Tahoe to Shasta Lake

Todays ride was though some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever ridden. I took all back mountain roads up Rte 89 and a few others including 44. My goal was to stay in the high country as much as possible as temps in Shata Lake today went to 105 degrees. Most of the day I was very cool almost to the point of stopping to put on another layer. The ponderosa pines are majestic with many being 6 or 7 feet in diameter. It is like riding through a forest of giants for nearly 200 miles. Very few cars were seen and only a few construction zones. I did see a number of BMW's all moving north toward Redmond. I new I was on the right roads when I saw all the California plates on the bikes as they went by me. These guys know where to go to stay cool and enjoy the twisties. I stopped for lunch in a little town and asked the local LEO where was the best place to eat. It pointed it out and I was not disappointed. A great pastrami sandwhich and bowl of home made brocolli cheese soup. MMMMMMM good! I scared myself a little by not paying too much attention to gas stops. Every 3 miles or so I came into a little town so I did not think there was any problem. Well.......all of a sudden I was about 175 miles into a 220 mile estimated tank and the towns stopped. The one that I thought was going to be my saving grace only had one station and it was closed. ARGH! I really need that GSA for these trips. I ended up making it to the Lassen Volcanic National Park. Fortunately the park office had a single pump. ONLY 87 octane... oh well... it splashed into what felt like a hollow empty tank. Turns out I had about a gallon left, so I was more concerned than I needed to be. You really need to pay attention to gas out here in these vast expanses of mountains.