Captain’s Log - Stardate: 20-16-07-10 – Mission Day 5

First Officer’s Entry:

I am under Captain’s orders to explain my dislike of California.  But first let me tell you how really nice this particular part of California is.  Quincy is smack dab in the middle of the Plumas National Forest, which in turn is smack dab in the middle of a bunch of trees.  Big trees.  Tall trees.  Green trees.  And cool temperatures!  We slept under a blanket last night!  That’s a far cry from 100 degrees at midnight in Phoenix.

 

A Couple Fun Pictures from our Recent Trip to Tombstone

Did you know "ladies of the night" were required to walk only on the shady side of the streets of Tombstone?

On top of that this is one of the nicest RV parks we’ve stayed in.  Not “nice” as in “POSH Nice”.  It’s not a resort and it’s not elegant.  But it is NICE as in big but not too big.  Nice as in long and wide shaded RV spots.  Nice as in really NICE people running it.  Nice as in spanking new clean facilities.  Nice as in clean, clean, clean grounds.  Nice as in I have never before seen a park with a central area complete with propane BBQ’s and fire ring, and rocking chairs and benches that is free for the park clients to gather around in the evening to swap travel tales and what-to-see suggestions.  We are really comfortable here.

OK, back to my dislike of California.  The first reason is that the first thing you see upon entering the state is a sign that says, “Max Speed Limit for Vehicles Towing Trailers is 55 mph.”  This is a law held over from the 1950’s when cars towed rental trailers with clamp-on bumper hitches. Those hitches were inherently unsafe, caused a lot of accidents, and we are left with their legacy, This speed restriction means we have to drive 10 mph under the other vehicles’ posted speed limit, which is really 20 mph slower than everyone is driving anyway. Believe me those other drivers do not get mad at California when I hold them back.  

Another reason is California’s draconian gun laws.  First of all, they do not recognize Arizona’s Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) permits.  Second first of all, if you have a weapon in your vehicle, it has to be unloaded, locked in a gun safe type container, and in the trunk of the vehicle.  It cannot be anywhere where anybody can get at it “quickly.”  Since RV’s don’t really have trunks, anywhere you put the lock-box is subject to interpretation by both officer and the judges.  Third first of all is that an officer can demand entry into your RV if he/she believes there might be something illegal in the vehicle.  That “belief” is undefined and can be anything the officer wants it to be.

So bottom line is if we are in a rest stop having a nice lunch and someone threatening pulls open the RV door, I must ask them to please wait while I go into the back of the RV and unlock the gun safe and load a gun.  Or I could always remember to keep the coach doors locked.  Right, like that’s gonna happen.

Think rest stops are safe?  Google “Rest stop murders.” ‘Nuff said.

By the way, this National Norton Owners Rally is being held at the Plumas County Fairgrounds here in Quincy and posted at the entrance of the fairgrounds is a big sign that says “No Two Wheel Vehicles Allowed.”  I sure hope they make an exception for us.  And that’s not a dig at California; I just think it’s funny.

End First Officer’s Entry

Captain’s Entry:

I’ve nearly finished the “inner circle.” Check back tomorrow for a photo. I’ve heard mystery keeps readers engaged. We need that today because it has been a really lazy, do-nothing day. However, the First Officer (with just a teeny weenie bit of help from the Captain) did roll both the Triumph and the Norton down the ramp behind the RV’s garage. Yes, we have a garage! In fact, when the bikes are not along for the ride, our Smart Car (Maxwell) can fit in there.

There are quite a few INOA (International Norton Owners’ Association) members already here and camped out over at the fairgrounds. We took a walking tour of the place this morning and met and got reacquainted with many of them. Leo was busily polishing his Norton when we met him and his wife Pat, who are from Santa Rosa, California. After Frank unloaded the bikes and discovered he forgot his super-special motorcycle polish (Pledge), he zipped over to Leo’s place to use his supplies. It’s nice to make new friendships and then immediately take advantage of them. (All kidding aside, most brother bikers will go out of their way to help, even when it’s not a crisis!).

I’m so settled and comfortable here that I wouldn’t mind living here (until winter). Frank talked with the woman who owns the RV Park, and she mentioned that until moving here she had never experienced really cold weather. One day it was 15 degrees here, so she ventured outside just to see what it felt like. Never again, she said. That kind of cold hurts!

Now that you’ve met some of the people around here, let’s re-join Anne and Charles Lindbergh, who are on their way to the Orient. Their first stop, unlike ours, landed them on Baker Lake not far from Hudson Bay in British Canada. They were greeted by Eskimos and a Canadian Mountie. The Eskimo children seemed fascinated with Anne, and she later learned she was the very first white woman they had ever seen! (So far, no one in camp has seemed fascinated with me as the first 71-year-old woman they’ve ever seen doing embroidery in a camp chair! Oh well.) 

While we can drive a very short distance to a supermarket to satisfy any sort of food craving we might have, the outpost in Canada that served as the Lindbergh’ first stop got supplies once a year (by boat). They struggled to set a decent table for the Lindberghs, but did manage to provide wonderfully prepared fresh-caught salmon. Those few who lived there were sick of eating salmon while waiting for the arrival of the supply boat, and didn’t consider it a delicious treat to offer their guests.  Anne and Charles, however, were delighted. 

I hope you are enjoying hearing about Anne and Charles’s adventures alongside ours. The comparisons are laughable, but hey, we can’t all be famous aviators. We do, however, fly a Starship!

That’s it until tomorrow (or maybe the next day) when the secret of the inner circle will be revealed.

Thanks so much for reading and for your gracious responses to our efforts at blogging.

End Captain’s Entry

First Officer’s Post Script: Got the Norton and the Triumph out of the RV today. The Norton started right up. Triumph’s battery is dead and will not take a charge. Tomorrow I get to explore this rural area and find out how small Quincy really is as I search for a replacement . . . and the adventure continues.