2020 Pashnit Touring

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The actual lighthouse is located 308 steps, each numbered, down below the Visitor Center. The lighthouse is one of the most scenic on the Pacific Coast and is surrounded on three sides by endless blue ocean. Lit in 1870, the lighthouse is located on a 37-foot tower placed at a level where it is often under the fog layer above, however, the lens itself becomes level with your viewpoint as you walk down to the lighthouse.

 

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Consistent with other designs of the time, the light tower is sixteen sides of forged iron plate bolted to solid rock high above the ocean, 294 feet above sea level. Several buildings are squeezed onto this tiny promontory where the family quarters are situated, it took four men to run the first order light, fog signal and radio beacon. The present-day living quarters were built in 1960.

In the summer of 2018, the lighthouse went under a $5 million 14-month restoration project and was reopened in November of 2019.

During the restoration, an unexpected time capsule dated August 1929 was discovered in the foundation. The capsule contained 1929 newspapers of the time highlighting Prohibition, Babe Ruth, and Zeppelin air travel, a phrase printed above the logo for the San Francisco Examiner in the April 22, 1929 edition read, “America First.” A can of beer was advertised for 10 cents and “All Quiet on the Western Front” was published as a book. Ernest Borgnine was 12 years old and would go on to the star in the 1979 film remake of the book with Richard Thomas. A new Time Capsule was created with October 2018 newspapers and reset into the foundation.

 

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And what came down, must go back up.

Cool place to visit if you are in the area.

 

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Checking out Bodega Bay Harbor

I wanted to check out where they had tried to build a Nuclear power plant over the top of a seismic fault.

Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant
There were plans to build a nuclear power plant in Bodega Bay in the 1960s. It was intended by PG&E to be the first commercially viable nuclear power plant in the United States. However, Bodega Head is located on one tectonic plate, and the mainland is located on a different tectonic plate. Tectonic Plates are those islands of land that float on the liquid magma below. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Bodega Head promontory shifted displacing the harbor approximately 15 ft to the north relative to the mainland. This triangular land mass is still traveling at a distance of 2-3 inches per year in relation to mainland California. That would also mean the harbor has moved another 24 feet to the north since 1906. The Nuclear Power Plant was intended to be located right by the entrance to the present-day harbor. While PG&E was digging the foundation for the first reactor, the hole filled with water and plans were abandoned in 1964 after an extended legal fight to prevent the construction of the plant. The legal controversy to block the Bodega Bay Nuclear Power Plant is said to have given birth to the anti-nuclear movement in America.

 

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Today, it's an overgrown pond fed by spring water. Oh well, it was interesting researching it for the article I wrote about it.

Bodega Bay Harbor

Fishing boats headed out to sea

 

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Ready to head home across the state into the heat. 104 degree temps expected.

Several of these nearby. They seem uncaring at my suiting up and getting ready to head out.

 

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This motorcycle tour has a sad epilogue.

Sunday, we were awoken to thundershowers and lightning at 3am. Very little rain, but a spectacular light show. That's likely normal in most parts of the country including where I grew up in rural Wisconsin, thunder storms there are once-a-week as a kid. But, here in California, they are once a year. Often in summer, when the heat creates these thundershowers.

Few hours later ready to leave the coast and head inland, the light show over the ocean was really something.

Lots of lightning in the distance.

 

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More back roads to get over the coast range.

Wandering through some remote single lane.

 

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View back at the ocean is decent.

 

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Within miles of the ocean, have to stop and re-layer. Heat comes up that quick.

 

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Coleman Valley Rd into Occidental, fun little backroad.

 

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Another up-an-over ridgeline and dropping down into wine country.

 

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Starting to rain a little. No lightning though.

I've been thinking of building a small winery in my front yard, couple rows of grapes, so I keep taking pics of how they set up the rows and irrigation.

 

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Ever get tired of takin' pictures of your bike? Yah, me neither.

House on the hill.

 

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I know this guy that 'bridge hunts' Finds old bridges and rides to them. We all need excuses to ride.

Maacama refers to Mayacama. Mayacamas Mountain Range is home to the world’s largest and most developed geothermal field spanning 22 different power plants spread over 30 square miles. Since 1921, over 350 wells have been sunk into the earth that pull heat from active geothermal vents and convert it to electrical energy.

 

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Favorite backroad of mine is nearby. But it sort of fell off into the canyon below a few years ago. Went to check out if anything had changed.

 

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Yah, nope. Denied. Looked it up later and county has no plans to fix it.
All the highway funds are going to other roads.

Well that sucks.

Should have brought my chainsaw?

 

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Consolation prize is although I've got to backtrack, I get to ride through Angwin and back down the backside of the range. Fun twisties.

 

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So here's the sad part of my tale. All that lightning over the ocean we had Sunday morning moved inland and set the state on fire. They say 360 files burning right now. The smoke is really bad. It's mid-August, it hasn't rained in four months, it's 100 degrees out. 2nd largest fire in state history is burning right now, something like 300,000 acres.

Headed around Lake Berryessa on the way across the state

This same area, this is how it looks now. They'll get these out, but it'll likely be 1-2 weeks.

Fire Map:ArcGIS Web Application

My buddy Mark on this ride lives at the very bottom of this in Morgan Hill.
08-21-20

08-24-20 The fire at bottom left got into Big Basin SP and burned the visitor center to the ground last week, I've taken groups there many times, fire burned all the way to the ocean, and they are building fire breaks around UC Santa Cruz to prevent it from getting into the university which has been evacuated.

 

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Well kids, we're safe and there are no fires close to us although the smoke everywhere is really bad.

This is what it's like outside right now, yes, that's the mid-sun & this is my front yard.

Made it home just fine through 105 degree heat. Time for new shoes and plan the next ride for next month. Three tours left in 2020 & we're headed for the Northern Sierra Nevada next. There are some small fires burning up in NorCal but hope they get them out in next 1-2 weeks.