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- A few yellowjackets are still buzzing around the ground near my tent, feeding on this "leaf"
- A lavender glow continues to illuminate the Castle Peaks for a few more minutes
- A little further down Butcher Knife Canyon, a green carpet covers the sandy ground
- A little further up the road, I climb up the edge of one of the lava flows to get a better view of the area
- A long straight segment of the road waits for me ahead
- A yellow-flowered buckwheat-like plant.
- About 10 minutes later, I notice a hillside that might make for a good descent down to a wash
- After our visit to The Racetrack, we head over to the old Lost Burro Mine site
- After spending a couple of hours back at my tent by the lake and having lunch...
- After the right fork, Gold Valley Road winds across the plateau, then drops down into Gold Valley
- Ah! There it is, the gravel road toward Monarch Canyon (Chloride Cliff Road)
- Along the Wee Thump Wilderness road, I see some yellow buckwheat-like flowers that I'm not familiar with
- An old, unused stone park office sits across the road from the Emigrant rest stop
- Any body of water out here in the dry desert, however small, beckons for attention
- As I rise, I enjoy the views across Macedonia Canyon over to Cima Dome in the distance
- As Ivanpah Road comes out of the hills, views into the valley open up
- As the road gets closer to the mountains, it appears to be carved out of the land by a snow plow
- At the base of these yuccas is a pile of twigs covered with gravelly rock
- At the bottom of the remote, cold and eerie Keystone Canyon Road, I look for a spot to pitch my tent
- Back on a road, I ride for a while, then stash the bicycle in the brush and go for a hike to a rocky area
- Bathtub Spring Peaks, New York Mountains hiking route
- Broadwell Dry Lake at sunset
- Chamise chapparal on one of the knolls that lower Long Ridge Road bounces over.
- Climbing up toward the second summit of Wagon Road
- Coming out of the reeds at Monarch Spring for a moment to look back up-canyon
- Crash location while descending Poverty Flat Road
- Crossing the floor of the Dumont Dunes valley
- Eroded formations along Old Spanish Trail Highway
- Finally, I reach a point from which the remainder of my route uphill is visible, following the rising ridge at centre-left
- Hill 1624 in the Providence Mountains boasts a robust rock outcrop stacked in layers
- I arrive at a stream flowing down from Cabin Springs and follow it for a short distance
- I arrive at the Mid Hills campground entrance kiosk; I'm happy to be back for yet another visit
- I arrive at the ruins of the old Thomas Place homestead
- I begin backtracking and look for Murphy Trail along the way, an alternate route up to Robison Mountain
- I begin dismantling the tent by removing the large rocks that I placed inside at the corners
- I cautiously approach the spring to test the yellow jackets, and then pump water to fill my Camelbak and water bottles
- I check my GPS and climb over a small hill to reach Bathtub Spring; there it is, in a wire cage!
- I climb back up onto the Ivanpah railway grade after the wash-out and it's another slice through the rocks
- I climb up another hill on the way to Indian Spring and recognize the valley of junipers and joshua trees in front of me
- I climb up the hill a little, hoping to get around some of the brush along Piute Creek
- I coast down Coit Road to Mississippi Creek
- I cross over to another small drainage, then follow it uphill a short distance
- I don't spot another campsite nearby, so I return to the 10-ton bike back at the wash out
- I enjoy passing through the badlands between Tecopa Hot Springs and Shoshone
- I enjoy the impending sunset as I slowly ride up Wild Horse Canyon Road
- I get on with the business of filtering enough water for a couple of days from Bathtub Spring
- I go for a short walk up the trail from the campsite to Sierra View Spring to filter enough water to get me to Mississippi Lake.
- I haven't seen a lot of wildflowers in this area today, but here are a couple in the road to Pine Spring
- I hide in the shade of that oak at the bottom of Long Ridge Road, looking down at the gravel of Orestimba Creek Road.
- I hike up the old road to Tough Nut Mine, which hasn't been used by vehicles in many years and is slowly returning to nature
- I keep looking at the hawk-head rock formation as I walk past the hills near Cabin Springs
- I leave the bliss of my Nipton tent cabin before sunrise for the 12-mile ride to Primm, purposefully, as if it were a work day
- I leave the heat of Stovepipe Wells and head up Highway 190 toward Emigrant Campground
- I make a stop at one of several junctions on the old Mojave Road, another decision point
- I make it up to the crest of Wild Horse Canyon Road and a few orange desert-mallow flowers say "hello"
- I notice bird activity near my tent and locate a nearly invisible bird's nest in an elbow of this joshua tree at centre-right
- I pass a few brilliant Indian paintbrush plants as I further climb the hills above my tent
- I pull off the road for a short break and to refill my Camelbak from my 10-litre water bag
- I reach the junction of the paved Kelso-Cima Road and stop in at the Cima Store
- I reach this muddy area on Red Creek Road and figure that this must be water coming down the hill from Hatch Spring
- I reach this pass in the Castle Peaks and have an unexpected view to the north across the Ivanpah Valley
- I ride a couple hundred feet on pavement, then pull over into the Nipton parking lot to rent for tent cabin for the night
- I ride past one of the many cairns that mark the Mojave Road
- I ride up the road a little and stop again to look at the sculptural shadows of the trees on the next ridge (Wasno Ridge).
- I spend two hours at Kelso Depot, longer than expected, chatting with staff and a couple of bicyclists on their way to Las Vegas
- I start by walking up the road toward Howe Spring, spring #1 of 5 on today's hike
- I stop for a quick break across from the road that crosses Silver Dry Lake (very dry right now)
- I stop for a Vietnamese-deer-jerky break in the Joshua tree forest along Hart Mine Rd
- I visit the general store in Shoshone across the road from the Crowbar Café
- I walk back down to Cottonwood Spring to filter some water
- I walk down the fan on the south fork of Globe Mine Road, enjoying the sun behind the Marl Mountains
- I walk down the short creek trail behind the China Ranch bakery and store
- I walk over to that old headframe, or whatever it is, with the New York Mountains backdrop
- I walk up a boulder-strewn drainage area toward that pass in the Castle Peaks
- I wander around the junction of Coit Road and County Line Road and take in the fine views
- I'm boiling water for my backpacking meal tonight at dusk; usually I wait until after dark for some unknown reason
- I'm officially at the bottom of the New York Mountains foothills now
- I'm packed up and ready to leave my Ivanpah Road campsite near Bathtub Spring
- I'm temped to try hiking up a slot in the rugged cliffs adjacent to the drainage above Willow Wash
- I've decided to call this The Lost Road, since I'm not exactly sure where it's leading me
- In no time at all, I find myself looking down at the lower part of Red Creek Road where I came from
- It might be interesting to count how many old cars and trucks sit on this Barnwell property!
- It's not only sand here: rocky patches on Death Valley Mine Road provide quite a contrast to the slippery sandy segments
- It's past 16h30 now, and I realize I have to climb up over the ridge and skip a side trip to Live Oak Spring
- Looking back down Highway 178 to verify that I really am rising
- Looking back down the Canteen Trail to take in the view.
- Me, trying to figure out how to get through or around the thick brush that engulfs Monarch Spring
- My cross-country hiking ends temporarily when I hit the old closed road to Indian Spring, which serves as a nice trail
- My final morning at Mid Hills campground, I hear a noise outside my tent, and guess who it is?
- My final morning at Paradise Lake, I'm up early in an attempt to get packed up before the hot sun becomes unbearable
- Near some patches of Fleabane (I think) is a bright yellow flower that I haven't seen before
- Oh, I like this: I get out of the sand for a short stretch
- Old Spanish Trail Highway cuts through the earth
- On South Campground Peak, Mid Hills Campground, I discover a couple of juniper trees that survived the 2005 brush fires here
- On the road out of beautiful Monarch Canyon
- On the way back down Keystone Canyon, I notice a few Scarlet gilias blooming
- On the way back to my campsite at Mississippi Lake, I stop to take photos along County Line Road on the ridge top
- On the way down to Broadwell Dry Lake, I stop briefly at the junction of a powerline road that leads into the Bristol Mountains
- One of the shower stalls at Nipton
- Phil walks out toward The Grandstand
- Rising out of the burned area at dusk, I look for somewhere decent to set up camp for the night
- Signage at the entrance of the road toward Monarch Canyon (Chloride Cliff Road)
- Since I'm between a couple of hills, I don't get to see a full sunset here at the end of Castle Peaks Road
- Since I'm in no rush today, I decide to take a short detour over to Government Holes, that big tree up the dirt road here
- Street sign in the Mojave Desert at the junction of Ivanpah Road and New York Mountains Road
- Sunset from Mid Hills campground through a pinyon pine; that should be the Kingston Range way over there
- Switchbacks on the way up Chloride Cliff Road
- The first campsite has this beautiful tree for shade, but is too close to the paved road for my taste
- The men's washroom at Barstow Station
- The rocks at the mouth of Saddle Horse Canyon are more interesting than further up the canyon
- The tent is now set up at Emigrant Campground and the ten-ton bike relieved of its load
- There's a lot of rock in this area, and this juniper tree growing in a crack between rocks is striking
- Waiting on the train platform at Stockton after the Amtrak bus ride from San Jose
- We arrive at Goldbelt Spring and its thicket of head-high wild roses (the dark green patch in the middle of the photo)
- Whew, the worst is over as I reach the upper stretches of Poverty Flat Road, which aren't quite as steep.
- Wild California fuschias around a rocky outcrop opposite Bear Spring.
- Wild Horse Canyon Road pops out of the canyon and onto higher ground, where I catch the beginning of sunset
- With relief, I'm back on the paved part of Ivanpah Road now and I'm letting the bike gain speed as I ride down the smooth hill
- "Bench Canyon" in the White Mountains
- "Shoe tree" on Highway 127 across from Saratoga Springs Road
- "The Scream"
- "This device for watering game birds was paid for with YOUR money"
- "For flat base truck rim only"
- "Painted-dot" rock
- "So far, so good," I say to myself as I stop to enjoy a desert mallow and the views; I keep climbing
- 1.5 downhill miles on the old Mail Spring Road, then 3.5 miles down Ivanpah Rd into the Lanfair Valley
- 1.5 miles beyond Interstate 15, I reach the dirt road that will take me to Pachalka Spring and bear right
- 1/2 mile up the road to Old Dominion Mine, I start looking for a good campsite near another road that I also can't locate
- 1/3 mile up the main road, I turn down the short road that dead-ends at Coyote Springs
- 10 beautiful-but-bumpy miles of riding along the train tracks from Ivanpah Rd to Nipton
- 10 miles up Kelbaker Road out of Baker, I stop for a break at "the big curve," where the road turns almost 90 degrees
- 10 minutes later, as I approach the base of the New York Mountains, lush juniper trees like the one on the left begin to appear
- 10 minutes later, I'm almost at the next landmark, where Castle Peaks Road arrives at the slot in the rolling hills
- 100 degrees F in the smoky haze
- 15 miles on Coyote Creek Trail, then another seven miles on nasty San José streets, and I'm home!
- 2.5 miles beyond Nipton, I'm feeling hot again and notice some potential shade as I cross under the power lines
- 2.5 miles up Kelbaker Road, I make a brief stop at Black Tank Wash to remove my scarf and winter jacket
- 20 minutes later, I stop for another break further out on Broadwell Dry Lake
- 20 minutes later, I'm around the bend on Kelbaker Road, with the Providence Mountains further and further behind me
- 2013 Creighton Street (formerly 3 Creighton St), Halifax, 1982
- 2093 Brunswick Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2111 Brunswick Court, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2120 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2195 Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1982
- 2369-73 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2370 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2376 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2387-80 Gottingen Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2390-92 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2404 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2406 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2447-49 Creighton Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2507-11 Brunswick Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 2521 and 2525 Barrington St, Halifax, 1982
- 2565 Barrington Street, Halifax
- 2577 Maynard Street (formerly 229 Maynard), Halifax, 1983
- 2577 Maynard Street (formerly 229 Maynard), Halifax, 1983
- 3/4 mile down the road, I stop at the old Orestimba Corral for a Clif-bar-and-water break at the semi-shady picnic tables.
- 3/4 mile from campsite 22, I exit Mid Hills campground and turn right to start descending Wild Horse Canyon Road
- 3000 feet, I'm almost at the top of my climb out of Death Valley
- 34 miles into today's ride, just before arriving at Fenner, I exit Mojave National Preserve for a while
- 35 minutes later: after 10 miles of gliding downhill (and pedaling too), I arrive at the stop sign and turn left on Ivanpah Road
- 3865-coyote-melon
- 5 miles later, it's time to cross I-40 again, this time by crossing under it
- 5524 Gerrish Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia (rear), Fall 1982 (now Buddy Daye Street)
- 5524-32 Gerrish Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982 (now Buddy Daye Street)
- 5527 Buddy Daye St, Halifax (formerly 5527 Gerrish Street)
- 5531-5533 Buddy Daye St. (formerly 113-115 Gerrish St), Halifax, 1982
- 5534 Gerrish Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982
- 5559-61 Buddy Daye Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Fall 1982 (formerly Gerrish Street)
- 92 degrees in the shade, according to the thermometer on the side of the shower house.
- 94 degrees down here in the shade where it feels "cool"
- 95 degrees in the shade at Pacheco Camp at 19h.
- A 24-hour donut shop on Barstow's Route 66 is closed due to the water contamination
- A Banana yucca sends out a fresh bouquet on the way up Teutonia Peak Trail
- A barrel cactus has detached from its hillside garden and tumbled down into Juniper Spring wash
- A barrel-cactus garden at the mouth of "West Edgar Canyon #3," Providence Mountains
- A barren patch of earth catches my interest as I walk past
- A BBQ grate hangs from that lone pinon pine in the wash
- A beam of warm desert light shines down through the ceiling into the main room at the Lava Tube
- A beautiful sunset illuminates the Providence Mountains behind me as I climb Kelbaker Road out of Kelso Valley toward Baker
- A bee sits on the edge of the Indian Spring cistern, enjoying the water's edge
- A bee tightens up and launches itself toward a thistle bloom
- A benign switchback on Willow Ridge Trail just beyond the log in the poison oak grove gives me a few more problems.
- A better view of that switchback in the previous photo.
- A big grass tuft (muhlenbergia, I think) sits in the dry creek bed.
- A big hole dug by an animal in a quest for water
- A big patch of paperbag bush (Salazaria mexicana) in the wash leading into the Kelso Mountains
- A big raven's nest sits in the eaves of the main house at Death Valley Mine
- A big sage is sprouting some fresh-looking growth
- A big tree, partly broken, near the old Valley Wells town site
- A billboard next to the Searchlight motel advertises a "luxury" motel elsewhere
- A bird feather is stuck in this cholla cactus
- A bird flies past and lands in this cholla cactus
- A bird's nest in a catclaw bush in Kelso Dunes Wilderness
- A bit above Hell's Gate, I turn back to see how much I've climbed since my rest stop there
- A bit beyond the OX Ranch site is a private, by-reservation-only campground called 'Mojave Desert Outpost'
- A bit beyond the Pine Spring corral is an old water trough and a rusty water tank
- A bit disappointed at having discovered only dryness at Macedonia Spring, I walk back down the drainage
- A bit down the fan sits a fire ring next to which I was going to set up camp last night until I noticed goathead thorns all over