March is a great time to head for Death Valley and get an early taste of summer. I decide to ride south on 395, which will take me through Walker Canyon, Bridgeport, Mammoth Springs and Bishop.

Leaving Minden, the air is cold and crisp, as it is still winter (March 14th). I have me electric liner plugged in and its warmth surrounds me like a warm blanket as I blast through the winter air. Snow is still on the sides of the roads, and is still several feet deep at some of the passes.

The beauty of cold crisp air is that it provides very clear views of the white covered mountains. The Sierra are just magnificent as I rode along their eastern foothills and valleys.

The road takes me south.

The snow covered Sierra is beautiful.

Along the route, I pass two military convoys. A small group of four or five Hum-vees with gunners manning the machine guns drives by just as I reach Bridgeport. I suspect they are from the nearby Marine training camp. I pass another convoy near Mammoth Springs.

As I gain altitude, the vegetation changes. Evergreen trees encroach as I gain altitude, replace the shrubs and bushes that claim the lower climes.