A Day Riding Around Death Valley

Dear Family & Friends,

The second day of our ride and a perfect motorcycling day!

We all slept in and got up for a relaxing oversize breakfast. My jeans are getting tighter by the minute!

After breakfast we took about an hour ride through the Alabama Mountains. The amazing thing about this area is from a distance it all looks the same but as you ride around there is terrific diversity in geology and views. This area is loaded with huge dramatic rock formations. Check out the photos in my blog.

From there we rode about 100 miles into Death Valley. While the weather overall is excellent we crossed several mountain ranges. At the peaks it was in the high 40s and 20 minutes later in the valley it was high 70s so the temperature varies 30+ degrees. Death Valley isn't just one big valley so we crossed mountains all day long going from hot to cold.

At the highest elevation we were close to 6000ft, and at the lowest about 200ft below sea level.

D.V. has many winding two lane roads with very little traffic so it's perfect for motorcycling. Early afternoon we stopped at Furnace  Creek for lunch, gas, and a cell phone check.... I know I'm addicted to my phone and iPad, but I'm glad to see I'm not the only one....

From there we rode up the side of a mountain to a place called Artist Pallet. Named that because there are so many minerals in the rocks leaching out in various colors. It looks like an artist pallet.

From there we were about to leave when one of our guys couldn't get his motorcycle out because two cars parked so close to his motorcycle he couldn't get on it. So he politely asked them to move their cars which they politely agreed to do...... As the backed out the two cars collided into each other.,. The politeness ended and we got out of there ASAP!

 From there we rode north along the edge of the valley. By then it was late afternoon and the sun was starting to set. The shadows and light were perfect for photography but riding with a group makes it hard to stop as often as I would like and take pictures. Next time I come out here I'm going by myself and spend hours taking photos!

We rode north to Beady, Nevada where we had hotel reservations. Just a few miles from Beady we took a short detour to an abandon mining town. Built in the late 1800s it was long abandoned, but the ruins would make great photos. Unfortunately I only had time to get a few shots before we left.

We arrived at Beady around 4:30 , rested up a bit looking forward to a good relaxing diner.....

Unfortunately the only restaurant within walking distance was a Denny's. Hands down the worse I've ever been to!

An hour and a half to get dinner and they forgot things I ordered and by their own admission made the food wrong leaving out key ingredients ! Oh well I never have to worry about starving to death so it didn't ruin my day.

Looking forward to another day of exploring tomorrow... For now a good nights sleep!!

Lots of good photos so check out my blog at the link below.

Over and out,

Jason

The stunning Alabama Mountains, home to numerous movies!

The "Gang" riding in formation..

Welcome to Death Valley.

Look carefully an I this canyon was what is left of a car wreck..

Of course as soon as there was cell service you can see what everyone is doing... See Bonnie I'm not the only one!😉

From here we went down below sea level.

Is this really a problem??? We never saw anything that walked, crawled, slithered, or flew.

One of the very rare times there were wild flowers in the valley.

This was the only living thing on the side of this mountain that we could see.

You look at this and wonder what planet were on..

Time for another technology break..

190 feet below sea level.

Again??

Entering an old abandoned mining town.