Bucket list places to see.

[ekap1200]

We all have that one special place that is on the top of our need to see list. Mine was set many years ago as a very young teen. The exact year I can not recall but go-karts and mini bikes were the popular and mostly the only choice a youngster started out with. No dirt bikes or moto-cross bikes even existed back then and most of us had modified up-swept scrambler style exhaust fabricated to roam the woods with. There were always a few dads willing to help us out and teach us arch or gas welding on metal work to keep us from constantly tearing off the pipes. All us kids had blue collar hard working dads in some field of mechanics or another.
Growing up in a glass town, most of our parents worked in sand mine's , or the glass industry or as iron workers or machinists . So that was just a natural thing for us kids to get involved with the same.
So the top of my list has always been the giant redwood forest. And everyone here in New Jersey knows the day I retire, that is where my voyager will be heading. On that first day of retirement....
The first time I saw Jim Allens redwood home I was just a child at the New York Worlds Fair in 64 . Carved out of a 14 foot diameter redwood, with all the interior cabinets, furniture , well just about everything in it was made from the tree.
It was a trip to the county fair as a teenager that I knew I had to take a motor-cycle trip to see these massive trees. And has been on my motorcycle Bucket list ever since. And every time I think of it , in the back of my mind I always remember seeing this massive work of art. Not ever researching it online and thinking it may not exist anymore , only the memory of it kept me yearning to see these trees, but with only two weeks of vacation in a row the trip was not in the cards. And I want to spend time out on the west coast to really enjoy the sights.
Which in closing brings me to writing this short story as I relaxed on the couch today with balmy weather outside and not much energy to do much but watch the TV and munch on snack foods. While watching " Strange Inheritance " Here was the exhibit , still traveling with the daughter and her friend trucking it around the country , and looking as it did over 53 years ago. I'm not sure where it will show up in the country but may have to follow up on that later this week. But the Bucket List destination to see these wonders of the planet will keep me wanting to ride to the west coast. And perhaps if I plan it out well enough a visit to where- she may be in the country and to see this redwood home , again would be the icing on the cake for a trip like this.
Gene Kap.

[cushman eagle]

I never got a bucket list started, I just take the time I have and ride when I get the chance.I am still debating the Kerrville trip.That takes place during a busy time of the year for our business,and it would add about a week of time away over the Nashville Indiana trip.I would like to see the Redwoods however,along with the Grand Canyon .

[triton28]

The redwood forests are truly spectacular. One trip I was on was with my sister in law, a forester with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, we were visiting the forests north of San Francisco on Highway 1.
We stopped at a ranger station at one of the many redwood parks and since Susan, my sister in law, was a forester, the rangers told us how to get to one particular locale within the park that was off limits to the general public.
We arrived at the suggested area and found the unknown marker which led us into this unbelievable group of particular redwoods.
These were the tallest in the park; over 360 feet tall arranged in this marvelous ring around what were the remains of the mother tree.
It was a sunny hot day but it was dark and raining down at ground level from the dew and condensation falling from the shade of the canopy above us.
It was awe inspiring to be among those trees! One feels humbled among the giants around one. So using our extended arms the three of us measured one of the trees at 65 feet of circumference at 5 feet above the ground, about 20 foot diameter.
On another trip I was fortunate enough to see a forest of Sequoia trees, a relative of the coastal redwoods. The most famous Sequoia we saw was the General Grant Tree which has it's first permanent branch 90 feet above the ground and the branch is 6 feet in diameter at the trunk.
To me these forests are a wonder of the natural world and not to be missed should one have the time and opportunity to do so.
I think this is a wonderful item for a bucket list and I hope it can be realized by any who include it in their list.
I hope one day get back for one last visit as well.
Dave

[Barry]

My favorite Redwood Forest is privately owned at Felton, CA. Roaring Camp & Big Trees Railroad runs tourist trains to the top of the mountain. Somehow it escaped the fires that burnt much of the coastal forests late last year. Also check out all the other steam railroads in California. They are all an eye into our history.