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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 08:28 pm: | 
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welcome to Death Valley.
enter at your own risk, carry lots of water, and watch for sand in the corners. 
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:26 pm: |
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welcome to Badwater, THE lowest point in North America.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:27 pm: |
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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:28 pm: |
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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:28 pm: |
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talk about friends in low places.
Madduck, i'm not sure what the fine would be for getting caught doing this, but as BBstacker said, they don't even let dogs down here.
the few tourists milling about this morning were cool, and the fact your bike is so quiet and "friendly" looking didn't hurt.
still, i only grabbed two shots...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:30 pm: |
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...before beating a hasty retreat.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:31 pm: |
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Alex will definitely remember this sign, and this spot.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:32 pm: |
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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:32 pm: |
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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:33 pm: |
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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:34 pm: |
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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:34 pm: |
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Badwater "Lake" shot at water level. this is the most Badwater i've ever seen here.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:35 pm: |
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one of the most bizarre aspects of Death Valley today was that it wasn't hot! it SHOULD have been, and we should have been dripping with sweat and eager to get moving, but the temp was prolly not more than about 75 degrees, and it was cool - literally - just to hang out and enjoy the surreal ambience of Death Valley for a bit.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:35 pm: |
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even Fireman Jim wasn't whining or complaining, which is MOST unusual. 
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:36 pm: |
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it's tough to see, but on the left side of the pic, about halfway up the frame, is a sign on the side of the mountain that says "SEA LEVEL."
it's almost 300 feet from where i'm standing to the sign.
that's how far "under the ocean" Badwater Basin is.
btw, the mountain you see (part of the Black Mountains/Amargosa Range) goes nearly straight up from Badwater Basin almost five and a half thousand feet, culminating at Dante's Peak.
and just across the valley, barely several miles from where we stand, is Telescope Peak, at 11,049 feet.
Death Valley is a land of EXTREME extremes.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:37 pm: |
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just south of Furnace Creek.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 16, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:37 pm: |
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we stopped at the Wrangler Steak House at Furnace Creek to eat.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:38 pm: |
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and who should come rumbling in from the desert like a ghastly ghostly mirage? none other than Glenn "Unibear" Dolph from Bakersfield, CA.
i just love it when a plan comes together.
Glenn, unlike me, does NOT need a boost to board the XB12X, which fits him like one of Spidey's red, white and Buell gloves.
in fact, had this been his FIRST Buell, his kids might have given him a different nickname. (um, "Ulybear," perhaps? )
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:39 pm: |
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do the wave. |
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:39 pm: |
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Spidey, there's a federal offense in the making here.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:40 pm: |
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and let me just say...
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:40 pm: |
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...that i didn't do this. of all crazy things, the Spiderman sticker was already there.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:41 pm: |
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yeah, that's the ticket, the sticker was already there. imagine my surprise.
sticker shock, if you will.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:42 pm: |
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Edgar, the resident raven, saw everything. i hope he doesn't talk.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:42 pm: |
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Death Valley is behind us and we're headed due west.
that's the mighty Sierra Nevada mountain range up ahead, and it looks to me like we're about to get some serious wet.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:43 pm: |
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Mt. Whitney is buried in the clouds just over FMJ's right shoulder, and can do a pretty good job some days of reaching up in the sky and making its own weather.
today looks to be one of those days.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:44 pm: |
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Fireman Jim ain't skeered of a little water.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:44 pm: |
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we're approaching Lone Pine, California, FMJ on point, then BBstacker, Unibear and me 'n D in flying formation, and we haven't gotten wet.
yet.
i'm REALLY surprised.
and i'm VERY glad to see some holes in the weather just in front of us. we're in my stomping grounds now, close enough to home that i've traveled this area a thousand times, and i have seen weather, right here in this very spot, that would knock a brave man to his knees and have him crying for his binky.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:46 pm: |
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it's a little deceiving from this vantage point, but if you look straight up between FMJ's left shoulder and BBstacker's right shoulder - in other words, EXACTLY dead ahead - you are gazing at the highest peak in the continental United States.
i.e., Mt. Whitney, every bit of 14,494 feet tall.
in just over an hour's worth of ride time we have seen the lowest point in North America, Badwater Basin, and are now homing in on the highest point in the continental US, Mt. Whitney.
it's a wild ride, bubba.
(Message edited by jerry_haughton on October 17, 2005) |
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