The border is about in the middle of Goose Lake, another alkali lake in the high desert. I took these shots from a bluff a couple hundred feet above the lake bed. There were cattle grazing on the grass below. The average depth of the lake is only 8 feet, but its surface area is huge!
Right after pulling back onto the highway after taking this last picture a deer ran across the road right in front of me. The sun is getting low in the sky and I still have 2-3 hours to reach Susanville.
I stopped in Alturas to get a drink and rest.
I talked to the employees at the gas station about how far it was to Susanville. I decided that with the sun going down and my energy zapped that taking the scenic route through the hills was not a good idea, especially with the threat of more deer in the road. So I opted to continue on 395 for anther 106 miles to Susanville.
The bugs are comming out, as you can see on the windscreen. I need to get moving. 75mph never felt so right. But the road just kept on going and going and going...
As it became dark I could see city lights off in the distance, and then the road turned away from the lights to dimmer city lights farther away to the west. I had forgotten that there is a maximum security prison just east of Susanville. I finally arrived about 10:45 (Mountain time) at Susanville. The first hotel was way to expensive, so I drove down the main drag and spotted several cheap motels that seemed questionable. I really wanted to soak in a hot tub but the only place that had one was the expensive hotel and it was closing in 15 minutes.
I ended up talking to this really nice older lady at the front desk of the Pine Motel. She convinced me that their rooms were a lot better than the cheaper places across the street, for less than $15 difference I decided to take her word for it. I was not disappointed. The room was very nice and clean, the bed was firm and I even got to park my motorcycle under a carport. I settled for Burger King for dinner, bought a six pack of Sierra Nevada pale ale and settled in for the night. I was only able to drink one and a half beers before I passed out.
The next morning I was up a 7am (Pacific time), showered, shaved and started repacking the bike for day 2. I thanked the nice old lady at the front desk. She was super nice and very interested in my trip. I needed some coffee and a bite to eat before heading out. Other than Burger King last night out of desperation, I am trying to avoid national chains in order to get a taste of the local food and experience some real Americana. So instead of Starbucks or McDonalds, I found a car wash and coffee house called "Wash Down, Coffee Up", and had an excellent bagel and cup of joe.
I was all ready to go when I saw this "Idaho Grocery"... in Susanville California. Ironic.
No more desert from here on out, its all through high mountain valleys, pine trees, alpine lakes, and twisty roads. Day 2 begins!
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