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- Large dry clumps of animal dung are everywhere around my tent
- I ride back up the road 1.25 miles to the Kelso Dunes trailhead
- Near the Kelso Dunes trailhead, I pass an unoccupied roadside campsite
- A nice touch at the Kelso Dunes trailhead is a modern outhouse that's even equipped with toilet paper
- I lock the bike to the fence at the Kelso Dunes trailhead
- I begin the walk toward Kelso Dunes
- There are a number of people hiking Kelso Dunes today
- The Kelso Dunes sand is soft, and one does sink in with each footstep, but it's not as difficult as I thought it might be
- Excellent perspectives of the surrounding mountains come into view as one climbs higher up Kelso Dunes
- Approaching the top of Kelso Dunes, this final stretch is the steepest part
- Kelso Dunes feels very sculptural as one approaches the summit
- On top of Kelso Dunes, I'm taking in the views of this end of Mojave National Preserve
- To my northeast is Kelso Valley, with Kelso Depot just barely visible in the middle
- Looking down toward my campsite at the the end of the road from the top of Kelso Dunes
- Getting ready to climb down the steep face of Kelso Dunes, with Granite Mountains in the background
- I figure I might get a better experience if it sit and slide down the Kelso Dunes as if I were on a toboggan
- I'm coming down! The guy from Saskatchewan ran all the way down the dunes ahead of me
- Heading back to Kelso Dunes trailhead, I have time for a short day ride; I randomly choose Coyote Springs as the destination
- Back at my campsite near Kelso Dunes for a few minutes, I stuff a few items in my saddlebags for the ride to Coyote Springs
- I mount the bike and ride the 1/4-mile shortcut at the end of Kelso Dunes Road to the nearby power-line road
- Eastbound on the power-line road toward Providence Mountains, I see that somebody suffered a tire blow-out here
- After a couple of miles on the power-line road, I locate the nearly invisible road that leaves on my right toward Coyote Springs
- Heading up this sandy road, I notice a plastic pipe along the shoulder
- The soft sand on this road results in my walking the bike for about a mile, leaving nice tire tracks behind
- This sandy road-in-a-wash ends after a couple of miles and the rest of it ahead is blocked Wilderness barrier posts
- On the road to Coyote Springs at the base of the Granite Mountains
- At another junction on the way to Coyote Springs, I pull out my map to look for this fork in the road
- This final piece of the road to Coyote Springs is a little rocky, but has fresh tire tracks
- The road to Coyote Springs ends at a cul-de-sac, a small stone fire ring, and Wilderness-barrier posts
- The old Coyote Springs Road obviously continues beyond the Wilderness-barrier posts, so I park my bike here and walk onward
- The old road toward Coyote Springs rises up a low hill
- Just beyond the dip in the old road, I find myself facing a rugged, rocky hill
- The Coyote Springs area becomes more picturesque as I continue up the old road
- Another one of those pink-flowering buckwheats that I've been noticing on this trip
- Lo and behold, I've just reached a full-fledged desert stream!
- I decide to walk upstream to explore the extent of the stream and see if its beginning can be easily identified
- A little higher upstream, I realize I'll have some rock scrambling ahead of me if I want to continue upward
- I walk back downstream to look for a good location to stop and filter some water
- Just a few steps further around a small bend sits a nice wide pool of water that looks promising
- OK, the stream isn't exactly deep here, but it's deep enough
- After refilling my water, I notice a faint road rising slowly to the right of a hill ahead of me
- I leave the Coyote Springs stream and climb up one of the low rocky hills along the old road on the way back to my bike
- Looking back down at the old Coyote Springs Road from the little hill that I've climbed up
- Cholla cactus along the old Coyote Springs Road
- I exit the Wilderness boundary and return to my bike at the Coyote Springs campsite
- The day is spinning its finale even though I don't want that; I ride away from Coyote Springs
- Five minutes later, the pink sunset light has dimmed a little
- Yep, it's getting darker by the minute
- At this time of day, Kelso Dunes look like earth rather than huge piles of sand
- My dirt road from Coyote Springs ends at dusk when I reach the Kelbaker Road "highway"
- I descend Kelbaker Road 3/4 mile to reach Kelso Dunes Road
- In the last vestiges of daylight, I rattle four miles down the Kelso Dunes Road washboard back to my tent
- Frost on my bicycle this morning near Kelso Dunes
- All bundled up, I go for a short walk around the campsite in the cold sun to warm up a little
- It's time to make some coffee using a toilet-paper filter and get started
- While sipping my coffee, I notice that the water bottles which I left outside last night have quite a bit of ice in them
- Breaking camp on the final morning of a trip produces mixed emotions
- The 10-ton bike has been rebuilt and is ready to leave Kelso Dunes
- I ride away from the campsite up Kelso Dunes Road toward the Providence Mountains
- At the end of Kelso Dunes Road, I rejoin the pavement of Kelbaker Road
- A car passes while I descend Kelbaker Road toward Kelso Depot
- The further I descend this hill toward Kelso Depot, the stronger the headwind
- The little town of Kelso is now visible down in the valley below, as are the low mountains beyond that I will ride over later
- On the last few miles before Kelso Depot, the wind is so strong that I can barely maintain 7 miles per hour
- The strong wind pushes my empty sardine can around while I eat lunch outside Kelso Depot
- National Parks Service did an excellent job restoring Kelso Depot
- The 10-ton bike waits outside the doors to the Kelso Depot visitor centre
- Enough chatting; it's time to get on with the day's business of riding up out of Kelso Valley to Baker
- A discarded Bud Light beer can at roadside is a sign that I've re-entered "civilization"
- Climbing up the sometimes-rough pavement of Kelbaker Road; those who have ridden it know it
- Ah, my 12-mile climb up to the Kelbaker Road summit ends just ahead at the power lines...
- I take a quick break at the Kelbaker Road summit to put on my winter jacket and scarf in preparation for the downhill ahead
- Baker, California: 23 miles and 2900 feet below the Kelbaker Road summit
- Pedalling down past those famous Mojave National Preserve cinder cones
- About eight miles down from the summit, I fly around the curve near the Kelbaker Road lava flows
- My focus cuts across the slanted world of motion to the hills behind the Indian Springs area, where I camped the first two night
- Rounding "the big curve" on Kelbaker Road, I begin the 10-mile home stretch toward Baker
- To my surprise, a strong tailwind has kicked in and is pushing me across the valley
- The deep glow of sunset intensifies with the passing of each minute
- The road belongs to me; I've only seen two cars since starting down from the summit
- Today's Mojave National Preserve festival of pink, purple and orange is probably the best I've experienced on this trip
- After 45 minutes of slow uphill, I see someone ahead in the road. Stranded? No, he's taking photos of the area, and of me
- The Kelbaker Hills behind me are busy absorbing every last bit of colour they can get before calling it a day
- The pretty ceiling above the shower stall in tonight's room at the Royal Hawaiian invites me to step inside and get clean
- I've settled in with a full tummy and celebrate by catching up on my travelogue notes, drinking beer, and watching some TV
- At midnight, as I prepare to go to bed, I notice that "Royal Hawaiian" is written on my pillow--happy 2008!
- Joerg and Elke and I have a fun desert chat for a good half hour; they visit Death Valley frequently and are on their way home
- Photographer [url=http://www.joergboetel.com/]Joerg Boetel[/url] snaps one last photo of me as I ride away up Kelbaker Road
- After I get home next week, I'll get a detailed USGS map and try to map today's hike in the Indian Springs and Cane Spring area
- Yesterday morning I left home and rode to the San José Amtrak station for my rides to Baker, California
- Another bike shared the bike rack with me aboard the Amtrak San Joaquin train yesterday
- The Amtrak bus left the 10-ton bike and I in Baker, California, gateway to Mojave National Preserve, near the end of the day
- The "world's tallest thermometer" displayed 93 degrees F (33C) when I got here yesterday
- I stayed at the Wills Fargo Motel last night instead of at the tacky Royal Hawaiian Motel down the road
- I get up early this morning and walk down the road for the breakfast buffet at the Big Boy restaurant by the big thermometer
- After breakfast, I walk over to the Starbuck's in town to pick up a pound of coffee for the trip
- I also need to fill up on water before I leave Baker, so I make a stop at Alien Fresh Jerky
- Non-descript Baker is mostly gas stations, fast-food joints and convenience stores, but here's an old boxcar in a vacant lot
- It appears that the old Baker boxcar is being used as a storage shed
- The Baker Country Store ran out of tea bags, so I go to the ridiculously expensive Baker Market to see if they have any in stock
- All stocked up, I get on Kelbaker Road and leave Baker, crossing the I-15 freeway before entering Mojave National Preserve
- Obligatory tourist photo at the Mojave National Preserve entrance on Kelbaker Road
- It hasn't taken long for the hot sun to fry me; I stop for several short breaks on this nearly flat stretch of Kelbaker Road
- The first 10 miles of Kelbaker Road upon leaving Baker is long and straight and rises from 925 feet to 2000 feet
- At the 10-mile point on Kelbaker Road, "the big curve," it's time for another break.
- At the Kelbaker Road curve, I pull out on a dirt road and suck back more of my warm water
- A bit further up Kelbaker Road: near mile 12, an oncoming pickup brakes and its driver shouts, "I love your web site!"
- Energized by my chat with Brian, I start thinking about taking another short break, this time by the lava flows
- I park the 10-ton bike at the edge of the lava flow and go for a walk up the hill
- Sure enough, rock art is to be found up there
- Antique graffiti?
- A faint hum oozes out of the lava, and it's not the spirit of the rock art whispering at me through the silence
- Staying away from the yellowjackets (I'm highly allergic), I walk back down to the 10-ton bike at Kelbaker Road
- I remount the 10-ton bike and continue my trek up Kelbaker Road as it winds around the edge of lava flows
- Rainy Day Mine Road is the location of my next short break
- OK, back on Kelbaker Road, I'll tackle a little more of this slow, hot hill
- Aiken Mine Road/Jackass Canyon Road junction is the next stop on my Kelbaker Road death climb
- I pace back and forth with my arms extended for maximum air flow, like a cat stretched out on the floor on a hot day
- The final four miles of the normally easy climb to the Kelbaker Road summit at the power lines have never been so challenging
- Kelbaker Road summit at 3700 feet elevation; I'm there, finally!
- The 12-mile gradual descent to Kelso is fun, but I usually have a headwind that slows me down considerably, like I do today
- The vegetation on the foothills of the adjacent Kelso Mountains is striking with its silver-grey brush against yellow flowers
- Still heading downhill into the Kelso Valley, now approaching the town of Kelso, that ribbon of buildings
- Desert willows bloom and attract hummingbirds outside the Kelso Depot bathroom building
- While lingering in the shade of the Kelso Depot waiting platform, I chat with a couple on their first visit to the Preserve
- Kelso Depot Visitor Centre, Mojave National Preserve, former 1920s train station restored in 2005
- I look across the tracks and beyond the handful of houses that are Kelso toward Cornfield Spring, my destination
- I glance back at Kelso Depot as I start riding up the sandy road to Cornfield Spring
- The road to Cornfield Spring gets a bit rougher
- Cornfield Spring Road becomes a track of small rocks plowed out of the alluvial fan
- I'm still a couple of miles away from Cornfield Spring when I notice a small clearing that might make a good campsite
- My Cornfield Spring Road campsite is born in time for me to enjoy the colourful end-of-day glow of the desert sunset
- The beauty and serenity of a desert sunset tends to recompense for any hardships incurred during the day's work
- Mojave National Preserve wake-up call near Kelso Depot: morning sunshine
- I make a small pot of tea, wondering if it will be enough to jumpstart my day; I would prefer some strong coffee, but have none
- It's a hot morning, probably in the high 70s; I mount the rain cover on the sunny side of the tent to get some shade
- Time to dig my first cat hole of the trip
- I pack my backpack and start walking up the road toward Cornfield Spring
- Hmm... no water here at all, just a nice patch of desert willows (chilopsis linearis)
- Chilopsis linearis flowers in close-up
- As I hike up Cornfield Spring Road, I come across this collection of old pipes
- I keep hiking up Cornfield Spring Road and realize that I'm almost out of water already; not good on a hot day like this
- Kelso Dunes paint a scenic backdrop for this moment of indecision
- Break time! A Clif bar, and more water, which is already rather warm
- Desert-horned-lizard break! Quite different from my Clif-bar-and-water break a few minutes ago
- The 2.5-mile hike back to the tent is pleasant, and I'm enjoying the gentle downhill as I sweat under the hot sun
- Residual flowers on a cactus; these may become cactus pears soon
- I pass again through the stand of desert willows on the way back to the tent
- As I approach the tent, I'm overcome by a feeling of disappointment due to not having reached Cornfield Spring
- I reach inside my tent to get some water and notice yesterday's heavily salt-crusted t-shirt
- A wasp, or some kind of big fly, is sitting outside my tent, obviously attracted to something
- Now that I'm back at my tent, one of the things I want to see is that fenced-off structure a quarter-mile in front of me
- Near the structure are many old cans strewn about
- Peering through the wire, I see a large, dry concrete reservoir
- On the approach, this thing looks like an abandoned skating rink surrounded by barbed wire
- So, what in the desert is worth surrounding with barbed wire like this?
- On the way back to my tent, I notice a very distinct animal trail running across the fan
- I fetch my bike at the tent and ride the almost two miles down to Kelso Depot
- Close to Kelso Depot, I notice that Cornfield Spring Road crosses an old washed-out paved road
- Approaching Kelso Depot, and air conditioning!
- I suck back a glass of cold iced tea at the just-opened first-floor lunch counter, then go exploring Kelso Depot's many rooms
- Several of the Kelso Depot exhibits introduce visitors to various distinct areas of Mojave National Preserve
- Old Kelso Depot office space
- Kelso Depot baggage office, from staff's view
- Kelso Depot, second storey: the real reason I'm here today (besides the air conditioning)
- I plant myself in the sitting area of the little library and go about browsing the books and maps
- A couple of the small sleeping rooms are furnished in the simple style of the period
- From Kelso Depot, view northeast up Kelso-Cima Road from the door at the end of the second-floor corridor
- My air-conditioning festival melts away when I refill my water supply at Kelso Depot and begin the ride back to camp
- In addition to the four now-full 1.5-litre water bottles in my backpack, my 10-litre black water bag is mostly full now too
- Back at the tent, I decide to rest silently for a while and enjoy the mind-and-body debilitating drug that is the heat
- Sunset finally approaches like I knew it eventually would; I've been imagining its arrival from inside my tent for a while now
- Like the Providence Mountains behind me, I stretch, and I stretch, upward and outward, the cool 90-degree air enveloping us all
- Sunset at Kelso also means removing the tent's outer flap to let the hottest air escape through the screen
- Heat does kill the appetite, but a good meal after exertion in the heat is still satisfying, if taken slowly
- After dark, the wind picks up a little; it's a beautiful warm evening and the stars are bright
- I'm irreversibly awake and sweating as soon the hot sun rises around 6h; by 7h, I'm outside taking a "dry shower"
- By 9h, the contents of my campsite on Cornfield Spring Road has been decisively packed into my bloated saddlebags
- I start the two-mile trek down Cornfield Spring Road toward Kelso Depot
- Looking behind me up Cornfield Spring Road toward Providence Mountains as I ride down the rough road to Kelso Depot
- I pass an ant hill on Cornfield Spring Road
- Dead tree along Cornfield Spring Road near Kelso Depot, with Kelso Dunes in the background
- My tires hiss gently as I ride through the sand at the bottom of Cornfield Road toward Kelso Depot
- Just before Kelso Depot and the train tracks, I cross Kelso's back street where sit a few inhabited houses
- Next to Kelso Depot is an old metal structure that was formerly used as Kelso's jail!
- I take a one-hour break and cool down in Kelso Depot's air conditioning before starting the climb up to Mid Hills campground
- Downstairs in Kelso Depot is a model that shows how Kelso was back in the 1940s
- Also downstairs at Kelso Depot is a gallery featuring work from a new artist-in-residence program by photographer Bob Killen
- It's already 84 degrees and I've cooled down as much as I can in Kelso Depot's air conditioning; it's time to ride on!
- I'm officially on my way to Mid Hills now as I leave Kelso Depot and head north on Kelso-Cima Road
- I pass my favourite old house in Kelso, the one with the rounded roof and the cabin in the backyard built of railway ties
- Kelso-Cima Road isn't too busy, but traffic is fast and there's no paved shoulder, so cars have to change lanes to pass me
- Datura flowers along Kelso-Cima Road
- Globe Mine Road; I camped three nights up this road on my 2008 trip
- I pedal slowly upward and take a Clif-bar-and-water-break about an hour later off Kelso-Cima Road along the train tracks
- The break helps a lot, and I get back on Kelso-Cima Road for the last few miles to Cedar Canyon Road and watch a train pass by
- Cedar Canyon Road junction, another much-needed break, at 3725 feet on Kelso-Cima Road
- Information plaque on Mojave Road marker at junction of Cedar Canyon Road and Kelso-Cima Road
- Mojave Road and Marl Mountains in the background, I try my cell phone here, but there's no reception
- While at Cedar Canyon Road junction, I notice an indecisive SUV, so I go speak to its driver; maybe he needs directions