LA, Malaysian MotoGP mayhem and Death Valley

[ricko2]

Thanks for posting all that. Looks like a good time..

[fehren2800]

Wednesday October 28 2009

I got into LA last night and was wrecked from way too many hours on planes and sitting in airport lounges. I checked into the Crowne Plaza near the airport and just crashed for the night.

Once morning came I was up at the crack of dawn to take the free shuttle to the airport. I think I confused the driver when I told him I just needed to be dropped off at the gate near the rental car shuttle. I would have just got a rental car last night and avoided the run around, but that would be an extra day to pay for the car to just sit in a parking lot that I had to pay for. Once I clarified his confusion, he dropped me off and I got on the next shuttle to the car rental place. I got my car without a hitch and drove back to the hotel where I checked out with my stuff, piled it into the tiny car and set my course for Death Valley. I was excited that I got to drive about 10 miles before I hit my first jam up. Once I was 20 or 30 miles outside downtown LA the traffic was a little more sane.

I was so busy in Malaysia I never washed any clothes, and I needed a few things so I found a Target. I got a case of water, some cliff bars and 2 pair of underwear (yay!).
I also found a UPS store where I boxed up a bunch of my dirty clothes and sent them back home. My suitcase immediately felt tons lighter and that made me and the baggage handlers happy.

I started to notice the wind picking up outside as I drove. The closer I got to my destination the more wind there was. I tuned the radio to a weather station and heard the bad news, there was a wind advisory with 45mph sustained and 60mph gusts for today. That explained why I had a hard time keeping the car on the road. I thought I was just a bad driver.

I started to get hungry around 10am and I pulled into a Subway/gas station in Phelan, CA. I had a good sandwich and a great chat with the 2 girls working behind the counter. One was complaining about a cheating boyfriend and the other one was helping her plot her revenge against the unsuspecting guy. I had a good time poking fun at the two of them and I they were smiles and laughing when I left. I feel sorry for that guy, the girlfriend was big and looked pretty tough and her friend had some evil ideas… That guy doesn’t stand a chance.

Traveling up 395 I spotted a solar power field, I shot this from a moving car


The drive was calming and peaceful. Traffic was almost non-existent and the desert scenery is among my favorite. I saw an interesting object on a hill and stopped to investigate.



I saw this sign and decided to leave before I ended up in Gitmo answering questions.


Here is my anemic underpowered G3 rental car. This thing was a pain in the wind, I felt like getting out and pushing this thing to make it go faster.


Traveling along 395 north I saw a sign with a road conditions update stating that mountain passes on 120 and 108 to Yosemite were closed due to high winds. I originally wanted to take a peek into Yosemite on this trip, but my time in California was shortened by one day. I was disappointed at first, until I found out that extra day in Malaysia got me onto the track on the RC8!!!

I finally reached the western edge of Death Valley NP.


The wind was causing all kinds of sand and debris to blow




I followed Furnace Creek Road into the park and stopped at the visitor center for some info and maps. I also took advantage of the wifi to send a couple emails and check in online.



I hope there isn’t a sudden flood!


Furnace Creek Resort. I don’t have the $$$ to stay here. You will laugh when you see where I am staying.


I stayed at the Amorgosa Opera House and Hotel in Death Valley Junction. It is what you would call “quaint” or “eclectic” if you were trying to sugar coat it. I call it a run down old place that fit me just right. A no frills kind of place with no internet, no cell service, no luxuries of any kind. I liked the hotel for what it was and it was as close as I could stay for cheap. I only needed it to sleep a few hours a night. My hotel;



After I checked in I was hungry and checking the map I saw that Pahrump NV was only about 30 miles away. I decided to go have a look and maybe get some fuel for the car and some food for me. On the way the wind was still having it’s way with the sand.



I got to Pahrump and found a gas station complete with slot machines (of course). I fueled up and continued looking around and I stumbled upon a Sonic! I love Sonic and this was the highlight of my night. I sat in my little car watching the sun start to set eating a great burger and having a delicious iced drink or 3. On my way out of town the sun was dropping below the mountains. I stopped for one last photo of the day.



I went back to the hotel and showered and tried to go to sleep, but about 1 am I realized that there was no heat in my room. There was also no night time hotel staff, so I put on my long underwear, pants, socks and jacket and crawled into the cold bed for the night. It wasn’t ideal, but it was an adventure like every other day so far on this trip. I can’t wait for tomorrow.

[midwest]

No offense but a picture of the two gals plotting to de-nut the BF would have been great!

I'm on pins and needles here waiting for the rest.....

[fehren2800]

Originally Posted by midwest

No offense but a picture of the two gals plotting to de-nut the BF would have been great!

I'm on pins and needles here waiting for the rest.....

Ha, ha, ha... I wish. They were like a female Laurel and Hardy if you get my drift. Not much to look at but funny as hell.

Thursday October 29 2009

Death Valley National Park part I

My day started very very early. I never really slept much last night as there was no heat in my room and the temps dipped down into the lower 30’s. I spent most of the night just trying unsuccessfully to stay warm. I finally gave up trying to sleep at 4 am. I got all my camera gear lined up for the day and loaded that into the car. It was still freezing outside and the constant wind made it feel more like February than October. I warmed up the little rental car and crept out of the hotel parking lot and was on my way to Death Valley once again.

Driving through the desert is peaceful, and even more so at 5:00 in the morning. It was totally dark to the west. The stars were bright against the morning sky on this cold early morning. The first hints of light were starting to emerge from the east and I pulled off the road to catch the sunrise over the mountains.





After that spectacular sunrise I continued toward the park on highway 190 west. I turned off the main road toward Dante’s View. The sun was up, the sky was clear and blue and the morning air was cold and crisp. A perfect morning, even the wind had subsided for the most part. The drive to Dante’s View was narrow and twisty and would have made for a great ride. Along the drive I stopped occasionally for a photo.



The last mile or so of the drive was 15mph switchbacks with lots of elevation gain and dangerous drop-offs. It was almost comical trying to get up to the top with the rental car. I could have made it to the top quicker on a 50cc scooter. At the end of the road there is a large parking lot that had one other car in it, but no signs of people. Once I parked the car I noticed that it was swaying side to side from the wind. As I opened the car door it was almost ripped from my hands by a huge blast of icy cold wind. Luckily I was able to hold onto the door enough that it only opened an inch or two past its normal limit. In the process I tore off half my fingernail on my left hand. It was so cold that I barely even noticed the injury until later. I came prepared for the weather. I had gloves, hat and a windproof shell. It was still cold, but I was able to wander around a bit without completely freezing unlike the couple who arrived after me. The girl never even got out of the car and the guy had on a short sleeved shirt and shorts. He braved the cold long enough to snap one or two photos and then jumped back in the car. I would have liked to get some good shots of the valley below as well, but the wind was so bad I had to brace my tripod to keep it from blowing over. I almost had to crawl back to the car as the wind picked up. I’m positive I looked like one of those weather guys on location during a hurricane trying to stay standing in the gale force winds. This is about the best I could muster while I was at Dante’s View.



My next stop was Zabraskie Point, named after Christian Zabraskie, the long time general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company.







I took the tiny rental car on a dirt road through Twenty-Mule Team Canyon. The car bottomed out a few times and it was somewhat of a challenge to not get stuck in a few of the ruts. The road leads through the areas seen from Zebraskie Point. Along the road are a few remnants of old borax mines. I was concentrating on not getting the car buried, and did not see any old mines.



I exited the dirt road back onto 190 towards the visitor center at Furnace Creek. It felt good to be on solid asphalt again. There were a few places I wanted to see that are down questionable dirt roads. I don’t think I’ll chance destroying the rental car, or break down out here. Oh well, next time. I stopped along the way to the visitor center a couple times for some interesting sights.







When I arrived at my next stop, Golden Canyon, the parking lot was completely full. I had to park in one of the bus/trailer parking spots. I haven’t seen any busses, and only one trailer over the last two days so I think I’ll be alright. Golden Canyon consists of a ¾ mile hike up a slight grade to view the Red Cathedral. There used to be a road running up through the canyon, but was washed out in the mid 70’s from storm waters. People always find the need to stack rocks in formation.



The yellow rocks of Golden Canyon.


The first glimpse of Red Cathedral, and also the remnants of the old roadway.



Red Cathedral, yellow rocks, and silence.







I said my farewells to Golden Canyon and was on my way down the road. The next stop was the Devil’s Golf Course. There was a huge pink all terrain tour vehicle in the parking lot at Devil’s Golf Course, some tour company called pink jeep tours (?) that operates out of Vegas. Seems like an easy way to see the highlights of the park. Devil’s Golf Course is made up of huge blocks of salt. The ones nearest the parking lot are hard but smooth. I had to walk a decent distance to find the more jagged ones. I had to step carefully. Falling down on these sharp rocks could lead to some serious cuts or maybe broken bones.





Next up was Badwater Basin, the lowest point in Death Valley and also north America at 282 feet below sea level. Badwater is also one of the hottest places on earth. The record high for Death Valley is 134 degrees set in 1913 at Furnace Creek. There is a shallow pool of water below the parking area. The water in this pool has more salt content than sea water. I drank about a gallon of it.







Badwater Basin was as far as I went that day. I turned around and headed back north towards the visitor center. Next stop, Natural Bridge in part II.

[midwest]

Did I miss the next installment?

[fehren2800]

Here ya go Midwest.

Thursday October 29 2009

Death Valley National Park part II

I took the short drive to the Natural Bridge trailhead. I gathered all my stuff once again and set out on foot to find the Natural Bridge. The hike was fairly easy and not too far, I don’t know specifics but it didn’t seem like more than half a mile total. I took a couple pictures and hiked back to the parking lot.





Next on my list was Artist Drive which is a short drive off the main road that takes you through colorful cliffs made up of volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The colors come from minerals in the rocks and volcanic ash.





I pulled into the parking lot at Artist’s Palette and I spotted a large Raven hanging around. It seemed to be used to people as it didn’t fly away when I got out of the car. It probably survives on handouts from visitors. The Raven as if on cue hopped up onto the stone wall right in front of the brilliantly colored background of Artist’s Palette.





I took a couple pictures of the beautiful colors before heading back to the hotel for the night.





I left Death Valley for the night. Upon arriving at my hotel my room from the previous night still had no heat. I got the lady at the desk to put me in another room, number 10. I hauled all my stuff into my new room and went to Pahrump again for dinner, fuel and cell service to call home. Once I returned to my new room I discovered it too had no heat! I went to the check in desk and got a maintenance guy to come and fix the situation. Finally I had heat for the night. I had heard some horror stories about this place, and I wouldn’t consider bringing my family here, but for me it was just another one of those little adventures that makes for a good story. While the guy was trying to fix my heat I wandered around the hotel and took some pictures. The hotel is owned by Marta Becket who used to dance at the opera house here and has spent her lifetime decorating and painting this place.

My room.


Artwork all over the walls.






Marta Becket


The hotel at dusk




Once I got back to my room the heat made me very, very tired. I turned in at 10 or so. I wanted to get some sleep after last night and get another early start tomorrow for my last day in Death Valley.

[McCrimmon]

Man...Excellent pics bud...Thanks for sharing once again!!!

[fehren2800]

Friday October 30 2009

I was up before sunrise on my last day of vacation. I was excited to see as much as I could today, but I also was ready to go home. I planned on exploring the northern part of Death Valley today. It was not nearly as cold today as yesterday, but I still took all my gear with me in case of a freak temperature change. I snagged a couple Little Debbie snack cakes from the hotel breakfast bar and started my drive to Furnace Creek.



Old Dinah steam engine tractor used in Death Valley


The famous 20 Mule Team Wagon






I left the Furnace Creek Resort area and took the short drive north to the Harmony Borax works. The old ruins at Harmony are all that remain of the borax processing plant. Here they refined the borax by boiling the rock crystals before being loaded onto the 20 Mule Team Wagons and taken to the train station at Mojave 165 miles away.



Just up the road from Harmony is Mustard Canyon. The canyon is just a small dirt road that loops back onto the main road after a mile or so and takes you through the yellow walled rock formations of mud and salt.





I continued heading north along the valley, but took a detour east towards Nevada to visit another attraction outside the park. Rhyolite Ghost Town is an old abandoned mining town west of Beatty Nevada off of highway 374. It was one of the largest cities in Nevada in the early 1900’s and is home to the famous Tom Kelly’s Bottle House. It is a cool site to visit for ghost town enthusiasts, I just wish I would have had an entire day to explore here.

Old house


Train station


Cool old truck.


General Store


Tom Kelley Bottle House, easy to see how it got the name.


I headed back into the park and on towards Scotty’s Castle. The castle was named after Death Valley’s most famous prospector and con man. He was a former trick rider who performed with Buffalo Bill. He used to sell trips to unsuspecting people with money to his secret gold mine that did not exist. One of these victims was Albert Johnson who realized the gold mine was a scam, but ended up befriending Scotty and together with Johnson’s money and Scotty’s grand ideas they built a giant mansion in Death Valley. They chose the location well near an underground spring and installed a hydro electric generator that still works today, although just for demonstration purposes during the tour.

Scotty’s Castle


looking up one of the towers


me, sporting a KTM shirt (courtesy of Advocatt) at the castle gates


Clock tower




Time was getting short for me so I opted to skip a few of the sites and vowed to visit again some day for a little longer stay. I drove down to my last stop at the wind swept Sand Dunes. Walking out among the dunes and climbing up to the top was very difficult and tiring, but well worth the effort. The smooth flowing surface of the sand blown into patterns by the wind is offset intermittently by small mesquite trees and animal tracks left by nocturnal creatures from the previous night. It was very peaceful here and I spent some time just sitting in the sand taking in the complete silence here.

Animal tracks


people tracks, ha, ha, ha..





My last stop in Death Valley of the day.


After leaving the park the traffic got a little worse as each mile passed taking me closer to LA. By the time I reached my hotel near LAX I had about all I can take of LA’s traffic. I am glad I do not live here, and if I did I cannot see any way to get around other than a motorcycle or bicycle. Driving a car here is an exercise in futility. The last thing I did was put in a phone call to Mantlehonda and we chatted a while about my trip, bikes and general bs. He was an extremely nice guy and offered to take me for an early morning guided motorcycle ride down through Malibu, but my plane left too early for that. I told him next trip I’ll take him up on that offer.

This trip was a whirlwind of adventure and I met the greatest people along the way. I would like to thank everyone along the way who made this trip the adventure of a lifetime, from my very gracious host in Malaysia (Sam and gang at SBM) to all the guys and gals on this site who help me out every day with technical knowledge and with uplifting discussions. Thanks to all, may I return the favor some day.

Let the planning for the next trip begin……..

[midwest]

Damn nice report man....

Sam should get some type of site award if anyone is still running this ship!?

You dont host somebody like that and not get kudos!

[fehren2800]

Originally Posted by midwest

Damn nice report man....

Sam should get some type of site award if anyone is still running this ship!?

You dont host somebody like that and not get kudos!

I agree!

[Pacojerte]

Originally Posted by fehren2800

I agree!

me too

[mantelhonda]

this was a great report , and from the looks of it it was really good trip , it is going to be tough to top this , kudos to you and Sam for making it possible and for sharing this experience with all of us . I'm sorry we did not get to meet in person . hopefully next time you are in this area we'll get to ride the canyons in Malibu

[fehren2800]

Thanks. I'm sure we'll meet next time!

[advocatt]

so, whos coming this year?

[fehren2800]

If I wasn't using up all my vacation and then some, I would so be in again. I had the best time ever last year. Anyone who is considering going, just do it. You will only regret not going.

Besides they only took one of my kidneys while I was asleep last year. I still have one good one left.

[advocatt]

good to have a new freind this year...

[mattf]

I would be all over it if I could afford it. had a couple of big non-expected expenses this spring, hopefully next year Advocatt.

[advocatt]

too bad no one from this site coming this year...we had a fun during last year motogp..

[HondaJim]

Originally Posted by advocatt

too bad no one from this site coming this year...we had a fun during last year motogp..

I guess we live thru your report and pics this year. Do us proud.

[fehren2800]

Originally Posted by advocatt

too bad no one from this site coming this year...we had a fun during last year motogp..

We sure did bro, we sure did

I know you guys will do it up right again this year. I'm hoping to hit another round or 2 next year and Malaysia is on top of the list!

[advocatt]

so, anyone wanted to come this year?