Nevada apparently is having a covid surge as we were required to have a mask to walk into a restaurant to be seated and the employees were wearing masks. Funny thing was, nearly empty restaurant, but we were seated across and right next to others, lol.
We both crashed early last night and Ricks alarm went off at 3:30 and we were rolling at 4:33 am, which was the plan. It was in the 90’s still as we pulled out of Mesquite.
Up to this point since we finished three flags, Rick and I have only been on the interstates . maybe 10 miles (excluding the Sturgis days). Today will be all interstate to beat the heat!
I’ve crossed this desert so many times on past Sturgis trips that I have planned gas stops. Stateline and Barstow, each about 120 miles from us right now, and that is all we need to get home.
Rick took the lead as we had about 80 miles to get to Las Vegas. We witness hot spots, cool spots, scrapes of daylight, Orange glow, dawn, sunrise and truck traffic as we approached North Las Vegas at about 5:30. The traffic into Las Vegas was heavy, but moving as we passed downtown and past the airport.
We stopped at Terrible Hearst Gas Station to gas up at this massive gas station, with tons of pumps and a funny bathroom. I snap some pictures in the men’s restroom of the funny sayings on the wall.. luckily nobody calls the police….
We got started again and headed to Stateline where a large series of solar arrays are that produce electricity with the panels plus focus the reflection to a tower in the center to generate steam for a turbine to generate electricity. Well, that is what Rick told me-never new that, pretty nifty…
From Stateline you have a 10 mile climb into the desert mountains where as a rider, you are greeted with cooler weather for about 30 or 40 miles. From there you drop back down the mountain 10 miles where it heats up to the tiny desert town of Baker…
Now Baker CA is home to the Mad Greek Cafe and the worlds largest thermometer. Baker is also one of the gateway cities to Death Valley. Sounds nice but it is just a gas/food stop for some and in reality, a hot hell hole this time of year. When on a bike though it can be a life saver to stop to cool down, or heat up in winter months. Today’s game plan is pass.
After Baker is a 60 mile stretch to the larger desert town of Barstow CA.
Barstow is a major transportation hub for the Inland Empire. Several major highways, including Interstate 15, Interstate 40, and California State Route 58, converge in the city. It is the site of a large rail classification yard, belonging to the BNSF Railway. The Union Pacific Railroad also runs through town using trackage rights on BNSF’s main line to Daggett10 miles (16 km) east, from where it heads to Salt Lake City and the BNSF heads to Chicago.
Well, I got all that info from Wikipedia, and I reality, it has a pretty Interesting history if your interested.. Barstow History. For us, it’s another gas stop at a truck stop on the right hand side, easy off and easy on. Temps were in the 80s here and we make a quick stop to gas up and wash hands and boom, back on the highway.
From here you already feel like your in LA as the freeway is three lanes and more the rest of the way. From Barstow you climb again and then drop down into Victorville about 30 miles later, and you fight traffic and slowly keep climbing to the Cajon Pass, a massive interstate pass downhill into the LA basin. The pass is always exciting as it’s fast, has long curved downhill grades with lots of trucks, scary drivers, and it’s death defying.
We survived the Cajon Pass and in the distance we are greeted with a familiar LA sight, a layer of brown smog. We bust through the smog barrier and are greeted with another LA favorite on Route 91, stop and go traffic for about 10 miles. After keeping an average speed of 80 mph, we are splitting lanes at 5 to 10 mph negotiating between the cars hoping we don’t clip anyone. Sure enough, we see the culprit of the slowdown.. a construction truck stalled in the number 1 lane.
We survived that and we are on the final tollway to head home. At the split Rick and I part to our respective homes. I get home by 10:15 am and my house has survived the time I was gone.
Now it’s time to see what is growing in my fridge and see if I have any fines from going through the tolls in all those states…
I’ll follow up with another final post on some trip stats and final thoughts , but I really appreciate those that followed and those that commented, it makes this blog worth it.
Thank you!
Love Baker, California and the Mad Greek Cafe! It was the first night stop of our honeymoon to Yellowstone and Grand Teton so we could get an early start in the morning through Las Vegas. We spent the night and stayed for breakfast the next morning at the 24 hour stop. There were many truck drivers doing the same thing with loud refrigerators running all night and most were gone by time we woke up in the morning. If you stop at the Mad Greek Cafe, be sure to get a picture of the world’s largest thermometer right around the corner!
thanks for making team 60 and team 70’s “4 corners” ride available to those of us who were not with you to enjoy adventuring along with you. the blogging and pictures from both teams along with the “relive” site were like a addictive storyline. i thought the soundtrack on relive was mesmerizing and the detail it showed was impressive. glad that the only bad encounters were running out of gas and some raindrops.
What an adventure! Thanks so very much for letting us all ride along. The relive map was amazing – loved how it made the changes in terrain so visible – like those 3D maps that we all made in school.
Thanks again for letting Steve ride with you – it was the highlight of his year! And thanks for stopping in at Villa Milagro Vineyards to spend time with us. You are ALL always welcome – especially the Tanji crew ——-and Hi to Geri !! Hugs to all – Audrey
What an EPIC adventure! I got teary at the end of the video…it’s done…now what am I going to do? I think you steered us to the Mad Greek when we came for Christmas with Joyce & Bob & went to Death Valley…we had a great meal there, but don’t remember the thermometer (I’m sure we noticed it). Welcome back home…I’ll watch for your wrap-up. And again, it was SO WONDERFUL having you here for 7 1/2 days!!! Come again…or we may be out that way this winter…or CU in Costa Rica😍 (And of course, in Domino-land)
Jimmy – tremendous journey and blog, thank you for sharing.