A Panoramic Journey

shortBoarder

on the pegs + into the sun
Donating Member
Registered
Hi all. Considering that most of the .org is hunkered down in cold weather, slush and ice, this might be a good time to post some pics from prime-time riding season. This was a round-trip LA to Seattle ride, with a Pashnit tour of the high Sierras thrown in the middle for good measure. As always, the trip involved sticking to the thin squiggly lines on the map and getting lost occasionally. The long way, as it were.

Save for a couple of track-days in April and a few outings here and there, 2008 was an uber-lame year of riding for me - too much work etc... - 2009 is going to be very, very different (like trying to turn the Stampede weekend into a 3 week riding extravaganza). So, these pics are actually from '07. I took around 1500 pics on the trip, got back home and back to work, and never "developed" any of 'em until now.

There's 52 pics - enjoy, and have a great holiday!
 
First stop, just outside Bakersfield, CA. Lots of ranch land, not a lot of trees, and a very yellow landscape:

DSC_0002.jpg


DSC_0014.jpg
 
One more of the fields. There's almost no water out here, and it would prove to be very different from the Northwest...

CentCaliField.jpg
 
First bit of green and real trees was the Sequoia Nat'l Forest. The Busa seems pretty small out here:

SequoiaBusa.jpg
 
After crashing in Fresno for the night, I winded my way north around the base of the Sierra Nevada range before crossing the central valley toward Livermore, CA where I would meet up with Tim (Pashnit) and a small group for what would be his first tour of the High Sierras.

On the way there, I hit the "Little Dragon", then turned around and did it again. As luck would have it, the tour would come through here again and I'd get a third go at it :)

DSC_0147.jpg
 
Sometimes when planning a trip and programming the GPS, you find a little road that breaks off the beaten path. Sometimes it comes up snake-eyes and you end up in gravel, or sometimes it ends up as a perfect lonely road through cow pastures. This was the latter.

DSC_0168.jpg


RanchRoad.jpg
 
(I'm posting this pic again, since it didn't show up the first time around...)

After crashing in Fresno for the night (Fresno? No one goes to Fresno anymore...), I continued North along the base of the Sierras before crossing the central valley west toward Livermore, CA where I'd met up with Tim (Pashnit) and a small group for what would be his first tour of the High Sierras. One the way, I hit the "Little Dragon", then turned around and did it again. As luck would have it, the tour would go this way and I would get a third go the next day :)

DSC_0147.jpg
 
Very little rain that year meant very few waterfalls in the park. At this viewpoint, you're usually looking at a majestic waterfall in the distance, but it was dry this year.

DSC_0292.jpg
 
Yosemite is insanely beautiful. If you're going to the Stampede and haven't been to Yosemite, make time.

At some point, I took off my Aerostitch and jumped into one of those lakes for a swim. Tim's got the photo somewhere...

HalfDome.jpg


YosemiteLake.jpg


YosemiteLakeB.jpg


YosemiteView.jpg
 
Last edited:
We exited Yosemite at the western gate and descended into Lee Vining, CA.

Here's the Pashnit busa and mine at the end of the day.

DSC_0403.jpg
 
(hmm...the board is acting up a bit. This is the third attempt at posting this pic:)


5:15AM, Lee Vining, CA.

LeeViningDawn.jpg
 
Eagerly awaiting more...

Craig, brother...your pix are really second to none. Your talent oozes from your imagery.

Beautiful.
 
Back
Top