Bikes, Buses and Bunkum!

Our route.

Picture 50 or so motorcycles, followed at a much slower pace by 4 VW buses heading from the San Francisco to the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. At a mountain town, you turn north on a county road, turn east on another county road, follow the road down a valley, across a river, up the other side of the valley to a campground on a lake. The BMW motorcycles circle around each other, the buses take the flat land, and one bus - the local host's bus, slides its side door open to reveal a keg of beer labeled simply, "blonde". At a nearby cafe, normally closed this time of year, the locals have teamed up to make some food to serve to the band of travelers. The weather is warm and wonderful, the people are fun and talkative, dogs, kids, bikes, buses - all of this makes the Bikes, Buses and Bunkum camp out a great time.

Last weekend we took Big Blue through the flat hot lands east of the Bay Area to the Bunkum event. It's the same group of guys we camped with in Rio Vista back in February, but this time the nice weather brought out many more people. Static and his dog Maggie, Peter on a BMW bike this time (read about his adventure here), Chris and his wife and kids in their massive truck, Keith, Rob and his girlfriend (and their bad-ass van) were all there. The event was hosted by a guy named Gene, who lived in the area (he had the '71 with the keg). Also, a new guy named Carl showed up with a cool high-top Vanagon.

Of course, any time spent traveling in Big Blue is always fun, but this time, the great warm weather, the stories Keith and Rob and Dan the Canadian postman told around the fire were pretty great. Below are some pictures of the grand adventure...

Our original spot (that's Chris's truck, the thing is huge!)

EP taking a load off.

Gene's '71 complete with tapped keg.

Not sure who brought this nice Westy in.

Dinner is served.

The next morning. EP playing with the camera settings.

The spot we ended up in after moving for some privacy.

The road out on Sunday - tight curves and a long way to fall.

The foothills of the Sierras.

Keep on truckin'.

A stop in the town of Folsum. We didn't see the prison, but stopped in some antique shops.

Ending the adventure at Ernie's Tin Bar - where else?