Day 3

Orange Blossoms by Mt Palomar

I jumped on to I-15 due south.  The traffic was very bad, it was a Friday morning after all, and was getting worse as I shifted over onto CA79.  It all disappeared though on San Diego County Road 16 (S16).  That was a beautiful ride with no cars and clean curves.  It was a quick glide south to CA76 (what's with all the highways in the 70s around here????) where I picked up the highway towards Palomar.  My GPS was telling me to take Nate Harrison road as an alternative to South Grade Road to get to Mt. Palomar so I made the left turn onto it.  That road was awful: huge potholes, bad paving through miles of Orange Groves.  Then, before I know it, I got to a sign that said "Pavement Ends - 3 Miles".  From the road conditions, I wasn't entirely surprised but I was feeling a little frustrated.  I pulled onto the dirt and had a look at my maps and GPS.  It seemed that the main road up to Palomar was the only option so I turned around and followed the signs to S6 (South Grade Road). 

It got remarkably cold as I head higher, but it was a clean ride up to Palomar Mountain General Store.  This is a very popular area to go riding in between LA and San Diego and I've read stories where the residents on this road used to spread oil in the turns to discourage the flocks of sport bikes that would try and drag knees up to the general store and back.  Strangely then, the area was deserted of most cars and with the exception of one lone Harley up there, I was the only motorcycle around.  I imagine the weather had something to do with that and as I walked around the parking lot of the general store, rubbing my hands, a guy driving a honey truck asked if I want to swap rides so I could warm up.  Nice try buddy :)  I took the small road that goes to the observatory and parked my bike so I could explore a little. 

Road to Palomar

Palomar Observatory Dome

I walked over to the 200' dome under cold grey skies and entered a gift shop that was akin to some sort of astronomical sanctuary.  I went into the observatory proper and had a look around.  Since it was early on a Friday morning, there weren't many tourists around and there weren't any astronomers around to talk to so I headed back outside.  Much to my shock, in the 10 minutes I had been wandering around inside it had started snowing!  I jogged back to the bike and geared up.  I turned on the GPS and followed the directions to Palomar Divide Road.  Rather, I should say I followed the directions to where Palomar Divide Road SHOULD be... it doesn't exist despite the very vocal protestations of my GPS. 

Coyote Canyon Road in Anza

• Head over on I-10 to I-215 to I-15.  That would have meant three major freeways on a Friday afternoon during rush hour.  No thank you.
• Go back a third time along the 74-371-79 path.  I detest backtracking so this was definitely the last possibility.
• Go immediately south on 86 along the western edge of the Salton Sea and then cut across the desert through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on CA78 where I would finally be back on the original route.  That looked like the best option.

I head down south along 86 right into the teeth of the wind; my Joe Rocket jacket acting like a sail and dragging back on my shoulders and neck painfully.  The weather was warm as well on this side of the mountains so was starting to get about as uncomfortable as I could get.  I ground my teeth and hunkered down until I finally arrive at the turn off onto 78.  Then it was straight into the desert exchanging the wind for the glare of a setting sun.  All in all though, after the wind subsided over the next few rises I headed through some magnificent dunes and a variety of desert landscapes in what turned out to be a very nice road.  I passed Borrego Springs in the middle of the park and then bolted west along 78.  All around were weird, tall, grassy, spiky plants with lurid red blossoms on them.

Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Not User Friendly Highway 79

As it got darker I got closer and closer to my personal nemesis for this ride, CA79.  I finally made for San Diego on 79 South, past a very desolate looking Lake Cayumaca, to get onto I-8 and head west into San Diego proper.  I got to the Best Western and walked right into a tin-dictator hotel manager who was not pleased about me, my motorcycle and my lack of having a reservation.  I have no idea what he was talking about.  Finally, I convinced him to let me check in and I got settled, jaywalked across the street to the Casa Picante Cantina to have a bite to eat, get a drink and put my thoughts down.  At the bar, I explained what I was doing to a couple of drunk frat boys who were curious about your disheveled author scribbling away with a pen in one hand and a tequila in the other.  I think the only impression they had after I completed my story of how the day went, was that I must be certifiable to ride through stuff like that.