Finally back on the road - Bend to Arizona

DirtyDog

DirtyDog

Captain Leisure
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Nov 10, 2005
Messages
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Location
Eugene, Oregon
After a seemingly endless series of setbacks I am finally getting out for some real quality time on the road. The goal is to head towards Arizona to get a break from the winter weather. And see some mining towns along the way of course. My first stop was Summer Lake Hot Springs just two hours east of Bend. This is a place I had passed numerous times but never stopped.

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I had planned on staying 2 nights here. I was going to go for a run in the local mountains and enjoy some time in the hot springs. Unfortunately I awoke to less-than-ideal weather:

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So I cancelled night two and hit the road again. Currently in Nevada and will keep updating this thread as things develop.
 
Go, Dog, go!
Glad you're able to get out there!

Where in Nevada are you...if it's not a secret?
 
Glad to hear you are on the road again. I'm jealous - I won't be able to get away even for two days for a month at least. Hope we get to see pics of the mining towns, or at least a link to them on the Mining History site.
 
After a seemingly endless series of setbacks I am finally getting out for some real quality time on the road. The goal is to head towards Arizona to get a break from the winter weather.


I'll keep an eye out for ya :D I'm heading West sometime Wednesday and eventually getting to DV but uncertain of the route. Truck gets to decide I guess.
 
Go, Dog, go!
Glad you're able to get out there!

Where in Nevada are you...if it's not a secret?


I'm in Fernley right now and I plan on heading to Beatty then Death Valley. No rest til warm weather!
 
Dog,

If you need a hot shower and a driveway W/hookups near the Desert Museum in SW Tucson let me know. AKA Goodtimes is nearby also. Come on down.

Bisley


Thanks Bisley I'll keep that in mind.

Nothing much to report so far. I've been running from cold nasty weather and finally arrived at Furnace Creek yesterday. Got the camper popped up just in time to hunker down for a nasty wind/dust storm. You know the kind where you wonder if these soft top campers are going to hold up in the storm? Of course it held up fine and now I'm enjoying some cool by DV standards but nice compared to Oregon weather.
 
What little Internet time I've had has been used for work but I'm currently in a cottage in Patagonia, AZ and have some time for some updates so here we go!


Although I've been fleeing cold nasty weather I did get some nice warm sunshine on the shores of Walker Lake:

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I've been to Rhyolite before but never really got any good photos due to poor weather. This day wasn't much different. I got a few good photos before hail and rain chased me out again.

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Furnace Creek Campground in Death Valley is closed for construction so I find myself at Sunset again. Shortly after I arrive a wicked dust storm hits the camp and its a bad one. The kind where you wonder if these popup soft-sided campers are actually going to hold together. Of course it does and once the storm subsides some nice weather sets in so I spend a couple days. This is the first times I've ever really participated in the RV culture and I have to admit I met a lot of nice folks and had a good time.

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Onward - Red Rock Canyon State Park:

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Mining town I hadn't previously visited, Randsburg:

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At this point cold winds have still been chasing me right into Southern California. My hope was that Julian, in the mountains above San Diego, would finally offer some inviting weather. I was amused (and irritated) to find that the night before Julian had gotten several inches of snow. There were news teams there covering all the people that drove up to Julian to play in the snow. Needless to say, I wasn't as charmed by the fluffy white stuff as the locals were. And ironically, camping conditions that night were the coldest of the entire trip.

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Until now this has been a whirlwind (no pun intended) trip with a lot of driving and stays at crappy RV parks. Now that I'm in southern Arizona I'll be slowing it down and enjoying the weather. More soon!
 
Ever drive thru an area knowing that you're missing out on things just out of view that you're passing by and don't know about? I get that feeling frequently when in new to me territory. In guessing your probable route between Rhyolite and Red Rock I can think of three of those things. Panamint Springs Resort is the most remote place that I know of to carry the hard to find (out of Butte Cnty, KA) Sierra Nevada seasonal beers and Barley Wines and is a pretty fine place to not eat your own cooking (for a change). Just west of PSR is Darwin Falls. Most folks hike to the obvious falls and I'll bet are a little disappointed. Scrambling up past them yields the true reward. Lastly, right off the side of 395 almost within sight of both Johannesburg and Ridgecrest is the Trona RR's tunnel thru a ridge. It is sloped and dead straight, can see light thru it most times. I'll ignore the obvious joke here... It is a desert m/c rider's rite of passage to have ridden thru the tunnel, or it used to be anyway. If you're even passingly interested in RR stuff it's an interesting place.
 
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