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Indian Road , I descended from the green heaven of the Cascades into the dry , brown hell of Ashland . It ’ s actually a lovely little town , home to Southern Oregon University and the world-famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival , but it was over 100 degrees and I had been in the saddle for 12 hours . I was in desperate need of a cold shower , a colder beer and some pizza .
The next day I left the Cascades , riding a few miles south on Interstate 5 into California , where I filled up at a Chevron in Hornbrook . On both sides of the interstate and all around the gas station the ground and vegetation were charred black from the Klamathon Fire , which roared through just days earlier . It was one of many wildfires that would plague California and other western states in the weeks and months ahead . More blanks filled in on my mental map : State Route 96 along the Klamath and Trinity rivers , which cuts through rugged , remote country . In 1941 , a group of armed men stopped traffic near the town of Yreka , handing out a Proclamation of Independence for the State of Jefferson , which was in “ patriotic rebellion against the States of California and Oregon .” Although the new state never