On our way home from a recent moto trip to Canada, we pressed our luck one evening trying to squeeze in a few more miles before we lost the light, and ended up in the little town of Tulelake, CA.
Light had started fading well before we pulled off the highway looking for the road which would lead us to the campsite marked on our map, 10 or 15 miles west of town. So after a few u-turns we pulled over to ask a local resident who was out mowing her lawn.
“That park’s out a ways, but there’s camping out behind the fairgrounds.” she said.
“And where are those?” we asked.
“Right there” she said, pointing across the street
We circled the block and found a gravel driveway leading to some of the best kept grass you’re going to find outside of the PGA. We had the entire place to ourselves and spent a fantastic evening sleeping on a grass featherbed.
The next morning we swung into town for Anjel’s coffee fix and found The Tractor Stop Espresso and Coffee.
Aside from coffee and espresso, window signs tell all passers-by that they can also drop in to pick up: Belted Chain, PEER Bearings, Hay Parts, Flagpoles, Tools, Shirts, Hats, Gifts and Art & Photography.
We spoke with a few older gentlemen inside who were hanging out and talking over their morning coffee. While we ordered one said: “Whelp, I should be getting on” and the three said their good-byes to us and the woman behind the counter and made their way outside… where we found them a few minutes later, standing casually around their trucks, continuing the conversation.
“You guys didn’t get very far.”
“Nope.”
Though the downtown was only a few blocks long, there were some great examples of signage including the library and plumber:
the two word: “Super Market”
The seemingly defunkt “Tule Lanes”
And the local bar “The Homestead”
One of the best parts of motorcycling is searching out the fun, winding backroads which inevitably lead to sleepy towns like Tulelake.
So if you happen to be heading across the CA/OR border on 139 swing by and grab a cup of coffee. And maybe some new bearings for that tractor wheel you’ve been meaning to look after.
