2010 Lonely Road Ride - # - gahboo's Photos

Parking Bike at West Texas Airport in El Paso. In order to get maximum riding time, I hauled the bike to El Paso. I know. It smacks of Harley culture, what with their towing to Sturgis and stuff. I thought I was going to the El Paso Airport, with the intent of parking in the long term parking, unloading, and hauling ass. But when I got to the airport my GPS took me to, it was a private place, with ultralight gliders going around. I approached the owner and told him of my dilemma. I paid him $15 bux to park under his own personal carport for a week while I ride around. Worked out very well.

The last milisecond before I climbed on and hauled ass.

After crossing NM border on County Road A003, Santa Teresa Intl Blvd, I saw a gravel road. I follow to find several thousand acres of trails. This was first stop, about 50 miles in.

Rare self portrait.

Red Dunes in NM, west of El Paso

There is actually a gravel road in the background.

Was riding dual sport on trails, thought I was lost and needed to turn around. Was thinking of cutting fence, then found this gate, which thankfully was unlocked. Escaped to tarmac. I had come through some loose sand, and I did not want to retrace steps on account of fear of dropping the heavily loaded beast. Luckily, I got out.

There is an eagle nesting in this tree. 50 miles west of El Paso near Columbus, NM on State Hwy 9.

Typical southern NM scenery. Stopped for first lunch here. Pita and tuna. I stood at the rear of the bike and ate. I was there for at least 30 minutes. Only one car passed in that time. It is the first of many lonely roads on this trip.

I cannot decide if the mo'sickle is pretty or ghastly. The V-Strom does that to you sometimes. When you look at it, the first impression is good, but on closer inspection, it is a bit repulsive. But I really love it.

I love places where you can just stop in the road and not get run over.

Leaving NM. I cut back north to Lordsburg, NM and crossed on I-10. Generally I only take the slab if I need to make time. I was feeling rushed, so I slabbed it for about 50 miles.

Entering AZ for first time on mosickle. Same place as above, but acrtoss the street. Almost busted my ass driving the bike off the hill that this sign was on. You can't see it from here, but to the right was a windmill out in the field. I looked at the thing several times and something kept feeling strange about it. Turned out there was a guy climbed up in it working on it. Kinda weird. Go to a place where you see nothing, and you find a guy hanging out in the top of a windmill.

Benchmark of the AZ NM state line.

Pictures do not do this area justice. This is AZ 191 between I-10 and Safford. Very beautiful drive. First real eye popping beauty of trip. Need to return here. This area is located at N32 27.281 W109 39.873

Another crappy picture of a great place.

These purple flowers made me think of Boo.

This land is quite high elevation. This is actually a mountain pass. Huge views. Again, AZ 191 going to Safford. this was the first truly beautiful area I visited.

Leaving Safford, AZ in the morning on AZ 70. Nice road. Safford is a nice town, seems prosperous. Lady in town told me that the economy was really depressed because the local Copper mine shut down. Obviously the town built up in the recent Copper market prosperity only to go bust when prices softened.

My first Indian Reservation of the trip. Almost immediately, you can see the standard of living collapse. These people have no money, and no way to make any. Look at the little brown rock at the base of the right leg of the sign. I found it 15 minutes and a few pictures later.

The ubiquitous liquor litter on reservations.

I hung around the Apache sign for 15 minutes before I saw this. It is a rock with a cowboy and indian glued to it! Someone left it by the sign pots. I am totally stoked! Finding stuff like this is why I go on these trips!

I first wondered if they were dancing.

At this point, I have not picked up the rock yet. This is where I found it.

OK. This is the person who left it. I took a picture and sent it via email to this email address. I immediately got a response that directed me to this website:
http://theblogs.net/giddyupgirl/
You can visit it and learn about this person's really cool project.

A very excellent self portrait. FInding this object was very significant to me. The contrast of the proud legacy of the Native American with the abject poverty I saw prompted a lot of thinking on my part.

Yes, there are bluebonnets in Arizona.

Not as thick as in TX, but bluebonnets just the same. I liked seeing them. I never thought of bluebonnets outside of Texas.

This was the first snow capped peak I saw. I thought it was significant. I would see a lot more.

In this region, Saguaros grow on the South side of mountains mostly. And they are high elevation plants. They do not grow in lowlands. Still on the reservation. Trash is all around hidden in the bushes.

Cowboy cacti.

I love Signs of Faith. Not so much for their content, but because it makes me wonder what motivated the person to take the effort to spread their point of view. Personally, I am trying very hard to learn the lesson that I really have a lot less to say than I sometimes think, and when I really feel the need to share an opinion, trouble is usually not far behind. So, I find it interesting to observe the different ways folks speak their peace.

I have a pretty good collection of Signs of Faith. You can see them at signsoffaith.wordpress.com

GPS coordinates N33 18.441 W110 29.592 outside San Carlos, AZ

First really nice sweepers. Wish I was on a Tuono or an FJR.

This is a view of Lake Theodore Roosevelt, outside Globe AZ. This is a wonderfully beautiful area. At this point, I had already descended about 1500 feet from the mountain pass behind me. This lake is still at very high elevation.

Parked at the Roosevelt Lake visitor center.

Bridge over dam portion of Roosevelt lake.

You really connot see where this bridge goes. There seems to be only dirt roads on the other side.

About now, I am wondering if this thing is as tall as the Hoover Dam, and if I have to ride over it. I do not do heights very well.

Nope. It's a tiny dam. I could ride that one, I think.

This is the beginning of the Apache Trail. It is about a 60 mile road, half paved and half unpaved. It runs from Roosevelt Lake to Phoenix. The northern half is gravel. This was a high priority destination of the trip. I gave up Petrified Forest National Park to ride this road. It was a good trade.

First entry onto AZ 88, the Apache Trail. 30 miles of gravel ahead. The lady at the visitor center predicted bad things would happen to me if I was arrogant enough to ride this "remote" region on a mo'sickle. She advised against it because it was so remote and the road was is such bad condition.

If she only knew where my mo'sickles have already been... :)

You get to follow the river below the dam for a few miles before climbing towards the ridge.

Traffic was characterized as heavy by the park rangers at Roosevelt Welcome Center. Actually, I saw a car about every ttwo or three minutes. No danger of getting stranded if you hurt yourself or drop the bike. But nowhere near as busy as the paved south side of the road. The unpaved part is the gem. The paved part is closer to Phoenix, full of traffic, Harleys, and boat trailers. In the north part, it is sublime. I di dnot really enjoy the paved part. It was infested with 20 person Harley groups. In other words, near certain death on two wheels. I was a lot more comfortable int he "remote" area.

About 3 nanoseconds after I took this snap, I fell into the culvert.

You have to stay on your side of the road. The auto traffic drives fast. You can get taken out on blind corners if you are on a bike, in the sand, and on the wrong side.

Saguaros faithfully erupt as you gain elevation.

Fish Pass is below. Fish Pass is a creek that crosses the road at the bottom of the canyon. Now begins a long climb on a narrow gravel road. There is some pretty big cliff exposure ahead.

Nice climb out of Fish Pass on the gravel road.

Fish Pass bridge.

How is that for an effective, sturdy guard rail?

One of the most excellent views of the trip. Too bad it is a crappy photo.

From same spot as above, but looking into valley. Excellent gravel road.

Waaay in the back center of the picture is Fish Pass.

This is the last picture I took between Apache Trail and until after leaving Phoenix. Nothing but Big Box Stores in Phoenix. Hated it.

This is Canyon Lake in Tonto National forest, where the gravel on The Apache Trail gives way to pavement. With the pavement comes crowding. South of Canyon Lake into Phoenix is a drag to ride. Beautiful, but so crowded. The northern part of Apache Trail is far away better.

I rode through Phoenix, bought a new camera, then headed north towards Kingman, AZ. Stayed overnight in Kingman.

This picture is on AZ 93, Joshua Tree Parkway. Miles of these Joshua Trees. These particular ones are the largest, oldest, and most wierd I saw on the whole trip. Joshua trees grow at mid elevations. Higher than mesquite and ceday, lower than Saguaro.

It is a veritable forest of Joshua Trees. Unbelievably densely packed together.

These trees are obviously very old. Many J Trees are not old though and appear to be young and growing. This section appeared to be "old" Other states and regions had "young" J Tree forests.

As one gains elevation coming out of Wickenburg, AZ, the Joshua trees vanish and Saguaro return. This is a beautiful area near the top of the pass around Wikieup, AZ. This stretch of road is about 100 miles of high crosswinds and high mountain passes. Beautiful and quite remote. There are no services on the road, but the traffic if relatively heavy given that this road connects Vegas and Phoenix. I rode this section on a Sunday. Hordes of Phoenix folks were returning from Vegas to go to work tomorrow. Not much traffic going north. This would be a great camp spot.

This would be a great camping area. Obscured from the road. Beautiful rocky scenery.

One of my favorite finds of the trip. This little cubby hole was closed in, secluded, and only a few yards off the highway.

The contrast between the brown rock and green vegetation was gorgeous.

Entry into the area is fine, because it was fenced off. I have the GPS coordinates somewhere, but I cannot find them right now.

This photo proves what cruddy low light performance my new camera has. It also exaggerates my double chin. :)

Bridge over the Colorado River, coming out of the Grand Canyon. The river is very high.

I love the sticker graffitti on significant road signs. Many of them have sticker graffitti. Motorists rarely ever notice them.

Spike, Snoopy's brother, is from Needles, CA. I was wondering if I was going to get rained on. I did not.

Off of I-40, outside Needles.

The next few pictures on I-40, west of Needles, right before turning off to go south to Amboy, CA. The photos do not capture the bigness of the land.

Why does the only piece of litter within 25 miles show up in this picture? THis place is almost spotlessly clean. Amazing what happens when nobody goes to a place.

Remnants of a winter storm kept the skies very interesting all day. Temps were perfect - about 72 degrees.

I snapped so many photos in this area because of the clouds. They were excellent.

I have now turned south on Route 66 towards Amboy, CA. Gonna go see the Amboy Shoe Tree.

Route 66 approaching Amboy.

I could see riding the Ape 125 mph on this road. These roads make a guy wanna haul ass. In this area, I cruised the 650 V-Strom at 90 mph for a lotta miles.

In the distance in 29 Palms, the largest Marine base in the world. Most land is either government land, or public land.

I am kind of glad that most of the cool looking land is bombing ranges. It keeps the Wal-Marts out.

Church in Amboy, CA.

The entirety of Amboy, CA. 75% of it is Roy's Motel and Cafe.

Steeple's got issues.

I could not figure out how this was supposed to function. And what is with the partial fence in the back?

Amboy School. It needs paint.

Roy's Cafe and Motel, AMboy, CA. A pretty famous Route 66 location. Of course, the place was swarming with Harleys. Nostalgic stuff draws them out! :)

Where in the hell did Roy get those Palm Trees???

The famous Amboy Shoe Tree. I rode to California in large part because I wanted to see the Amboy Shoe Tree. Then I got here to find it dead. I was bummed. An example of a very cool thing that becomes its opposite. The idea of passing motorists hanging shoes on a tree out in the middle of B. F. Egypt is way cool. Until the idea gets enough traction that the number of shoes hung on the tree kills it. That is exactly what happened. Then next photos are of the tons of shoes that were hanging on the tree.

I must admit that I was going to hang a pair on it too. When I found it dead, I kept my Crocs.

You think that's a lotta shoes? You haven't seen the start of them yet.

Last report of the tree was posted online about 4 months ago. So, the collapse of the tree was very recent. There was still a little bit of green in some parts of the foliage.

Tons o' shoes.

You could tell that lots of folks travelled here specifically for the purpose of putting shoes on the tree. This pair of red shoes was spray painted, tied together with a chain, and marked with the donor's initials and date. Many pairs were like that. To me, that was evidence that other folks planned trips to this tree, just like me.

The Amboy Shoe Tree was killed by the internet. It was posted in blogs, and guys like me drove out here to hang shoes on it. A person would not think that simple communications tool would enable something like that to happen, but information travels so fast these days. I find it interesting that only a few months ago, this tree was standing, at least partially. Read about it here:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/roadside/California-Amboy-Shoe-Tree.htm

Across the street from the dead Shoe Tree, there are stragglers that folks just threw out the window. As you can see, not another tree for miles. No wonder this tree collected all the shoes that folks wanted to hang on trees. It's ('twas) the only tree.

The carcass of the tree is in the ditch behind the bike. About this time, a California Hiway Patrol pulls up next to me. He likes bikes too. We talk for an hour debating the merits of I-4 Jap bikes versus the Holy V-Twin. He was a great guy. About an hour later, when I was pulled over under a bridge waiting out a rain storm, he pulls up behind me again and says through the window "you ain't afraid of rain, are you?" Had a really good time.

By talking to him, I get a sense of the perpetual truth of humanity that "the grass is greener elsewhere". Here I am in this surreal place. Having a blast digging on the new experiences. I ask the Trooper if the road to Baker is good. He says "I would advise against it. It is all beat up and there is nothing to see." I disregarded his advice and enjoyed one of the best roads of the trip. I guess it all depends on your perspective. But then think about it... This guy patrols giga-miles of this road without any human contact for hours on end. Hell, he chased me down to talk motorcycles. This land might make you lonely after a while, but it is great for an office slave like me...

In the ever competitive spirit of femininity (tongue in cheek, dear), the wimmens have created an Amboy Bra Tree. It is a few miles down the road from the Shoe Tree.

There is also an Amboy Sock Bush. It only has a few socks on it. Don't know why I did not snap photos of all three clothing trees. Hell, it is the only thing Amboy, CA has three of.

Lotsa Titty Mashers on display. Some were pretty expensive, too. You know, the fancy ones with lace and foam cups...

I like this one. Outside of Amboy, CA. This is "the" real Route 66. It only exists in pieces these days.

A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall. My road goes right up on top of that Mountain. I pull under a bridge ahead. That is where the Trooper re-joins me to talk motorcycles again.

The warning sign is telling you not to hike around on account of the possibility you might step on an unexploded bomb. Lots of those warnings around.

At this point, I am jumping through my butt to get in my rain gear, cause I think I am gonna get drenched.

False alarm. Two miles down the road, now I am jumping outta my butt to get out of my rain gear, cause it is sweltering hot.

Near Kelso Station, in Mojave National Preserve. Nothing in Kelso other than a pretty elaborate train station. Nothing else though. The very cooly named town of Zzyzx, CA is just down the road. This stretch is very lonely. 90 miles of nothing or nobody. I stood in the road and peed. Nobody saw.

Near Devil's Playground in Mojave National Preserve. This is on Kelbaker Road. Very Lonely Road, it is. I just drove out on to a mud flat to see if I could. I was able to. I just jumped off the road, rode a few hundred yards in desert, then broke into this flat. I wanted to drive to the other side, but it started getting soft, and I got worried a sinkhole was gonna open me up and suck me right down to Hell or something. You know, I am in the Devil's Playground, so I had no intention of fecking around when the ground started to give away. So, I turned around.

I find patterns in nature to be really interesting.

You could very easily get disoriented out here. I followed my tracks out.

After Baker, CA, a McDonald's infested destert supply depot, I turn north on CA 127, Death Valley Road. This picture is at the turnoff in Shoshone, CA on to CA 178, which loops into Death Valley National Park.

Ah. This is the primary reason I came out here. I have dreamed of riding a motorcycle in Death Valley. I am here. This is the destination (Actually Badwater Basin is).

This is not Death Valley. This is the descent to the mountain pass that opens into the valley. You can see that elevation is still really high here. Probably like 5000 feet.

Wind is blowing like a banshee here. Probably 40 mph, whipping over the pass. Over this pass is the descent into Death Valley Proper.

There is the south end of Death Valley. Note how gently smooth the valley is. The whole of Death Valley is like that. I cannot remember seeing this type of valley elsewhere.

Death Valley

This descent into Death Valley is one of the most profoundly gorgeous sights I have ever seen. Absolutely magical. It would not have nearly the same impact if you were travelling the other way. At this point, my location is approximately in the Ashford Mill area.

The evening light was AWESOME that day. I was there about 4 pm until after dark.

Death Valley

In the far distance is Death Valley. This land is HUGE. Death Valley runs perpendicular to the view of this photo.

The haze is mostly because of the distance between mountains. No pollution here to speak of.

First view of the Funeral Mountains, which run north and south, on the east side of the valley. It is pretty much a continuous mountain the whole 30 or 40 mile length of the valley.

Death Valley

Funeral Mountains on the right. Telescope Peak on the left. Valley is relatively flat, probably 5 miles across. Just an extremely wierd place. You cannot be there and not know it is special.

Last time I was here, there was absolutely no vegetation. Lots of recent rain.

Death Valley

This road runs roughly north and south through the lowest part of Death Valley.

Death Valley

The salt flats in the center of the valley are actually a marsh at this time, on account of the rains.

Approaching Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation on in the US. I think 283 feet below sea level. Maybe I love this place because it is an extreme.

Miles of salt flats in the center of the Valley. Lots of water was trickling into them when I was there.

The Funeral Mountains have lots of bands of color, especially reds.

Death Valley

Much of the valley was covered in these yellow flowers.

Death Valley

Again, Funeral Mountains on the right.

Death Valley

There was a surprising amount of vegetation and color.

Badwater Basin. This is a salt lake. That is not sand. It is crystalized salt. When I was here last, this pond was about 6 feet across. Here, it is a few hundred feet across. Obviously it is the wet season.

Knowing you are at a the lowest point in the US is really cool. Kinda surreal. Maybe it is because I live in a world of extremes that I like extreme places.

That salt clump is not floating. It is sticking up out of the water.

You can go to the edge on the pier. You might be a redneck if you feel an urge to throw your baseball cap into the pool along with the other ones.

Devil's Golfcourse. Salt boulders.

Devil's Golfcourse

Devil's Golfcourse. These are big salt boulders that buckle as the salt flat expands and contracts.

The location of devil's Golf course is right in the middle of the salt flat in the center fo the valley. As you can see, it is about 4 miles back to the main road. This location helps you lock in to the scale of this place.

Telescope Peak.

This is a one lane, one way road of about 5 miles long called Artist's Loop, or something similar. It is a very nice ride. The sun is getting really low, so pictures are bad, but thsi area is very colorful and worth the detour, especially at dawn or dusk.

Artist's Loop

Good vistas on Artist's Loop.

Artist's Loop

This is the centerpiece of the Loop, the Artist's Pallete. The picture does not show off the wonderful turquoise, pale blue, and other cool colors in this mountain. The cool colors are a wonderful contrast to all the warm colors surrounding it.

Very cool hues abound here. Too bad this camera will not take a low light photo.

Leaving Artist's Pallete, there is a wonderful 2 or 3 mile curvy section where the walls are very steep and close to the road. Very confined and tight. Wonderful road.

First entry in to Nevada. At night. Came over Daylight Pass road in the dark. Wonderful drive. Had a very nice moment of silence partway up Daylight Pass where I watched The Evening Star disappear in near total darkness. It occurred to me that humanity tends to forget its relative insignificance in the face of Nature. We ought to be thankful that the Mother does not take us out for our arrogance.

Stayed in Beatty, NV.

I get up out of bed in Beatty, NV knowing that I am in the state made famous for its brothels. I wonder how far I have to go to find one. Less than 5 miles. Angel's is the first brothel I encounter (but do not patronize). They had their own junk airplane, so I stop to take some photos.

Angel's Whorehouse

"I Love Ass." How appropriate to be stuck on a plane outside a brothel.

Team Locos Mocos - or in English - Team Crazy Boogers...

I Googled them, and they are a support club that fixes racers' machines for free in the Baja 1000. Seems like on race weekend, they get a lot of beer, sit around, watch the race, and then turn wrenches for free on broken down race machines. Kinda cool.

I liked the fact that it never closes. You gotta wonder who is working holidays, though.

Tonopah, NV. Stayed in this hotel 10 years ago. It was supposed to be haunted.

This is the road to Philthy Phil's.

One of my favorite locations on the trip. Philthy Phil's Philling Station - south of Tonopah, near Lida Junction Airport. If you are in the area, you owe it to yourself to visit the ruin at N37 15.035 W117 00.255

WARNING - if obscenity offends, then you might skip a photo or two. It ain't called Philthy Phil's for nothing.

Philthy Phils

This KILLS me. Phil me. Uh..... Please... Like a lotta times... This is definitely Beavis approved.

I wonder what happens at Philthy Phil's? They got a Philling station and a Jerky station.

So, Jenn and Mario were here. So were Chef and Deb.

I wonder how many passing motorists actually have "visited" Philthy Phil's?

What is an old BMW motorcycle gas tank doing at Philthy Phil's?

This F.U. Is the only example of outright obscenity on the whole graffitti covered place. And, this was added later. You can tell because the paint is more translucent. Otherwise, there is not a single bad word on the whole thing. It is 100% innuendo and your own dirty mind at work! I love it!

Back to the Phillin Station.

And, to stay true to their heriatge, they offer cheap gas, too.

A very cool place.

Philthy Phil's

Across the street from Phil's.

Phil's in the background

North of Phil's, elevation increases. You get seriously high in that area approaching Tonopah.

At this point, you can begin weeing distant massive snow capped peaks. Strange thing is that some of them are a hundred miles off. You end up traveling in their shadows. From Tonopah, you can probably see half way across Nevada and in to Arizona.

This road follows a ridge right in to Tonopah. Views, when available are spectacular. Most of the time, you cannot see over the mountains on either side. Makes you have a real sensation of being very high elevation.

This is a very beautiful high plains area on NV 95, south of Tonopah. I am pretty chilly here. The elevation is high, the winds strong. Very lonely place.

Huge land. Very Lonely Place.

Were it not for fences and roads, there would be no sign of humanity.

Goldfield, NV. A mining town. Mines are still active, it seems.

This location is right at the pass leading in to Tonopah, NV.

Approaching Tonopah, NV.

Same place, different angle.

Right over this pass in Tonopah. Tonopah is very high elevation, right on top of the ridge. I can imagine it gets way cold here in teh winter. This land is huge. Open. Lonely. Wonderful.

Over that hill is quite a large town. When you crest it, there it is. It appears like BOOM - all of a sudden. From this point you would thing you could die out here. But, nope. There is a McFoodSource right over that hill.

Political sign in Tonopah. Harry Reid is NV's US Senator who is not doing well at all in the polls. He was chair of the Gaming Commission. Probably ran a brothel too.

Hmmm.. Beth and Boo, wanna stay here? This place is kind of famous. Notice the clowns on the hotel doors. The whole thing is clown themed.

A veritable Mecca of wierdness.

Mizpah Hotel. Beth and I stayed there one night. Did not see the ghost though we alledgedly stayed in her room. It is for sale now. It has an old fashioned red velvet saloon with a long oak bar in it. Very easy to imagine gunfights in it.

I have no idea of the artistic merit of this photo. What can I say. case you have not figured out, mo'sickle riders like to take pictures of their mo'sickles. Even for no apparent reason, like this shot.

Statues of the patrons of the town. Something about this thing is just not right, it seems to me. I have to admit - to me it kinda looks like she is groping him, or getting ready to. She is smiling. He is bored. Maybe it's just me, though.

A good example of my typical lunch. Today it is smoked oysters. I only ate in a restaurant twice on the entire trip. Generally, I would stand at the rear of the bike to eat. It was a good rest for the legs since I was sitting most of the time.

I love grocery store parking lot dining experiences.

Right about here is where I encountered a nice little sign announcing that the next gas is 167 miles away. I turned my ass around and backtracked to Tonopah to top up on liquid dino hydrocarbons.

This section is among the lonliest of the entire trip. NV 6 going east out of Tonopah. Beautifully vacant of much other than this one telephone line.

Lots of snowcaps in this region.

Approaching Sweetwater, NV. That valley is probably 20 miles across. Huge land. I love huge land.

An attempt to get closer to the snowcaps. Attempt to get closer was thwarted deep sand. The only serious pucker of the whole trip, other than walking into the culvert happened here when I almost pled the Orange Beast up on a sand bar while looking off into the distance. I thought to my self - "self, it woudl be really fecking stupid to break your leg right here - trespassing on government lands - 5 miles from pavement - where nobody has driven this gravel road in days."

I got flashbacks to my Big Bend dehydration episode and hauled ass back to pavement.

Not a good place to bust your ass alone on a mo'sickle.

This color is much more realistic than the panoramas above. The location is the same.

I never got this close. This is 10X zoom at work.

Turning east on to NV 375 going towards Rachel, NV. This was a very beautiful area. I began playing tag with rainstorms. I got perilously close to them, but never got really wet. I loved this. This was the second lonliest road on the whole trip. The loneliest was in northwestern NM near Bisti wilderness. But this was a close second. Notice, I am parked in the middle of the road. I rest here for 20 minutes or so. Eat an orange or two. Pee on the yellow stripe.

Wouldn't you know it... A soccer mom in an SUV with a kid in the back pulls up to see if I need help. I say no thank you. The kid promptly notices the puddle and says "Mommy, that man peed in the road." Mom said nothing and fled. Only car I can remember on this 80 mile stretch of road.

Rain storms! Love it. A true motorcycle adventurer looks at a rainstorm and kinda quivers with excitement. Is a new experience coming down? Yeah? Kick Ass!

Many are the times I catch myself worrying when riding cross country like this. Then I ask myself if I am gonna die. If the answer is no, then I get in to it. That mentality has gotten me hailed on, run outta gas, and almost dead in the desert. I never said my judgment was perfect!

No cars. Nothing. For miles, and hours. This stretch of 80 miles is extremely remote. NV 375, between Sweetwater and Rachel. Absolutely no sign of human existence. Wonderful storms. I am totally blissing on this day.

Very strange layers of fog, clouds, rain and sunbeams. The weather is right on the ground.

Rachel, NV, and Area 51 is off in the distance. This stretch of road is known as the Extraterrestrial Highway. Alledgedly alien creatures around.

Groom Lake, the military's most secret place, and allegedly where they have aliens stored, is over the mountain range to the right. If you go there, then Black Helicopters descend on you and kill you.

Entering Rachel.

Check out the sign graffitti!

Yes. That IS the inn - the Little Al-E-Inn. It is a motel made up of mobile homes. I did not have the gonads to stay. I did not even have the gonads to enter the bar and ask if they sold Oranges.

That is supposed to be a space ship on the back of the truck.

NV 375 towards Las Vegas. This pass climbs out of the valley surrounding the ET Highway and descends in a few miles into The Great Basin that runs north out of Las Vegas.

Joshua Trees in this area seem very young and robustly growing. Location is near NV 375 and US 93

This J Tree is way green and young. Lots of them like this in the area. I think something strange is going on here, because at one point, I saw a car pulled over. A guy had a laboratory test kit on the ground and was taking samples from the J Trees.

A very nice sign cautioning me to be mindful of the needs of the Desert Tortoise. It is important to take care of their habitat. We all care about the Endangered Desert Tortoise. Please see next picture.

I turned around 180 degrees to take this picture. Coyote Springs, NV under construction. Huh?

The McFoodSources and BigBoxMarts have yet to arrive. But they will come, since Coyote Springs has golf courses and stuff.

I am not saying that Coyote Springs should not exist. Progress comes at a cost. But when was the last time the Tortoises won a lawsuit against Wally World when they wanted to buy his land? Just sayin'... I found the irony of the two photos to be really interesting.

I took no pictures on Las Vegas. This trip was about Lonely Places. Las Vegas ain't lonely.

This is heading out of Vegas towards St. George , UT on I-15. Not a spectacularly beautiful area, but I loked the Orange flowers.

The whole ride from Vegas to St. George, UT was not fun for me because it was stuffed full of low price housing, dilapidated mobile homes, and a lot of traffic. Nothing wrong with towns, but they ought to be clean.

I am on the interstate, and of course the litter is everywhere.

Entering Utah. They need a new sign. The Olympics was almost a decade ago.

Approaching Zion National Park. I take some pictures of what I thought were pretty mountains. This isn't anything yet...

Entering ZIon National Park.

I really do not like this camera...

Entering ZIon National Park.

In Zion, roads are paved red to match the dominant color of the mountains. It is a very nice effect.

Zion National Park

There is a lot of development in Zion. it seems that the valley is privately owned and the mountains are parkland. Lots of private homes in the park. Lots of stores. Lots of development.

Near the central campground.

Zion National Park

This area is surreal.

Zion National Park

This is the other side of the tunnel, the eastern side of Zion. Totally different look. This area is slickrock. Different hue. Totally different environment. The change is abrupt and intense.

Zion National Park, eastern side

See the wind worn sandstone? The other side of the mountain is igneous.

Zion National Park, eastern side

My friend the Big Horn Sheep.

Sheepy.

A different sheep, but close by.

Sheepy.

Zion National Park, east side

Very wonderful area.

One of the most excellent motorcycle roads I have ever ridden. This is Zion Mount Carmel road that goes through Zion National Park, UT.

See the road cut in to the side of the cliff?

Zion National Park, east side

Called Checkerboard Dome, I think on account of the pattern of the rock.

This is a bluff outside Kanab, UT. This region is called the Vermillion Cliffs. Lots of westerns have been filmed here. It has the classic western wild west look. I like the bird in the phote. Did not see it until I got it on the computer.

I like textures. This is a closeup of hair on a dreamcatcher in the cabin I rented in Kanab.

Inside my cabin

Who Dat?

My Foot.

The Vermillion Cliffs stretch for 50 miles or so.

You can see the white layer on top of the vermillion. This area is called Escalante - which means stairs. There are seven layers of rock, each a different color, spread out across southern UT. As you gain elevation, the layers expose themselves. The layers are very distinct and often run for miles.

Vermillion Cliffs

Pass going into AZ, I think, approaching Lake Powell.

At this point, I am near a mountain pass taking me towards Lake Powell. The red vermillion layer is fading away, and the white layer is taking over.From the Lake Powell dam, you can see some good images of the layers.

Approaching Lake Powell. Again, huge land. This is getting very arid around here. This location is in the very northern part of AZ, about in the center of the state.

Yep. Lake Powell. Bizarre looking lake. Nothing on the shores except slickrock.

Lake Powell

This area is a huge off road vehicle playground.

Lake Powell

Again, photos do not show scale.

nasty, nasty sand.

Lake Powell

This view is from the Lake Powell dam looking over the lake. Very beautiful mix of red rock and white.

This is a big assed dam. Near Page, AZ. I have to ride agross a big assed bridge. I ain't happy. But in this part of the world, unless you want to take a 500 mile detour, you are just gonna have to go over that freeking bridge. There literally is not another way to get anywhere except where you came from.

Not an insignificant narrow two land bridge. With trucks on it.

Lake Powell

At the dam overlook near Page, AZ

Bridge over Lake Powell dam.

Alright, I made it. On the other side.

I noticed the delicate shape of the wind carved sand.

Recent rains.

Critter tracks everywhere.

Above Lake Powell Dam. There are no good views of the exposed side of the dam.

Strange layered rick formation, very crumbly. Kind of like a crouissant.

This area is beautiful, but right in the middle of the valley is a HUGE power plant. You can see it literally from 100 miles away.

Page, AZ area

On Route 160, east of Tuba City, AZ

At the edge of Navajo nation. I stop for lunch here. Wonderful spot near Kayetna, AZ. This is on the way to Monument Valley.

Here is my kitchen. I sat on the rail and ate.

Navajo lands

I thought this tree was pretty until I saw it had branches chopped off. Kinda makes me wonder why. No reason for a random tree to have a branch chopped off out here. But it is.

I really enjoyed this spot. Red beans and rice.

Navajo lands

A very cool canyon beside a cheap motel. North of Kayetna.

North of Kayetna.

Very neat canyon between Page, AZ and Monument Valley.

North of Kayetna.

Ring pull tab. I have not seen one of these in a long time.

North of Kayetna.

Over this crest is Monument Valley.

First view. The mountains are still 10 miles away.

Monument Valley

Looking back into Monument Valley from the east after leaving.

Valley of the Gods

Valley of the Gods. Looked interesting, but I was tired, the road was gravel, and I did not have the appetite to ride to the bottom.

Valley of the Gods

Heading up highway UT 191 around Monticello, UT. On the way to Moab. We are going to get some very serious altitude here. Probably over 9500 feet or so.

Approaching Moab on US 191.

The first of the slickrock that Moab is famous for. About 25 miles south of town.

I love the contrasts. Young jagged peaks. Older mesas in the background. Way old sandstone in the foreground.

Slickrock. Notice the holes. They seem drilled with a bit.

Check out the contrast here. Three distinct types of geologic formations visible. Igneous peak in background (young), Mesa (medium), sandstone slickrock (way old)

The plain in the foreground used to all be at the level of the plain on top of the mesa in the middle of the photo.

Going up the road to Arches National Park.

Slickrock.

Entry to Arches.

Arches National Park

To me, this looks like people standing and talking.

Hoodoos in Arches National Park.

Lots of twisted cedars.

Hoodoos in Arches National Park.

I likes the twisting pattern of the grain in this log.

Arches National Park

The Windows area, Arches National Park

Panorama of Moab, UT, outside the grocery.

Lunch. Fake crab meat.

This lady (about 85ish) just ripped the front of this bumper off by running over a curb at about 30 mph. Lots of other dents in the car too. It has happened before. She never realized she just drove over a curb.

Almost got stuck as I posed by teh Colorado sign. Mud.

Cross the CO border, and you transition into high plains lands. Immediate difference from UT. This is cattle ranching, and Anasazi bean growing country. Very beautiful.

HUUUUUUGE land.

Southwestern CO on US 160, around Cortez.

This is Ute Mountain, on the Ute indian reservation. Near Cortez.

Near Cortez, CO.

Ute Mountain. Cortez, CO.

Seems like most every reservation is terribly littered.

Lotsa rain storms.

Ute Mountain. Cortez, CO.

After leaving Cortez, the weather turned extraordinarily windy. This is a picture of Shiprock, near Farmingtyon, NM. The mountain is seen through a dust storm.

Shiprock in a dust storm. Shiprock is the tiny speck off center to the left. That mountain is huge. Several thousand feet tall. Gives you an idea of the size of the dust storm.

Shiprock in a dust storm. This photo is zoomed. In reality, Shiprock is at least 40 miles away.

Shiprock in a dust storm.

After Farmington, NM, a very dull, depressing looking town, I turn south onto US 491. This road runs north and south in the northwest quadrant of NM. It is the most remote area of the whole trip. I want to See Bisti Wilderness. It allegedly has bizarre wind sculptures. Weather is very threatening.

So, I do the "am I gonna die?" quiz again. I am not gonna die, so I get excited to ride through a big old dust storm!

Yeah man. The dust storm is right where I am going. And there is a huge thunderstoem right west of the dust storm!

Kinda makes you worry when you are 100 miles from a flush toilet and there are no cars on the road to rescue your freezing, rain soaked ass outta this wilderness. At this point, I seek my rain gear. But I cannot find my gloves. The hands are more than a little bit chilly.

Awesome.

This is surreal. One of the most awesome weather phenomena I have ever seen.

Sandstorm. Cool.

Right in the belly of the beast. This photo is in the middle tf the Bisti Wilderness. When I got here I understood why the sandstorm was remaining over it. It is just a huge dust bowl. You could not see any sky features at all. Eyes were gritty. Sand in my mouth. Sand in the crack of my butt. Pretty cool.

Look at the interesting pattern here. COmpletely different types of rock.

This is a wasteland.

These sand sculptures remind me of alien beings. Very bizarre.

Bisti Wilderness

Bone fragment buried in the layers of sand.

Bone fragment.

Other bone looking artifacts buried.

This ridge was only about 6" wide. The rock is very soft. You can crush it by hand.

This is a good photo of the area. Almost completely monocromatic gray.

Bisti Wilderness

Rocks and debris buried in layers. There is a lot of this type of debris sticking out from the sand stone.

Bisti Wilderness

Emerging from Bisti. A neat sunset. Huge clouds. Cruddy photo, but great memory.

This sky was actually a very bright blue. Almost a complimentary color to the Orange bike. Tried to capture it, but no go.

Ha! I specifically wanted to ride on Route 666! Wanted to ride it listening to Highway to Hell on my iPod.

I went out of my way to do so, trying to find it in Monticello, UT. I could not find it, so I thought my GPS map was off. Well, I get here to Crownpoint, NM, and wouldn't you know, I find it!

But it is nto the same. Note that the sign calls it "Former Route 666". I guess some folks protested the highway department to ghange the number to be different from the Number of the Beast. To me, it is kind of a shame. I wanted to ride on Route 666. But they took it away.

This is El Malpais National Monument, on NM 117, a road called The Narrows. One of the very best roads of the trip. Extraordinarily Lonely. Divinely beautiful. Incredibly huge. Definite go back there potential

El Malpais National Monument

El Malpais National Monument. Absolutely beautiful, huge, plains. Incredibly peaceful here.

El Malpais National Monument

Walking Tall in El Malpais National Monument

The VLA, Very Large Array. I went out of my way to see this too. But, you can't get to it. Access is restricted. Neat place, but you can't get a good photo.

VLA

VLA

VLA

VLA

VLA

The Trinity Site. Where the first atom bomb was detonated. I was very disturbed to be here. You cannot get to the site. But, it was sobering to be at the place where the destruction of humanity was probably invented. I am not mad at Oppenheimer. Had he not done it, Hitler would have. Kind of inevetable.

The sign on the gate says it all. Carrizoso, NM. If you are there, do NOT eat at the Mexican restaraunt.

Outside El Paso.

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