Day Seven – Mammoth Lakes CA to Las Vegas
Miles: 380
We tried eating at Base Camp Cafe but they were not open when their store hours said otherwise. We ended up going down a block and eating at Breakfast Club which was quite nice. We were looking forward to the trek across Death Valley but we had no idea what we were in for. Our first stop was at Manzanar National Historic Site. This site is the remains of an abandon Japanese internment camp during World War II. Several buildings are still standing and there are displays and historical information throughout the park. Very interesting and very well kept. We could have easily spent more time here but we needed to get moving. We did, however walk into one of the barracks and also the old firehouse which has a 1940s vintage fire truck on display. We stopped in Lone Pine for gas and had a look at Mount Whitney in the distance. Interestingly we would see the highest point, and visit the lowest point in North America in the matter of a few hours. We started our descent into Death Valley with a plan to stop at Father Crowley overlook. This is a famous spot with an overlook where people go to watch fighter aircraft maneuverer through what is known as Star Wars Canyon, but its real name is Rainbow Canyon. Video shows various aircraft of types blasting their way through the canyon. As we approached the entrance we could it was roped off preventing entry. We slowed way down and military staff waved us off. We thought it was strange but not much we could do. We stopped just past the entrance and decided to circle back and go to the previous pull off. We did this and got out to look around and contemplated walking down to the edge but it was too far and also too hot. We got back on and rode past Father Crowley again and continued down the steep grade to Death Valley. We learned later that there had been an accident where an F-18 crashed killing the pilot and injuring seven tourists. The accident had happened on Wednesday and we were there on Sunday but I guess the military was still investigating what happened and removing the plane's debris. It was a really nice winding road down to Panamint Springs which still 2,000 feet above sea level, but this is where we crossed the first big valley where the road is as straight as an arrow for 6 miles before it disappears from view into the mountains that sit on the other side. Once on top we being another descent that takes us from 2500ft down to Stovepipe Wells at -1ft. We stopped at Stovepipe to down a Gatorade and get some air conditioning. My bike's temperature gauge showed 107F which would feel like a cool spot in an hour or so. As we left Stovepipe Wells we continued going to lower elevations and hotter temperatures. We passed Furnace Creek which was an oasis in the desert which was quite striking. We went off of our route to visit Zabriskie Point but when we arrived there we saw the path to the overlook was two or three hundred yards away and probably 50 feet in elevation above the parking lot which we knew but we did not truly think about the heat. It was simply too hot to walk up there in our gear. We circled back onto our route and stopped at Badwater Basin which is the lowest point in the US at -278 feet below sea level. It was 122F when we arrived and our phones would no longer work even as we had them in our tank bags out of the direct sun. It was hot! We stayed for a little while and walked around a bit, but we were back riding and trying to get cool. Normally when it is hot riding is better than being stationary, but in this type of heat it was worse riding. The air felt like multiple hair dryer blowing on us. But before long we stopped in Shoshone for gas and as we were pumping we spotted the famous Crow Bar across the street and stopped in for an ice cold beer and several waters. My guess is we were not the first bikers in that place looking for some cool refreshments. It was a well needed stop and we enjoyed it immensely. With a full tank of gas we just made a bee line for Vegas as we were hungry and ready to get out of the heat. We stopped on the way in to wash off the desert dust and even considered spraying ourselves down but the temperature had dropped to a very comfortable 104F. We checked in and headed to dinner at the Hole In The Wall restaurant where I had dinner on my honeymoon back in 1990. It wasn't as romantic this year but I was probably more hungry, so it was good. After dinner we went to a couple of breweries including Hop Nuts and Tanaya Creek. We walked Fremont Street which I hadn't been on since 1990 when there was no open-air mall. We didn't do any betting but we had a good time and slept exceptionally well.
