Motocamping Death Valley 2009

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 Bis ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Richard Hall (rhhall)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:50:49 -0700

Richard Hall (rhhall)
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 Bis ...

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 win ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Richard Hall (rhhall)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:51:12 -0700

Richard Hall (rhhall)
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 win ...

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.

nobody@smugmug.com (Richard Hall (rhhall)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:51:36 -0700

Richard Hall (rhhall)
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.

nobody@smugmug.com (Richard Hall (rhhall)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:51:57 -0700

Richard Hall (rhhall)
The road takes me south.

The snow covered Sierra is beautiful.

nobody@smugmug.com (Richard Hall (rhhall)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:52:18 -0700

Richard Hall (rhhall)
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 ...

nobody@smugmug.com (Richard Hall (rhhall)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:52:42 -0700

Richard Hall (rhhall)
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 ...

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

nobody@smugmug.com (Richard Hall (rhhall)) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:53:04 -0700

Motocamping Death Valley 2009

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 Bis ...

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 win ...

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 ...

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

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

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

You can see avalanche chutes on some of the mountains.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

The tire marks of a truck having brake prolems show me the way.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Reaching Lone Pine, I head east and reach the west portal to Death Valley. The temperatures are already starting to warm up appreciably.

The west road is wonderfully twisty for the most part. As you drop down into Death Valley, the road straightens out, but has these fun dips and rises. They are a blast at about 80 MPH.

I arrive at the Panamint Springs ranger station just as they are lowering the colors. I pay my fee, remove most of my cold-weather gear, and head for the camp grounds at Furnace Creek.

Arriving at the camp grounds, I set up the tent and unload my gear. Then its time to make an ice, water, and beer run to the general store. This becomes a nightly ritual.

I snap a few pictures as I drink my cold beer and enjoy the sunset.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

The sign at the campgrounds. The weather forecast is phenomenal, with blue skies, warm temperatures, and little wind. It's hard to believe that I was in 30-40 degree temps just a few short ...

Sunday a small group of us head for Scotty's Castle, which didn't belong to Scotty nor is a castle. I make excellent time on the twisty roads, only slowing as I come across this antique.

Looking through the gate and into the courtyard of the "castle."

The castle was built on a Spanish theme.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

When the owner of the ranch departed, they left much of their personal effects. Cars, clothes, dishes, furniture and decorations are all original.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Heavy curtains and drapes were used to keep the hot desert sun out. Some of the drapes were leather.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

The custom dishes that were made in Italy for the mansion are still here.

The clothes that they left behind are still hanging in the closet, 60 years later. It's a bit creepy looking at their personal effects.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

This stream has fish in it.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Sunday we went through Gold Canyon to Zabriskie's point. The canyon used to be paved but has since been washed out. You can see the pavement in this picture.

Entering the canyon.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

The area was dotted with abandoned mines.

There were about a dozen of these shafts that we saw. No telling how many there are around here.

Here you can see the power of the water. We found bits of asphalt from a road upstream. The asphalt chunks were carried far down stream.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Another mine shaft. This one is inviting.

Heading into the mine opening...

...and peering down the shaft that extends into the hill. The air is nice and cool, but I don't want to adventure down this hole. I've had too much safety training on the risks of confine ...

Scott looking for signs of a cloudburst! This canyon must become a raging river during flash floods. If there were any clouds in the sky, I doubt we would be standing here.

The water hits some hard rocks and must make some tortuous turns. I can't imagine how violent the water must be here during a flash flood.

The water exits the canyon and makes a nice 20-30 foot water fall as it exits. The little round grotto is where the water falls into the valley.

The water still has enough energy to carve this trough.

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

Richard Hall (rhhall)'s photo

The intrepid adventurers return to the trailhead.

Tuesday morning, I head back to Minden and work. I decide to take the northeast exit out of the park. This requires riding back towards Scotty's Castle and out of the valley through a twis ...

This exit puts me on Highway 95 and 95-Alternate, which takes me through Tonopah, Hawthorne, and Yerington. I stop for lunch at Tonopah and get re-connected with civilization. I send a cou ...

About 350 miles later, I arrive home, having enjoyed a blissful and warm three days in Death Valley.