It rained most of the day. I left Weaverville around 10:00am and headed east. My intent originally was to go to Lassen National Park and then to Tulelake, but even though this is a fairly long journey it was looking like time would be running short. My alternative ended up being Lava Beds National Monument and then on to Tulelake.
The sky was dark all day but the ride was incredible. Long flat stretches and then over mountains and around Mt. Lassen and Shasta. People not from California think of a state with 35 million as nothing but people but on this ride I went a long time between seeing another car. Things changed coming over the mountain into Berny running into at least 50 logging trucks within an hour.
I don't know what it is about riding a motorcycle as opposed to driving in a car - but you have a lot of time to think. There are no distractions - such as a cell phones, CD or radio. On a bike - you are in the moment and as the long straight stretches of rows of Ponderosa Pines go slipping by faster and faster, it's easy to disconnect from a 55 mile speed limit as you hit 110. Reality and the possibility of becoming a part of deer brings things back into perspective.
I made a left turn off of hiwy 139 and headed 14 miles on a very rough road to Lava Beds. I stopped at the visitor center to pay my entrance fee and ended up buying a Senior National Parks pass good until I die for $10 (they thought it was a good). After doing a little caving and hitting my head a few times and slipping off the path and cutting my hand on a sharp piece of lava I emerged back into the light (and rain)
.
I made it to the town of Tulelake and found a B&B for the night. Originally I was going to camp but the rain changed my mind. It was a good decision. Fe's Bed & Breakfast. What stands out about Fe's is Fe - a Filipino emigrant that's been living in Tulelake for 10 years. Fe ended up here after meeting and marrying an American while he was in the Philippines. In this economy in this part of the state - there is no time or the luxury of trying to make the world a better place. The first priority is just trying to survive. Life in a small town in a remote area is a challenge - what would make Fe's life work better would be having the time just to make some aditional friends.
The purpose for me of coming to Tulelake is the visit to the internment center - which really isn't there. There are a few buildings left but most of the center was torn down. This was the largest of the internment camps and the only thing left is the jail and - at the local museum a guard tower and one of the cabins.
Later in the evening at Fe's, two Japanese decedents of internees checked in - Grace from Sacramento and Yuki from Oakland. Every year decedents of internees and a few of the internees still living - head to Tulelake for a pilgrimage. For Yuki and Grace - this has become a passion. It is their mission to help keep this sad part of American history alive and to help their relatives deal with the many devastating issues this has caused in their lives. Stories unfold and the evening gets late but this is what this trip is about. I've made 3 new friends today and have extended invitations for them to visit Sebastopol.
Tomorrow it's the Museum and then off to Idaho.
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