Day 13 (9/18/11)

Today dawned early. I seem to have pulled a muscle in my back and sleeping on the ground in my tent did not straighten things out. I was up relatively early and started packing up my tent. It was a shame to leave this beautiful spot as Camp Richardson's camping area looks like Sherwood Forest with all of the tall Ponderosa Pines. Actually, I was in the trailer motorhome section again, as I asked for an electrical outlet. My neighbor was a quiet fellow that is working construction here in the Tahoe Basin. He lives in his trailer and in his spare time carves bears and eagles from tree trunks with a chainsaw. Here are shots of my campsite and one of his pieces of art. Pretty talented guy I would say.
After breaking camp, I headed for Las Vegas. This involved exiting the basin at the south end and taking the road over Monarch Pass to Rte 395. Temps at the top of the pass were about 38 degrees. YES... I love these cool temperatures at high elevations early in the morning. It would not stay this way long though. Rte 395 travels along the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Even at this late date after a long hot summer, there is still snow on the tops of some of them. The road is at about 4,700 feet of elevation, so these mountains reach up to 10 or 11,000 feet or more. Majestic is all I can say. Just below Long Pine, CA I took a hard left and stopped at the visitor center to make sure I knew where my gas stop would be in Death Valley. My range on a tank of gas is about 225 miles if the terrain is not too steep, so I knew I could not make it all the way to Las Vegas. I asked a fellow passing by to take this picture for me with the mountains in the background. Once you leave the visitor center it is like going into another world. The scenery is immense and void of almost all signs of civilization. My gas stop would be about 80 miles into the ride at Stovepipe Mills. They only had 87 octane gas at 5.25 per gallon, but who is picky in these desolate areas. After that it would be nothing until Pahrump, NV. Although I have transited Death Valley 3 times before, twice in a car and once on a motorcycle, this would be the first time I did it alone. It is hard to explain what it feels like to head out across this vast expanse of desert alone. I can't imagine what the gold rush folks felt like with wagon trains. Brave souls to say the least. The name alone keeps you humble, this it is a dangerous place to be. Signs are everywhere to be conscious of the "extreme heat". Air temperatures today reached 108 in the part of the valley that is below sea level. For protection I wear kevlar backed jeans which are very hot, a heavy black jacket, leather riding gloves, boots and a helmet. All this gear was quite comfortable at 38degrees in Monarch Pass, not so comfortable for the 100 plus miles at 108 degrees in the afternoon. I continually took sips from my camelback drinking bladder, but warm water is hardly refreshing. Being an ex-biology teacher, kept reminding me of the effects of dehydration and the tricks it can play on your mind and balance. Extreme heat like extreme cold is nothing to mess with, especially when riding a motorcycle at 70 mph. A camera does not do justice to the vast expanses of these valleys, nor the colors of the desert. Professionals can capture it with good lenses and the patience to be there at the proper time for the perfect light. I was not about to linger any longer than necessary. I was slowly cooking inside my riding gear. It is at times like this that you are intimately tuned into every sound and movement of the bike. Hoping that everything keeps ticking along and nothing fails. The closest thing I can describe is that first solo flight that all fledgling pilots experience when the instructor gets out of the plane and you take off for the first time by yourself. Suddenly you realize that there is no one but you to get the thing back on the ground in one piece. You are truly all alone with your fate in your own hands. It is exhilarating, but scary at the same time. The engine makes noises you never noticed before, the plane performs differently without the weight of the second person and you hear and feel every creak of the airframe. That is how I felt today riding across "Death Valley". My trusty BMW performed flawlessly and never missed a beat. I have been blessed with good fortune so far this trip. If the Reno Air Race situation was not enough to make me thankful, a safe transit of Death Valley today sure uplifted my faith. If you ever wondered what your GPS would read for altitude if you were below sea level, well here is the answer. YES..it does read negative numbers. I took a shot of mine while rolling down the highway at about -181 feet below sea level. I saw numbers as low as -271 at one point in the lower valley. I was impressed. Well all went well and I arrived at Sin City. Adele had done some internet work for me and found me a reasonable room at Circus Circus. $44 and all the ice tea I could drink! I hope tomorrow is cooler as I head off to the new bridge over the Colorado River by the Hoover Dam. I am sure it will be cooler at the Grand Canyon as the rim is about 7,000 feet in elevation which translates to about 18 degrees cooler than sea level just because of adiabatic cooling with the decreased pressure. Enough science. Hopefully more miles and smiles tomorrow. Now let's hope my connection is good enough to upload some pictures.