So the concert was excellent, although it was so strange to go from almost constant solitude to being with 3,300 other people along with loud music and all that goes with it. Weather was perfect all night for sandals and skirt (shipped nice clothes to the hotel before we left, worked out great!) and the venue was excellent. Not a bad seat in the house, wine and food offerings were great with virtually no lines, cheap refills (refills!) on wine, and the sound was perfect. War totally nailed it
Every song was knockout. Poor Tower of Power…total embodiment of the saying "tough act to follow." They were awesome, too, tho! Looking for an excuse to go back to both places!
Got back to the hotel and soaked in our private hot springs tub on the deck. The water had a slight sulfurous smell but that doesn't bother me. There were little sachets of liquid scents that you could dump in if you wanted. Been wanting to come here to the Paso Robles Inn forever so it was great to finish off our trip in such luxury!
Speaking of luxury, morning coffee in a wine glass…
A fabulous morning…and I'm putting off donning my filthy gear and riding home on one of the hottest days of the year…
But ride home we did…and it was brutal!
We split lanes from Salinas all the way to Gilroy. I'd wanted to take back roads home, either Nacimiento-Ferguson and the coast, or through the San Benito Valley on Peachtree, Parkfield, Clear Creek-Coalinga, Clear Creek, Idria, and then hit one more hot springs…Mercey, but there just wasn't enough time. We were both anxious to get home to our kitties. So we split lanes. in the heat. For miles and miles and miles….
Oh…have I mentioned that both of our bikes ran like tops the entire time? No issues, no hiccups…not even a loose bolt. Can you believe we actually
said that out loud before we left Paso Robles? Yeah, me neither...
So, we probably could have made it home on the fuel we had, but no…we had to stop in Fremont for gas. I was getting dehydrated and needed water anyway, but I could have made it home. Anyway, we fuel up, slam down some liquids and fire up the bikes for the last stretch. Well, the Husky fires up, anyway. The big KTM? Nope…
Out come the tools, for the first time in 2500 miles…and we're a mere
26 miles from home!
Seems there was a loose wire somewhere between the starter switch and the starter itself. He had it fixed and buttoned up in a few minutes…
And that was the very last photo I took, as ½ hour later we were home! Happy and sad at the same time, and I was ready to take off again the next day!
It was a fantastic trip, the first we've done for this long completely unsupported, and I am really looking forward to more trips just like it.
I plan on tracing the route onto my Nevada state map and I'll post a photo of it when I do, hopefully tomorrow.
As far as the hot springs portion goes, we managed to visit 14 natural hot springs! Not all of them were soakable, one was abandoned and closed to the public, a few were commercial, but they were all spectacular in their own way. It's funny…I have a burning need to spend time in the desert, but what I love most is water…go figure! Finding water in the desert is a very special and delicious treat for me. Now I only have about a million more hot springs to see
Thanks for coming along, everyone. I know this was a long and arduous journey, and I appreciate your stamina and patience
LongWindedChick
