Day 22 - Mariposa, California to Lake Tahoe

The guys had spent the night in Mariposa, California, which is located at the southwest end of Yosemite National Park. Touring Yosemite was their goal for today.
That huge rock on the right has fallen off the side of the mountain creating a most unusual bridge.
The guys took a break along a rushing river. Fred looks awfully happy. Wow, look at that grin, wonder what he's been up to?
Oh! It looks like Fred finally had enough of Ron's scheduling and prodding. He shoved him into that raging river! Thank goodness Stu was able to pull Ron to safety!
Knowing that El Capitan was close, Mike practices his climbing skills. He's wearing proper safety attire.

Always vigilant for unique sights the guys spotted this Black Bear ambling along. They watched him for almost an hour. Judging by the amount of stuff he ate, the boys assumed that bears "do that" in the woods!

Just like Main Street in every city or town, every park has a Bridal Veil Falls. Mike and Ron look like they're about to fall over....

There it is! El Capitan! Mountain climbers from all over the world come to this famous formation in order to scale it. This rock is so large the guys could not tell with the naked eye there were 25 climbers on the face. Not until they looked through a spotting scope could they see the people climbing.

Yet another set of water falls within Yosemite National Park.

The road around Lake Tahoe

The guys crossed over into Nevada on their way to Lake Tahoe. They rode the loop around the lake. They stayed at the Cal Neva Resort. Nicknamed the "Lady of the Lake" the hotel was built in the early 1900's. It burned to the ground in 1937. With a team of 500 men working round the clock, the hotel was completely re-built and opened for business in 30 days. The resort boasts quite a bit of entertainment history. Frank Sinatra owned the facility from 1960 - 1963. Entertainers such as: Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr, Sinatra - himself, and Marilyn Monroe would "sing for their supper". The Cal Neva Resort sits right on the California - Nevada state line. Everywhere throughout the buildings white lines are painted to reflect that state line division. The fellows rode 280 miles today. Tomorrow...San Francisco!

Day 21 - Dunlap, California to Mariposa, California

Now, nobody would ever accuse three out of four of the fellows as being frugal. But their accomodations while in Dunlap shows just how thrifty they can be. The report was the rooms were clean, they had a bed and there was air conditioning!
After leaving Dunlap, and their sweet motel, the boys went back into the northern portion of the Sequoia National Forest. There was a particular section of the park, where 40 of the giant Sequoia trees lived,that they wanted to check out. Mike, Fred, Ron and Stu are in Grant's Grove at the base of another monster tree.

Fred rests by the Kings Canyon National Park sign. The national park is a 30 mile dead end road into a very deep canyon. So, it's a 30 mile ride back out of the park.

The Kings River runs along the floor of the canyon. The river is fed solely from the snow melt run off from hundreds of thousands of mountainous acres.

Fred and Mike standing on a rock ledge overlooking the Kings Canyon National Park. Whew, glad they didn't fall for the, "take a step back" gag.

The rushing water of the Kings River.

Ron, Fred and Stu in front of the Grizzly Falls. The guys finished up the day in Mariposa, California which is at the southwest end of Yosemite National Park. Their total miles ridden today equal 222 miles.

Day 20 - Hollister, California to Dunlap, California

The guys began the morning at Corbin Seats. All short jokes aside, Mike had a custom seat made. The new motorcycle was just a little tall for Mike. That newly crafted Corbin Seat lowered Mike several inches making his new bike much more comfortable for him to ride. As you can imagine this whole process took a fair amount of time.
Since Mike was making his new motorcycle more comfortable, Stu wanted to make his ride better too. He made use of the downtime at Corbin to test ride a new motorcycle. Hey Stu, is that a Honda Goldwing?

With Mike and Stu amply equipped the guys headed off for the day's adventure straight south. They rode through enormous cattle ranches with rolling hills of pasture. Custom farming operations with row crops followed the ranches. Planted in this fertile area were huge plots of lettuce, strawberries, onions, cabbage and cherries. Numerous anti-government signs had been posted by the farmers over struggles with water. When the farming ended the mountains began to appear. The guys eventually ended up in Sequoia National Park.The boys usually send Mike out to measure the heighth perspective of tall objects. Since this tree was so tall, Stu took over. Well, it appears Stu didn't trade for that Goldwing after all.

That's one big tree!

Ron and Stu, on the hunt for the General Sherman.

Mike, Ron, Stu and Fred are standing at the base of the General Sherman, the largest tree in the world. The general has a circumference of 103 feet, is 275 feet tall and estimated to be over 2,000 years old. Impressive!

Fred searches for the Keebler elves inside a giant Sequoia that was damaged by either fire or lightening. The guys rode a total of 285 miles today, ending the ride in Dunlap, California. Dunlap is located at the north entrance of the Sequoia National Park and at the beginning of Kings Canyon. Tomorrow they will be touring Kings Canyon.

Day 19 - San Luis Obispo, California to Hollister, California

Stu and Ron enjoy the spectacular view of the coastline at Big Sur.
Northern Elephant Seals bask in the warm sun and sand along the Monterey Bay National Sanctuary. The seals return to the same area along the shoreline year after year.
The female seals, cows, can weigh as much as 1,600 pounds when fully grown. A mature bull, male seal, can top the scales at a whopping 5,000 pounds.

The boys watched the seals make their way from the water onto the beach. They moved very slowly on land, about 10 - 15 feet each time. Then they would stop for a break before continuing another 10 - 15 feet until reaching their final resting spot.

Fred's ticket to the Hearst Castle, which is now operated as a state park. The family donated 150 acres of land along with the house, to the state of California.

The Casa Grande, main home of the Hearst Castle. This structure boasts 41 bathrooms and 38 bedrooms. Each guest was assigned a personal maid. It was mandatory that each guest dress appropriately for participation in the events held at the castle. A vast selection of evening wear, tennis outfits, riding clothing, etc., was available to the guests of the castle in the event they were not properly prepared.

Ron, Mike, Fred and Stu preparing to go inside the Casa Grande. This is the front door of this home.

Ron and Stu taking a break on the steps of one of the guest homes. There are 3 guest homes on the castle property in addition to the Casa Grande. Those homes are named the Casa del Mar, The Casa del Monte and the Casa del Sol.

An enormous formal dinner was served every evening at the Casa Grande. The blue china was very important to William Randall Hearst. He ate off these plates as a child. Simple mustard and ketchup bottles were ever present on the table, no matter what the meal consisted of.

Mike, Fred, Ron and Stu pose by the outdoor pool of the castle.

The outdoor swimming pool adorned by statuary and Greek columns. The guys really enjoyed their visit to the Hearst Castle, which took 15 years to complete.

Their total miles traveled today was 175 miles. Hollister, California was their destination by evenings end. Tomorrow they are entering more national parks where cellular telephone service will become sparse.

Day 18 - Palmdale, California to San Luis Obispo, California

In order to avoid the city of Los Angeles, the guys traveled northeast on back roads that led them into Los Padres National Forest.
The forest was rough, rugged, mountainous terrain with sparse vegetation. Not only did they avoid the city, but all of the traffic too.
Everyone knows the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The guys came up with a plan to maximize the distance traveled by scaling one of those mountains. Mike and Ron climbed up first. Fred and Stu tied the bikes to that long dangling rope. The guys will pull the bikes up that mountainside once Fred and Stu reach the top.

Ahahaha...just kidding! Taking almost an hour break, the boys stopped by the side of this sheer rock wall to watch some climbers.

It was The Deer Lodge for lunch, touted as being "world famous". Now, the boys could not figure out what made the Deer Lodge world famous, but the food was really good!

Ron and Fred - a quick meeting of the minds over the map.

Being approximately 200 miles south of Napa Valley the fellas begin to see acres of grape vines. The boys continue to travel north up the Pacific Coast. 290 total miles ridden today.

Day 17 - Temecula, California to Palmdale, California

Happy Father's Day!!

Let's ditch those Harleys, forget about those horses; we're going to finish this trip in a hot air balloon!
The guys made a slight route change to allow Stu to visit with his Aunt Bette, Lisa and Danny. Aunt Bette lives in Menifee, California
Another quick detour had the guys in Lake Elsinore, California. Fred dropped in to visit his niece Shirley and her son Zach. Zach, a very accomplished pianist, treated the group to a sampling of his musical talent.
The Bernadino Mountains within the San Bernadino National Park.
Situated between the Bernadino and Angeles Mountain Ranges sits Big Bear Lake. This lake is a popular destination for folks biking out of the city of Los Angeles. In the winter months it is a highly populated skiing area.

Look out Mike!! While taking a break along the Angeles Crest Highway, a snowball fight broke out. The guys had a hard time believing that just yesterday they were in the desert. Today they were playing in the snow. Their total miles ridden today - 275 miles.