| Author | Message | ||
     Jerry_haughton |
 these three shots are looking up from the road we were just looking down on. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 24, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
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| Jerry_haughton |
 more coasting, this time about (i'm guessing) 50 mph. the speedo reads zero 'cause the ignition is powered down. i had to hook my right foot under the brake pedal so i could lean back far enough to get this shot without fear of falling off. fun! i don't normally ride down the center of the lane, but when i'm leaned back nearly horizontal and watching the road with half of one eye, well, sometimes i make exceptions. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 24, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 coasting. at speed. having fun. nice thumb.  (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 24, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 poor photo, technically, but i like it anyway. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 24, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 welcome to Mt. Charleston (the village of). btw, we're now on Nevada Highway 157, turning our triple play for the day (156, 158 and 157). (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 24, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 this is, as the realtors would say, an area of fine homes. there are quite a few properties up here on the chopping block. the most modest dwelling i saw for sale, a simple little A-frame cabin, located in "down"town, not "up"town as pictured above, on an un-landscaped lot with a footprint only a little bigger than the cabin, with NO view, is being offered for $474,900. Mt. Charleston is about a 30-minute drive from Las Vegas (if the traffic on 95 doesn't fight you too bad), and it became apparent in short order that a LOT of Vegas greenbacks are spent on real estate up here on the mountain. and why not? it's close, it's cool, and it's gorgeous. i'd live here in a heartbeat if'n i could. i THINK i can come up with $900. the other $474,000 might be a problem, tho... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 sweetness. should half a mil (or more) be chump change for you, you make take a virtual tour at http://www.mtcharlestonrealty.com (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 the obligatory "I was in Las Vegas" docu-shots. this time the Luxor was the landmark of choice. it wouldn't be a "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" without at least one encounter with the fuzz. today's adventure had just that, exactly ONE encounter, a bicycle cop who took momentary exception to me parking the Road King on the sidewalk. odd, i thought, that this would cause consternation in a city (and state) where gambling and prostitution don't raise an eyebrow. anyway, he was cool, we had a laugh, and then i rode around to the FRONT of the Luxor and parked on THAT sidewalk, too. once a Hooligan, always a Hooligan. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 park like an Egyptian. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
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| Jerry_haughton |
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| Jerry_haughton |
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| Jerry_haughton |
 cheesy Las Vegas tourist-type photography at its absolute worst. please move along. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 leaving Las Vegas. it's late, and i'm a long way from 'Dome, with no plans to hole up anywhere 'twixt here and there. time to put on the feed bag. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 Baker, California and their infamous "World's Tallest Thermometer." more exceedingly cheesy moto-journalism. sorry, it had been a long day. it's hard to tell but it reads 86 degrees. this is a first for me, the first time i've ever seen a temp reading here with less than three digits. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
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| Jerry_haughton |
 artsy... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 ...fartsy. sorry, i liked the lighting. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 for the past hour i had been seeing roadside billboards for the Mad Greek restaurant in Baker. most of these billboards touted their fresh strawberry milkshakes. it sounded good. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 it WAS good. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 cool place, my first time there. odd, but all the employees spoke Spanish. maybe that's why the Greek is so mad... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
 i could NOT do the I-15 to Barstow, Highway 58 to Kramer Junction, Highway 395 to Inyokern and 178 to home thing, even tho this would be the quickest way 'Dome. slabs suck. so i turned north at Baker, with a belly full of strawberry milkshake, and aimed for Death Valley. for the SECOND time this day. and an hour and a half later, for the second time this day, i motored thru Death Valley Junction (formerly Amargosa, town of). these shots were taken at about midnight. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
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| Jerry_haughton |
 this is the last photo i shot on this trip. it's 2 a.m. this is actually the "Welcome to..." sign on the WEST side of Death Valley, as somehow i missed the sign on the EAST side of the monument on my approach from Death Valley Junction. (could've been the alien lights i thought i saw in the sky...) after i got this shot i shut everything down and munched out on jerky and trail mix and Gatorade. the only sound was the tinkling of the heat shields on the bike as they cooled, and after a few minutes it was just me and the desert. and a few gazillion stars. the Milky Way painted a thick, white stripe across the sky. i was dog tired, and coulda laid down right there in the gravel and passed out. i tried reaching Denise on the cell phone. yeah, right - Cingular hasn't raised the bar out here just yet... slightly recharged, i battened down the hatches and headed back into the inky darkness. at 3 a.m. i rolled thru Olancha, and at about 3:30 i pulled over in Coso Junction. i couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. i found a friendly spot of grass in the rest area to lie on and curled up on the ground, 'Stich, helmet, and all. i slept, a bit, but the bummer thing was my snoring kept waking me up. just as well, i needed to keep rolling. as i neared Ridgecrest i could see the eastern sky starting to brighten, and as i climbed the hill out of the Owens Valley, past the Owens Peak Wilderness where i had taken the sunrise photos 24 hours earlier, i considered hanging around a few more minutes and grabbing another set of sunrise shots in the same spot. the need for sleep prevailed. and the need for a warm hug from my sweetie. this was a Pretty Big Day. it'll be awhile before i pull a stunt like this again. this is the stuff of youth, and stamina, and my supplies of both are on the wane. but it WAS great huge fun, and the generous gifts and amazing adventures of the past 25 hours were well worth the investment. hope you enjoyed the show. thanks for riding along. FB (Message edited by jerry_haughton on May 25, 2006) | ||
| Bertman |
Fantastic photos and stories Jerry. The roads and sites were a fast blur a few weeks ago when we went thru with Madduck, so it is nice to see some stills of what it really looks like. Glad the weather cooperated. You made a great choice by not slabbing it from Baker to Barstow. The left lane had been ground down and repaved and was very uneven in height between the two lanes. Ever try "bunny hopping" a Firebolt at 85 mph up and down 3 - 4 inch lipped road for about 30 miles? I just knew I was going to catch an edge. | ||
| Spike |
Ferris' days off > Spike's days off You rule, man.  | ||
| Mikej |
I wonder how many RoadKings you just sold with this RoadKing RoadTrip. Good story, thanks for sharing. | ||
| Buellfighter |
Thanks again Jerry, I enjoyed your trip!! |
