DEATH VALLEY - 5 (FINAL)

on the afternoon we arrived in Beatty we took the opportunity to ride
out to Rhyolite as it was only about six miles away.  I've combined these two visits in one posting.

Artist's practice casting

The Last Supper (table missing)

 

Ceramic tile couch (why?)

Bottle House

What's left of Bullfrog, SW of Rhyolite

Building bottle house

Rhylolite is actually just east of the park 

boundary.   Gold was discovered at the Bullfrog mine just west of Rhyolite in 1904 and led to the last American gold rush.  This was once the biggest town in the Death Valley area boasting a population of 5,000-10,000 during its heyday from 1905 - 1911 but the beginning of the end came with the financial panic of 1907 and the last mine closed in 1908. It once had 2 churches, 50 saloons, 18 stores, 2 undertakers, 19 lodging houses, 8 doctors, 2 dentists, a stock exchange and an opera. Along with the ruins there is a more modern art museum as well as a well a preserved house made from bottles which was not totally unique as wood was in short supply. On our first visit there we had taken a couple of rough back roads – one to a cemetery for a geocache and the other a loop back to the highway.  On the loop I made one of the most perilous and lucky crossing of a rocky stretch that I’ve made.  I was shaky after that little stretch.  We climbed up a small mountain just off the highway to get a geocache on the way back.  We found another good barbeque place back in Beatty for dinner.  We had traveled 165 miles that day and 470 for the Death Valley part of the trip.

We found a better way back to Winnemucca the next day and were making such good time that we went on to Boise and had breakfast the next morning with son Milo and grandson Mason.  It was a fantastic trip that I’ll never forget. M/W

DEATH VALLEY - 4

While Titus Canyon had a lot of challenging road, every destination Thursday was on gravel roads with some tough spots.  We were on the road at 7:45 heading south on Highway 190.  This was all uphill and often we had the throttles pegged to maintain 50 mph.  As we continued to climb and it got colder and colder until finally at the summit I realized we must have missed a turnoff.  So we reversed course and rode back down to Wildrose Road which led off to the east. After ridding quite a distance we made a left turn on a gravel

road up to Aguereberry Point. The last part of this road was touch and go for me.  We finally hit the top at over 6,400 feet.  It afforded us some of the most spectacular views of the trip and as a bonus it was the only destination where we didn’t see a single person.  After hiking around the point a bit and taking some pictures we headed back down to Wildrose.

At Wildrose we took a left and continued up to where we got on a gravel road to the Charcoal Kilns. The kilns looked like 10 giant beehives. There was a campground just before the kilns so true to form there people here too.  The mountain surrounding the kilns is forested and 100+ years ago trees were harvested to feed the kilns and the charcoal has hauled out to be used in various smelters.  We hiked around there a bit before heading back down. 

Skidoo present

Skidoo past

On the way up Wildrose we had skipped the turnoff to the Skidoo Mine so as we were doing ok timewise we decided to do it.  Another 10 miles of gravel some of which was a bit challenging but  worth it.  At the end of the road was the mine site where

there had also been of town of 500 between 1907 and 1909.  The town had applied to the post office for the name “23 Skidoo” but the post office wouldn’t  allow a town to begin with a number so it was omitted.  Two or three vehicles (4 wheel drive) showed up while we were there.  We took a lunch break near a mine entrance tunnel.

We rode back to Stove Pipe Wells Village and topped off our tanks.  Before leaving the area we rode up another gravel road to the Mosaic Canyon where we hiked up the canyon about a half mile.  It had been carved by eons of rushing water leaving smooth rock on each side in different colors.  There were quite a few folks here too.

We still had plenty of daylight so we took the Daylight Pass and returned to Rhyolite to further explore the area. [To be continued] 

M/W

 

DEATH VALLEY - 3

Devil's Golf Course

We had breakfast  in our room Wednesday and were on the road by 7:15.  We made the short ride to the Scottie’s Castle (Hwy 178) road intersection and turned southeast.  Our first stop was at the Devil’s Golf Course.  It was on a gravel road about a mile from the highway. It was a large flat area with small jagged rocks encrusted with salt.  We were the only ones there although we met one car leaving and one entering.

After spending a little time there we rode back to the highway and proceeded to Badwater Basin, the lowest (-282’)and hottest  place (134 F) in North America.  There were a lot of people here and we walked out on the basin a ways.  It was still early and it wasn’t particularly hot but shirt sleeve weather nonetheless.

 From here we backtracked up to Artists Drive, a nine mile loop to the east of the highway.  There were a lot of colorful rock formations and the last few miles of the loop were twisty and fun riding.

Next we backtracked back to Furnace Creek to top off our gas tanks at $8.75/gal.  It was a beautiful place with palms and other trees reminiscent of a desert oasis.  From there we took Highway 190 to the east  for about 10 miles before turning on the road to Dante’s View.  

Dante’s View

This road parallels the Badwater Basin road only about 7,000 feet higher.  The last few miles were steep and curvy.  At the end of the road (about 27 miles from Furnace Creek) is an outstanding  view.  However, it was very cold and windy.  There were a lot of tourists there and while we were there about 20 more arrived on tricycles.

Zabrinski Point

20 Mule Team Canyon

After taking in the view we rode back down to lower and warmer elevation and took the 20 Mule Team Canyon  loop which is an unpaved road just to the west of the highway. We stopped for a picnic lunch on the loop and I believe only one vehicle went by.  Upon finishing lunch we rode the rest of the 2.7 mile loop and went back to Zabrinski Point which we had passed on the way up. There were a lot of cars in the parking lot and we had to hike a ways up to the point.  Here again were fantastic views on three sides.

Keane Wonder Mine

It was getting warmer now as we turned north riding up to the Beatty Cutoff road and down  it about 6 miles before turning east on a rough gravel road out to the Keane Wonder Mine.  This was a very innovative mine in its day having set up a tramway over a mountain allowing  horizontal  and much shorter shafts to be dug to access the ore.  We saw only one person here who was hiking around.  This was our last attraction of the long day as we make it back to the Village and took a refreshing swim in the pool.  After another delicious dinner we sat around the fire pit and visited with a couple with homes in Indiana and Las Vegas.  It had been another interesting day having traveled 165 miles. [To be continued] M/W

DEATH VALLEY - 2

 

The next morning we were up early and found garbage strewn about outside.  As it turns out there are wild burros (that was the internet password) that roam around and routinely defeat the garbage can covers and proceed to make their selection.  This
motel didn’t serve breakfast but we had provisions to make do.

Leadfield Mine Geocache

We unloaded our bikes and were on the road by 8:15 and it was cold.  Our first route was the east-west Titus Canyon.  This is about a 25 mile one way gravel road with the first half being relatively flat.  After that it is a very steep downhill with sharp swithbacks and many big rocks scattered in the road.  It was  the most challenging road I had ever ridden and I was very proud to have made it with no falls.  We were riding through sheer high canyon walls on each side of the narrow road.  The only problem was the road was so challenging I didn’t dare take my eyes off it to enjoy the scenery.  We saw only one other group of 4 riders.  The leader commented with pride referring to his group and us that it was great to be over 50 and able to ride this.  We stopped on the last third to examine the Leadfield Mine which was also a  virtual geocache.  The Titus Canyon road terminated at the intersection with Scottie’s Castle Road.  (Scottie’s Castle was closed or we would have taken it in.) 

Ubehebe Crater

We followed this road northwest about 25 more miles to the Ubehebe Crater.  This is a huge 500 foot deep volcanic crater.  We hiked (more like slid) to the bottom on pea gravel and picked up a couple of geocaches there.  That 500 foot drop occurs in a horizontal distance of ¼ mile.  I believe that works out to about a 38% grade.  It was cold and windy on the crater’s edge but after that climb out it was time for lunch.

Stove Pipe Village Motel

After our picnic lunch we headed back down Scottie’s Castle Road to the motel at Stove Pipe Wells Village.  After checking in and getting settled we traveled the short distance over to the Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes and looked around a bit.  Then back to the Village where we looked around more and had a good dinner at the restaurant there.  Our room was at the end of a little court with a raised fire pit in the center and there were often folks around it in the evening.  I had to get a rollaway bed as our room only had one bed.  However, it was really comfortable and I don’t know when I’ve slept more soundly.  We had traveled 170 miles that day. [To be continued]  M/W

DEATH VALLEY - 1

 

A while back I read an article by a motorcyclist who had toured Death Valley.  I was so intrigued by his story that it piqued my interest so I began doing some research.  First I contacted my son Clint to see if he was up for a spring time trip and he was.  Next I contacted a friend who is probably the most experienced and well traveled biker I know.  He was more than willing to advise us, so Clint and I met with him and he advised us on attractions as well as loaning us a book and map.  His advice changed our approach a bit as he indicated the most interesting places were off pavement.  This meant taking my little Yamaha XT250  rather than my Triumph Tiger XRx.  When another friend heard of our plans he absolutely insisted that Clint borrow his XT250.  Clint has a cargo trailer big enough for both bikes so the plan was to trailer the bikes down to Beatty, NV, and leave from there.

We left Sunday, March 13^th  a little after 7:00.  I would have preferred going a week or two later but that’s the only time we could get reservations at one of the two motels in the park.  Our first night was in Winnemucca and it was a long drive (523 miles).  Even though we took turns driving it was tiring.  Any hill of any significance required a downshift and a strain on Clint’s 2002 Ram truck with the 5.2 liter engine. We stopped only for gas and arrived in Winnemucca late afternoon.  To stretch our legs a bit we hiked around town some and picked up a couple of geocaches.  We had a fantastic barbeque dinner that was lean and very tasty at “The Little Pig”.

Breakfast was at the motel at 6:00 and we were on the road shortly thereafter.  Beatty, NV, was supposed to have been a fairly short drive but somehow my mapping was off and instead of 322 miles it was about 100 miles farther.  Part of the problem may have been my GPS and its directions because the return trip was much shorter and easier.  I had a brand new mapping program installed and it gave directions such as “turn on 1^st street and proceed 196 miles”.  As it turned out 1^st Street was Highway 95.  I thought something was wrong with my old GPS and kept fooling with it and just messed things up.  At any rate, we finally arrived in Beatty around 2:30.  At the motel we found a sign that said “Office closed from 11:30 to 3:30”.  We did find the clerk who would not relent but we were able to leave the trailer there while we proceeded on our motorcycles to the old ghost town of Rhyolite just outside of Death Valley Park.

Before relating the Rhyolite scene which we visited twice I’ll tell you what happened when we returned to the motel about  5:30.  I was informed that my reservation had been cancelled by Booking.com due to an invalid credit card number.  This seemed really strange as there had been no problems with my other reservations.  And, of course, the motel had rented our room.  Then we had to scramble around town to find a room as it was getting late.  We finally found one at the Death Valley Inn which took forever to get settled.  First the old lady clerk was extremely slow.  When we finally got to the assigned room which was supposed to have been two queens it was one king.  So I went back to the office for another try.  This time it was two queens but the room hadn’t been made up.  The third time was a charm but this took a lot of time.  It was past dark when we finally got settled.  [To be continued] M/W

STAYCATION IS OVER

Bulbs grow among the weeds

Mike and Clint arrived at the town house about 3:00 on Saturday afternoon. Bess was super-excited to see Mike, and I was relieved that they were safely home. After unloading the pick-up and trailer, Clint thanked Mike for planning a fun trip, and Mike thanked Clint for going along. Then Clint left for home.

Bess and I got along just fine, but she’s a bit bossy, you know. Actually, I think she whined at me less while Mike was gone, probably because I was just marching to her drummer. (“Oh, you want me to fix my supper now? Okay. I don’t mind eating early.”)

Staycation was reasonably productive. I finished crocheting Silas’ Christmas stocking. I just have to line it and then it will be ready for Santa’s visit 2022, now only 279 days away. I also put a face on “Jingles the Crocheted Elf” that I started during some other staycation years ago, and having accomplished that “buffalo,” perhaps I can finish him. I want our Christmas decorations to include lots of “softies” that a toddler can handle and enjoy. And of course, I stitched together the two fabric books for Silas, and they were delivered today.  

Yardwork calls

You know, I always think that I’ll get so much done while I staycate, but in reality, it just doesn’t happen. Could I stay on task and work harder and faster? I doubt it. I’m not sure I would even want to. It IS a staycation, after all. KW 

DEATH VALLEY STAYCATION – DAY 6

This is the last day of staycation. Mike will be home tomorrow (Saturday). These staycations always seem to be over about as soon as they start.  

It was warmer again this morning but not THAT warm, so I decided to have a fire in the stove. It’s actually easier to get a fire started when it’s cold outside, so at this time of year, a morning fire is better than one in the evening.

As planned, today I stitched up the cloth books for Silas, staying on task until they were finished. And then I mailed them. I’m quite proud of myself.

The mailman didn’t deliver a gift, so I took advantage of a download special offered by one of my favorite websites. KW