Thursday–Monday, 8–12 Oct 2009
Tom’s pictures
Carl’s pictures
Tom writes:
I left a day early to add in a side trip to Bodie on my way to Death Valley. I cut out of work at noon and headed for Sonora Pass. The day was beautiful and the temps were perfect for a solo ride over my favorite Sierra pass. With a stop for gas in Oakdale and a few photo ops along the way, I was in Bridgeport at 5:00 PM. I took great pleasure in watching the CHP’s try to figure out how to remove a rather large semi that was stuck at the 8000’ sign on the east side of Sonora Pass. The road there is about 25% uphill. The truck was stuck in an “s” curve, actually involved with 3 turns at the same time.
I spent the evening in Bridgeport, not a lot to do on a chilly fall evening. Fish and Chips and the local choke and puke and it was off to bed. I got up early and headed for Aurora Canyon road. Aurora Canyon is a gentle dirt and gravel road that leads from the South edge of Bridgeport right into Bodie. No one was in Bodie when I arrived so I rode right down Main Street. Of course, at the other end of Main Street, was someone. Someone who wasn’t any too happy that I had just ridden a motorcycle down Main Street. He gave me a small piece of his mind and I headed out Cottonwood Canyon road without paying the $5 admission. Cottonwood Canyon is every bit as nice a ride as Aurora Canyon and brings you out on the North shore of Mono Lake. A very nice stretch before heading down 395 to Bishop.
I met up with Carl in Bishop, we settled on sandwiches at Dave’s Deli because he had a sign outside that says “You should eat here”. We took his advice, had some good sandwiches and shared the place with about 50 high schoolers on their lunch. Much to Carl’s delight, there were a few young ladies in their cheerleader outfits. We watched a few other SMBC members go riding by and wondered if we would catch up to them later.
We arrived at Stovepipe Wells about an hour before our room was to be ready and decided to hang out at the pool and wait. While we were waiting, Glenn and Tom arrived, we agreed to meet the following day at Furnace Creek and they headed for the warmth of Beatty, NV. Once our room was ready, Carl and I made ourselves at home in our usual fashion. While sitting outside the room with beers in hand, George and Saachi arrived and we were off to dinner. We were a little early in the season and the menu wasn’t up to snuff! We ate, but no salad bar, limited fare. Nothing special, but it worked.
Carl and I took a walk to the end of the runway to see if Grainger had decided to come and found no-one had used the airport for a few days. No planes on what may have been the least windy day I’ve ever seen in Death Valley. We repeated this walk the next evening and once again found no trace of Jerry. We did meet up with the Beatty group for lunch, and they waited in the restaurant for us just as you would expect them to…They were done eating before our orders were taken. After an hour or so of conversation, they were off to Beatty and Carl and I headed for the requisite photo at Badwater.
Sunday morning breakfast at Panamint Springs was quite nice. A table in the sun, no wind, decent food, and as usual, a new waitress…It’s funny how they all say this is the place, I’m staying for some time…and every time we come back, there is a new waitress. I guess the glamour of Panamint Springs wears off faster than most can appreciate. We headed up to Bishop and as our rooms weren’t ready there, took a nice trip up to the lakes above Bishop. They are quite beautiful and if you haven’t made the trip, it’s only about 30 minutes from downtown Bishop. Well worth the trip. Dinner at the Whiskey Creek is always great. Good food, helpful staff, nice atmosphere, beers from the Mammoth brewery, what more could you want.
Monday’s ride home was not as pleasant as the previous three days as the weather had started to turn and it was cold leaving Bishop. We met up with a guy from near the Pinnacles at Lee Vining and he rode with us through Yosemite. He had a brand new F800GS and was out for his first big ride. We stopped briefly in Oakdale for gas and a snack and it was on the road…I waved goodbye to Carl as he headed for the San Mateo bridge and I was home by 2:30 Monday. Monday evening Tioga and Sonora passes were closed from the snow that we were mere hours ahead of…
Another great Death Valley ride and a big thank you to Carl Tyler for making it happen.
Let’s do it again next year!
Tom’s pictures
