3 DAYS IN THE WIND

For more years than I care to remember, part of my DNA has been to ride the Harley, sometimes for a couple of days, and sometimes for a couple of weeks. Even when I was part of the working world, I always managed to get away a few times a year. Starting in 1985, I made the annual pilgrimage to Sturgis, South Dakota, along with hundreds of thousands of other motorcyclists. I did that for 10 years straight, often by myself, and several times with friends. As I've gotten older, the desire to ride frequently has diminished, however, it's as strong as ever when it builds up over time.

That was the case 4 days ago, when a window of exceptional weather opened in the southwest. I decided to do a clockwise loop, starting with the first stop at the Thousand Trails Preserve near San Diego. It didn't take me long to put the tent, sleeping bag, and a few clothes on the bike, then hit the road. The weather forecast was for mid 60's to mid 70's temperatures, and no stuff coming out of the sky. It turned out to be 3 days of almost perfect riding weather, a little cool in the mornings, but never a problem with the riding gear that I have.

I stopped at the Glamis sand dunes near Brawley, CA to take this picture in front of the store. During holiday weekends, thousands of off road enthusiasts gather at Glamis, and the party action is legendary. I've done the sand thing a couple of times with the Mitchell family at Dumont Dunes over the XMAS Holiday, but the increasing numbers of totally stupid people put a damper on the otherwise fun of playing in the dunes. Besides, getting the motor home stuck in the sand wasn't my idea of a perfect holiday, but that's another story.

I had a nice campsite at the Thousand Trails, just outside San Diego. This was my first visit to this preserve, where I spent the first night. I decided to go back to my low tech, blow up air mattress, and was much more comfortable than the past couple of experiences with my backpacker, self inflatable mattress. Now, if I can just figure out a way to not have to get out of that cozy warm sleeping bag, to take care of a physiological necessity, then I'd have it made!











I was up bright and early the second day, looking forward to a nice hot shower. It didn't take long to break down the tent, get everything packed, and hit the road. There are very few roads in CA. that I haven't traveled, but I had one in my sights, so I went north on Hwy 79 to Hwy 78, then east to the Salton Sea. From there, it was north thru the Palm Springs area, Yucca Valley to the little town of Lucerne Valley. At that point Hwy 247 goes north to Barstow, and I had never been on that 30 or so mile stretch of road. From Barstow, I joined in with all the other crazy drivers heading to Vegas on I15. I set my speed at the 70 mph limit, and immediately was passed by almost everyone on the road like I was standing still. The only vehicles I passed were a few trucks. Most of the vehicles passing me were traveling in the 80-90 mph range, but a white Porsche went past me at well over 100 mph! At Baker, CA, I was happy to turn north on Hwy 127 toward Death Valley. I ended the days ride at Pahrump, NV, just as the sun was setting over the western mountains.














Part of the old rail road grade down to
the Hoover dam site.





On the last leg of my 3 day ride, I drove over the hump from Pahrump, into, and through Las Vegas, stopping at the new bridge over the Colorado River, downstream from Hoover Dam. Since the new bridge has been open, I've driven over it a couple of times, but due to the high barrier walls, you can't see much. This time I stopped, and walked out onto the bridge for a couple of pictures. The view of Hoover Dam is spectacular, and at 960 feet above the Colorado River, the view looking down is equally spectacular. The drive home through Kingman was only a little over 2 hours, and I was home in time to watch the Super Bowl. It's always nice to come home to my life partner, who understands my not always conventional passions, and is always supportive of my pursuit of happiness. For a couple of times a year, that passion is being in the wind, on my Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.