A bit of a late start this morning, but no big deal. We had a short day. I enjoyed Furnace Creek Ranch. Nice accomodations, and the weather was cooler here than other times I’d been to death valley. Around 100 degrees. Normally, this place is a blast furnace. We mounted up, got gas, and explored Death Valley.
I used to ride to this area on a friday night, after work. I’d forgotten how much I missed the desert. It’s open, wide open and rugged. The desert gets in your soul somehow.
We rode up to Zabriskie Point, and took a few pictures. Apparently, Zabriskie point was also a counterculture film about America in the sixties. One I need to check out.
We left Zabriskie Point and headed the 16 miles to to Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the US. I’ve been to death Valley a bunch, but I’d never been here.
My bike was starting to stretch her legs. Really enjoyable ride.
From there we pressed on. More open road. I was really enjoying this ride.
The Aussies taught me a new word. “crack a ton”, means break 100 MPH. I likey.
We rode to Shoshone, California, got gas and had lunch at the Crowbar Cafe and Saloon. There’s not much in Shoshone, and I’m not quite sure the crowbar was ready for all of us to show up.
Then on to Baker. Cooled off at the Mad Greek, got an ice cream, then headed into Barstow.
We got into Barstow in the late afternoon. The Motel there had lost the ability to program keys, and the pool was out. Not that big of a deal. The nice thing, is the train behind the Motel only raged past every 30 minutes or so. It was kind of funny. I think EagleRider thought more about it than we did.
I stayed in that night, doing some work. The Whitehursts from the UK got married that night. At least I think.
Day Two: 201 Miles