A RIDE THROUGH DEATH VALLEY

So you think gas prices are high where you live, try these numbers at Furnace Creek in Death Valley.

I left Boulder City at sunrise, skirted around Las Vegas, and headed over the hump to Pahrump.  After gassing up the Harley, I was in Death Valley National Park in less than an hour, where I made one stop for fuel.  Glad I don't have to pay those prices everyday.

  

For me, there's something magical about riding the bike in this type of environment, and more specifically, Death Valley itself.  It's hard to describe, but I find being alone in such a desolate place, with only the sound of the wind and the V-Twin motor, as both peaceful and meditating.  If there's such a thing as recharging one's batteries, this is the place that re-energizes my spirit.  I've been riding the Harley to Death Valley in the springtime for many years, and hope there's many more to come.

Exiting the valley of death on Hwy 190 to the west, I made a turn south on the Trona road in Panamint Valley.  This is the isolated valley where I've watched, and been startled by Navy FA-18's on training missions out of China Lake Naval Air Station to the south.  No jets yesterday.  I continued south, linking up with Hwy 395, where I stopped at Kramer Junction for fuel, and took the picture below.  From there, east on Hwy 58 to Barstow, south on Hwy 247 to the Lucerne Valley, then east to Yucca Valley.  I ended up in Indio, having ridden 450 miles, and will be back home sometime this afternoon.