Death Valley for the Life of Me.

[campfire]

Excitement built as the rider prepped his bike, all the planning, all the prep work, it was now a week away that he would leave for the 10+ hour drive to his destination. He casually looked around the garage at the shelves full of equipment, tools, camping gear, and he wondered just where in the hell did he put his cooler?
"I better start packing some of this crap, or I'll never be ready."



Episode 1;
The thought of riding 10+ hours to Death Valley in a day with only what would fit on the bike created much thought. Ride ten hours, to then sleep and start riding for three days?

The decision was made to drive the truck and trailer the bike down so I could haul the cooler, groceries, water jugs, and assorted tools for things that may happen. And... the thought of that drive in a vehicle with a cup holder, A/C, and not wearing a helmet with tunes at the finger tips was an easy one. This was sort of turning out to be a woos ride anyway. We rented a house for the five of us instead of camping at Panamint Springs, full kitchen, showers, patio chairs, and beds. Besides, having a truck will be a lot easier to haul some beer to the house instead of having it fall off the bike half way back from Pahrump Nevada.

Some of the stops & desitinations this trip will be;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyolite,_Nevada

https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyc ... -towns.htm

https://goo.gl/maps/9y1HMQWNPRVJWzN46

https://goo.gl/maps/1t5emsqs5dxrnYP4A

And maybe the Racetrack.

More later.

[diogenes009]

[LadyDraco]

Well

[campfire]

What an awesome week. But poor cell service , and the fact I can’t upload pictures to the web from my iPad is causing the delay.
Titus Canyon was my highlight I think, but just a great week of riding with great friends. Heading home tomorrow, but taking two days to do it. It was a 12 hour drive down here and I’m worn out now, so maybe six hours of travel tomorrow.

(And I do have lots of pictures)

[campfire]

Home safe, just downloaded the pictures from my phone to the computer. But it's been a long day of 11 hours of driving, cleanup tomorrow, and then we'll see about updating the ride report.

Goodnight

[diogenes009]

[campfire]

Teaser---------------------------

[Camp Director]

Teaser---------------------------

The KLR would have been faster. But not by much.

[campfire]

Teaser---------------------------

The KLR would have been faster. But not by much.

So, last Wednesday rolled around and I was up early and hit the road before sunrise. Which I caught heading across the Sacramento Valley for Highway 50 and Tahoe.



I seemed to avoid most of the commute traffic and made some decent time up the Sierra's and reaching Tahoe with only one coffee stop.



Made it through Tahoe and then over to Hwy 395 south for a ways, then cut over to US 95 south to the wonderful little town of Hawthorne Nevada and the Army Depot of Hawthorne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_Army_Depot

Lunchtime was afoot and the only thing I saw was a Micky Dee's
Nope! NO McDonalds on this trip. So a quik look at the phone map and i spot a local burger place a block off he highway nearby. Lots of locals & construction workers lined up along with a sign that said "Each order, made to order. This is NOT fast food." And another sign was the one that sold me, so I ordered.



An awesome burger was consumed, onion rings enjoyed, and I hit the road with a full belly. As I left Hawthorne, there was a road sign that warned "NEXT FUEL 100 MILES" and as I glanced down I saw 1/2 tank showing on the gauge. U turn for a 1/2 mile and a fill up. But as I was filling up, I remembered my empty gas cans in the trailer. I put about 3-4 gallons in one of them for simple insurance.
Almost to the next town and the burger/onion ring combo started to rumble.
The perfect trip was still going good as I see another sign... REST STOP 1 MILE.
I pull in and head for the rustic building when I see a 30's guy talking to an elderly couple, who then pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked down the road.
"Yep, it looks like a town up on that hill" as the younger guy sees me and asks "Do yo know if that's a town with a gas station?"
I explain that I have no idea, and he explains that he didn't pay attention to the fuel gauge and just coasted into the rest stop sputtering. "You wouldn't happen to have any extra gas would you?"
"Man, it's your lucky day. I have a gas can in the trailer."
"Name your price! Can I buy it?"

Put the 3 or 4 gallons in his Subaru, and it showed he had a 110 mile distance to empty. He gave me $20 for the fuel. Everyone was happy.
And it was a town up on the hill. Tonapah Nevada. Interesting place. It has a motel there, and I'm NOT staying there.

[campfire]

The road seemed long, but I rolled into the house as the sun was starting to set. Darrel was waiting for me and we cracked a beer waiting for the other guys to show up.



Peaceful doesn't even seem right to describe it. Silence was more like it, and it was awesome. Jon showed up soon after, with the Dorjie getting stuck in traffic from San Diego. He rolled in about 1 AM, and I was already sleeping.

The next day we were up, coffee brewed, and maps out for a basic plan. Fuel in Beatty, then ride to Rhyolite for exploring. https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/historyc ... t-town.htm





And the famous (I guess) "Bottle House". Which is all fenced off now, and you can't get near it unless a docent is on duty and opens the gate.



But along with the old ruins, there was "new art" as a symbol of all the spirits of the desert.



Off to Titus Canyon!!! https://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/titus-canyon.htm
Across the desert floor and up into the hills. Made one of the summits and took a break before we headed down to Leadville.







All of these mines that are close to the road have been capped with gates or bars welded across the entrances.



Once you get away from the heavily traveled ares, there are open mines to explore at your own risk.
Next was the slot canyon sections that was absolutely the highlight of my week.





We had neighbors for our little break, but they were in a Tacoma complete with camp chairs, table, cooler, beer, and a BBQ. We were seriously outclassed. But it's all good.



Got through the canyon, hit Scotty's Castle Road and headed for the Ubehebe Crater. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubehebe_Crater

Yep, we made it, we looked, found someone to take our picture, and then gazed at another hole in the ground.



Back to Beatty for fuel, then of to the house for dinner and some beer along with a casserole I made. That whole trailer thing made it easy to bring a cooler and bags full of groceries. A great evening with friends, and we half formulated a plan for he next day.
And that included breakfast.



Next- Bad water & Geologists Cabin.

[Delicate Snowflake]

[diogenes009]

[campfire]

Friday rolled around and we headed south from Amargosa Valley for the final destination of Geologists Cabin.
https://goo.gl/maps/RGZ8gkyZoGyPJSreA

Heading south we stopped at Death Valley Junction (formerly known as Amargosa) to check out the Amargosa Opera House and cafe. Both were closed.
This COVID lock down has done in a lot a little places.





It's been the location of many movies over the years, and even a couple of music videos.



Then heading south & west again we came to another old mining site with a parking lot.
Why not? It was time for a water break anyway.



We were now on Badwater Road and came to our turn off for Westside Road. We left pavement and immediately hit sand & washboards again. I mean "SAND", and when the sand lightened up, the washboard was horrendous. Two of us made it a little ways, and then Darrel decided he was turning around. We had all agreed the first night, that we would not push each other, and we would respect a riders choice to stop and turn around. We watched him make it back up to pavement and continued on.
Me? For another mile. I soon regretted not turning back with Darrel. Being the older ones, with the heavier bikes, we did the smart thing and turned around on West Side road to get out of the sand and washboard road. There's a lot of other things to see around there. I wished the young ones a good ride, and high tailed it back to tarmac chasing Darrel.
The KTM's continued on to the Cabin for a great day and awesome sights with some great exploring of mines.

[campfire]

Back on pavement, heart sinking with the disappointment of turning back, I started convincing myself that it was for the best. My knee was still on the mend, and getting older just flat out hurts more.
I looked at the GPS and saw that I was still under sea level and took that as an accomplishment.
North to Badwater, but not before I pulled over and enjoyed the view and the moment.



I pulled into the parking lot that was packed with tourists and a couple of bikers. Started up a conversation with a VSTROM rider and compared rides. They headed out as a group of riders arrived on mostly GS's. I walked down onto the playa for some pictures.





The story for Badwater is that a miner was walking along the area dragging his mule, and he lead it by the reins to get a drink. The donkey wouldn't drink it, so neither did the miner. Guess we know who was smarter.





Saw the GS riders and noticed that one was wearing an "Ozzie's BMW" hat from Chico California. Mentioned the hat, he asked if I had been there, and the conversation started. Pleasantries exchanged, it was back on the road looking for Darrel.
North to Furnace Creek as the temperature started climbing to around 97 degrees (F), and decided that a cool drink was in order. Wandered around the resort until I found the General Store which had been moved since the last time I was here. But now they have misters!



Waited in line as only 10 people were allowed in the store at a time. Shorts and flip flops were the tourist dress code, along with teenagers in swimming suits causing them to stare at me wearing layers of riding gear and over pants. (mesh, but still over pants) Bought my drink and a snack and decided to just cool off for a while since the water was flowing. Found me a bench, made myself comfortable.



With no luck finding Darrel, I just headed back to the house. Shortly after that I get a text alert in my helmet, pulled over and it's from Darrel. He's back at the house. Perfect.
Cruised through Death Valley Junction one more time solo and had the opportunity to stop for another snack & drink along with some photography time. Felt good to walk around a bit too as it had been almost 150 miles so far that day, and I was in full time vacation mode. No current route, no current time table, no worries.
Just day dreams of doing what I was doing.
My mind was clearing, wispy clouds decorated the sky, bike had fuel, and I found another bench to sit on.



Next up, another disappointment trial, and another great day came out of it.

[campfire]

Made it back to the house and was greeted by Darrel with a cold beer.
Life is good. We both agreed that turning back off of West Side road was the smart move for us, and it all turned out good with just cruising around. Seems he was just ahead of me the entire way doing the same sight seeing that I was.

Jon & Dorjie showed up and started their tales of Geologists Cabin, exploring the mines, and the washboard roads. Best of all, they totally respected our decisions to turn back. It was great having the best riding partners on this trip to make it a really awesome adventure.

That night the BBQ came out on the driveway and our chef of the evening started cooking up family recipes from Mexico City, I think anyway, there was some beer involved before dinner. But at least I can say that I've had cactus on my tacos now.



And he just kept cooking... which was fine with the rest of us. "Uh, watch out for that guac, it's got a bite to it"



Full bellies, a days riding, stars out for the nights entertainment (along with a few satellites spotted) and another great day. And man, did I sleep good again that night.

[diogenes009]

[campfire]

OK, last installment . . .

Saturday (the last day of riding) arrived, and we were all relaxed. That's a much more manly way of saying we were tired by having so much fun. Plan was to ride up to Beatty, fuel up and try for Chloride City.
https://goo.gl/maps/6d8ka3qXBGYAvnYH9

With all the warnings on various maps about the road conditions, Darrel & I were more or less in agreement that it might like the Geologists Cabin day. Go as far as we want to, turn around when we need to.

Headed up to Beatty for enough fuel for the day and we headed out on 374 again. But that relaxed mode also brought up the need to catch some of the obligatory pictures of such a trip.

Now three of us met by riding KLR's, but life changes, bikes come & go, and some of us move on to different bikes. It's all good, but I was feeling like I was riding the mule at the race track.
Photo op #1.



We found the road to Chloride City by the Highway marker, not by any prevalent sign posted. Good dirt road with a serious lack of washboard, which was extremely nice after the prior days riding. A slight climb at first, and then we really started up the hills. The views were getting better and then the rock sections were getting a little more common.



With Jon in the lead, we started up a steep section with some ruts and rocks. I was feeling my knee again, Darrel was looking at the climb from his Tiger, so I took the hike up to recon the next section. And that was about the dumbest move for my knee and my energy level. The conservative decided to turn around again, and let the young bucks continue on to sights that I would regret missing.



Yeah, yeah, yeah... "It doesn't look that bad!".
No it doesn't. But sitting thru too many "risk assessment" seminars over the years in the Fire Service echoed in my head, and I really didn't want hurt anything else bad enough for a helicopter ride.
And we had seen the helicopters on Friday as a result of someone else's misfortune.
https://pvtimes.com/news/hiker-dies-in- ... ley-98033/
So two of us turned around with alternate plans, and two headed for the top. And I did regret it.
My phone chimed later since "somebody" had cell service from the top of the ridge.
But thank you very much for the picture Jon.



More photo ops on the way back to Beatty and water breaks.
Funny, we didn't see any burros on the open range...



And that's because they were all in town looking for handouts from the tourists.



Wandered around town, cruised back the highway to the house, more relaxing, and more of enjoying the silence of the desert.




Later on that afternoon, I decided to try and find some Geodetic Markers about a mile behind the house that I saw online. I was doing some research of the area before heading there and found that there was an old abandoned railroad line from over a hundred years ago back there. Found the old raised rail bed, and the actual State line.



And to think that guys were out here in 1921 doing the survey with equipment of that day.
I felt rather spoiled with a 650cc motorcycle.

Thanks for reading along, see you out there where ever that may be.

[Delicate Snowflake]

thanks for the pics + report

[diogenes009]

Thank you! A very enjoyable report.

[LadyDraco]

What a great adventure
Thank You for taking us alone !!