High Desert Meet and Ride-28 October 2012

[androu]

--> RSVP Here <--

When: 28 october, 10:00AM
Where: Meet at WalMart parking lot on China Lake Blvd in the teaming metrpolis of Ridgecrest, CA
Who: Anyone interested and willing to ride out to the middle of nowhere!
Route: About 225 miles of scenic desert and mountain roads near Death Valley and the Sierras, with ghost towns and other points of interest along the way. Passing through historic towns of Trona, Ballarat, Darwin, Lone Pine and Olancha.
Tour Guide: Matt Anderson (androu2001@yahoo.com)

This will be a fun, relaxing ride with stops along the way to see the sights, explore and take pictures. Definately not a high speed run or a race. Most likely stop for lunch in Lone Pine (location for just about every western movie ever made). There are several hotels in town if anyone wants to stay over or come out the night before, PM me or email direct for my contact phone number, directions, details, questions.

Looking forward to meeting some fellow NT riders and enjoying the beautiful Fall weather!

-Matt

 

[Mellow]

RSVP link added.

 

[androu]

Matt, you might think about taking them to the Mount Whitney Portal---that is beautiful for sure. I've been all over that area. It's a beautiful ride from there to Baker via Death Valley! Wish I was there!

Sam

Good call, yes, it's beautiful up there, especially in the summer when it's 115 down here in the valley.

 

[androu]

Here's the meet-up location, 911 South China Lake Blvd, WalMart parking lot. Easy to find as you enter the town from the 395, it's on your left as you head North on China Lake Blvd. There's also a grocery store, gas station, and a couple of fast food places in the same shopping center in case anybody needs anything. And of course, the WalMart is the social and cultural hub of Ridgecrest

http://mapq.st/QsFq46

 

[MichaelK]

If the weather holds out, looks like we will have clear skys and temps in the low to mid 80's. Not bad.

 

[androu]

If the weather holds out, looks like we will have clear skys and temps in the low to mid 80's. Not bad.

Yep, as long as the wind doesn't get crazy, the weather should be really nice. This is the route: http://mapq.st/SoRQvG No dirt for those that are curious, the only dirt road would be about a 4 mile stretch into Ballarat. It was really rough with a combination of washboard, soft sand, and loose gravel last time I was there, so we'll just view it from a distance along Hwy 190.

We can stop and check out some local points of interest, or not, whatever we feel like when we get there. Potential stop include:

"Fish Rocks", , Rainbow Canyon (there's a spot to pull over a check out the view) , Panamint Springs , Darwin, which is a semi-ghost town as about 50 hardy individuals still reside there , and Lone Pine, famous for its proximity to the Alabama Hills area of the Sierras near Mt. Whitney, location for lots of western movies

Looking forward to meeting some fellow NT adventurers, see you Sunday!

 

[androu]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Swansea and Keeler, which were mining towns back in the day. We'll be skirting Owens Lake for part of the trip, it's completely dry now since the Los Angeles Aqueduct took all the water from the Owens River in 1913. It's generally considered the dustiest place in America. When there was water in the lake, steamboats ran gold ore from Keeler on the East side, to Cartargo on the West side, where it was loaded into wagons and hauled all the way to San Pedro! Sorry, I'm kind of a history and geography geek.

 

[Phil Tarman]

androu, there's noting much more fun, IMNSHO, than traveling witb a history / geography geek. If you add in a gelologist and a hydrologist, it really gets interesting.

Wish I could be there with you guys!

 

[Maureen]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Swansea and Keeler, which were mining towns back in the day. We'll be skirting Owens Lake for part of the trip, it's completely dry now since the Los Angeles Aqueduct took all the water from the Owens River in 1913. It's generally considered the dustiest place in America. When there was water in the lake, steamboats ran gold ore from Keeler on the East side, to Cartargo on the West side, where it was loaded into wagons and hauled all the way to San Pedro! Sorry, I'm kind of a history and geography geek.

Having a knowledgeable tour guide is the best! I'm REALLY looking forward to this weekend and can't wait to meet my first fellow NTers.

 

[androu]

Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of it was silver from the mine at Cerro Gordo. It was smelted at Keeler before the trip across the lake. There is even a legend about one of the steamboats capsizing during a wind storm on the lake and sinking to the bottom. Supposedly, it was never recovered and a huge cache of silver ingots is buried somewhere under the dry lake bed. Oops, there I go again

 

[skiper]

Androu , if you could find an NT owner who is also a dowser then you guys could strike it rich... Trip sounds excellent - have a great experience..

 

[MichaelK]

Wanted to this back in front of everyone as the ride is on so if can make it please do. The weather looks like the mid 80's and sunny. Hope to see as many members as possible.

Michael

 

[androu]

Wanted to this back in front of everyone as the ride is on so if can make it please do. The weather looks like the mid 80's and sunny. Hope to see as many members as possible.

Michael

Yep, looks like cool morning, warm afternoon, pretty typical for this time of year. That's one of the challenges of riding in desert areas, there may be a 40 degree swing in the temp. between morning and afternoon. Sometimes I carry 2 jackets. Jackets with lots of vents are good too, you can open them up in the afternoon. Looking forward to meeting everyone.
I think everyone who RSVP'd has my phone #, if you need directions or anything, feel free to call, email, or PM me. See you in the AM.

-Matt

 

[skiper]

THE photo of whitney portal is very very inviting , looks quite challenging , if not deadly. Adventure is in store for sure - wish could be there - soak it in safely..

 

[androu]

Rick, I forgot to ask you, which model of the Denali lights do you have? Those things looked like a UFO following me all day, gotta get me some!

 

[androu]

A few pics:

Stopping near the ghost town of Ballarat. We opted not to venture down the rough dirt road into the remains of the town, so only viewed it from a distance. Rick didn't get the memo about this being a "red NT only" ride, so we cut him some slack this time .



A view down into the Panamint Valley. It's a long way down, so we made sure to stay on the narrow, twisty road!



Hanging out at the Darwin Dance Hall. Pretty quiet that day.



Parked at Whitney Portal, about 8,000 ft up, near the base of Mt. Whitney. The ride up (and back down) was really gnarly, with steep grades, narrow, twisty, and rough. In other words, really fun!



A little different view of the portal, showing the sheer rock faces that were on three sides of us.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Thanks for sharing the pictures! I hope you poor red riders appreciate the honor done to you by my friend Rick who consented to be in your presence in his lovely banana suit on his immeasuably faster silver NT.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Rick, I hereby appoint you as Official Expedition Photographer for the Epic Ride. You take muy better photos than I do!

I also notice that you had two Deauvilles and two NTs on the trip.

 

[Phil Tarman]

At 8:45 MDT, it's back up and running. Cool vid.

 

[banjoboy]

Very nice video. Thanks. For those of us in Western Washington, it's a bit of a shock to see how dry your area is. A true desert it looks like.

Terry