Ok, I hope my readers out there aren't sick to death of this Carrizo Plain stuff yet, but armed with some new information courtesy of Possummomma I took another trip out there in hope of catching a glimpse of the mighty San Andreas fault for myself.
I am just learning the geography and geology of this region so if there are inaccuracies in this report PLEASE fell free to correct me.
As usual here is a map, but I put it in the photo section as well should you wish to peruse it in more detail.
From the SR 33 junction, Highway 58, or more technically correct, SR58 travels north west through the Temblor. At or near the summit there are a couple of places to pull overand survey the range and valley below.
Looking roughly north-west from atop the Temblor Range,
From this point SR58 makes a rapid descent bottoming out just north of the Carizzo Plain and the San Andreas Drift Zone. A tun to the south-east will take you directly across both zones along the edge of Soda Lake on Seven Mile Road. Of course this all depends on ones definition of Road!
Seven Mile Road
After crossing the plain on Seven Mile Road I headed south east and then north west on Elkhorn Road. Things got REALLY interesting then.
For one thing the road becomes even more "alleged"
According to my understanding these rocks, and others like them, lay directly between the fault plates and were literally "squeezed" up from the earth below.
Looking back on Elkhorn Road
Then the Road Gets even steeper and weirder.
End of the line, and if I'm not mistaken, the main fault line runs just to the right of the center of this picture.
'Till next time
BMWeerman...out
Posted in these Groups:
Topics: motorcycles, Photography, carrizo, plain, adventure, Travel, san, andreas, fault, temblor, range, soda, lake
posted by bmweerman on
Sunday, April 29, 2007 at 01:59 PM
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I had a job performance review today. Not from my "real" job which I consider photography and journalism, although those don't completely pay the bills yet. But from my other job...my so-called teaching job.
The review did not go well...I was dinged hard for not being a linear thinker...I am not!
I was dinged for not having my students engaged or following the curriculum...
Let's see...The Subject Matter was WWII here is a picture of a poster my students made outlining the 5 major periods of WWII
Look pretty engaged to me...and let's see...do you think they learned more by dividing up a poster paper into five sections and deciding the appropriate content to put in each section, or reading it of the textbook, which we also did, and taking a standardized test?
I am probably going to get in big trouble for this, but I am not going to be so cowardly as to post anonymously.
Second bully I am taking on today...False Advertisers.
I needed a little cash to get through the weekend and had been carrying around a personal check that was a gift for my recent birthday. Going to my usual check cashing place which advertises...we cash ALL checks. I was dutifully informed that they only cashed personal checks from a certain bank.
Do you see that anywhere on that sign?
So I dutifully came home, looked up the laws and false advertising and check cashing establishments and found them to be in violation of FTC and CA law. I printed up the appropriate documents and just handed them to the clerk asking her to give them to her boss.
I will of course be filing a complaint with the BBB and the DA...is this really a big deal.
No, BUT...having spent most of my life just accepting what I have been told and being pushed around....I am broke and probably soon to be unemployed but I FEEL empowered and fantastic!
My new motto for life
Believe in Something, But Question Everything!
BMWeerman...out
This one's for you Random. The following news story just came out on Yahoo News.
Seems as if you and your fellow Pastafarians could get the IMB to lighten up, our Global Warming problems would be over.
Seafarers warned to be on alert in Malacca Strait
The International Maritime Bureau on Sunday warned seafarers to remain on alert while travelling on the piracy-prone Malacca Strait despite a fall in attacks.
Pottengal Mukundan, London-based director of IMB, told AFP that there was "no room for complacency," since pirates were merely lying low due to aggressive patrols by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Mukundan said if the three Southeast Asian countries that border the Malacca Strait let up in their patrols, "pirate attacks will rise again."
Maintaining and securing the waterway has always been regarded as the responsibility of the littoral states that border the sea lane -- Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The three Southeast Asian countries have implemented several security measures, including coordinated air and sea patrols, to secure the Malacca Strait, one of the world's most important and busiest waterways.
Mukundan said the IMB welcomed any move by the littoral states to upgrade security in the strait, including joint patrols.
"It will be a great step forward to improve security in the strait. It will be a great help to the industry," he said.
Malaysia recently said it was ready to study ways to boost security in the Malacca Strait, including conducting sensitive joint maritime patrols with Indonesia and Singapore.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said there were "regional sensitivities" to overcome -- joint patrols could allow warships from one country to enter another's territorial waters -- but flagged Malaysia could warm to the plan.
More than 30 percent of world trade passes through the strait, and the volume of traffic has increased dramatically, with more than 62,600 ships using the strait in 2005, up 42 percent from 44,000 ships in 1999.
Half of the world's oil shipments travel through the waterway.
Mukundan said a new problem posing a risk to seafarers was the rise in incidents of hostage-taking and kidnapping.
"It is a worrying trend, especially in Somalia and Nigeria," he said, referring to incidents in the first three months of 2007. He declined to elaborate.
The IMB will release its first quarter piracy report on Tuesday.
Mukundan said last year 263 crew were taken hostage or kidnapped worldwide, adding that three people had not been recovered, "believed to be killed."
In June, maritime experts and enforcement agencies will gather in Malaysia to discuss new challenges to seafarers worldwide at an event organised by the IMB and a local law enforcement agency.
Location:
morro bay, ca
The 576 foot tall Morro Rock is the undeniable centerpiece of Morro Bay and the surrounding area. What is little known about this ancient volcanic plug is its relationship to the geology of the rest of the surrounding area. In fact, Morro Rock is the last link in a chain of volcanic plugs known as the Nine Sisters.
Morro Rock as seen from Morro Bay State Park
Below is a map of the Nine Sister Chain, which I have also included above should you care to see it bigger.
The Nine Sisters are an awesome sight and a great view of them can be had from Los Osos Valley Road. In the early morning picture below, I just happened to catch four of them peeking out from the marine layer hanging in the valley.
Four of the Nine Sisters seen from Santa Rosa Creek Road
But I digress. A great place to start this ride is at the Morro Bay State Park Museum of Natural History. From the road, it does not look like much, however they have recently completed a 3 million dollar restoration and upgrade, making it a most impressive place to visit.
Entry fees are $2 for adults and free to children 16 and under. The Museum is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. For more information visit (http://www.ccnha.org/museum...). The Museum overlooks Morro Bay, which is both a State and National Estuary.
The museum is located at the exit of Morro Bay State Park. Travel south on State Park Road, bear west on Main Street, then north on Embarcadero. Many of the Central Coast's finest restaurants line The Embarcadero. The Otter Rock Cafe (885 Embarcadero, 805-772-1420) overlooks the harbor and has a full bar, live entertainment and good food. For more elegant dining, Dorn's Original Breakers Cafe (801 Market St., 805-772 -4415) is just the ticket.
If you are an early bird you can catch the freshest Cinnamon buns and and Coffee at a little place called Crill's. It's located near the northern end of the ebarcadero and has a nice out door deck with tables so you can enjoy the ocean while you eat their wares. If a casual lunch is more your style, there is the ever-popular Giovanni's, where you order your seafood and burgers from a take-out window and, once again, dine on a patio overlooking over the bay.
Other things to do include visiting the many shops and galleries, as well as the aquarium. The Morro Bay Aquarium is open every day of the year and the admission is reasonable: Children ages 1-4: Free; Children ages 5-11: $1.00, ages 12 and over $2.00. Group rates are available for schools or other qualified groups. www.morrobay.com/MorroBayAquarium). For about 50 cents you can even buy some fish to feed the seals. (These are injured ones, unable to survive in the wild. They'll even do some tricks for you.)
Another interesting activity, if you are so inclined is the one-hour bay cruise on the Tiger-Folly II. They can be contacted at (weekdays 805-772-2257, weekends 805-772-2255).
As you near the north end of The Embarcadero, make a U-turn on Front Street, then head east on Harbor, which turns into Morro Bay Drive. At the intersection of Highway 1 turn north, then east on on Highway 41
SR41 is a tasty treat of a road best enjoyed early in the morning before it fills with day tourists and local traffic. The wall of granite that runs along side the highway is kept intact by the root system of the diverse population of trees on the ocean side of the mountain. Thus, with a clear, smooth road ahead, the bike can be dropped into its voluptuous curves with as much throttle as one cares to apply. Be sure to dress in layers because the temperatures vary widely due to the climb in elevation, the close proximity to the ocean, and shade cast by the mountain. Upon reaching the town of Atascadero, turn north onto US 101 towards Paso Robles.
Take the Spring Street exit which travels north through a busy part of downtown Paso Robles. At Sixth Street, turn west and get ready for a little residential neighborhood maneuvering. After a slight jog to the north, turn west onto Pacific Street, which becomes Peachy Canyon Road and heads out of town. Peachy Canyon Road takes the rider past orchards and stands of oak. It is a relatively gentle, serpentine road through low rolling hills textured with vineyards, wineries, and farmhouses.
Peachy Canyon Road
The pavement is in good shape with traffic consisting of the occasional resident and local vineyard workers. There are a few large, and numerous small wineries in the hills of San Luis Obispo county. Many of them only accessible through back roads like Peachy Canyon Road. There are frequent signs and arrows along the route pointing to the entrance to these small operations where you can sample their wares, and perhaps take home some of the local nectar.
Peachy Canyon Road comes to an abrupt end with the appearance of giant yellow Cal-Trans signs indicating a “tee” intersection. Turn south on Vineyard and continue down the hill toward SR46. Just before reaching the intersection with SR46, turn northwest onto Jack Creek Road, dropping back into the Valley for a bit more fun. Jack Creek Road is only a couple of miles long and a little rough, but an enjoyable alternative to the multi-lane highway it parallels.
Jack Creek Road
At the end of the road, take SR46 west, for a very brief stretch of slab, then turn south west onto York Mountain Road. York Mountain Road is a must see little bypass along SR46 which most tourists do not even notice. Of all the roads on the loop, the riparian woods are at their deepest here and the surroundings transport the rider into an enchanted forest. Deciduous, broadleaf hardwoods and other trees native to the area form a dense canopy. Even in the winter months, when devoid of leaves, their branches are dripping with grey-green moss, giving them an eerie, almost sinister, quality. The road is narrow but not too rough and there is not another soul to be seen. At the end of the road, head west, once again on SR46, this time turning north onto Santa Rosa Creek Road.
Santa Rosa Creek Road is 16 miles of pothole-dodging excitement. It opens with a steep ascent and sharp corners, then levels off somewhat, presenting the rider with an elongated set of switchbacks in the company of some intimidating drop offs.
Santa Rosa Creek Road
There are no railings or safety devices here, just rolling pasture land with the occasional vineyard. After bumping and dodging along for four and a half miles, a stunning view of the ocean briefly appears. Just past this location is an extremely long and steep switchback. There is a turnout at this location providing a great opportunity for some nice pictures.
The view lasts for a few curves then disappears again as the tortuous descent continues. At the bottom of the road, it becomes very narrow making it necessary at times to dodge into the oncoming lane to avoid ruts big enough to bend rims. Very little traffic frequents this road; however, use caution, as there are residents in the area and large, carelessly driven, SUV’s appear to be the vehicle of choice. Throughout the day, work vehicles may be present but their road manners tend to be better than those of the local populace.
Before long, the road widens and the familiar yellow line is once again present, indicating the arrival to the town of Cambria. Historically, this area was once part of the lands of the Mission San Miguel one of the 21 missions that were built throughout western California. Main Street was once part of SR1 until the tourist trade to Hearst Castle clogged the streets of downtown so badly, they had a bypass built. This is a nice place to stop and stretch the legs or perhaps have a snack at one of the many establishments that line the street. After passing through Cambria, turn south onto SR1 and enjoy the brief, but beautiful ride along the Pacific coastline. Then turn east on SR46.
SR46 serves as the main tourist artery between the central coast communities of Cambria, Cayucos, Harmony, and Morro Bay and the inland. Fortunately, the designers had the foresight to make it a broad four-lane freeway and rarely is it unpleasantly clogged. Still, it is a straight piece of thoroughfare, making the turn south onto Old Creek Road a welcome escape.
Turning south on Old Creek Road, the rider immediately drops into an extended section of eight percent downgrade. Unlike other back roads on this ride, which are used mainly by the local business owners and Sunday tourist drivers, Old Creek Road is a working commuter artery with a lot of high speed traffic. These cagers are intent on getting to wherever they are going, so even traveling at motorcycle speeds, do not be shocked if something as big as a dually passes like the bike was standing still.
As Old Creek Road levels out, it widens and passes Whale Rock Reservoir.
Old Creek Road
This is a surprisingly large body of water with a dam that, from the perspective of the road, appears to be spilling directly into the ocean. Due to the large expanse of water, the wind picks up considerably in that area. After a mild decent to the bottom of this road, turn south on SR1 for the final leg of the loop.
Usually SR1 is consistent in providing fine views of the coast, however this particular section ducks inland briefly as it makes its way back to Morro Bay. Take the Main Street exit and continue south, bearing west. Turn downhill onto Harbor which will take you back to The Embarcadero to enjoy a sunset dinner by the ocean.
And just a side note..if you feel a little more adventurous you can always go father north, up Highway One for some amazing views. I added a short video of that ride just for fun.
BMWeerman out...
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Topics: morro, bay, Travel, adventure, Photography, motorcycles, bmweerman, video, maps, rock, back, roads
posted by bmweerman on
Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 11:41 AM
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Thanks again to the Bakersfield.com staff for another great party!
Above Possummomma, the Boss Man Steve. his boss "Scary," and Woof Woof share a pleasant moment with their legal addictive stimulants
Head Pastafarian aka Random Factor and Spouse #2 were a pleasant presence as well.
Web Master Jason and PossumDaddy share a contemplative moment.
Cam's Girl and Possummomma share a joke, I think.
Will the real Matloch please stand up?!
I think the less said about this pic the better.
This little blogger totally threw off the demographics...she sure is cute though!
And, of course, without these hard working folks we would have had no legal addictive stimulants at all...ROTFL
Sorry everybody about the horrible lighting and shadows in these pix, I just didn't have time to Photoshop them. Looking forward to the next event.
Take care everybody!
BMWeerman
Location:
benton, ca
TKozy just reminded me of something on his response to my last blog post.
He talked about launching his car into the air on the whoop te doos on Highway 58
Here is a video shot a few months ago from the passenger seat of the Road Show Beemer on Highway 120 fun..but not recommended. he he.
I teach at an alternative education school, which for those of you who may not know , is politically correct speak for Continuation School. I do the job because I used to sit on the other side of the desk in one of those schools, and after cleaning up my act 15 years ago, went back and got my masters degree and have been working with those troopers for the last ten years.
Usually I totally get them and we have a productive, respectful relationship. But, this week they just baffled me.
One of the things I have always tried to impress on them is the excitement and interest of travel. Most of them have never been out of Kern County. Some of them have never been out of Bakersfield.
Now here I must digress a bit and tell on myself. Those of you who have been reading my blog know about my recent fascination with Soda Lake and the Carrizo Plain. Not to mention the fact that I think Highway 58 between 33 and 41 is one of the best motorcycle roads in the country. So, last weekend I went riding back out to Carrizo with the specific purpose of taking some pictures that I thought would interest my students and collect a couple of small samples.
Along the most mountainous region of the the 58 run the geology is very interesting and I need to learn more about it, but the road side is made up of this very brittle rock.
I stopped, picked up a few pieces and threw them in my trunk and proceeded onward.
Then riding down this very barren road..FAR away from the main part of Soda Lake...  http://Weckerleys.smugmug.c... alt="" />
I collected a few samples here.
Very proud of myself I even marked the GPS coordinates and marked them on Google Earth to show my troopers where they came from.
To my shock and dismay...they could not have cared less.
Although I must say, the next day I let them put their hands on the samples first and then showed them the pictures. That worked better, but I still think they were underwhelmed. I just get so frustrated at how limited their imaginations can be sometimes... ARRRRRGGGHH.
Now on to journalism.
Besides working for the school I write a couple of articles a month for motorcycle magazines, which is fun and provides some nice extra bucks. Usually I write travel pieces but the last couple months I have been focusing on personality profiles and product reviews. I am working on a piece right now and am writing this to try and clear my head.
One of the rules of writing personality profiles is showing the good and the negative side of the subject. Last month I wrote a profile on a person I could not stand and I had to use a lot of journalistic restraint, with the help of my editor, to keep it in line with principles.
As we speak I am trying to finish a piece on a gentleman I like very much and I just can not find anything negative to say about him. Frustrating.
This entry probably does not mean anything to anybody but me, but I needed to write it. So if you read it thanks!
Cameron
As I stated in my previous blog post the centerpiece of Road Show this week was going to be Richard Wilbur of the Patriot Guard Riders. The arranged time for the interview was 11AM this morning and I was cozily whiling away the time typing on my laptop when an e-mail popped up from Mr. Wilbur informing me I had missed the interview.
Hellooo...can you say time zone difference BMWeerman....duh!
Since we try to update the podcast every 10 days at the very most and it has been 14 days since an update I was in a panic. I put out a few frantic e-mails and had the very good fortune to get a response from one Nik Boseley form the UK. A world rider and unique travel advisor who agreed to an interview on the spot.
Mr. Boseley has one of those great motorcycle travel stories about losing your job, selling your stuff and just hitting the road. Now that he has returned he has set up a unique motorcycle touring service. BozAdventureTours will plan your trip as much or as little as you like and provide as much or as little support as you would like on the road. His business caters to people who do not like to travel in groups and would like to do some world traveling, but because of time constraints can not do all the planning themselves.
I think it is an extraordinary idea!
Mr. Boesley is also on the cusp of having a book published about his adventures and we will keep you updated on that. To find out more about Boz Adventure Tours follow the link below.
www.bozadventuretours.com
To read his blog follow this link:
www.thedailyadventuresofboz.blogspot.com
And here is the man himself.
Posted in these Groups:
Topics: road, show, nik, boseley, boz, adventure, tours, bmweerman, Travel, motorcycles
posted by bmweerman on
Sunday, April 15, 2007 at 05:18 PM
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Before I go on to talk about this weeks podcast I need to address some old business.
Last week I promised you more from BMWeermans Wild Kingdom. Since it has been two weeks since The Wrench Wench (aka Cams Girl) had her knee surgery she decided to ride along on my bike. Not wanting to risk further injury, ever again, she purchased a set of "Bionic Knees" which are the latest and greatest in street bike knee protection from Alpinestars.
We made it to Taft and then she started knocking on my helmet telling me to pull over.
Unfortunately she was in a lot of pain and we had to turn back. I was going to go back by myself, but by the time we got her situated at home the window of opportunity to go had closed. Closed that is based on the satellite radar. So Wild Kingdom is on hold until I can get out there which, based on the weather, may be tomorrow. But, I did put a little video together from last weeks shoot if you want to get a little better view of Soda Lake.
Also some more developments from last week.
Last week we had biker cartoonist Rob Campbell who works under the pen name Rupert Piston on the show ,and if you have not visited his site I would recommend it. His cartoons and animations are very entertaining. And, he has kept a very detailed blog of his process and progress which I have found fascinating to read through. You can check it out at:
www.cartoonthunder.com
"My goal is to have something that would interest motorcyclists of all ages and also be OK to watch with your grandkids or kids." Campbell explained to me. To this end he has created a cast of characters that do just that. There is Mac and Retro, the one-eyed talking choppers and their owners Shorty and Noodles. These characters are the stars of Cartoon Thunder, but their is also a cast of other characters you just need to meet for yourself..
------------------------------------------------- ----------------------
OK...New business.
Coming up this week on Road Show.
I am very excited to be interviewing Richard Wilbur tomorrow. Richard Wilbur or "Indy Harley" as he is known is the Indiana State Captain and Mid-West Regional Captain for the Patriot Guard Riders.
For those of you who may not be familiar with the PGR they started forming groups in 2005 in opposition to Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church. Mr. Phelps and his misguided followers had begun showing up at the funerals of soldiers who had fallen in Iraq and creating ugly protests. Using legal and non-violent means the PGR in cooperation with law enforcement have made it their mission to create a shield between the grieving families of fallen soldiers and the zealots who would desecrate their memory.
I am going to break journalistic protocol here and just say that, whether or not you agree with the war, what person in their right mind would purposely show up AT A FUNERAL and add to the families pain?!?!? That is just insane.
For more information on the PGR you can visit:
www.patriotguard.org
Also this week on Road Show I will be talking about hearing protection, AMA news and other interesting bits.
You can subscribe to our RSS feed at:
www.highslab.com
BMWeerman...out.
Posted in these Groups:
Topics: road, show, podcasts, motorcycles, motorcycle, patriot, guard, Travel, adventure, Photography
posted by bmweerman on
Sunday, April 15, 2007 at 01:37 AM
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Location:
highway 58/elkhorn road,
, Ca
On a whim last Sunday I took the faithful iron steed out for a half days drive to Carizzo Plain National Monument. I have driven by the exit numerous times on the way to Morro Bay and decided to just go check it out.
By way if you have never taken the 33 to 58 tp 41 route to Morro Bay you are missing out on a beautiful trip.
Here are a few pix of 58
The Carizzo Plain lies directly on top of the San Andreas fault, and although I did not have time that day to do all the exploring I wanted, I bought some maps and will be out there again next weekend and bring in a more completer report.
Here is a map of the area...the red circle indicates the location from where I took the following pix.
I also put a pic of the map in the other photo section so you can see it larger if you want.
Just a small portion of Soda Lake.
Another view of Soda Lake (I have got to get a wide angle lens!)
Be warned though it is a bit of a hike!
And I even made a new friend.
I will be back next week with the rest of the story.
Until then Beemerman's Wild Kingdom ...out
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Topics: carizzo, plain, motorcycles, Travel, adventure, bakersfield, beemerman, road, show
posted by bmweerman on
Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 12:35 AM
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