Beatty, Nevada--February, 2018

February 16 - 19, 2018

Missing out on last year's little get-away was rather shocking!  "The plan is, there IS no plan!" is nice, in theory.

I've decided to take an alternate route there.  Each year, we've taken the same route, stopped at the same places, simply becomes rote at this point.  I just need to get away and ride before the ride / gab / ride / gab... begins.

Thus, I let everyone know...again!  I took this route alone.  In the middle of the desert.  In February.

Serenity is sometimes nice.

Alternate routing to Beatty, Nevada

The route was chosen to [a] checkout the settings on my GoPro camera [b] roll thru some area I hadn’t been in [Mojave Nat’l Preserve].

The views were fantastic, unfortunately, settings on the GoPro failed to capture anything.  Ugh.

The 2018 Goldwing Tour – the new version of the venerable Honda brand.  The fella standing there to the right is the proud owner.

The next morning, the decision is made to invert our weekend ride routes – we’ll do ‘the Road’ on Saturday.

CA-136, near Keeler, California

Hey!  I know you two!!  T and S

Again, failure on my part to get the GoPro set up correctly.  I’m just not exactly certain what I’m goofing up – this is 100% operator error.

The group split up – some went to get a sandwich at Erick Schat’s Bakery, others chose another eatery with less riding.  In fact, the group splintered – this is NOT a group ride, but a ride where we’re all going to many of the same places.  Some chose to to ‘the Road’ in the opposite direction, while others chose to go back thru the park in order to get back to Beatty.

Some riders on Sunday chose to depart, due to the weather forecast claiming some deteriorating weather conditions over the next 24 hours.  Additionally, we chose to hit a road some of us hadn’t been on in a few years; the road to Scotty’s Castle.  However, since the castle is closed, the only place you can get to by pavement is a volcanic crater (Ubehebe) close by.

Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley National Park, California

In the distance (light area), Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, California

From here, back to 'civilization’ – and fuel.

Swarming the fuel islands - gotta pay to play around here!

Making plans on where to go next.  Artists Pallet, once again.

Next stop?  Artists's Pallet, Death Valley National Park, California

CA-190, Death Valley National Park, California

Saw several people just doing this - enjoying the scenery just off the highway.

This road was repaired within the last couple of years; nice, smooth pavement into the valley.

Heading toward Artist's Pallet, Death Valley National Park, California

Artist's Pallet, Death Valley National Park, California

From here, we bypassed the Badwater location - good thing we did; a LOT of traffic there made parking there improbable.  So, 70 miles to Shoshone, California and a late lunch.  We wanted a really long time for lunch, so I wandered around to have a look at the bar.

This town was originally a stop along the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad.  I hadn't noticed this reuse of railroad rail before, though I'm sure it's been here all along.  Note the date on the rail!

Manufacturing location and date for the rail used.  Welded on the rail face were the stops along this railroad.

Motorcycling has been a part of this region for a long time - 1957; looked original to me!

You can get some perspective on how vital the railroad was in this region by reading this link: Mojave Desert railroad history

The ride home on Monday…cold to start out – real cold!

Photo doesn't capture how cold and windy it is - US-95, Amargosa Springs, Nevada

Got a couple of pictures of Biglefti on his new bike…

Biglefti's new bike

Got onto US-93 near Kingman, these clouds followed me well into Wickenburg.  Cold, and from time to time, light snow flurries.  No concern, with air temperatures in the low 40s at that time.

US-95, southeast of Kingman, Arizona

Saturday's Route

Sunday's route

About 1800 miles for the weekend – great time, as always.