Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2008: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping and Hike / Day 9: Day ride from Nipton to Nevada State line and power-line road, Mojave National Preserve 39
I'm still affected by last night's beer. I've slept in late thanks to a cool breeze, but still have a bit of a headache anyway.
I'll spend another night here at Nipton and just go for an afternoon ride through a nearby area that I haven't visited yet: the power-line road from Nevada State line to Nipton-Brant Road. 12 bicycle miles.
- For a change, my first concern of the morning is not boiling water for coffee or digging a cat hole
- I haven't chosen a destination yet for today's ride, so I go for a walk to look at some of Nipton's buildings
- This old roadside building at Nipton looks like it may have been a store at one time
- This trailer-like building looks to be a former residence
- The old Nipton school house is a building worth saving
- Just across the road from the Nipton General Store along the train tracks is a rock and gravel display yard
- The Hotel Nipton bed-and-breakfast cactus garden is always worth a walk-through
- While in my tent choosing my afternoon ride, the dirt-bike tour group members arrive at Nipton in a cloud of noise
- OK, I've finally chosen a ride route for today on the power-line road above Nipton, starting at the Nevada border
- I start the climb up the hill away from Nipton toward the Nevada border
- Three miles up the hill of Nipton Road, I reach the "Welcome to Nevada" sign that makes a perfect tourist photo
- The views back down to Nipton and across Ivanpah Valley from the Nevada State line are superb
- I ride another half mile beyond the Nevada State line and then turn south on this dirt road with a cattleguard
- I see that I'm approaching a mining area with red soil that is not on my map and may still be active
- Here I am at the top of the gravelly power-line road, and I'll descend this road about four miles to the train tracks
- Nipton is still visible a few miles away down below
- Loose rock is the dominant surface on the upper portion of the power-line road
- I pass one of those little "Entering Mojave National Preserve" signs that are used on less-travelled routes
- I notice a Wilderness marker and a closed road
- Off in the distance further down the power-line road, I see wafting trails of dust
- Up the closed road, I come across small piles of mine tailings
- Now the dust trails from the dirt bikes are soaring across the Ivanpah Valley below
- A fire ring up above the mine tailings doesn't look like it has been used in quite a while
- The remnants of an old road climb a little further up the hill
- The road ends at the top of the hill where the soil is a rich red color
- This little canyon feels very remote even though it's not far from the busy road
- More rough road along the power lines above Nipton
- This antique sign has seen better days
- A little further down the power-line road, a distant black hill gets my attention
- At the bottom of the hill, the power-line road passes through an old ranch fence
- The power-line road goes right under the train tracks
- I ride the Nipton-Brant Road two miles along the train tracks to get back to Nipton
- Resting at my tent at Nipton: the pinkish glow of the desert sunset is always a welcome end of the day
- Some of that pink light spills across the hills in the background that I visited this afternoon
- The sun is going down and it's time for another juicy hamburger at the Nipton café
- Tonight is laundry night, since I didn't get to it last night because of the festivities
- Inside the Nipton bathrooms: I end up not soaking in the outdoor hot tub after all, but I do take a shower in the quonset hut
- One of the shower stalls at Nipton
- Day 9: Mojave National Preserve map: Day ride from Nipton to Nevada State line and power-line road