UP ROUTED - HEADING FOR REDDING

today started with a conversation with a French guy that I met in the motel lobby in Lincoln City named Marc. He and Suzanne have biked all over the world, Asia, Africa, Europe, etc. They were doing a trip that started in Alaska and was to take them down the BC, U.S. and Mexican coasts including some inland touring through the Yukon and other places - they really like the Yukon Jarrett and I told them to watch Yukon Gold. Anyhow, I digress......When Marc and Suzanne came into Canada, from the Yukon, they did not get their passports stamped so when they tried to cross into the U.S. through Blaine, guess what happened - see UP ROUTED - DAY 1. They were told that the time in Canada counted as U.S. time, not Canadian and that they had a limited time left in the U.S. (French only get 3 months, not 6 months like Canadians - whoop dee doo). So yes, they rode to Lincoln City, Oregon and then had to ride back to Portland, get on a train to Seattle and then fly back to France - au revoir y'all! So, anyhow, now Linda and I are making our best effort to blend in, stay out of trouble, drive the speed limit and avoid any cause for deportation that might arise.....I'm doing fine with that but I'm concerned that Linda is going to get us thrown out of this wonderful place.....LOL!

The ride from the Oregon Coast was really beautiful. This part of the the PNW is truly blessed with infinite coniferous wealth and the spectacular color that comes with this in an endless series of mountains, hills, rivers and streams. We drove through this as if we were in a dream of some kind......spellbound by the beauty of nature, grateful for the luxury of appreciation and always thinking about the beautiful messages that we received from friends and family.........time really dissolved into irrelevance.....and when we arrived in Redding, it was 41 degrees celsius...I thought the car was going to melt....this is Mt. Shasta and the Cone on 41 degree weather....

Believe it or not, we hit the road early - - - hoping to catch lots of cool morning air - - - we wanted to have a taste of the Napa Valley then drift into San Fran, check in and prepare for a day in the Bay. 

Once we had purchase our blue cheese/jalapeno stuffed olives in Corning and did some yoga under an olive tree, we headed back towards the coast and the signs of wines were abundant in the Napa Valley...anybody know this guy??

the real noticeable signs of imminent tropical were also clear...lizard basking in the sun anyone?

 how about a butterfly.......

Nest stop, San Francisco....