2010 June 30th:
Mark:
I woke up really early and got up to check the computer and then I went back to bed. I slept for a little while longer then I got up and started to pack and prepare for the day. After I had been up and doing some things I woke up Niko and got him going. We went downstairs to have breakfast.
We packed up and loaded up the bikes and then left and headed right out of town. We rode straight to Cave Junction Oregon and made the turn to go to the Oregon Caves NM. Just after the turn was a Visitor’s Center. Niko made a motion about turning into the lot and so I decided to turn. Niko almost rear ended me and locked up the rear wheel trying to stop. The next thing I saw was his bike lying on its side with him standing next to it. I pulled over and helped him pick it up and then I pulled into the parking lot. Niko soon followed and we talked about what had just happened. Nothing was hurt or damaged and Niko didn’t even hit the ground.
I went in to the Visitor’s Center and got a stamp for the passport. I came out and then we got back on the bikes and took off for the caves.
The road was very twisted and wound its way up to the parking lot. On the way, some woman in a Durango was tailgating Niko so close that if he had made any mistakes, she would not have been able to stop. We were able to pull into a turn out so that she could pass. This really made me upset and I got the plate of the vehicle and reported her to the rangers once we reached the park. Of course, it didn’t go any further than that.
We went up to register for a tour through the caves and they told us that it would be an hour before we would be able to get our tour. I was OK with that until she said that we couldn’t take a tripod or our Camelbaks. We had to walk back down to the parking lot and leave both of those items behind. We had some snacks and then did some walking around.
We got in line for our tour and went through the caves. The tour was good and we enjoyed it. Afterward we talked to the ranger out in the parking lot for quite awhile. He was cool but he didn’t know very much about any other park.
We left the park and headed back down the twisted dead end road. We turned to go south toward Crescent City California and shortly after we left Cave Junction Oregon we came across several police officers who had a vehicle pulled over. Three officers had weapons drawn and one had an M-16, all aimed toward the vehicle. We were travelling in the opposite direction and just drove on by not knowing what else to do. Needless to say we were both a little disturbed by what we saw.
We made a stop at the Redwood Forest NP and go the passport stamped. I talked to a ranger for a few minutes about which roads to take through the park. She gave me a map and made some suggestions. We decided to continue on toward Eureka California and try to make it to my Uncle’s place there.
The forest was very large and the road was twisted through the trees. We rode through several sections of forest and finally made it to Eureka. We met up with my Uncle Dale, (my father’s brother) and then went over to my cousin, Elizabeth’s and her husband Matt’s place to stay. We ate some dinner with everybody and ended up talking until late at night. Dale, Judith, Elizabeth, Hannah, Kayla and Molly were all there.
The weather in Eureka was beautiful and clear. This is unusual, as it is normally cloudy and overcast. It was a little windy and chilly, but a very nice day just the same.
We had a great day of riding and saw some wonderful sites. The scenery was awesome, especially the trees. Thank you for reading, Good Night.

Niko:
We woke this morning, and went downstairs for breakfast, and ate an egg and a waffle. After eating a bit more, I came upstairs to help pack up. We put our dirty laundry in a space saver bag and packed it away.
The plastic polish exploded in my tank bag again yesterday, so I cleaned it up again, putting the excess on my helmet and polishing it up. I then put it in a plastic bag, so it won’t make messes again.
We took off and headed to Oregon caves, and dad kind of abruptly turned off into the visitor center. I was following too close and slammed the brakes and locked my rear wheel. I managed to correct it, but I was so sure I lost it that I let it go and it fell over as I stood over it. We picked it up and pulled in to the visitor center to find that neither I nor the bike had a scratch.
After we left the visitor center, we wound up a twisted, banked turn road. The road was a blast, but about halfway up, a lady in a green Durango SUV was tailgating me severely close. If I had not made a turn and low sided, it would’ve been a “budump!’’ and I’d be done.
Dad pulled off the side, and took her plates as she went screaming by at about 70 in a 30 mph zone. We continued on and got up to the parking lot and dad slowed down to see the driver of the Durango as we rode past her space. We changed into warmer clothes because we heard that the caves are 40° year round.
No bags or tripods were allowed in the caves and we had to carry that stuff back. When our tour started, our guide explained things very well. While he knew little of other parks, he knew a lot about these caves. The corridors of the cave were very tight and I had to get down into a squat and shuffle around in a couple parts.
The lady in front of dad had no respect for the cave and touched the walls on many occasions. (This leaves oils or glove lint that stains the wall and grows bacteria… big no-no here!) One room of the cave was about the size of a house, and was the deepest room, about 300 feet underground.
We left the cave, walked back to the bikes, geared up and took off again. We rode back down the hill and turned at Cave Junction back onto highway 199 towards Crescent City.
A few miles down the road, we saw a car pulled over by multiple cops, so we slowed down. By the time we got close, we noticed that a couple cops had pistols drawn, and one with an M-16. The driver of the car had a revolver out the window, and as we passed, the driver dropped the gun. A couple miles up the road, another cop had a man on the ground (cuffed) and was talking to someone outside a motel.
Still shaken, playing alternate outcomes out in our head, we rode on into Crescent City and stopped for gas. We asked the attendant how far Eureka was, and he came up with about an hour and a half away. We kept moving and headed south on highway 101.
Our next stop was the parking lot of Trees of Mystery. As we rolled up and parked, the statue of Paul Bunyan began speaking, and looked over at us, “Nice bikes… Wish they made them in my size!” and we laughed about his comment and got out of our jackets. As we finished putting our stuff on the bike, a biker had his picture taken standing under Babe the bull, and Bunyan joked, “Who’s under my bull? Hey! That’s not a Piñata!”
The whole lot began laughing at the joke and I noticed the lot was void of children as he made the comment. We walked through the gift shop, came back out and laughed as kids were asking Paul to move around, and we geared up ready to take off.
When we left the lot, a car in front of us was weaving in and out and driving at about 30 in a 55 mph zone. He failed to yield to faster traffic (against the law here) and after dad flung his arms out he pulled off for us and the 20 cars behind us to pass. All went smoothly until we reached Eureka California, and stopped at my great uncle Dale’s. We then followed him to my dad’s cousin’s place where we stayed. The little girls were very excited to have someone new to play with, and were glad to share all their things with me.
We are lying down and blogging now, but it’s late and I have to get to bed. So goodnight dear readers!