I came into the valley from Panamint Springs.
Death Valley has good scenery,
but on a note for a future trip, it would be better to camp there than just pass through.
Coming from Death Valley into Nevada, I got into Beatty, which is an interesting little place.
While in Beatty I learned of Rhyolite: A ghost town just a few miles back the way I came. So I turned around to check it out.
Rhyolite is a little more touristy than I hoped a ghost town would be. Not like there were vendors around or anything but I wasn't the only person there, and I was really hoping I would be.
It's pretty much what you would expect of a ghost town but with a few people walking around taking pictures. And while there is a house made out of recycled glass bottles, the strangest thing by far appears to be a giant lego "shemale" just off the main road:
I really have no idea what they were going for, but then again, maybe I hit the nail on the head.
In Henderson, Nevada I saw my first scorpion up close that wasn't in some tank:
Cute little thing, isn't it? It was promptly killed and flushed down a toilet. So long soldier!
While staying in Henderson, I took a trip out to the Hoover Dam.
Here's Lake Mead in all it's dammed glory:
This is what a road runner really looks like:
The cartoon was not true to life at all. We were all lied to by Warner Bros.! And there he goes!
This is Hoover Dam:
It is very large. For now that's all I have to say about it.
Outside Henderson, just past a donkey crossing, lies the fortress of Mt. Doom.
Well, actually it's Red Rock Canyon. I was told not to miss it but again, this is a place you want to do some HIKING, not just ride through. Though I'm sure it's more majestic on a sunny day.
As for everything else: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas".
But no, actually I didn't visit Vegas proper. I'll have plenty of opportunities to go to Vegas later in life. I don't think I'll ever run out of people whom I can convince that is a good idea. Meanwhile I didn't have my walking shoes, or a confidence inspiring amount of cash on me, so I was actually just a few miles from Las Vegas and I didn't bother going to the strip or Freemont Street. Next time, people, next time.
So what am I doing now? When I left Henderson, it was raining. I rode all the way back to Irvine in the rain. And then it rained all the next day. All through it. It has apparently been raining here for the past 3 days or so. My friend said "In 5 years I've never seen anything like this."
Oh well, I'm supposed to be leaving.
I was all set to leave Irvine yesterday but a fellow rider, seeing me gearing up started talking to me and was telling me that "in the last 10 miles I must've seen 20 accidents." He's describing full size bumpers broken off and lying in the middle of the street and cars losing control and spinning out all over the place.
I'm not particularly scared of the rain. It's even pretty warm out here so while a little uncomfortable, the rain isn't that bad. The rain is friendly, with no lightning. Water falling from the sky is not going to keep me off my bike. It's drivers that scare me. And to me, the idea of a freeway full of SUVs that are all over the place because the people who drive them don't think they need to be careful in inclement conditions is terrifying. More terrifying than the thought of a pizza eating a baby.
So daring to be an inconvenience I called my friend and asked if I could maybe stay a few extra nights to wait out the rain at his place. He agreed. "Yeah, I would hate to have to go to a funeral for a friend because they came out to visit me."
It never rains in California,
but girl don't they warn ya,
it pours, man it pours.
ATV cat says:
"Hell is other drivers."
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