and did some good people watching.

Finally the air was clear. We stopped for espressos and ham and cheese croissants in Fall River Mills.

Once we got into Burney, we could feel the heat starting.

We have a workaround to avoid I-5 through Redding but before we got to Red Bluff, we decided to bullet on I-5 until we could get to Hwy 99 and continue our usual route home. We stopped for several hydration rests. The bike ultimately registered 108 degrees but was consistently between 102 and 104 degrees.

Hwys 99 and 70 cut through orchards and may offer a few degrees of relief.

Once we saw the Sutter Buttes, shrouded in smog, we knew we were getting close to home. We were going to stop in Marysville for another hydration rest but we decided to muscle through it and get home.

The turn onto our street is always a welcome sight after a long trip!

We pulled in at 4:30 and realized we could make it to our grand-nephew’s going away party. He has enlisted into the Army and leaves tomorrow for basic training. We got cleaned up and left the unpacking for tomorrow. It was fantastic to see Ben so excited for this new chapter in his life.

Sunday will be filled with unpacking, laundry, helping our yard recover from this intense heat spell, and relaxing before getting back to reality.

This trip was full of extremes. Cold and wet to dry and hot, sea to mountain, desert to lush farmlands, smoke to clear sea air.

We saw little wildlife on this trip. In total we saw one heard of elk (which Cathy was too late to photograph), a fox crossing the road, multiple chipmunks and squirrels crossing the highways, eagles and ospreys, seals, and several deer on the sides of the road. Cathy really wanted to see a bear.