Across the Richmond Bridge again and down the freeway to San Jose, where I got fuel. Bloody Californians have this weird system whereby the pump nozzle has a rubber overboot to collect excess fumes while you fill - Which means you can't see what is happening over-flow wise. They also don't trust anyone so you have to pay in advance, and specify how much fuel you want - If you dont know or want to "fill it", you have to put $50 or more than you need on your card, fill the tank, then, if it takes only $45 worth, they credit you back the $50 and take another payment for $45 ! So you end up with 3 receipts and a long list of transactions on your bank card ! Today I tried to guess and the whole thing overflowed all over me, so I stank of petrol all the way !! Grrrrrr. Roll on Nevada !!
Turned onto Hwy 25 at Gilroy (Garlic ??) at the recommendation of Kiyoshi from GGLC, and that road was fantastic and just got better and better and better the further it went !! Half way down I saw a sign to Pinnacles National Monument so needing a leg stretch I went off up the side road. Visited the information sentre and it looked great, plus I was able to buy my one year $80 pass that will now let me into all US National Parks, and seeing I will be in quite a few that cost about $15 each, well worth it. Drove up to the car park and dressed up for the cold (about 7 - 10 deg C all day with a bitter wind) and set off up the trail. About an hour up this magnificent track I came out on top of the mountain amongst these Pinnacles. No one else up there - Just stunning. I was chatting away to anyone who cared to listen about how beautiful it all was !!! This is half of a volcano that was split by the San Andreas fault many eons ago, and this half is moving west at about 2 cms per year. Where is the other half ? In Los Angeles, 200 miles away !!! So at 2 cms a year it has been on the move for a while !!! But a lovely 1 1/2 hour hike which I needed after sitting in the car for 3 hours already, and still 3 more to go !! Bit further than I thought !
Then further south got onto Hwy 198 which goes up though some mountains - Again a great little road and almost no traffic, and what there was politely pulled over as soon as they saw me zoom up behind them in the twisties, although I didn't go over 60 all the way once (honest !!). Eventually climbed up into some snow where people had stopped to have a snowball fight, and then once over the summit ZAP the scenery suddenly totally changed - no snow and it looked like I was in a desert. Weird. But an equally good road. How good ? Well this is the area where James Dean was driving on his way to Salinas in his Porsche when he came down to the junction of 46 and 41 and was hit by a guy called Donald Turnupseed in a Ford, and subsequently died, so it is quite a well known area for good roads.
Quite acceptable motel for $35 a night (plus bloody tax !!) in Bakersfield, with a Dennys and a Starbucks etc all within 2 minutes walk, which is all you need for an over night stop.
Am told there is more rain due tonight (and the sky was VERY black before the sun went down), and you can clearly see all the snow up in the Sierras in the distance. But hopefully tomorrow is due to be warmer, and fine, so fingers crossed we can get the roof off and get a clear run over the Sierras and into Death Valley. Plan to camp in Death Valley so hope it does warm up, and might take a day in there to go for a days walk to get rid of some of these hamburgers and pizzas that I have been consuming ! Been very good on alcohol though - Apart from a couple of (very good) home brew beers at Pete's house at the Golden Gate Lotus Club Meeting last Friday, I haven't had any alcohol for a week. Oh, and the Guiness at Tommy's Joynt in San Francisco !!! Oh, yes, and a couple of beers with Phillip Holmes when we went out at Laguna !!! Whoops ! Yes, better go for a walk.
Pics follow.
https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/SFToBakersfield?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDv6a6AgqedwwE#
