My new favorite place in Redding, California. Great menu and service. I'm a little stuffed right now........

I'd planned on one of my favorite Mexican breakfasts in Barstow this mornin, but when I left, they weren't open. Had to do with an In-n-out burger and some other junk today, so a bkfst for dinner sounded good. 4 egg omelett, stuffed with fajitas, cheese, avocados, and sauted unions. The whole grain Rye toast was very good too. The picture really doesn't do justice to this food, the platter was huge!

Several years ago, I was riding along here just before dawn, and was surprised to see hundreds of cars parked along the highway. I was on a BMW with no radio at the time. I found out later that a shuttle landing had been diverted from Florida and was landing here. I missed it of couse. . This was the first picture of the day, left Barstow a little before 6 AM.

Who is that shadow? Hwy 58 out of Barstow, California, a little after sunrise.

Swooping down out of the Tehachapi Mountains. What a perfect morning!

I'll be riding all day in the "Breadbasket of America". The fields are busy with people working. Some already harvesting, replanting, watering, and weeding. It's a beautiful day for a ride. Perfect temperature, no rain, and plenty of sunshine!

Cattle in the foothills on Hwy 58 outside of Bakersfield.

I'd forgotten how beautiful the Oleander is on Hwy 99. It's in full bloom, for over 400 miles!

All kinds of orchards. Nuts, Citrus fruits, Apples, plumbs, pears, pistachios, cherries and just about any kind of tree you can think of.

The Oleander is just tooo pretty along Hwy 99. All the way from south of Bakersfield clear up north of Sacramento.

Acres and acres of grapes!

This truck was FULL of carrots. There are a lot of crops being harvested now, and new ones going right back in the ground. They rotate the different crops so the ground stays fertile.

There are quite a few Magnolia trees along Hwy 99 too. This was a stop to have a snack and avoid having to wait in traffic to clear up a wreck on Fresno.

Many field of hay, this one had just been bailed. Some are the large round ones, but more common here is the normal rectangular ones.

California may have some short-comings, but the highways are probably the best maintained and managed in the Nation. And the rest areas are well groomed, with VERY clean restrooms. Attendants are usually on hand cleaning constantly.

There is a lot of "haying" going on now, probably the first cutting. Passed many of these trucks today.

I imagine you could rent this nice motor home pretty cheap!

Rice paddys. There are several miles of them on the Sacramento River Delta. You can see the little green shoots just starting to come up out of the water.

This is a crop duster. He was flying VERY close to the ground then would climb and bank to go around again. He was right over the interstate here, very exciting! Would have been good to have a movie camera.

Another nice Rest Area along I-5 in Northern California.

Famous place. Used to be the big draw for tourists to stop in Corning. Not there's a TA, Flying J, and Petro on three corners, and a lot of other eating places and businesses there too. The Olive Pit it totally new now, with truck and RV parking. Not like the little building in a gravel lot like it used to when I first went there in the 50's.

The Oleander is still in the median. Over 400 miles from where I got into it this morning, It sure makes a pretty ride. Those are Olive trees on the right side of the road.

Even passed a few pastures full of sheep. Some goats too, but didn't have the camera out for them.

The last Flying J of this trip. It's a new one in Corning, CA. There's no more between here and Coos Bay.

Olive trees between Orland and Corning. I think there are more olives grown around here than anywhere else in the country.

Rolling hills covered with Live Oak trees, and some pretty clouds and I near Redding, CA. Only 600 miles, but it will be a nice early evening.

The last motel for the SEVROC trip. I usually stay in the Vagabond here in Redding, but decided to give this a shot and save a little. The room is good and the WiFi is fast! Will post the pics from here to home tomorrow, then this blog will be a wrap!

Sunrise out of Tucumcari, NM, just across the Texas border. Kokopelli sure got dirty from yesterday's thunder storms, dust, and road construction. I just now finished washing it all off. Little did I think I'd go a little over 900 miles today! The pictures are in order. I only have an easy two more days until I'm home! This blog will end then, and a new one for the Goat Rope Tour will be started.

Starting to get into some interesting rock formations.

This is San Jose De La Laguna Mission. It was built in 1706, and has always been in use. There are people living in the homes around it, The town of Laguna is here, but it's only a quick stop these days. This looks more like Old Mexico than NM.

Didn't stop at the Continental Divide today, Passed it at 80 mph.

I stopped in Gallup, NM, just had to look around some of the Indian Arts places. I could spend a lot of time there just looking. This is a famous old Route 66 hotel that's still in business.

I had to stop here to see if they had anything different than they did 2 weeks ago. They didn't, but it's always fun to look. I have a Zuni inlay watchband in mind, but can't find the one I want. I don't care for the new designs.

The animals above Chief Yellow Horse's place.

My favorite state sign again. Only from a different way.

The famous EEEE Body Shop. I called him from a few miles up the road, so he was patiently waiting my arrival, with the bike at the ready to head for lunch.

Jack on the way to Phylis Romo's Mexican Restaurant for lunch. He ordered me a giant smothered beef burrito. Delicious, but I couldn't eat it all. Wish I had the left overs right now! Thanks Jack..

The V-Strom. We swapped bikes for the ride back to Jack's shop. It's fun to ride.....hmmmmmmm...Maybe?

Ahead in the Southern part of the Rocky Mountains. It's not a high pass in comparison to those farther North.

The highest place on I-40, near Flagstaff, AZ.

I-40 leaving Kingman, AZ, heading West.

The City of Needles, right on the Colorado River, and south of Las Vegas. Many times in the summer, this is the hottest place in the Nation! It was only 93 degrees here today, cool for Needles.

I-40 just East of Barstow, California. It's been a long, but good, day!

A sort of misty morning in Arkansas. The low temp last night was 70 degrees. It was humid and warm when I left at 6:15 AM from Arkansas.

Crossing into the "Green Country"

If you were an "Okie from Muscogee", this would have been something you would have seen. The town is to the north a ways, but this is in Muscogee County.

A pleasant Oklahoma morning, Have to make mile while the sun shines! The weather reports are for severe thunder storms later in the afternoon. For once the weather report was right. There was a line of trucks rolling along about 75, just had to pass. I imagine they were talking about Kokopelli on the CB, but I had forgotten to turn mine on. Got by them in a hurry. Snapping pictures left handed this time. The left thumb is pretty weak, almost dropped the camera, glad I put the strap on You may have to click on the picture for the detail.

I'm into Eastern Oklahome now. Lots of crops and cattle.

Oklahoma City Skyline. Taken on the fly from I-40.

The red stuff is DIRT. That's why they call Oklahoma "Big Red". The grass and trees are very green, and the dirt is very red.