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- It's fun to pull gently at knobs on the old car's dashboard to see if they budge
- An old automobile carcass near the 100-year-old saloon ruins
- Over on the west side of the Amargosa River is the ruins of an old stone saloon from 100 years ago
- Cold storage behind the old stone saloon
- The trail on the east side of the Amargosa River heading south away from China Ranch
- Walking along the Amargosa River trail
- An old truck near the Amargosa River
- I begin a long walk down the Amargosa River
- The China Ranch bakery and store at the end of China Ranch Road
- Standing in front of their extensive date-palm orchard
- A cabin along China Ranch Road near the store
- I walk down the short creek trail behind the China Ranch bakery and store
- The temperature exceeds 100 degrees F under the ramada outside the China Ranch store
- Farther into the canyon on China Ranch Road
- I head downhill into the canyon toward the China Ranch date farm
- I've read about the steep downhill on the China Ranch Road here, but I haven't seen it yet
- I ride up the Old Spanish Trail Highway's gentle hill, which leads out of Tecopa toward the Kingston Range
- During my ride to China Ranch date farm, I stop at the public water tank behind Tecopa School to refill my my water bottles
- Late morning at my Tecopa Hot Springs camp site by the mesquite bush
- An old car and trailer near my camp site at Tecopa Hot Springs Campground
- An old bus converted to camper at Tecopa Hot Springs Campground
- Petro Road
- Leaving the blit of civilization that is Death Valley Junction
- Covered walkway in front of the opera house
- Old gas pumps sit in an alcove along the opera house's covered walkways
- The Amargosa Opera House complex is really quite large and parts of it are not in use
- The former service station across the road from the Amargosa Opera House
- The Amargosa Opera House is the main building in Death Valley Junction
- The tiny village of Death Valley Junction sits off in the distance another 7 miles or so
- Back on Highway 190, I begin the slow descent to Death Valley Junction some 15 miles further and 1000 feet lower
- More at the abandoned campground
- The old road through the trailer park hasn't returned to nature
- Standing in the middle of the abandoned campground's swimming pool
- More of the old tiled floor at the former campground's entrance
- Standing in the middle of what was probably the campground's office
- At the summit of Highway 190 in the Funeral Mounatins is the remains of an extensive RV camping park (or something like that)
- 3000 feet, I'm almost at the top of my climb out of Death Valley
- Higher up in the Funeral Mountains and looking back down
- Rising up into the Funeral Mountains on Highway 190
- Higher above Zabriskie Point on Highway 190
- I reach the 1000-foot point of elevation gain on the way out of Death Valley
- Leaving Zabriskie Point
- Looking down toward Highway 190 from Zabriskie Point; my world is slanted
- I stop for a toilet break at Zabriskie Point, just above Death Valley
- Lots of greenery a little further up Highway 190
- On the way out of Furnace Creek
- OK, I've really left Furnace Creek now
- Just before leaving Furnace Creek
- Grimshaw Lake has an eerie appearance at sunset when captured by high-speed, grainy, disposable-camera film
- Any body of water out here in the dry desert, however small, beckons for attention
- The light dims here on Tecopa Hot Springs Road
- I turn off Highway 127 onto Tecopa Hot Springs Road
- Riding down Highway 127 through the badlands between Shoshone and Tecopa Hot Springs
- The badlands along Highway 127 near Shoshone and Tecopa always get my interest
- Riding from Shoshone to Tecopa Hot Springs near sunset
- A quick stop at the Shoshone Museum, across the road from the store
- The 10-ton bike and its sore knee take a break at the Shoshone general store and gas station
- A row of cabins along Highway 127 in "downtown" Shoshone
- Black rocks that look like giant charcoal briquets
- This sign for Badwater, 55 miles, tells me that my loop through Death Valley is now complete
- I stop for a break and look back at Eagle Mountain, which I passed a while ago
- A series of short hills surprise me along southbound Highway 127
- Interesting earth piles in front of the Resting Springs Range along Highway 127
- Flood markers along Highway 127
- A bit of drama on southbound Highway 127
- Me, hot but content, sitting in the shade of the athel trees
- I'm lucky enough to get one of the Furnace Creek campsites in the athel trees
- A view of the athels and their shade from my tent
- I slowly approach Furnace Creek Campground, that green patch in the centre of the photo
- I suck back lots of now-hot water from my Camelbak on this hot ride down Highway 190
- About nine miles further on Highway 190, while riding south down the other side of Death Valley, I pass the Beatty Cutoff
- Another view of the Devil's Corn Field area along Highway 190
- The 10-ton bike takes another brief break at the Devil's Corn Field
- Beyond Stovepipe Wells, I cross Death Valley on Highway 190 and stop to look at the Death Valley Dunes
- Gasp, it is hot here
- After 10 fun, hot downhill miles to the Stovepipe Wells store for cold drinks, who pulls up but Phil and Renée!
- Ready to leave Emigrant Campground, the contents of my camp site are packed on the 10-ton bike again
- One last view of the vacant Emigrant Campground on this hot, sunny morning before packing up
- It's starting to get dark as we drive over Hunter Mountain
- Finally, we start our long descent into Death Valley on Hunter Mountain Road, through the pine trees
- We find ourselves at the top of the Goldbelt Grade at a time of day when photographers come out
- We start the climb up Goldbelt Grade to get over Hunter Mountain by dark
- A closer view of Goldbelt Spring's truck
- The dashboard inside the old truck at Goldbelt Spring
- Close-up of the giant wild roses at Goldbelt Spring
- We arrive at Goldbelt Spring and its thicket of head-high wild roses (the dark green patch in the middle of the photo)
- Phil walks over to Goldbelt Spring's old truck
- We drive 10 miles across Hidden Valley toward Goldbelt Spring
- The Lost Burro Mine's cabin
- Inside the Lost Burro Mine's cabin
- The "cold storage house" at Lost Burro Mine
- After our visit to The Racetrack, we head over to the old Lost Burro Mine site
- Another important photo for any Death Valley travelogue
- I sit down on The Racetrack playa, like I might do at any other beach
- Phil walks out toward The Grandstand
- Phil stands on "the beach" at The Grandstand, in the middle of The Racetrack playa
- Down at the collapsed building at the old Ubehebe Mine site
- There seems to be no mine up here on this hill
- We drive 1/2 mile up a short steep road that we pass a couple of miles after Teakettle Junction
- No Death Valley backroad trip is complete without a photo of the tea kettles at Teakettle Junction
- On the way from Ubehebe Crater to The Racetrack is a particularly colourful area
- Our first stop is Ubehebe Crater, in northern Death Valley
- The 10-ton bike is all packed up in my backyard at 5h45
- Waiting on the train platform at Stockton after the Amtrak bus ride from San Jose
- The train from Stockton to Bakersfield makes a stop
- Inside the train from Stockton to Bakersfield
- The train approaches the end of its route at Bakersfield
- The Amtrak bus out of Bakersfield climbs over the mountains
- On the Amtrak bus from Bakersfield to Barstow (and then Baker)
- The Amtrak bus stops briefly at the town of Mojave, California
- An old art-deco building in Mojave, California
- Main street in Mojave, California
- The men's washroom at Barstow Station
- Next stop on the Amtrak bus to Baker is Barstow, at "Barstow Station"
- After leaving Barstow, heading toward Baker (and then Las Vegas afterward)
- Desert hills
- In Baker, I check into a tacky 1970s room at the Royal Hawaiian Motel
- The motel pool below my balcony and Baker's skyline beyond
- Plush green carpet in my room at the Royal Hawaiian Motel
- A period set of drawers in my room at the Royal Hawaiian Motel
- Shower stall in my room at the Royal Hawaiian Motel
- Pretty curtains and dinette suite in my room at the Royal Hawaiian Motel
- Up bright and early, I go for a walk up the road to the Bun Boy restaurant for breakfast
- Close-up of the plywood sidewalk on the Baker Bridge
- Baker Market, the town's only mom-and-pop store, carries a small vegetable selection and even propane bottles
- Baker's "world's tallest thermometer" registers a comfortable 61 degrees Fahrenheit this morning
- Baker's lone four-way intersection has a four-way stop, which is great when you want to cross the road
- The el-cheapo Royal Hawaiian Motel is overpriced for what it is, but the tackiness of the place has its own special character
- A flock of birds congregates in the Royal Hawaiian's parking lot
- Trees with pink blossoms in the wash under the bridge
- Back at the motel from breakfast, the bike is packed up and ready to leave Baker
- On the way out of Baker on Highway 127
- Highway 127 isn't all that busy, but it does have a lot of big rigs driving it
- Out on the open road outside of Baker on Highway 127
- Highway 127 is rather empty once out of Baker
- Oh look, an oncoming car on Highway 127!
- I stop for a quick break across from the road that crosses Silver Dry Lake (very dry right now)
- Sucking back my first lukewarm water of the trip
- Back on Highway 127, the heat haze makes it look like there are perhaps small lakes in the distance
- I stop at the power lines that cross Highway 127 ten miles out from Baker and am surprised that my cell phone still works
- Ooo, a curve on Highway 127 coming up
- One of many campers passes me on Highway 127
- A nice little hump in the highway adds extra texture to the moment
- Another curve in Hwy 127
- The exit to the Salt Creek Hills ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern)
- I pull into the Salt Creek Hills ACEC to see what's there
- I park my bike, unlocked (there's nobody around), next to the outhouse, and go for a short hike toward Salt Creek
- Information panel at Salt Creek Hills ACEC
- The path leading toward Salt Creek from the empty parking lot
- Salt Creek is indeed wet enough to sustain a marshy area
- I climb up one of the rocky hills on the way back to the Salt Creek Hills parking lot
- These hills seem to have more rock than soil
- Looking back toward the outhouse from the rocky hill
- Back in the parking lot and ready to leave Salt Creek Hills
- Back on Highway 127, the road begins its crossing of the valley near Dumont Dunes
- Just before crossing the valley, I stop to ponder Saratoga Springs Road
- "Shoe tree" on Highway 127 across from Saratoga Springs Road
- At the bottom of the valley, I pass the Dumont Dunes parking lot, which is quiet today
- After crossing the valley, the climb up Highway 127 over Ibex Pass begins
- For inspiration, I look down across the valley I just crossed on the way up to Ibex Pass on Highway 127
- On the way up the hill is the dirt road to the old Ibex Springs mining area
- Getting close to the summit at Ibex Pass. Where is it?!?!
- Ah, finally at Ibex Pass!
- A quick break at the Saddle Peak Hills Wilderness area adjacent to Ibex Pass
- The nice scenery induces a pensive moment
- Salt excretions on my skin too, not just on my helmet straps!
- The road to Giant Mine, in the Ibex Hills Wilderness area, off Hwy 127 on the descent into the Tecopa Basin
- Highway 127 gets ready to drop down into the Tecopa Basin from the Ibex Pass summit
- A couple of big rigs pass me as we all descend Highway 127 into the Tecopa Basin together
- The enjoyable descent into Tecopa Basin on Highway 127 comes to an end
- Close-up of erosion along Highway 127 near Old Spanish Trail Highway
- Tecopa Hot Springs just a few miles away!
- Tecopa off in the distance
- Eroded formations along Old Spanish Trail Highway
- Old Spanish Trail Highway cuts through the earth
- We pass through the village of Tecopa before heading on to Tecopa Hot Springs
- Entering Tecopa Hot Springs after riding over the hill from Tecopa
- I'm checked in and my tent is set up at Tecopa Hot Springs Campground
- A gentle reminder not to drink the water at Tecopa Hot Springs campground
- Outside the men's "cool pool" at Tecopa Hot Springs campground
- Inside the men's "cool pool" at Tecopa Hot Springs campground
- The stop sign in Tecopa Hot Springs village, looking back toward Baker
- Tecopa Hot Springs campground is not very busy right now
- Shade in the desert
- Leaving Tecopa Hot Springs toward Death Valley
- There's still some water in this end of Grimshaw Dry Lake
- Just past Grimshaw Dry Lake, Tecopa Hot Springs Road heads straight toward the mountains
- The end of Tecopa Hot Springs Road at Highway 127
- I pass Furnace Creek Wash Road, which would be a shortcut to where I'm going today, except...
- A car passes me as I head up Highway 127
- I enjoy passing through the badlands between Tecopa Hot Springs and Shoshone
- More of the badlands between Tecopa Hot Springs and Shoshone
- The badlands let up as Highway 127 enters the village of Shoshone with its restaurant, post office and general store
- The Shoshone post office and the village's market
- Lunch at the Crowbar Café in Shoshone
- Former ranger station next door to the Crowbar Café in Shoshone
- The old Shoshone ranger station is built partially out of mud bricks
- Behind the old Shoshone ranger station
- I visit the general store in Shoshone across the road from the Crowbar Café
- While filling my bottles, I glance across the road at the Crowbar Café