Our journey for the next three days will take us through and around Death Valley. Starting this morning, we fuelled the bike and ate breakfast in Shoshone, California. Places to refuel bikes and people are few and far between out here.
Just north of Shoshone we turned left onto Route 178. Initially climbing as we travelled west, we soon crossed Salisbury Pass at 3315 ft and then Jubilee Pass at 1290 ft before heading steadily downhill to the ruins of Ashford Mill. From here the road turned north, heading steadily lower.
We have both been awed by the lonely desolation and emptiness of the desert here It is a majestic and foreboding place that can be extremely hot (134 F) and extremely cold. (10 F). It is incredibly dry, with an average rainfall of 2.5 inches a year. At one time they went 40 months with less than half an inch of rain. Salt lakes reflect the sun with a white intensity that scorches the eyes. Hardly anything grows here.
As we rode further north, we came upon dried salt lakes
By the time we reached Badwater we were 282 feet below sea level, A white sign on the cliffs above us indicated sea level. (It was so small and so far away you cant see it in the photos). A boardwalk led out onto the salt flats.
Two bikers on trail bikes rode into the car park, hoping to find mobile phone coverage. One of their party of about six had broken his leg twenty miles up in the mountains to the west, and they were on a mission to get assistance. They rode on ahead of us to Furnace Creek where they could get help.
We stopped briefly at Golden Canyon for a shortr hike.
At Furnace Creek there is a large resort overlooking Death Valley.
Below it is the Furnace Creek Ranch, with campgrounds, general store, petrol station, golf course, bar, restaurant... A real oasis in the desert. We stopped there for an iced drink and a close look at Dinah, an 1890's steam tractor once used to pull carts of Borax from the mines, replacing the 20 mule teams.
From here we continued north on 178 for about 9 miles before turning east towards Beatty in Nevada, where we are staying the night. Leaving Death Valley involved a winding climb on a virtually deserted road across Daylight Pass at 4317 ft. Heading down the other side we quickly crossed into Nevada, where the road ran as straight as a die all the way to the horizon.
Beatty is an historic town - just like every other town in Americaclaims to be. (American communities seem to have a much stronger sense of history than Australian towns.). There doesn't seem to be much here apart from a couple of Casinos and a good selection of motels.
We found a comfortable place close to shops and settled in, even though it was early afternoon. For this part of our ride Chris did not set ambitious mileages for us to cover in case it was hot. It has been pleasantly warm - great for riding, and the roads allow enough pace that we can get off the road early.
Having brought our blog up to date in the last 24 hours, we were almost at a loss for something to fill in the time til dinner.
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