DEATH VALLEY OR BUST

I took this photo while cruising westbound on I40 at 9:30 am. Note the ambient temperature is exactly 100 degrees at 70 mph!

OK, this is a first, regarding posts on my blog while on a Harley ride. I've never taken the computer with me on previous rides. Instead, I've always posted pictures and stories after I've returned back home. I decided it was time to change things up a bit, so the laptop went into the tour pak, and I took off for Las Vegas at about 9am. The plan was to try and stop in Vegas, and get a new rear tire, so I made a couple of phone calls before leaving Lake Havasu. The first call went to Henderson H-D, and they weren't sure they could squeeze me into their schedule. So, I made a second call to Las Vegas H-D, and they said "stop by, we'll get you in and out by early afternoon". With not too much tread left on the rear skin, that was good news.

It was a little after noon, when I pulled into Las Vegas Harley-Davidson, and dropped the bike at their service department for a new rear tire, and an oil & filter change. By 2:30, I was on the road, heading for Pahrump, NV, with new rear rubber, and fresh oil circulating through my 95 inch Harley motor. With the new stereo blasting my favorite tunes from the Ipod, I couldn't help but think that life was really good, and the open road was calling for me to wander in whatever direction I felt like going.

I knew I was headed for Death Valley, one of my favorite places to ride, and coming up was Pahrump, NV, the last civilization for quite a few miles. After standing at the counter of the Best Western, and the Nugget Casino, only to learn that they had just rented their last rooms, I headed to the Saddle West Casino in hopes of finding a place to spend the night. Fortunately, they had a few rooms left, and I'm now sitting at a desk, posting for the first time on one of my Harley rides.

Tomorrow, despite the heat, the route will take me into Death Valley, where I seem to have a spiritual experience every time I ride the bike through that very unique landscape. From there, I'll probably head for Tioga Pass, a route over the Sierras, and through Yosemite National Park.
After that, who knows?