06.01 - into the valley of death rode the two

we said good bye to bill and arika and left pahrump as early as we could, around 7:30.  we had 5 or so miles through the town.  there are vast lots of empty sand between houses.  there is nothing in pahrump, apparently it acts as a bedroom community for las vegas and the military test site near by.  in the photo below, the electrical line on the left is the nevada/california border.

it was a nice morning with relatively cool temps, little to no wind.  after zigzagging around town, we turned nw and headed into the mojave desert towards death valley.

the first 30 of 65 miles was mostly flat with the wonderful textured and colored mountains.

and little shade.  

as we sat in the shade of a roadside sign, a couple pulled up in a mustang convertible.  chuck and missy?  no.  a couple from grand rapids, michigan.  they offered us cold water, ours had all turned a tepid tea temp.  they chatted about touring in europe; i talked about touring breweries on michigan's west coast.

as we rode, the sun climbed and we heated up.  7 miles down the road, we stopped at the aragosa opera house and motel.  a semi deserted estsblishment in death valley junction.  little to no signage, half the hotel was taped off, posted closed and dangerous, there were abandonded ruins scattered around the side and back, three cars parked in the lot and a woman screaming into the phone at someone who had failed to get her the money she needed.  we found a shaded niche to rest.

after an hour rest, we mounted up for the final 30 miles.  we knew the last 10 or so were downhill into the valley;  the first 10 had a low uphill grade;  i was pretty sure we had a mild climb in between before we started down.

starting out, the first five miles were easy.  our friends in the mustang, with the top up this time, came back by to bring us some gatorade.  road angels.  the next 5 miles proved we hadn't recovered that much.  it was slow going.  The next 10 were going to really slow us down, especially if there was any kind of climb.

then we passed a 3,000 ft elevation sign and the road looked flat.  and i said to myself, we can't be going too much higher if we're going down to sea level within 20 mi.  and, sure enough, we appeared to crest, then passed another 3,000 ft elev sign.  and then we were on our way down.

i've said this before about yosemite and the grand canyon, but all the photos do not match the reality.  when i've thought of death valley, heat, sand dunes, dry cracked earth come to mind, but the reality is so much more.  the forms, hues, tones and textures are so incredible.  the variety of minerals bring out the various colors.  unfortunately, i can't seem to get my color film to work.  these photos don't do it justice.

soon we were pulling over for the obligatory photo shoot at the park entrance sign. a couple pulled over while we were there.  they took our picture, we took theirs.  and i saw she was wearing an ohio state shirt.  Where youse guys from?  "columbus, ohio."  really?  i have a daughter lives there.  she works for chase.  "my brother works for chase."  ha, she just started back at the office, first time in over a year.  she just texted about the free lunch they got.  "yeah, same with my brother, he was excited about free food."

and then another car pulls in.  i see your north carolina plates,  where youse guys from?  "oh, no, we're from tennesse.  knoxville, tennessee."  and so it goes...

then back on the bikes, down we went.  i kept stopping to photograph the incredible landscape

finally, coming down to the valley floor.  we had decided we needed a day of rest and rather than camp in the desert, we opted to stay at the hotel.  my original information told me that the hotel and resort were closed, that the season ended may 15th.  it was a pleasant surprise to find it open. so we opted for two nights.  if we didn't take a day of rest, the heat and grade would kill us.

and the restaurant and saloon was open

as was the general store.