Those of you who have followed my blog for a few years know this is always MY FIRST RIDE OF THE YEAR! In the past it has been to see and visit with my sweet Mother. Last year she passed away while I was enroute to see her and 5 years prior I rode to see both Mom and Dad. It was the last time I hugged my Dad , so this year 2012 I rode with both of them on my mind . R.I.P. I Love you both.
Eating pancakes and having coffee at Makaydees
On with the uplifting side of this ride. We left Portland and it was 27 degrees . Our initial route was to have been down 97 to 31 into Reno and Big Pine into D.V. Weather and storms changed all that and we headed down I-5 to the Crescent City cutoff. I'd rather ride the coast than chug along on slab.
This old dog was absorbing the sun at BMW in Windsor,Ca. We felt like getting down with him but had to move on. The sun was finally warm and we were begining to thaw.
Spotted at a gas station near Bakersfield,Ca. Reminded me of a gypsy wagon.
Camped at Mingh C.G. West of Lake Isabella , Full Moon and we arrived past dark. Always remember to check batteries on flashlights and Hey know where they are located amongst all your junk! We used the headlights from Bmers to set up camp.
I guess even I can't always be Pretty LOL
This turkey was crusing around camp , the night prior we were serenated by two owls . Nice C.G.
We stop at a coffee shop just West of lake Isabella and for some reason that DAM sign always caught my eye.
F4 Freedom Fighter located at Ridgecrest , Ca. We met two fellow Bmer's who had flown these in their Nam days. Man that 800GS looks like it is packed with all but the kitchen sink.
Ballarat , Ca. We finally made it and found this hole in the world of a once thriving town
Hey Stacie while you are in there why don't you tidy the place up a bit?
As you can see she didn't do a very good job. YOUR FIRED!
This man must have a history with jails or something. I bet he is always looking in his rear view mirror for dem coppers
Not something I want to witness " Nude Dancing Burrows" . This is the Ballarat Museum.
I bet the cigarette killed him .
This guy has been the operator of THE MUSEUM for 8 years and he had some good stories to tell. I wondered " how do you survive 120 dgrees without AC"
Panamint Springs gas so expensive they had to support the sign so it wouldn't fall down. You say what 578.00 a gallon , Is there Gold in that Ethyel?
StovePipe Wells a GIANT parking lot. It served it's purpose but it reminded me of a Drive In Movie. Only missing the speakers and humps between the rows. I bet in the future they drop a big sheet down over the landscape and show a few clips.
Our Nemo and favorite tent in the world. Can't say enough about it and we love camping with it.
Have you ever seen a Kangaroo Rat ? Well here it is hopping around the camp.
Full Moon in Death Valley , awesome and the weather was 85 degrees . We were in pig heaven.
Sunrise in Death Valley , did I mention 85 degrees ?
Mosaic canyon located just across the road from StovePipe , 2 miles up a dirt road.
My partner and best riding buddy a man could have. Mosaic Canyon.
Stacie returning from the Mosaic Canyon road.
Yours truely climbing up a ledge in Mosaic
We rode from Mosaic canyon up to Skidoo or what was once the town site of Skidoo. Great ride along some cliffs and throw in some rocks to keep it interesting.
Looking down into the valley enroute to Skidoo.
some people just up and left their junk behind .
We were amongst all these deserted mines. I look down and see rusty nails everywhere . It was time to get while we had air in our tires.
We encountered several Lizards while in D.V.
After the mines we headed up to Aguereberry Pt. this is looking down on badlands .
Aren't we a cute couple?
More from Aguereberry Pt.
on top of the world .
Vacated and made to keep all people out. Can't have people going in and then you know what would be next , search and rescue .
Ubehebe Crater , was cold and windy at the top.
Josha Trees enroute to Racetrack . This road was ROUGH in the fact that can you say 27 miles of washboards .
Darn tourists , couldn't get a photo of tea pot junction going in.
Race Track , wish we would of had more time to spend here but after all we had already ridden this day we had to kick it in gear to get back before night fall.
Stacie walking on the track.
Here are a pair of rocks that have supposedly moved . You can see the tracks .
Nice photo , tourists gone and so are we. lets head out.
Sunsetting on us as we head back to camp. we were tired , hungry and dirty.
Stacie on Titus canyon , we road this the day after race track
Left my sheild at camp on went with the goggles. I like the air and the look......
Well ridden Gs bikes taking a break before we head down the pass.
Tutus canyon photos
der Billy taking a break.
It's laundry day at the benedict camp. Notice our Biz banner?
Our ride out of D.V. on Big Pine Road.
Crankshaft Junction
This was enroute to Saline Springs , was nice to finally see some green and trees.
Saline Valley, this was a 50 mile ride in from the North and handed us everything from dirt,rocks, BIG rocks, sand and DEEP sand. I thought it was great .
Taking a pause for some H2o relief.
Stacie on the road to Saline, she rode the lead and I must admit I was very proud of her .
Saline Springs , this is now a part of D.V.N.P. but they don't list it due to it being a clothing optional oasis. You take out what you brought in and you had better be perpared for a rough , I mean rough ride in. Pit toilets , water to rinse off before soaking and fire pits are only what designates a camp site. if you are opposed to nudity stay in the city.
Saline Oasis has a few locations set up for kicking back and or eating what you have prepared for dinner.
Lizard lee is the care taker of this Oasis and it is quite clean even though it is in the middle of the desert.
This is the source and even Saline has warning signs for the less intelligent .
Your site even comes with a Borro .
We had just arrived , Hot and ready for a soak.
I was sitting in my chair and darth just didn't look the same from the rear. Where the heck is your License Plate Darth? I guess it is D.V. somewhere .
Nice soaking pool , clean and refreshing to say the least.
On the way out of saline Valley we were headed up a STEEP grade and the woman stopped. I went by and turned to ask W.T.H. are you doing . My foot gave way and down Darth and I went. A guy in a truck behind us helped me pick up the heavy pig. ( reason Stacie pulled over let the guy go by) Don't stop on a STEEP grade if at all possible. Darth loaded has another 100-125 lbs on it. The guy remarked what the H you got loaded on this bike ?
East side of the Sierra's on Old D.V. Road.
Weather again on the way home made our route the coast . We had information at Big Pine that a BIG storm was on its way so we headed to the coast. This is waht we rode in for 2 days straight, rain, fog and heavy downpours.
There you have it , another trip, ride in the books. I felt it had been too long since the last ride of 2011 . This was our most adventourous ride to date. I know Alaska was awesome but this ride we made it a point to get down and dirty. We had a great time and a ride of this nature only gets me pumped for a more rugged ride next time. Hope you enjoyed the ride and don't forget to check out our website OREGONDUALSPORTRENTALANDADVENTURES.COM
Those of you who have followed my blog for a few years know this is always MY FIRST RIDE OF THE YEAR! In the past it has been to see and visit with my sweet Mother. Last year she passed away while I was enroute to see her and 5 years prior I rode to see both Mom and Dad. It was the last time I hugged my Dad , so this year 2012 I rode with both of them on my mind . R.I.P. I Love you both.
Eating pancakes and having coffee at Makaydees
On with the uplifting side of this ride. We left Portland and it was 27 degrees . Our initial route was to have been down 97 to 31 into Reno and Big Pine into D.V. Weather and storms changed all that and we headed down I-5 to the Crescent City cutoff. I'd rather ride the coast than chug along on slab.
This old dog was absorbing the sun at BMW in Windsor,Ca. We felt like getting down with him but had to move on. The sun was finally warm and we were begining to thaw.
Spotted at a gas station near Bakersfield,Ca. Reminded me of a gypsy wagon.
Camped at Mingh C.G. West of Lake Isabella , Full Moon and we arrived past dark. Always remember to check batteries on flashlights and Hey know where they are located amongst all your junk! We used the headlights from Bmers to set up camp.
I guess even I can't always be Pretty LOL
This turkey was crusing around camp , the night prior we were serenated by two owls . Nice C.G.
We stop at a coffee shop just West of lake Isabella and for some reason that DAM sign always caught my eye.
F4 Freedom Fighter located at Ridgecrest , Ca. We met two fellow Bmer's who had flown these in their Nam days. Man that 800GS looks like it is packed with all but the kitchen sink.
Ballarat , Ca. We finally made it and found this hole in the world of a once thriving town
Hey Stacie while you are in there why don't you tidy the place up a bit?
As you can see she didn't do a very good job. YOUR FIRED!
This man must have a history with jails or something. I bet he is always looking in his rear view mirror for dem coppers
Not something I want to witness " Nude Dancing Burrows" . This is the Ballarat Museum.
I bet the cigarette killed him .
This guy has been the operator of THE MUSEUM for 8 years and he had some good stories to tell. I wondered " how do you survive 120 dgrees without AC"
Panamint Springs gas so expensive they had to support the sign so it wouldn't fall down. You say what 578.00 a gallon , Is there Gold in that Ethyel?
StovePipe Wells a GIANT parking lot. It served it's purpose but it reminded me of a Drive In Movie. Only missing the speakers and humps between the rows. I bet in the future they drop a big sheet down over the landscape and show a few clips.
Our Nemo and favorite tent in the world. Can't say enough about it and we love camping with it.
Have you ever seen a Kangaroo Rat ? Well here it is hopping around the camp.
Full Moon in Death Valley , awesome and the weather was 85 degrees . We were in pig heaven.
Sunrise in Death Valley , did I mention 85 degrees ?
Mosaic canyon located just across the road from StovePipe , 2 miles up a dirt road.
My partner and best riding buddy a man could have. Mosaic Canyon.
Stacie returning from the Mosaic Canyon road.
Yours truely climbing up a ledge in Mosaic
We rode from Mosaic canyon up to Skidoo or what was once the town site of Skidoo. Great ride along some cliffs and throw in some rocks to keep it interesting.
Looking down into the valley enroute to Skidoo.
some people just up and left their junk behind .
We were amongst all these deserted mines. I look down and see rusty nails everywhere . It was time to get while we had air in our tires.
We encountered several Lizards while in D.V.
After the mines we headed up to Aguereberry Pt. this is looking down on badlands .
Aren't we a cute couple?
More from Aguereberry Pt.
on top of the world .
Vacated and made to keep all people out. Can't have people going in and then you know what would be next , search and rescue .
Ubehebe Crater , was cold and windy at the top.
Josha Trees enroute to Racetrack . This road was ROUGH in the fact that can you say 27 miles of washboards .
Darn tourists , couldn't get a photo of tea pot junction going in.
Race Track , wish we would of had more time to spend here but after all we had already ridden this day we had to kick it in gear to get back before night fall.
Stacie walking on the track.
Here are a pair of rocks that have supposedly moved . You can see the tracks .
Nice photo , tourists gone and so are we. lets head out.
Sunsetting on us as we head back to camp. we were tired , hungry and dirty.
Stacie on Titus canyon , we road this the day after race track
Left my sheild at camp on went with the goggles. I like the air and the look......
Well ridden Gs bikes taking a break before we head down the pass.
Tutus canyon photos
der Billy taking a break.
It's laundry day at the benedict camp. Notice our Biz banner?
Our ride out of D.V. on Big Pine Road.
Crankshaft Junction
This was enroute to Saline Springs , was nice to finally see some green and trees.
Saline Valley, this was a 50 mile ride in from the North and handed us everything from dirt,rocks, BIG rocks, sand and DEEP sand. I thought it was great .
Taking a pause for some H2o relief.
Stacie on the road to Saline, she rode the lead and I must admit I was very proud of her .
Saline Springs , this is now a part of D.V.N.P. but they don't list it due to it being a clothing optional oasis. You take out what you brought in and you had better be perpared for a rough , I mean rough ride in. Pit toilets , water to rinse off before soaking and fire pits are only what designates a camp site. if you are opposed to nudity stay in the city.
Saline Oasis has a few locations set up for kicking back and or eating what you have prepared for dinner.
Lizard lee is the care taker of this Oasis and it is quite clean even though it is in the middle of the desert.
This is the source and even Saline has warning signs for the less intelligent .
Your site even comes with a Borro .
We had just arrived , Hot and ready for a soak.
I was sitting in my chair and darth just didn't look the same from the rear. Where the heck is your License Plate Darth? I guess it is D.V. somewhere . 
Nice soaking pool , clean and refreshing to say the least.
On the way out of saline Valley we were headed up a STEEP grade and the woman stopped. I went by and turned to ask W.T.H. are you doing . My foot gave way and down Darth and I went. A guy in a truck behind us helped me pick up the heavy pig. ( reason Stacie pulled over let the guy go by) Don't stop on a STEEP grade if at all possible. Darth loaded has another 100-125 lbs on it. The guy remarked what the H you got loaded on this bike ?
East side of the Sierra's on Old D.V. Road.
Weather again on the way home made our route the coast . We had information at Big Pine that a BIG storm was on its way so we headed to the coast. This is waht we rode in for 2 days straight, rain, fog and heavy downpours.
There you have it , another trip, ride in the books. I felt it had been too long since the last ride of 2011 . This was our most adventourous ride to date. I know Alaska was awesome but this ride we made it a point to get down and dirty. We had a great time and a ride of this nature only gets me pumped for a more rugged ride next time. Hope you enjoyed the ride and don't forget to check out our website OREGONDUALSPORTRENTALANDADVENTURES.COM
Just how down and dirty did you guys get? LOL Glad to see you survived another biking adventure :)
ReplyDeleteBoyd