motorcycle touring – Sisyphus and Associates

2025 Ruby Mountains Ramble

September 2025

What does a lost wallet, Coors Light, more cows than people, and Theodore Douglas Willer have to do with an epic adventure?

I, as SisyphusDW7 (my nom de plume), posted Chasing the Perseid’s; An August 2025 Ramble in the Sierra. The ride was a warmup for our fourth ramble of 2025 as we plotted a seven day, six night tour of the Ruby Mountains in Northeastern Nevada.

With a taste of the billions of galaxies filled with billions of stars as viewed from the Sierra, I figured there was at least as much to view in northeastern Nevada, notwithstanding a full moon, and so the plan to ramble to the Ruby Mountains began to take shape.

Sisyphus was aboard Bella Rossa, a Moto Guzzi V-85TT and his associate Pete was on his Suzuki V-Strom. Pete’s not as romantic as Sisyphus and so his moto is nameless. His imagination an appetite makes up for any other deficiencies.

We packed up and departed on September 7 venturing forth on CA-140/CA-120 bound for a Sierra crossing at Tioga Pass. I’ll use excerpts from the itinerary to introduce the daily “chapters” of the ramble.

Day 1 / Sunday Sept 7 – Merced to Fallon, NV

Merced to Fallon, NV ~284 miles

From US-395 take CA-182 (Sweetwater Rd) in Bridgeport to NV-338 to junction with NV-208 near Smith Valley to the junction of NV-208/NV-339.
Continue on NV-339 through Yerington to the junction with US-95 to Silver Springs.
From Silver Springs, ~26 miles to Fallon on US-50
Reservation at the Super8 by Wyndham

Tioga Pass or CA-120 is a familiar Sierra crossing. Along with Sonora Pass (CA-108), Sherman Pass (Forest Rte 22S05), and Walker Pass (CA-178) we have seasonal options. In winter Tioga, Sonora, Sherman Passes are closed with the first winter storms. Walker Pass in Kern County will occasionally close in winter due to snow and regardless of weather, it beats crossing the summit in Tehachapi (CA-58) which is a major commerce route from Bakersfield to the Mojave, US-395, and Interstates 15 to Las Vegas and and I-40, the offspring of Route 66, The Mother Road, all featured in previous rambles on my blog, sisyphusdw7.com .

Tioga Pass and Lee Vining Canyon en route to the Ruby Mountains

The vistas up Tioga Pass were somewhat obscured by smoke from wildfires burning in the Western Sierra that resulted from recent monsoonal lightning strikes. Since the fall colors were only beginning to show, there was no great disappointment on what nature had wrought by way of wildfires compromising the views.

We stopped at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor’s Center on our route along CA-395 to Bridgeport to “de-layer” as the cooler temps at elevation gave way to the late summer heat on the East Side of the Sierra. The smoke gave a muted hue to the otherwise clear skies.

Muted skies from the parking lot at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center

Un-Muted skies from the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitors Center Overlook
(How did they do that?)

Once in Bridgeport we took CA-182, Sweetwater Rd north, crossing the CA-NV border where the road became NV-338 following tributaries to the Walker River to Smith Valley then NV-208 & 339 to Yerington where we fueled up at my favorite petrol shop. Loves me the Dino.

Passing the Anaconda Open Pit Copper Mine on Alt US-95 from Yerington following tributaries of the Carson River through dairies and onion fields, we then headed east passing the Lahontan State Recreation Area on the Lincoln Highway, US-50. Soon we reached our destination for Day 1, Fallon Nevada.

Fallon is known for being home to Naval Air Station Fallon. Built in 1942, is located southeast of the city center. Since 1996, NAS Fallon has been home to the U.S. Navy’s Navy Fighter Weapons School (popularly known as TOPGUN), using several flight training areas and practice ranges in the area.

In 1963 there was an underground nuclear test known as Project Shoal that took place ~30 miles from Fallon.

I’m no hydrologist, but it seems planting onions in soil irrigated from ground and surface water from a nearby Superfund open pit copper mine or detonating a nuclear bomb in the middle of the potentiometric ground water surface near Fallon was potentially, well, I’ll let you consider the implications*. It’s kind of how Nevada does environmental things. Needless to say, we drank bottled water while in Nevada.

*Did I mention I once submitted ten puns to a contest to see which one would win. No pun in ten did… Well what did you expect?

I chose Fallon for our Day 1 destination, not because of fighter jets, or radioactive water but for the D = ST (distance = speed × time) calculus essential to motorcycles. Its location on the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental thoroughfare, passes through Fallon from east to west (and vice versa), following the original Pony Express trail. Today it is designated U.S. Highway 50, and eastward from Fallon is popularly known as The Loneliest Road in America, as it passes through only two towns (Austin and Eureka) and one small city (Ely) between Fallon and the Utah state line, over 400 miles distant.

Hence, lodging options between our destinations for Days 2-4 were limited.

Moonrise over the Super 8 and Bonanza Casino by Wyndham Fallon
Pete and I concluded the blue sphere above the moon was an alien mothership

Day 2 / Monday, Sept 8 – Fallon, NV to Elko/Spring Creek, NV and the South Fork Recreation Area

Fallon to Elko and South Fork Rec Area ~338 miles

US-50 through Austin to NV-278 N to US-80 at Carlin to Elko (~24 miles).
NV-227/NV-228 to the South Fork Recreation Area (~16 miles from Elko).
Nevada State Parks South Fork State Recreation Area – East Campground – RV or Tent with E Utilities
Confirmation Number: 1057754 Camp host, Theodore (Ted) Douglas Willer Arrive: Mon 09/08/2025 – Depart: Thu 09/11/2025 (3 nights Site 5 #1057754 reserved 9/8-9/11)
Get Supplies in Elko or Spring Creek.

A long day in the saddle, we rode past the Saloon and Shoe Tree at Middlegate and turned off of US-50 on a route we discovered on a previous trip to Austin, (Austin Nevada that is…) on NV-722/2 that took us through the ghost town of Eastgate.

Looking west from East Gate Station aka Gibraltar Gate on NV-722

East Gate Station, then (image scrubbed from the interwebs)

From Nevada Expeditions: First called Gibraltar Gate, Eastgate was named by Captain James Simpson in the same manner as nearby Middlegate and Westgate. While it never served the Pony Express like the other two ‘gates’, a station and vegetable garden were located here by the Overland Stage and later sold to George S. Williams about 1876. A tufa-block home was built in 1879, leading to the place being known sometimes as “White Rock House”. In 1908, the current tufa-block home was erected. With the formation of the Lincoln Highway in 1913, Eastgate’s importance grew as a new store and gas station were established to service travelers. It probably lasted until around 1967 when the highway was rerouted, bypassing Eastgate completely. And just like that, Eastgate’s fate, like those along the Mother Road, was determined by a highway realignment.

For a deeper dive into Eastgate and Carroll Summit Stations in Nevada, check out the YouTube video by Two Guys in the Middle of Nowhere: The Ghost Town of Eastgate Nevada.

A fuel, nalgas relief, and snack stop in Austin found us eastbound to Eureka where we departed US-50 north on NV-278 enroute to Carlin through arid landscapes interrupted by alfalfa fields quenched by Pine Creek and the Humboldt River. From Carlin, it was a short leg on I-80 to Elko through the Carlin Tunnel.

Interstate 80 and the shortest distance between two points

The Carlin Tunnel is a collective name for a set of four tunnel bores in the Humboldt River’s Carlin Canyon, east of Carlin in Elko County, Nevada, United States. Currently, two of the bores carry Interstate 80, while the other two bores carry Union Pacific Railroad’s Overland Route and Central Corridor.

The South Fork State Recreation Area Campground

Zipping through Elko we made our way to Spring Creek and our home for the next three nights on the South Fork of the Humboldt River known as the South Fork State Recreation Area.

From there we would explore the Ruby Mountains, Secret Pass and the Hastings Cutoff on the historic California Trail, the Ruby Valley, Jiggs, and the Owyhee River, Wild Horse, Mountain City and Owyhee on the Nevada side of the border with Idaho.

Upon our arrival, within minutes, the camp host, Ted (Theodore Douglas Willer), introduced himself. When Pete asked where we could get a cold beer, Ted retreated to his mobile abode and produced a pair of Coors Lights. He explained that he no longer drinks and some fellows on motorcycles had left him an unsolicited tip that he decided would purchase a twelve pack of beer for just this circumstance: Two parched blokes having ridden hard to reach camp as the sun was setting.

It only got better from there. Ted also recommended we switch our campsite reserved on the interwebs for one that was more accommodating for two tents and two bikes.

Ted was a fascinating character. A native of Northern Nevada, he had spent his working years in mining, ending his career at the Jerritt Canyon Gold mine. A true outdoorsman, Ted hunted, fished, backpacked, snow-mobiled, and dirtbiked all throughout the wilderness of Northern Nevada. As a reference for two “born to be mild” adventurers, his local knowledge was gold.

After touring the facilities that included hot showers and flush toilets, we were quite impressed as Nevada continued regaling us with parks the likes of Kershaw-Ryan State Park in Caliente, and Red Rock Canyon near Lost Wages, NV, with modern, clean, and well maintained accommodations. In addition to cold beers, we even had electricity at our site!

Sunset at the South Fork State Recreation Area

Day 3 / Tuesday, Sept 9 – South Fork Recreation Area to Lemoille Canyon Scenic Byway, Secret Pass, Arthur, Ruby Valley, & Jiggs Loop

Lamoille, Halleck, Arthur, Ruby Valley Loop ~132 miles

From the Lamoille Scenic Byway, return to Lemoille and take Crossroads and Clubine Rds to Ft. Halleck marker (dirt).
Continue on dirt to paved NV-229 at Poverty Gulch.
At the junction of NV-229 dirt road, head south to Ruby Valley to the junction with NF-113/Old Harrison Pass Rd (dirt).
West on NF-113 to the junction with NV-228 (paved) to Jiggs and NV-228 back to the South Fork Recreation Area campgrounds.
Get supplies in Spring Creek.

Our intent for the day’s ramble was to explore the Ruby Mountains. The range reaches a maximum elevation of 11,387 feet on the summit of Ruby Dome.

To the north is Secret Pass, part of the historic Hasting Cutoff, and the East Humboldt Range. From there the Rubies run south-southwest for about 80 miles. To the east lies Ruby Valley, and to the west lie Huntington and Lamoille Valleys. It’s alleged that the mountain range was named after the garnets found by early explorers.

The central core of the range shows extensive evidence of glaciation during recent ice ages, including U-shaped canyons, moraines, hanging valleys, and steeply carved granite mountains, cliffs, and cirques.

Pre-sunrise view of blossoming sage and the Ruby’s

The view east of the Ruby’s from our campsite with the park HQ in the foreground
and Ruby Dome towering in the background

The Lemoille Canyon Scenic Byway, entering Lemoille Canyon

Classic glaciated amphitheater in Right Fork Canyon

Having gone over the route with Ted, our camp host, a virtual guide with extensive knowledge of the local terrain, we felt confident that what amounted to our longest stretch on gravel was doable. The route took us into Lemoille Canyon following Lemoille Creek. An out-and-back then took us through the village of Lemoille where we met the first 18 miles of gravel road leading to NV-229 and Secret Pass into Ruby Valley.

The Donner Party passed through the southern end of the valley in 1846, heading for the Overland Pass route across the Ruby Mountains – part of the Hastings Cutoff. A sentence in Hastings’ guidebook briefly describes the cutoff:

The most direct route, for the California emigrants, would be to leave the Oregon route, about two hundred miles east from Fort Hall; thence bearing West Southwest, to the Salt Lake; and thence continuing down to the bay of St. Francisco, by the route just described.

The cutoff left the Oregon Trail at Fort Bridger in Wyoming, passed through the Wasatch Range, across the Great Salt Lake Desert, an 80-mile nearly water-less drive, looped around the Ruby Mountains, and rejoined the California Trail about seven miles west of modern Elko (also Emigrant Pass).
For a detailed account of the route, see Salt & Snow Lansford W. Hastings the Donner Party and the Haste to Blame by Eugene R. Hart, a friend and colleague, for a well researched history of the Donner Party’s ill-fated route on the California Trail.

The next 50 miles of pavement on NV-229 took us through the small unincorporated community of Arthur to the junction with NV-767.

Ranching is the main economic activity in Arthur and the Ruby Valley in general. Most of the ranches have remained in the same families for generations.

There weren’t may vehicles on the road, but there was infrastructure.

I don’t think Pete was doing what it looks like he was doing

At its south end lies the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The valley includes a series of hot springs, known as Ruby Valley Hot Springs, with multiple pools reaching up to 30 feet in diameter and 100 degrees Fahrenheit in temperature.I

NV-229 passes along the northeast edge of the valley, and Ruby Valley Road (NV-767) runs along its western edge.

Our next dirt section was Harrison Pass Road (CR-718) for 14 miles crossing the Ruby Mountains near the center of the valley at an elevation of 7,247 feet . Much of the floor of Ruby Valley lies at elevations near 6,000 feet.

Franklin Lake looking Southeast (photo credit: Wiki)

At the entry to Harrison Pass Rd we encountered a local rancher and his wife. Perhaps perceiving our born to be mild countenance, they cautioned us about being on point because Harrison Pass Rd is a popular 4-wheel drive road on which speeding vehicles and tight blind curves with sandy washes that can be treacherous.

Fortunately we didn’t encounter any speeding side-by-sides or other ATV’s but the sandy road conditions made for a squirrelly crossing.

We reached pavement on NV-228 that took us through the small unincorporated community of Jiggs. In addition to the Jiggs School and Skelton Hotel, two historic buildings from the early 1900’s, there’s the Jiggs Bar, which we regrettably didn’t stop to visit.

It’ll just have to wait for our next trip to the Rubys. Cheers!

The town was featured in a 1965 Volkswagen advertising campaign in which the entire population (5 adults, 4 children and a dog) was shown comfortably seated inside a VW Bus.

Grandma doesn’t look to be having much fun

Upon returning to the campground, Ted met us with two cold Coors Lights. In exchange, we offered our enthusiastic reflections on the day’s ride that he had recommended before heading into Spring Creek for bites and beverages.

For a visual record (with soothing soundscapes) of our Ruby Mountain Ramble, check out the video from our day of cattle, canyons, passes, and dirt roads:

Lemoille Canyon and The Ruby Mountains Ramble

Followed by a sublime moonrise over the Ruby’s

Day 4 / Wednesday, Sept 10 – South Fork Recreation Area to Owyhee and back

South Fork Rec Area to Owyhee Loop ~236 miles

From the campgrounds, NV-225 N to Owyhee through Wild Horse and Mountain City, then NV-226 S back to Elko
Lunch at The Star Basque Restaurant and beverages in Spring Creek.
Return to the South Fork Recreation Area campground

Weather was our consideration for how to approach our ramble to Owyhee on this our fourth day of adventure. Consulting with Ted we decided to forgo a dirt section that would take us through the Duck Valley Reservation on NV-226 that might be iffy in the rain that was forecast for the afternoon. Remember, we were born to be mild, having outgrown the wild birth stage of our lives…

It’s perhaps a shame that I didn’t break out the GoPro for yet another view of the road from my handlebars. I figured the Ruby Mountain Ramble video was enough of mile-after-mile of monotonous, but at times breathtaking, scenery. And, if you’re not a music nerd, there probably aren’t enough of dramatic cinematic dopamine triggers keep you engaged. That and I don’t own a drone. So the few still photos we took will have to give you some perspective of the landscapes.

The Owyhee River near the Wild Horse Crossing campground

Volcanic remnant off of NV-225 looking northwest
Yep, born to be wild horses

Not much to see in Owyhee, a small reservation town on the vast volcanic lava flow plain. After a stop for a snack and some nalgas relief, we turned tail to make our way back to the South Fork Recreation campground, but not before stopping for a water bottle leak in Pete’s top case, absorbed by the roll of Scott Shop Towels he always carries and a few interesting sites along the road.

A pioneer’s cabin across from Four Mile Creek, a tributary to
the North Fork of the Humboldt River, on NV-225

The Independence Range whose watershed irrigates the foreground pastures

I have mentioned in prior blogs my associate, Pete’s, heritage. He’s Basque by way of his father. Nevada is renowned for its Basque population, especially in the Elko area so naturally we sought out the best Basque restaurant in town, The Star.

As with many Basque restaurants, there was usually lodging associated with the family dining area to accommodate migrant shepherds attending to herds of sheep and this was true of The Star. We had a wonderful lunch including a Picon Punch I first learned about in Los Banos, near our home in Merced, at the Woolgrowers. According to 23andMe, I have just under 1% Basque heritage myself (that is likely attributed to my promiscuous Neanderthal ancestors).

The of the scenes of what would become a frenzied search for a lost wallet…

Making our way to the campground south of Elko, we stopped for fuel in Spring Creek, a suburb of the growing Elko population and our commercial base of operations where fuel, both fossil and fermented, were acquired.

As I pulled up to the pump and executed the fueling ritual of removing gloves, removing the tank bag, inserting the key into the cap, and reaching for my wallet, I realized it wasn’t nestled in its customary chest pocket.

Needless to say, panic struck! I’m on the road in the middle of a seven day ramble and have lost my wallet somewhere during the day. I last remember using my credit card to purchase fuel at the very same Sinclair gas station that morning. I naively thought to inquire at the station’s convenience store if anyone had turned in a wallet.

The disinterested cashier yelled across the store to another employee who mumbled something and said there was nothing in a basket resembling a wallet.

After I paid for the fuel with cash and was given $4 and change, I asked, “So you think I can make it back to California on four bucks?”

She replied, “You’re screwed. Look around. Do you think someone would turn in a wallet?”

I should have known better. This is the only Sinclair station we had stopped at that didn’t have a Dino. There was a pad for the Dino. Apparently Dino had been abducted. This did not ensure confidence.

I dialed the Star restaurant and a bit more reassuringly the attentive staff remembered us and stated that after a search there was no wallet near where we were seated.

I had enough cash to make it home on our remaining three days but it was the drivers license, credit cards, insurance cards, and god forbid, my National Parks Senior Pass that would have to be cancelled and replaced. I then called my wife after using the app on my phone to put a hold on my Citi credit card, which, as it turns out, I later hastily canceled. Toni works for the local School Employees Credit Union. She took care of my backup CU Visa and reminded me that I still had my Apple credit card in my phone’s wallet. A small measure of relief. One of many fringe benefits to my marriage…

As we made our way back to the camp that afternoon, Ted with Coors Lights awaiting our arrival, I was somewhat crestfallen after what was otherwise a beautiful day on the moto rambling through exquisite terrain. Not much for celebration, I opted for a shower to wash away my woes.

While stowing my armored jacket and pants, that I had by this time searched in every pocket multiple times, I felt the small rectangular form of my wallet that I had perhaps in haste earlier mistaken for CE armor. A flood of relief overcame me. I unzipped a vent on the front of the jacket, opposite the pocket in which I usually stored my wallet, and guess what? Lost wallet frenzy extinguished!

Fortunately the mesh liner inside of the jacket held the wallet in place.

Wallet firmly in grasp, we made our way back to town for dinner. After grabbing a bite to eat in Spring Creek at the counter service Mexican restaurant attached to the Casino, we returned to camp after an exhausting search for wine for my pompous palate, where I eventually enjoyed a glass or two of Pinot and Pete a cerveza o dos. We then set about on a stroll about the campground, a warm campfire, some stargazing and our fourth day of adventure and misadventure was complete.

On our evening ritual of a walkabout the lake

A Ruby Mountain moonrise warmed by campfire

I have an app on my phone called Skyview that identifies constellations, planets and other objects in the night sky placing virtual images of those objects in the direction the phone’s camera is pointed relative to their position in space.

As is a familiar ritual, well into the night I was up to see a man about a mule and it just so happened that Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, Mars, the Moon, Venus and Mercury were all visible by way of the app, though not all without magnification to the naked eye throughout the night.

Top left clockwise Skyview images: Saturn, Venus, the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station, Mars, and Mercury. Jupiter was visible too.

Often on our campouts, we see satellites, like Starlink and others. We jest about them being UAP’s. Earlier in the evening we saw the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station streak across the sky just after sunset. They’re only briefly visible as the rotation of Earth and the angle of the setting sun reflects off of them in their transit about the planet.

Day 5 / Thursday, Sept 11 – South Fork Recreation Area to Tonopah, NV

South Fork Recreation Area to Tonopah NV ~294 miles

Retrace US-80 W from Elko to NV-278 S to Eureka. US-50 to the junction with NV-376. South on NV-376 to junction with US-6 W to Tonopah.
Get room at Best Western Hi-Desert Inn in Tonopah across the street from Tonopah Brewing
Tour the downtown and the Mizpah and Belvada Hotels

BTW, have I mentioned I never met a sunrise or sunset that wasn’t spectacular.

Another stunning Ruby Mountains sunrise…

We enjoy documenting our rambles. I with my monotonous videos and inspired landscapes. Pete too, works hard at photographically capturing the essence of our motocamping experience. He composes each shot, carefully choosing the angle and composition, especially the backdrop for a photo, setting up and tweaking a tripod and fussing with the timer to express a pictorial narrative of epic adventure.

Then I come along to tell another version of the tale.

The feeling when you realize your wallet is safely in your pocket

Soon we would be leaving our outstanding experiences in northeastern Nevada. After exchanging pleasantries with Ted, whose excellent campground oversight and generosity will be the standard by which all future camp experiences are measured, along with my sharing contact information, we bid adieu to the South Fork State Recreation Area.

A shameless plug for the blog I leave at the first sign of interest… Actually, I don’t even wait for a sign before stuffing a card into the hand of an unwitting addition to my 82 fans!

It was on to Tonopah as our destination for day five via the Nevada Scenic Byways of NV-278, US-50, and NV-376. All with great views, some with vistas reaching over 50 miles in this basin and range geography in Nevada that is second to none.

But first we needed to fuel up for those long lonely stretches of pavement awaiting us. We stopped in Carlin for breakfast, passing a fuel stop we used earlier in the week happening upon a great retro looking cafe, The State Cafe, Bar, Casino.

Though intriguing, it was too early for an eye-opener, with too many miles before us, or slots, so we opted for breakfast at the adjacent cafe.

Ahh, biscuits and gravy
Almost as good as my wife’s, Toni’s

I’ve noted in past posts that Pete has an outsized appetite for his svelte appearance. I, on the other hand, given my hillbilly genetic predisposition of loading on excess caloric storage (fat) have to work hard to even maintain my semi-svelteness. Pete ate half of my breakfast in addition to his. Thanks Pete. I’m able to throw a leg over the motorcyle because of your help with my calorie restriction.

Back on the road again, we stopped briefly for nalgas relief and some hydration at the junction of US-50 and NV-376. We could see the clouds forming above the Toiyabe Range that augured thunder showers.

Adorning rain gear, we encountered foretold showers and a little hail between Kingston and Carvers for maybe 20 or so miles. It was all refreshing until we saw ground lightning strike at the base of the Toiyabes, not that far from the road.

Once out of the thunderstorm we dried quickly in the warm afternoon temps.

Near Carver we passed the Round Mountain Gold Mine, operated by Kinross Gold, which produced approximately 324,277 ounces of gold in the financial year 2020. Another example of the boom and bust cycles in Nevada. The mine has a long history, having first opened in 1906 and transitioning from underground to open pit mining over the years. Its projected annual production (2025): Approximately 2.0 million gold equivalent ounces (Wiki). Consider this, the price of gold at $3,855.00 per ounce as of this writing x 2 million ounces would be worth $7,710,000,000. Before expenses.

Round Mountain Gold Mine (Image “scrubbed,” to use AI *parlance*, from the interwebs)

Interestingly, when I asked Ted, our camphost with the mostest, what he figured in his responsibility for overseeing gold extraction in his mining career, he had never thought about the value of his work in those terms. In fact, he called an old mining buddy to discuss this unanticipated quandary.

I hope to hear from him about what toiling underground for thirty six years for, “sixteen tons and what do I get, but another day older and deeper in debt…” (For my younger readers: Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford Yeah, yeah, it’s about coal mining, but you get the point, right?)

Of course gold prices have fluctuated over time, but it seems that there is a reason the Discovery Channel still produces episodes of the reality show, Gold Rush and the half dozen spinoffs the show has generated. A guilty pleasure for this environmentally conscious denizen.

Happy campers anticipating a good night’s sleep on a soft mattress up off the ground

We arrived in Tonopah in mid afternoon. After unpacking we embarked on a walk about downtown to shake off the miles in the saddle. Upon entering one of the most acclaimed buildings in Tonopah, we discovered the role of the Cline family, Sonoma California vintners through their Cline Family Ventures, of the restoration of the Mizpah and Belvada Hotels built in the early 1900’s. The Family Ventures was responsible for the establishment of the Tonopah Brewing Company too. You can read about the family in the article, Vintners breath new life in historic Nevada Town by John M. Glionna, from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, February 7, 2016.

At the time of its opening, the Mizpah was the tallest building in the state and featured modern luxuries such as an electric elevator, steam heat, and hot and cold running water. The hotel quickly became a social and business hub for miners, investors, and visitors. The Belvada originally opened as a bank in 1907 but shuttered four months later as yet another classic example of boom and bust mining economies. After closing in 1999, the Mizpah and Belvada remained vacant until 2011 when Fred and Nancy Cline, with deep family ties to the region, purchased and carefully restored them.

Why stop at restoring one historic property in Tonopah when you can add a pip

Pete with a burrrgherrr and fries and me with a grilled chicken bacon sammie with cole slaw
accompanied by well rounded, lightly hopped, Mucker Reds

The Cline Family venture added to their Tonopah trifecta by creating the Tonopah Brewing Company right across the street, US-6, from our Best Western Great Basin Inn. After solid pub grub, we settled in for the evening relaxing, rehydrating, and reflecting on five days on the road. Tomorrow, a short romp to Bridgeport and the Paradise Cove Campground.

Day 6 / Friday, Sept 12 – Tonopah to Bridgeport

Tonopah to Bridgeport ~160 miles

US-95 to US-6 to Benton and CA-120 to US-395 N to Bridgeport.

Our route for this day’s ride is well known. We’ve collectively traveled over this portion of the basin and range a couple of dozen times, in fact I once rode over the very same road on a bicycle in 1993 (See: The Tour de Life A Tribute to a Dear Friend, Larry Johnston). A favorite stretch on the moto is the CA-120 leg from Benton Hot Springs to Lee Vining, something of a roller coaster with broad sweepers.

By noon we arrived in Bridgeport. We set up our campsite and enjoyed a refreshing beverage as we contemplated the weather.

After briefly retreating to our respective ripstop abodes as a squall passed through, we emerged deciding when and where to have dinner and whether we needed to gear up for the weather.

After a brief discussion, it was decided that we head into town and have dinner at the Bridgeport Inn. Famished, as we hadn’t had breakfast sustained only by a cookie from the motel lobby in Tonopah as we left, it was comforting to see meatloaf on the menu. I am a comfort food sorta guy as is my associate so we both ordered the meatloaf, mash, and a salad.

It was a Friday night in Bridgeport and as we were dining the skies let loose. That’s also when we noticed a large number of “Adventure Motorcycles” from that Bavarian manufacturer looming about. It turns out that an informal group of ramblers from Southern California were on a weekender and were staying at the Inn.

Perhaps it was because of fatigue or the weather that I didn’t snap a picture of the motorcycles that were parked near ours in front of the Inn. Nor did I document our conversation with a member of the group who shared his ride up from SoCal. That or I am guilty of making fun of those pictures of motorcycles taken in front of Starbucks. The Bridgeport Inn is no Starbucks and so I’m modestly apologetic for making fun of gratuitous motorcycle shots in front of Starbucks and equating that to the Bridgeport Inn. Oh, and for not having a photo.

The campground host and hostess were a delightful couple who hailed from Ohio. The camp was readying to close for the winter. We decided to purchase two bundles of wood and were determined to hold out for some stars as we anticipated two of the three R’s over a campfire. Recent storms had soaked the wood, even though wrapped in plastic film. My associate and I had a real struggle to start a fire, at one point resorting to using my battery powered tire inflator to oxygenate the paltry flames. I was frantically splitting kindling from the larger pieces as Pete knelt over the flames, blowing to bolster the single element necessary of the three to make fire.

Though we are born to be mild, there was just enough of our neanderthal genome present such that our quest for fire finally generated enough heat to sustain a blaze. The red filter of my headlamp cast an eerily hue of Pete’s hyperventilation of the puny blaze.

“Ughu,” translated from Neanderthal, “Victory!” We were intent to burn every last log before retreating to our tents. The skies cleared, somewhat, allowing for a spectacular star studded moonrise. No ambiguity there…

Billions of galaxies of billions of stars only slightly obscured by magnificent clouds…

By now you have noticed I try to bracket the beginning and ending of each day with a sunrise and sunset photo respectively. I would be remiss to not suggest a reasoned explanation of the cosmology to which I have such regard and awe. This is not something I do just on these motorcycle rambles. It’s a bit of my “spirituality” I try to practice regularly having abandoned, And now I lay me down to sleep…

I offer you Dr. Sagan and invite you to enjoy a moment of respect to stand at the edge of forever… You must understand, I am forever an educator and though retired from the occupation, I continue to cultivate an enlightened understanding of the very phenomenon that produces my regard and awe to which I retire at the end of the day and embrace each new day.

CARL SAGAN COSMOS Episode 10 The Edge Of Forever

Day 7 / Saturday, Sept 13 – Bridgeport → Home

Bridgeport –> Home ~152 miles over Sonora Pass, 168 miles over Tioga Pass

There’s not much that’s complicated about our homeward leg of this seven day Ruby Mountain Ramble. We did need to wait for the sun to rise and dry things out.

Imagine awakening to a fog bank. Crawling out of our tents, we were met with wetness from within (condensation) and wetness from without, (drizzle). But the ever-ready JetBoil mochas took away the chill warming within as well as without.

Fortunately, though fall was in the air, the sunrise went to work drying out our gear as we packed for our last leg of the Ruby Mountains Ramble, homeward bound.

As we were breaking camp, a conversation with a dad we’d briefly encountered the afternoon before, who had that faraway look in his eyes as we shared our journey, turned into what has become a frequent discussion of motorcycles past and present with new acquaintances. He was with his family of five children, wife, and dog who late in the day before, expertly backed their gigantic 38 foot trailer behind his heavy duty pickup into a narrow RV space. He saw that Pete and I watched intently, feeling pressure, but performing like Mac Jones in Brock Purdy’s absence in three divisional wins… (I’m composing this some three weeks after the actual ramble). If that makes no sense, we awarded him straight 10’s.

He shared that he too had motorcycles, an enduro and a Harley, that were gathering dust as soccer, toddlers, and a soon to be high schooler preempted dirt and wind therapy sessions on two wheels. For now it was 10 wheels and RV park therapy with his family. We were both impressed and expressed our admiration for his familial commitment.

We bid adieu to our campground neighbors, Bob and Marge across from us who got into an argument the day before as Bob tried well in excess of the number of tries to back his truck and trailer into their site for his fragile pride. There was the cigarette smoking veteran who shared his experience on baggers across the basin and range of Nevada, along with our committed dad and his tribe, as well as our camphosts who were very attentive to the Paradise Shores infrastructure during our brief stay.

…and to the family of quail who resided along the shore of the Bridgeport Reservoir. Just how many quail qualify as a covey?

After a quick gas station refuel and breakfast of tomato juice for me and a cup of joe and deli sandwich for Pete, we decided to take CA-108 back over Sonora Pass. Overdressed for the ride over the pass, we stopped briefly at Kennedy Meadows to de-layer before arriving back home a few hours later, all the better for our mild ride or epic adventure. You can decide for yourself.

Born to be mild…

Epilogue

1,444 miles on the trip meter. Another ramble that I hope my sometimes rambling narrative provides inspiration to get out and do it because as Stephen Bruton sings in World’s Fading Man,

Has anybody here

can you find my shadow

Like a slow burning candle

I thought it would last

Seems like I’ve lost

What was too hard to handle

Now there’s less of my future and more of my past

Just ‘cause you can’t recall

don’t mean it didn’t happen

Just ‘cause you can remember

don’t mean that it did

And while you’re at it, Take it Easy

2025 Chasing the Perseids

Sisyphus and his Associate are on the road to the Ruby’s in NW Nevada

An August Ramble in the Sierra

Where, How Far, and When?

Lake Thomas A. Edison and the Mono Creek watershed

A recurring theme of Sisyphusdw7.com is place, distance, and time. There’s meeting people, too. Concerning the long form of this blog, I’m no Peter Egan. I admire Peter Egan as I admire John Steinbeck and Edward Abby. There are many others, (Wallace Stegner, Gerald Haslam, John McPhee, Bill Bryson) all of whom write of their observations of place, in time, often in travel, some fictionalized, that inspires this modest fellow’s aspirations for travel observation in my time.

While the clock and calendar cannot be denied, let’s see what Sisyphus is obsessed with these days now that there’s less of his future and more of his past.

What Determines Where and When We Ride?

To move from one location to another, exposed as one is on a motorcycle, consideration of conditions within a region, the climate and the impact of geography determines where and when we ride. Particularly over the reach of our explorations in the Western States, the majority of which involve camping on these exploits I have reported in Sisyphusdw7.com.

Elements such as weather and climate, elevation and terrain, population and public and private land use, state boundaries and their individual laws and civic codes, and road surface conditions all combine to determine the routes we take. We find ourselves rambling through regions as our best guess to where, how far, and when these elements will combine to yield the best results for a memorable ramble.

How Far?

When considering how far we can travel, time is of course a huge determinant in the distance we can reasonably cover notwithstanding all of the other variables. Using a somewhat knotty calculation, I arrive at an itinerary that is far from certain given any of those variables noted above that one might encounter. Our motto: Start slow and then taper…

Of the three rides planned for 2025, two are at present, complete. The spring ride to Three State Parks, over five days in perfect weather along the central coast over good roads, with modest daily mileage, combined for a memorable ramble.

The most recent summer jaunt, the August Ramble in the Sierra, three days in the Sierra over rough backroads was, despite a challenging sand crossing on Kaiser Pass Road, aces.

More about that ride follows.

A longer, seven day Ramble in the Ruby’s slated for early/mid September in Northeastern Nevada is too far out at at this time I’m writing to have reliable weather forecasts, but the unreliable 15 day forecasts are looking good. So, it will be whether weather will determine where, how far, and because we’ve established when to roll, how this ramble in the Ruby’s will pan out.

For the longest time, we wanted to head north and east to explore the basin and range of Northern Nevada, perhaps Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

From your middle school math and science class, you may recall that Time = Distance / Speed. As the speed grows the time needed to travel a given distance will decrease and vice versa. Come on Sisyphus, that’s intuitive, why all of the equation stuff? I taught middle school kids for 24 of my 37 years as a teacher. I tried my best to impart the beauty of something that we take for granted, like time and motion, stripping it of the multitude of meanings to a simple formula that when applying a few data points, can lead to an irrefutable conclusion. You know, like “there’s less of his future and more of his past”.

Remember, one of the variables listed above was individual state laws and civic codes and speed is governed in California and generally enforced. In other words, enforced speed limits increase the time and reduce the speed and distance one can travel. Not to mention the vagaries of weather, influences of terrain, road surfaces, and availability of food, fuel, and lodging whether camping or moteling.

Whether the Weather

Long, lonesome, isolated desert roads are wonderful. Unless it’s 100+ degrees or a state trooper decides you’ve exceeded the speed limit. So, to travel at least near legal speeds, you really prefer cooler weather.

Crossing deserts is out at least until things cool down a bit. Hopefully our September 7th departure for the Ruby’s will see a heat regime that’s settling in over Nevada and much of the southwest, abate, at least a bit. That’s about as far as we can allocate the time to make the distance with a nod to how weather variables get a bit more active as fall approaches. Neither Sisyphus nor his associate are big fans of riding in hot, dry, and windy, or in cold, wet, and windy conditions.

We also have a life off the motos and that life defines the elasticity of the calendar. The week of September 7 through 13 works. We can’t make Montana or Wyoming, but Northeastern Nevada ain’t bad.

From the itinerary I prepared the week before we departed on our most recent ramble to Lake Thomas A. Edison and the narrative describing the events:

Chasing the Perseids, An August 2025 Ramble in Sierra

Day 1 – Merced to Lake Thomas Edison

Merced to Lake Edison ~141 miles

CA-140 to Santa Fe Ave, Ave 26, and Rd 29.
Rd 603, Rd.400 to CA-145 E, and Rd 206 to Friant.
Millerton Rd, Auberry Rd to junction with CA-168 in Prather.
CA-168, Kaiser Pass Rd, Edison Lake Rd to Vermillion Campground

Elevation profile: Huntington Lake (left), Kaiser Pass, Mono Creek, Edison Lake

At 7:00 AM on Tuesday, August 12 we met at the Chevron station on Yosemite Ave. and G St. The temperature was a comfortable 60ish degrees. In between the outset of the ramble and our destination the temps ranged from 65 to around 100 degrees.

After a stop in Friant we enjoyed some cooling, in the shade. Exposed on CA-168, we reached some relief as elevation above Shaver Lake saw a twenty degree cooling. At Huntington Lake (6,665 ft), it was in the mid 80’s in the sun, but shade provided another 15 degrees 0f relief. Once on the final leg to Edison Lake, intermittent shade from the forest canopy alongside the road made for comfortable, yet slow progress on what would be a goat path to Edison.

By the time we reached even cooler temps, we had made it to Lake Thomas A. Edison, set up camp and began resting, rehydrating, and reflecting. In other words, it was mid/late afternoon. The breeze in the shade was delicious. The exposure to the sun, unrelenting until the sun began to set.

Remember T = D / S (Time equals Distance divided by Speed)? Mostly obeying the speed limits along the route from our home that morning to Huntington Lake, where one encounters Edison Lake Rd, aka goat path, was a distance of approximately 116 miles taking roughly 2.5 hours, or 2.5 = 116 / x, or an average speed of 46.4 mph (6th grade algebra). It seemed that there was a lot more rolling at 65 mph+, but speed limited zones and stopping to stretch and have a snack and some fluids will affect the average speed significantly. Something Google Maps doesn’t take into account when calculating arrival times.

The road to Edison Lake took roughly (literally a rough road) 1 hr. and 45 minutes to travel approximately 23 miles or, 1.78 = 23 / x, an average speed of 8 mph. Enough mathing already!

Kaiser Pass Rd is a single lane sometimes paved road to Edison Lake from Huntington Lake. The road hits a steep 12% gradient and feels like a goat path for most of its length: 1½ lanes at its widest, winding, exposed, and riddled with potholes and large missing segments of pavement. The road was built in the early 1920’s as part of the Southern California Edison’s Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, and opened up access to the remote High Sierra. After two years of building, the road was completed in 1922, it enabled vehicles to reach deep into the mountains, connecting critical water resources and creating new recreational opportunities.

The first 5 miles are over a relatively smooth two-lane road, but the final 12 miles narrows to a curvy, paved single lane limited to as slow as is possible on the pegs to keep a motorcycle erect to a max of 20 MPH.

Three sections have dramatic cliff exposure. The decaying sections are pot-holed and to describe as rough is charitable. There are sections where the road is covered by sand washed down from surrounding terrain. There are other sections that have recently been repaved. How the decision to repave was made is a mystery given the condition of the un-repaved sections.

Once past the Southern California Edison Portal Forebay and USFS High Sierra Ranger Station, the road narrows further and has many tight switchbacks with steep elevation gains; there are several blind curves carved out of the exposed granite with precipitous drop-offs opposite granite walls.

One of the less perilous single lane stretches of Kaiser Pass Rd

We met several vehicles, head-on, coming down as we were going up. Because we were a bit more nimble than the four wheeled vehicles, the majority of the cars and trucks we encountered were cautious and courteous, allowing us to pass safely.

There were however several folks who seemed to have no concept of yielding to allow our bikes to proceed. This, was you might imagine, stressful. I took to laying on the horn as we approached the blind switchbacks hoping that the speed and windows of approaching vehicles were rolled down and sound systems were turned down listening to Metallica by spirited motorists in off-road behemoths.

A First Encounter with the Gauntlett

Kaiser Pass Road is primarily paved, but there are some unpaved sections, especially as you approach the summit and beyond. The road can become rougher and narrower, particularly after the main summit area, where it transitions into a smaller track leading to Mono Hot Springs.

The bridge across Mono Creek just up from the Mono Hot Springs

After passing several sandy sections of road beyond Mono Hot Springs, there was a slight descent on a stretch of mysterious, recently repaved surface. At the base of the descent, there was a section of about 30 feet of glacial sand washed over the road in what was likely deposited by a seasonal creek that flowed across the road. Other sandy sections proceeding this one were easily negotiated as the depth of the sand was an inch or so atop the pavement.

In the lead, I entered the sand cautiously, unaware of how deep it was. It was not long before I lost the front end of the bike and nearly dropped it. There were two tracks with berms in the middle and on either side. I heard Pete in the coms shouting, “I’m down,” behind me just as he entered the sand.

Since I was supporting some 600+ pounds of motorcycle and gear with my left leg, the bike at a 45 degree tilt, after asking Pete if he was okay, I implored him to make his way as quickly as possible to assist me righting the Moto Guzzi as my boot was slipping in the unstable sand. I didn’t want to drop the Guzzi.

Pete climbed from beneath his V-Strom and rushed over to me. We were able to get the bike upright and I made my way out of the sand, carefully clutching and reeving the Guzzi with Pete pushing me to stable pavement. I then threw down the kickstand to help Pete with his V-Strom that was lying on its side. About that time a good samaritan who earlier had pulled over allowing us to pass, stopped his car and helped us push Pete’s bike as he cautiously throttled, however, spinning the rear wheel in the soft grit. Grit that made its way to my face.

As usual, a malfunctioning GoPro I thought was capturing this leg of the ride wasn’t recording…

I found this short video on YouTube. It will give you an idea of what a portion of the Kaiser Pass Road looks like. Shout out to Alexander Avtanski for sharing.

Kaiser Pass Road by Alexander Avtanski

The Vermillion Valley Resort

Arriving at the Vermillion Campground just above the VVR we found it was sparsely populated. Our campsite, selected over the interwebs, was like all of the other campsites, except Site 25 was completely exposed to the afternoon sun. Ideal for Perseid meteor watching, but a tad warm for setting up camp.

There was a small parking area, a table, a fire ring, a steel bear box, and a couple flat spots to pitch tents. Despite few occupied sites throughout the campground, there were tags indicating reservations of up to a two week span including and following our two night reservation.

We thought about poaching a shady campsite that was reserved for a period after we would be leaving. So we hiked back to the Camp Host, who was nowhere to be found, to share our intent. Deciding to not cause any confusion for the host as we would vacate our site spending the next day riding back to Mono Hot Springs then to Florence Lake to explore, we kept Site 25.

Since we were hunkered down for the afternoon we decided to stroll back to the Vermillion Resort to rehydrate, relax, and reflect on the day’s ups-and-downs and check out the dinner menu and beverage cooler.

SysiphusDW7 strolling along the shore of Lake Thomas A. Edison

From the National Geographic Sierra Nevada Geotourism page:

For those hungry hikers and campers, we [Vermillion Valley Resort] offer fresh baked pies and wholesome hearty meals at the restaurant which is open to both guests and the general public. The VVR Camp Store offers basic grocery supplies, hiker resupply foods and supplies, ice and fishing gear, t-shirts, maps & books. And, most importantly, we offer one of the largest selections of micro-brews and locally-brewed beers in the Sierra Nevada.

They had us on “largest selections.”

Dinner that night was a choice of spaghetti with a meat marinara or a tofu salad. There were micro and locally-brewed beers in this decidedly remote spot in the Sierra National Forest, miles from the equally limited services at Mono Hot Springs. Though the “largest selections” part was a bit of an exaggeration. We opted for the bisguetti.

Huntington Lake or Shaver Lake would have a greater variety of choices for mangia and beve, but the laws of supply and demand provided food and beverage at 7,600 feet at a cost one might associate with a Giant’s game at Oracle Park. The quality of the dinner was surprisingly satisfying.

The free backpacker’s campground in front of the store was chock full of hikers who were preparing to hike out, those who dropped off of the Muir or Pacific Crest trails to resupply, or posers pretending to be hikers for the free camp space, many of whom shared this night’s fare.

Lake Thomas A. Edison

The Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) is at the trailhead to the Mono Recesses and is a resupply site for hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail. Lake Thomas A Edison (also known as Edison Lake) is a reservoir in the Sierra National Forest and in Fresno County, California.

The reservoir’s waters are impounded by Vermilion Valley Dam, which was completed in 1954, 71 years ago, (No need to subtract, I know this as I was born in 1954).

The reservoir and dam are part of the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project. The project is operated by Southern California Edison. The reservoir discharges into Mono Creek, a tributary of the South Fork San Joaquin River. However, some of its water is diverted to Huntington Lake by means of the Ward Tunnel that follows a section of the Edison Lake Road.

The Ward Tunnel power plant discharging into Huntington Lake

Today, these facilities include 27 dams, miles of tunnels, and 24 generating units in nine powerhouses with a total installed capacity of more than 1,000 megawatts. Its six major reservoirs have a combined storage capacity of more than 560,000 acre-feet (690,000 dam³). The waters of the San Joaquin River eventually find their way to the Central Valley to irrigate crops after providing recreation on those six major reservoirs.

The lake is three hours away by car from Fresno. Five hours away by motorcycle from Merced. The road in, CA-168, crosses Kaiser Pass (elevation 9,175 feet) and closes during the winter months.

A separate road off Kaiser Pass Rd forks off to Florence Lake. The United States Forest Service does not recommend Kaiser Pass Road for buses, large motor homes, or vehicles towing trailers. We were amazed at how the Mono Hot Springs and Edison Lake infrastructure was hauled up the hill on that narrow path the feds now recommend to avoid. I guess the railroad that was built into the area and since abandoned made for hauling the really big stuff.

A ferry crosses Lakes Edison and Florence twice a day that may be inactive due to extreme low levels of water providing travel service to/from the trailheads and can be arranged through Vermillion Valley Resort or the Florence Lake Resort when open.

Hikers may follow a trail along the north side of the lake for trail access, linking Vermilion Valley Resort with the John Muir Wilderness trailhead and providing access to and from the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail. I’ve used the ferry service at both lakes on a couple of backpacks. It was worth it, especially on the return leg.

Chasing the Perseids

Since we were in the high Sierra during the annual peak Perseid meteor shower (See 2024 Perseid Meteor Shower last year’s trip to Bridgeport) we were prepared for a feast of streaking meteors as the skies darkened, at least until the waning crescent moon rose. It was a comfortable 60ish degrees as the sun began to set. Clouds that had been building since morning were now reflecting the light filtered by the atmosphere giving everything the alpenglow that is characteristic of sunrises and sunsets in the Sierra. We were pretty sure it wouldn’t rain and that the clouds would dissipate before prime viewing time.

Clouds but no rain

As temps dipped into the fifties, we did see a few meteors along with many UAP’s (satellites and aircraft as usual) crossing the night sky against the backdrop of the Milky Way. Since we didn’t have a fire permit, there was no campfire to mesmerize us and after downing the last of our $12/can beverages, we retired with the intent of visiting Florence Lake after breakfast the next day at the Mono Hot Springs.

Day 2 – More Sand and a Change in Plans

We did a quick calculation of our fuel levels as we got underway Wednesday morning given that the closest gas, we assumed, was at Huntington Lake. We assumed, since on the previous day we saw vehicles refueling. To get to Florence Lake we had to travel 19 miles back up and down the goat path. To get back to Huntington Lake was another 28 miles of goat path. Fuel consumption at 10 mph over the undulating terrain was much less than the 45+ mpg we would normally get on flatter terrain.

Our plan was to have breakfast at the Mono Hot Springs Resort then head down to Huntington Lake for gas, just to be on the safe side. The restaurant wasn’t open, however, the cook was making breakfast burritos that were available at the Mono Hot Springs Store filled with a modest inventory of snacks, camping, hiking, and fishing supplies and T/sweatshirts. The store, not the burritos. Oh, and beer.

I asked the cashier what they did with all of the inventory in the store when winter closed the road and the resorts were emptied. She said they put non-food items in bins on the highest shelves and any perishable food items were taken down the hill. Non-perishable items were stored in a metal shipping container. Apparently flooding and bears are active during the winter months. Also there is no caretaker who stays for the winter. The store and restaurant are routinely broken into by hungry bears, like Yogi, in search of pick-e-nick baskets.

After a hearty breakfast burrito we began the descent to Huntington for gas. Once again we were faced with what Pete referred to as “The Gauntlet”, that sandy section of Kaiser Pass Rd we unsuccessfully encountered the day before.

We decided the best strategy was to slow down to a pace where we would “waddle” through the sand, keeping our feet down, essentially walking the bikes through the sand keeping handlebars straight and with a steady throttle.

Pete went first successfully making his way across. I entered and about two thirds of the way through, I crossed from the left wheel track left by four-wheeled vehicles, hitting the center berm and dropped the Guzzi, my right arm tucked into my ribs, as the weight of the bike pressed me into the right wheel track berm. Though the bike was lighter since I ditched the two side cans, it was nevertheless, OUCH!

I was immediately reminded of A Moment’s Inattention where in 2022 I broke my right ankle, three ribs, and injured my right shoulder missing the apex of a tight hairpin low speed curve. Fortunately the sand was much more forgiving than the roadside near Lake Nacimiento and my speed was essentially zero.

I did feel pain in my ribs, but the adrenaline was flowing and after righting the bike, we made our way to Huntington Lake only to find that the gas pump that was operational the day before when we stopped at the China Peak Landing was shut down. Our only option was to ride some 26 more miles down to Shaver Lake for gas. Bummer Batman!

Since it was noonish by the time we made it to Shaver Lake, we topped-off our tanks. What? I had two gallons left in my 5.5+ gallon tank even though the fuel indicator on the TFT said I had less than 60 miles left in the tank… Pete decided to grab slightly less expensive beverages for the evening rest, rehydration, and reflection meteor sighting session to make amends.

Upon our return to camp the Gauntlet was approached for a third, with even greater caution, time. I led waddling my bike, step-by-step, straight as an arrow in the right side wheel track, successfully crossing as did Pete who followed. Too bad it took two failed efforts to figure out the key to deep sand crossings.

Dinner back at the VVR was chicken parm or a tofu wrap. The carnivores opted for the parm. The way dinner worked was when a bell was rung, you scurried to the register to give your name and dinner selection. Then, after maybe a 20 or so minute wait, the chef would shout your name from the kitchen. We enjoyed modestly priced Miller High Lifes (Lives?) at $5 each as we patiently waited enjoying the rhythms of the VVR.

There is an internet hub at the resort with several charging towers and for a fee, starting at $10 dollars for two hours of service. Needless to say there was nothing on Netflix that either Pete nor I wished not to miss. Nothing, nor, not? A triple negative?

After witnessing a finger-into-the-chest, ass-chewing by one of the VVR staff ostensibly over an alleged graffitiing of the rest/shower room by one of the blokes in the interned shed, who needed the contrived drama of a Netflix flick? We saved $10 staying off-grid, enough for two more Millers, but opted for two Arrogant Bastards. That put us $12 in the red. But mom, the magic beans were at least equivalent in value to the cow if not more valuable.

Random sights along the shore of Lake Thomas A. Edison

The meteors and UAP’s were pretty much the same as the night before. A mom and three-year-old daughter on a Strider bike whose family arrived after dark the night before to an adjacent campsite, were enjoying a little romp around the campground road.

The three year old was fearless as she descended a gentle slope back to their campsite. Mom commented that her fearlessness was likely the result of their neighbor’s young boys who had built a modest BMX course in there front yard back home. Apparently the little girl joins them on her strider attacking the jumps with gusto. I speculated to mom that a moto may be in her little one’s future. Mom cringed…

At around the time the generator at the VVR shut down at 10:00 pm, we decided to retire since tomorrow we would break camp and return home with the prospect of one more crossing of the Gauntlet to shape our dreams.

Day 3 – The Myth of the Gauntlet

Florence Lake Home ~156 miles

Via Ca-168 to Auberry and Powerhouse Rd., Rd-222, to Northfork Rd., to Rd-221, to Teafords Saddle Rd., to Crane Valley Rd., to Rd-226 to Oakhurst.
CA-4-/49 to Mariposa, CA-140 home.

After a decent night’s sleep except for some rib irritation, breaking camp proceeded, fueled by JetBoiled cafe mochas; Roughing it as it’s known in the post Mark Twain West.

We toyed with the idea of going to Florence Lake (El 7,300 ft) but the Florence Lake Resort, even more spartan than the VVR, was closed. We figured that the road to Florence Lake was likely less maintained than the road to Edison Lake and decided to skip the trip, opting to make our way down the hill before the afternoon heat would make the final 95 mile slog home unbearable.

When we arrived in Shaver Lake, we had a bite to eat at The Hungry Hut. A buuuurger for Pete and a BLT for me. Tasty.

The ride from Shaver on CA-168 was thrilling since riding at or near the speed limit was different, in fact exhilarating, from the limit to speed imposed by the goat paths we’d been on for a couple of days.

After a quick stop in Friant to enjoy a beverage and soak our evaporative cooling vests, we tackled the dry and dusty foothills and flats of the valley. The thing about a cooling vest is that while it does serve to provide the sensation of cooling, it is much like the swamp coolers of my youth. The cooling is tempered by the clammy humidity the vest generates under the mesh jacket. But it beats the feeling of being in an air-fryer.

When I arrived home and pulled into my driveway, the temperature gauge on the Guzzi indicated 99 degrees. And just like that, a warm greeting from SoBe and a cool shower buttoned-up another memorable ramble by SisyphusDW7 and his Associate, Pete.

Cheers!

Coming up on Sisyphusdw7.com, The Ramble in the Ruby’s

2023 Late Spring: Travels by Land, Sea, and Air

Near the Carrizo Plain on CA-58

Where Has Sisyphus Been? 2023 Late Spring Travels by Land, Sea, and Air the air, on the road, and in the sea…

Following our winter Desert Pilgrimage last reported in a series of posts beginning with https://sisyphusdw7.com/2023/03/01/2023-desert-pilgrimage-day-1-merced-to-three-rivers/, March found Sisyphus and Associates in Atlanta attending the wedding of our dear niece, Rachael. With the arrival of spring the city was enjoying most hospitable weather as blossoms and blooms were emerging and the forest canopies were leafing out.

Mr. and Mrs. Sisyphus, my wife’s sister and her daughter Meg, another lovely niece, enjoyed witnessing the bond consecrated between two splendid young people at The Trolly Barn with an enchanting brick patio surrounded by lush gardens and graceful granite steps where vows were exchanged. The inside of The Trolley Barn with its 30 foot ceiling spanned by the original 1889 beams is where we delighted in meeting other family members and friends of the brides’ in celebration of their nuptial, dancing away the night on a mesquite wood floor at a raucous reception that followed. Raucous (rock-us) in the most courteous manner considering this was the South…

Following the wedding day, the Westies from California joined cousins Margaret Gale and Linda from Colorado, delighting in the hospitality of our hosts, the Floyds. Their beautiful Buckhead home was the scene of a series of late nights savoring family, those of the present and memories of those of the past, with an eye cast to a promising future.

We were there for a week and managed to sample some of Atlanta’s great food and beverage scene at The Lantana Lounge in the Mid-Town Starling Hotel where we stayed the first two nights. The extended families dined at South City Kitchen for a pre-wedding dinner. Later lunches at Serena Pastifico, the Anis Cafe & Bistro, The Treehouse, pizza at Anticas, tacos at Tuza, and and dinner and drinks at Local3 were had in between exploring Buckhead and a stroll through the Atlanta Botanical Garden. And let me not forget to mention the notable meals prepared by my “Sister-Wife,” Lonna, Toni and Ginger’s youngest sister, that were exquisite as we dined in their charming home.

Left to right, Sisters G, T, (Sisyphus), L, and M, G’s daughter, our niece.

Upon returning to Merced from Atlanta signs of spring were bursting out everywhere. Vernal pools in the countryside, tulips, Japanese maples, and camellias in our yard, Mrs. Josephine Rabbit, Mr. Rabbit, The Bunny Cake in our home, and fiddlenecks along side of South Bear Creek Drive. All of the evidence was in. Our challenging winter was capitulating to a softer spring.

Since we were scheduled for Maui in May, that left April for Sisyphus to get on the moto, and with Pete, check out what was rumored to be a super-bloom throughout California and parts of the parched West. California had received bountiful precipitation over the winter into the spring causing hardships where flooding took place but nourishing the flora that had suffered consecutive years of drought.

Before and after

Almost to the day, four years ago Pete and I set off in search of the 2019 Super Bloom https://sisyphusdw7.com/2019/04/. Our plan now was to retrace part of that journey to witness the 2024 version of the bounty that water brings to the thirsty hills and dales of California’s central coast, the Mojave, and the Sierra.

Super Bloom 2023

Our son and granddaughter in Antelope Valley in April of 2023

As Pete and I were preparing our route, my son and his family had made their way to see the splendor of the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. That was all I needed to set about planning for five days on the motos on the road.

This would be something of a reprisal of the 2019 Super Bloom Tour, following a familiar route that took us across the Central Coast Range over Panoche Rd, through the foothills of the Gabalan and Santa Lucia ranges to our first night near Cambria. From Cambria it was east bound up and over Mount Pinos in the the Los Padres National Forest and down to into Antelope Valley, Lancaster, to our second night at Saddleback Buttes State Park. Then it was across the Mojave to for our third campout in Shoshone. From Shoshone it was westward back to the Sierra Foothills through Death Valley to our camp in Kernville before returning home along the familiar roads of Kern, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, and Merced Counties: https://go.rever.co/sS8ZMN3OMyb. The route I linked was amended as an exploration here, or a left or right turn there, got us to each night’s planned camp.

Day 1 Cambria

A reunion of sorts took place in Paicines as we made our way through some fog over Panoche Summit. We landed in Cambria where we made our way to The West End Bar and Grill followed by our first night at the Hearst-San Simeon State Park Washburn campground, making new friends along the way.

Our customary route to the coast combines several back roads through the San Joaquin Valley and across the Coast Ranges that I’ve documented many times on previous trips. For this journey we serendipitously encountered three gents on motos, two of whom we met in the spring of 2021 on our trip to Joshua Tree (https://sisyphusdw7.com/2021/04/) at the same little Paicines Store. They were out for a Sunday ride and were debating continuing because it was a tad foggy and they were chilled.

We bid our adieus and continued south on CA-25 riding out of the fog just a few miles down the road near the Pinnacles. Still cool, the warming sun took the frigid sting out of what couldn’t be warmed by the heated grips. The ride into Cambria had us passing through Paso Robles where my wife an I enjoyed some grape and hops tasting last fall. Winter storm damage closed our Santa Rosa Creek back road entry into Cambria, a delightfully narrow two lane road that winds itself through vineyards and oak woodlands that feature valley oaks, blue oaks, coastal live oaks and many more, all interspersed are laurels, madrones, and chaparral including chamise, manzanita, and ceanothus. Grasses are abundant and given the climate, fire is an ever present danger even in a wet year as the long hot summer beckons.

We are apparently creatures of habit as our favorite dining spot in Cambria is the West End Bar and Grill where we re-introduced ourselves to the owner who greeted us on the Moment’s Inattention post from last spring , under considerably less favorable conditions. (https://sisyphusdw7.com/2022/05) Gary, the proprietor, is quite the jovial fellow as one must be as a pub owner.

As a feature of the Three R’s of Moto Touring: Rehydration, Reflexion, and Relaxation, we found ourselves taking our customary evening stroll through the campground since riding a motorcycle all day requires at least some movement. We came across an interesting character who had to share her story of wanderlust. A bit eccentric and perhaps a bit lonely, she regaled us with the tale of her teardrop towed behind a Camry, both completely filled with what must be her worldly possessions. She was from Seattle and had been on the road for some time traveling from National Parks in the southwest in search of, well, we weren’t sure. As far as that goes, upon reflection, we weren’t sure of what we were in search of. Maybe that was because of the rehydration that had taken place…

Day 2 Saddleback State Park

Early the next morning as we prepared our eastward departure, we discovered that a critter, likely a racoon, had invited itself to the remaining chips from last evening’s snacks. I believe that smudge on my nose is sunscreen and not ranch dip.

Departing via CA-1 south to Morro Bay, we headed east on CA-41, A.K.A. the Atascadero-Morro Road, then south on US-101 to CA-58 east. While the verdant spring had been expressing itself upon entering the Coast Ranges, we hadn’t yet seen the evidence of a Super Bloom but more or less a typical spring bloom in fields of meadowfoam, fiddlenecks, and lupine.

Lots of green, not many wildflowers.

For some botanists, “super bloom’ is a vexing term. There is no scientific definition, only the eye test–you know it when you see it. There was no short supply of media trumpeting the one sublime aspect of a burdensome winter, a super bloom, however, we just weren’t seeing it. We were still a few degrees of latitude north for the Super Bloom variables to manifest themselves at this time, this year. What we did see was lots of evidence of damage to road infrastructure, much in repair. We must have encountered a dozen, “Prepare to Stop”, “Road Work Ahead” signs on this trip.

Blossoms and fruit destined to become guacamole

As we were entering Santa Margarita we noticed orchards that appeared to be blooming with an interesting blossom, but also heavy with fruit. Signage along the roadside at the entrance to one such orchard solved the mystery: avocados!

Highway 58 took us just north of the Carrizo Plain where blooms from space could be seen. The hills just north of the monument’s dusty topography had erupted in Super Bloom color: yellow from the hillside daisies, goldfields, and tidy tips, whose ends are frosted white; purple from the phacelia and wild hyacinth; azure splashes from the lupine and baby blue eyes and orange fiddlenecks and poppies. Ah yes, we were in the midst of the 2023 Super Bloom!

I had intended to chronicle all of this remarkable color from a GoPro mounted on my handlebars. Technical difficulties and user error, however, botched the video and I wasn’t able to get the most dramatic of the bloom as we crossed the Temblor Range into McKittrick, the vast orange sea of the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, or the dramatic CA-58 canyon along the raging Kern River. I guess there will be yet another spring trip to film when I figure out the camera… I humbly offer the following:

The beginning features some of the bloom near the Carrizo Plain

McKittrick and checking the investments

I didn’t know at the time, but as we were traveling through the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve along with thousands of other bloom seekers, I thought the GoPro was capturing what the Spanish sailors in the 18th century first had laid eyes on along the California coast, declaring it la tierra del fuego, the land of fire. They had arrived as a giant super bloom of flaming orange poppies, which would later be named the state flower, glowed from the hillsides.

La tierra del fuego

By the 1870’s the poppies were so threatened that the state government and a group of concerned citizens, led by the Great Poppy Lady, Jane Pinheiro, were working to establish a preserve to ensure the blooms would live on. That effort became the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, an island of native flowers among encroaching development and creeping invasive species. Even after the 1,800-acre park was founded, the pace of growth persisted, bringing cookie cutter suburbs, vast solar farms, and nonnative plants that crowded out other species.

Oh, and then there’s Adelanto, a desert city in California’s Mojave as it tried to transform itself from a bedroom community of affordable housing in eastern Los Angeles county and a city of prisons to a metropolis of pot… Check out the Crooked Media Podcast, Dreamtown: The Story of Adelanto where ever you get your podcasts: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/dreamtown-the-story-of-adelanto/

Saddleback Butte State Park includes over 2,955 acres (4.617 sq mi) of land, and was created in 1960 to protect the area’s Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) desert habitat. It’s the OG Joshua Tree Park, formerly a monument. The lights in the distance are from Lake Los Angeles. But Lake Los Angeles has no lake. Instead, the now-nonexistent lake is a remnant of the town’s manipulative speculative real estate history. It seems the desert fancies drifters and grifters trying to convince folks of putting down roots. Roots that die of thirst and dreams that evaporate.

I arose the next morning to catch the first rays of the sunrise and noted the desert flora showing off.

A Butte and a Joshua Tree

We only come to the desert as visitors who appreciate the complexity of an environment. While hostile to hominids, the Mojave has an incredibly robust ecology should you take the time to look and listen and learn. Perhaps eco-tourism will at least compel people to consider there’s more there than meets the eyes, eyes focused on exploitation of a fragile landscape.

Day 3 Shoshone

As we planned the day’s ride, rather than retrace a previous route the trusty Butler Map indicated a more direct route to US-395 by heading east on Avenue J. We were still in Los Angeles County when we set off and after 8 miles we encountered the San Bernardino County line where the pavement ended despite our Butler Map guidance for the most direct route. It would be 15 miles on dirt to US-395 and another 9 miles, on dirt, to Helendale where we hoped to join the Mother Road, Route 66 rather than the longer route through Mirage, Adelanto, and Victorville, another desert prison town. Hence, the less direct paved route would have to do.

After getting gas at a sketchy Arco station adjacent to I-15 in Victorville we hopped on the interstate for 10 miles to Daggett where we picked up the National Trails Hwy, Route 66 east. A lunch stop in Newberry Springs where the wind was gusting at 25+mph and I found myself eavesdropping on the conversation of two local residents. I asked if the “desert road from vegas to nowhere, Some place better than where you’ve been, A coffee machine that needs some fixing, In a little café just around the bend”… was open just down the road. One of the lady’s eyes lit up as she shared that she and her husband were extras in the movie, her husband on a HD chopper with Brenda’s carefree daughter, Phyllis, below…

Bagdad Cafe, 1987 and the trailer for the movie https://youtu.be/4G2MEszpox0

When I first saw the movie, I loved the eccentricity of the characters and wagish storyline. Even more appealing was the haunting Bob Telson composition, Calling You, https://youtu.be/IZ0e5AHdDXw . Jevetta Steele recorded the soundtrack for the film. Here’s an update with a beat that features Ms. Steele, however some of the melancholy of Telson’s original, IMHO, has been lost, https://youtu.be/e7dZq8NYZwg.

Today , the Bagdad Cafe is a tired, melancholy roadside attraction.

Having decided that the memories of a whimsical movie about a little cafe just around the bend, are better than the actual cafe of the present, we set off for Amboy and the Kelbaker Rd intersection. You can’t miss it as the Joshua Tree Sticker sign notes the turnoff…

Looks like a lift tower on Chair 7…

From the sign we had another 125 of our 280± mile day’s ride to our destination in Shoshone before us. Kelbaker Road features some interesting desert flora and the granite outcrop in the Boulder’s Viewpoint area is worth a stop.

A controversial mega-solar energy project that would extract massive amounts of groundwater from the area around the Soda Mountains in the vicinity of Baker would also impact the dwindling bighorn sheep population that once flourished in the area. I-15 and I-40 has already interrupted ancient migration trails. Desert bighorns once thrived in the serrated mountain ranges across the Mojave Desert, where they formed a “metapopulation” of groups connected by these ancient trails. Today, their survival is threatened by disease, drought, interstate highways and now, renewable energy.

Flying through Kelso and Baker we made our way through the Mojave National Reserve, arriving in what is our favorite little town of Shoshone, just outside of Death Valley NP.

It’s impossible to get lost in Shoshone

After setting up camp and checking directions, we strolled down Old State Highway 127 which runs parallel to the new state highway past the school and ‘Sorrells House’. I’ve noted in previous posts that the house was designed by Richard Neutra and is now occupied by the surviving daughter of the family whose great-grandfather founded the town and whose family has owned the town, lock, stock, and other revenue generating venues, now with a nod to ecotourism rather than strip mining, solar farms, malls, and subdivisions. That, and there’s a natural hot springs that keeps the community pool at a comfortable 89 degrees year round!

A raucous Tuesday night crowd had gathered at the Famous Crowbar Cafe and Saloon where we enjoyed dinner and a whistle wetter or two. Our server who was working solo serving a capacity crowd at the bar and tables managed to restore our whistles while awaiting victuals from the solo line cook in the kitchen. Somehow the wait didn’t matter. More impressive is that she didn’t write anything down.

Following a delicious grilled Ortega chicken sammie and salad, we checked out the antique Chevron gas pump in the museum area adjacent to the cafe, a relic of a distant past that displayed a three digit price display as in: “_._ _”. We then strolled across the new State Highway 127 to the Chas Brown Market for procuring the first “R” of the hour of rehydration, relaxation, and reflection that beckoned. Pete made a new friend in the market while discovering that beer, by volume, costs more than gasoline. The new Chevron pumps in front of the market, that had sold a $1.9 million dollar Mega Millions lottery ticket in 2020, sported considerably higher prices with updated displays to several digits. You might just be able to fill your Range Rover’s tank with those winnings.

From its headwaters north of Beatty, NV, the Amargosa River flows underground in a southerly direction. Near the Dumont Dunes south of Shoshone and Tecopa, it makes a big u-turn and heads north into Death Valley National Park, finally terminating in Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the United States. The very same water that fills the campground pool and rises to the surface in the wetlands restoration areas, mostly flows beneath the desert surface and is warmed by subterranean thermal activity.

Day 4 Kernville

We decided to take CA-178 into Death Valley. The last time we rode this route was at night and is featured in the Riding Under a Fool Moon post from 2019 https://sisyphusdw7.com/2019/11/ . The route took us through Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation below sea level in the US. The snow capped mountain is Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range and summits at 11,043 feet above sea level. The photo at the bottom shows the sign from the basin viewing area to sea level, some 282 feet above the road.

We decided to forgo the hustle and bustle of Furnace Creek to stop at Stovepipe Wells for a mid morning snack before heading to another of our favorite spots in the desert, the Panamint Springs Resort. We stayed there earlier in March on The Desert Pilgrimage Tour, https://sisyphusdw7.com/2023/03/. This day it was just for lunch before heading up and out of the lowlands on CA-190 to the high desert, US-395 and CA-58 over Walker Pass to our destination for the night in Kernville.

At the Father Crowley Overlook we stopped to view the colorfully striped canyon created by ancient volcanic activity. In Panamint, the market cashier said that Tom Cruise had a few weeks earlier, flown into Panamint Springs to check out Rainbow Canyon that was a location for filming the first, pre-CGI Top Gun. The canyon was nicknamed “Star Wars Canyon” by visitors who came to observe and photograph the military test flights which occured in the vicinity. Star Wars Canyon is part of the R-2508 Complex, which has been used by the military since the 1930s. Unfortunately a jet crash in the canyon in 2019 resulting in the death of the pilot and injury to several visitors in the area, put an end to training flights through the canyon. We did meet two delightful couples, one from Britain and the other from New York by way of France who were curiously hoping for an F-16 to rip through the canyon. We had an enlightening exchange of cultural perspectives of our respective travels.

As Rick Steve’s says about travel: Globetrotting destroys ethnocentricity. It helps you understand and appreciate different cultures. Travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life. Many travelers toss aside their hometown blinders. Their prized souvenirs are the strands of different cultures they decide to knit into their own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop. Back Door Travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry.

Ian and Melissa at the Father Crowley Overlook

“Rainbow Canyon” isn’t quite as colorful in the midday light. It was however green from spring rains.

We continued up past the turnoff to Darwin and over the Inyo Range to Olancha. The Owens Lake was beginning to show signs of life as water from the winter storms and the beginning spring runoff was making its way downslope.

Before crossing over Walker Pass on CA-58, Pete and I pulled over to stretch following a fuel stop in Ridgecrest at the intersection of CA-58 and CA14 where we were warned by a passing motorist that there was an unsafe driver ahead. This after a brief conversation with another solo motorist in an “all earthly possessions on board” van who was headed west, back to civilization after an extended desert stay. I guess unsafe drivers are a feature of civilization.

We made our way the Rivernook Campground in Kernville passing by the recently upgraded Isabella Dam. You might find this video recently posted by the Kern County Fire Department interesting as the project overview is examined in the context of this year’s river flows https://youtu.be/cDwY4sWs9MU .

After a fine meal at Kern River Brewing we were pleased to have a bit mellower experience than when we were in Kernville last February during the community’s Whiskey Flat Days celebration (below) where winding our way through the SRO crowd to get to the gas station was the most daunting aspect of that 5 day ride.

Try riding a motorcycle through that crowd

I had a brief clip of the Kern River as it raged near our campsite, but once again, my technical expertise (and budget) doesn’t permit purchasing format conversion to make IPhone video in HDR into a YouTube friendly format. Not sure who the villain is in this, WordPress, Apple or YouTube. I know who the victim is… You, my audience, who can only appreciate the still photo above https://youtu.be/LukyMYp2noo .

Day 5 Homeward Bound

Good Morning Mr. Jetboil

One of the subtle calibrations one makes when “roughing it” is how to maintain the adventurous aspects of unpacking and setting up camp, not showering for consecutive days, making a fire to keep warm while enjoying the Three R’s after riding a motorcycle for 300 miles, sleeping on the ground, awakening to a frosted campsite, only to break down and pack up camp again. How to ameliorate those “hardships” without seeming to be too much of a wuss? A warm cup of coffee, mixed with some chocolate is the solution to the fine recalibration from discomfort to comfort. In fact, it seems like beverages, both associated with the Three R’s and morning reverie, more than compensate for any of the major and minor nuisances of motorcycle touring.

Our route home found us rolling over some new roads through Bakersfield to Oildale because of the closure of foothill roads east of Bakersfield due to winter storm damage. After riding through Kern River County Park into Oil City then out, the contrast of the two could not be greater.

Once through the sucker rod pumps of Oildale we headed north on CA-65 stopping in Terra Bella for one of the best Mexican breakfasts we’ve ever had. The tortillas, flour and corn, were handmade and the huevos rancheros with chorizo were incomparable. The Amigos Restaurant reflects the very best of determined sisters to operate a treasured eatery in the rural Southern San Joaquin Valley.

In Porterville, where once again foothill road closures kept us rolling through the citrus groves Strathmore, Lindsay, Cutler, Orosi, and Orange Cove we made it to CA-168, Tollhouse Road by way of N. Academy Avenue in Fresno County. Our intent was to make our way to Friant and then drop down into Raymond and home. Now, I’m not the greatest navigator once we’re on the road as my issues with Butler Maps, Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Rever have all been documented in previous posts. So, I decided to turn over the last leg of the trip to Pete, acknowledging his ancestral Basque heritage in proximity to Portugal, a nation that once ruled the seas. You had to know a thing or two about navigating to rule the seas.

Our left turn onto CA-168 wound up taking us into the heart of of the 5:00 Fresno slab commute as we merged onto CA-180 followed by CA-41 merge. It was white knuckle, bumper to bumper traffic at 80+ miles per hour until we exited onto CA-145 and Rd-406 that took us on winding foothill roads devoid of crazed cagers at the foot of Hensley Lake and eventually to Raymond on Rd-600. From there it was Raymond Rd to Ben Hur Rd to Buckeye and Yaqui Gulch roads to CA-140 and home. I highly recommend a Sunday afternoon drive on any of the aforementioned foothill roads. Try to avoid becoming a crazed cager, or at least avoid crazed cagers anytime you can.

Epilogue

Extroverts have more fun. If your trip is low on magic moments, kick yourself and make things happen. If you don’t enjoy a place, maybe you don’t know enough about it. Seek the truth. Recognize tourist traps. Give a culture the benefit of your open mind. See things as different but not better or worse. Any culture has much to share. Rick Steves

What creature appears to be washing ashore? Could it be a descendant of Wilson?

Just prior to a delightful week spent in the company of my wife, our son, his wife and their beautiful little daughter in Maui, a new member of Sisyphus’s family arrived…

Two beautiful Italians and a hillbilly

So, if you are interested, or know someone who may be interested, in purchasing the 2016 Kawasexy Versys 650 LT loaded with several touring-friendly features and lovingly maintained with a mere 28,440 miles, message me. Both Italians insist on moto-monogamy!

Addio mia bellezza arancione!

Ciao…

2023 Winter Moto Musings: Thoughts on a Desert Pilgrimage… Is it hard?

“Not if you have the right attitude. It’s having the right attitude that’s hard.”

“I argued that physical discomfort is important only when the mood is wrong. Then you fasten on to whatever thing is uncomfortable and call that the cause. But if the mood is right, then physical discomfort doesn’t mean much.”– Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Feb 7, 2023

Well, wouldn’tcha know, it’s that time again. Time to mount the Kawasexy and roll south and east to the Mojave. Since I’m in a line to access ChatGPT, I went to resource 1.2, Wiki, to make sure my understanding of “a pilgrimage” was at least in the ballpark, or desert, as it happens. From Wiki:

A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about one’s self, others, nature, or a higher good through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life.

That sounds pretty high minded. Not like mindedness after edibles, but mindedness beyond the capacity of my mind, high or otherwise. Since I’ll be in the company of my motley band of brothers, the Silverback Dirtbags, I can’t vouch for their mindedness except to say Pete is all in and Andy is somewhat equivocal. It’s not that Andy has anything against expanded meaning or higher good. In colloquial Dirtbag, Andy, like a Rorschach, is as clear as dishwater in his intent. I suspect if we asked him for a mandala to clarify, he would produce something along the lines of a compass rose, leading us to no clear intent. It may be, if I take him at his word, that his decision to join us depends on a diagnosis and favorable prognosis with regards to an orthopedic issue.

Speaking of orthopedic issues, my guy, Dr. Beauchman has cleared me for any and all activities that will fuel my desire to keep on keeping on in search of self, others, nature and/or higher good. All with the caveat that I will use my good judgment to, Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy, Lighten up while you still can, Don’t even try to understand, Just find a place to make your stand and take it easy.

As is my indefatigable desire to plan, our journey will twist and turn us on backroads, some familiar, others foreign in keeping with the pilgrimage theme, through the Sierra foothills to Three Rivers. From Three Rivers we’ll make our way over Alta Sierra, past Lake Isabella, over Walker Pass to Ridgecrest.

From there it’s to Trona, the garden spot of the Owens Valley, (left, the bustling Searles Valley Minerals plant where Na2CO3•2NaHCO3•3H2O is processed and right, the Trona Pinnacles, tufa,or calcium carbonate spires). Then it’s on to the Panamint Springs Resort. It’s as much a resort as Trona is a garden spot. But it is the desert and we are there not because the “resort” is unknown, moreover, that it is a reminder of “daily life” in the middle of the Panamint Valley where we can enjoy victuals, beverages, and fuel our steeds. Two nights.

The next day we will venture forth to unknown or foreign places to expand our understanding of ourselves, others, nature, and a higher good through the experience of Rhyolite, NV. Okay, it’s not entirely foreign, though it is in Nevada, or for that matter unknown as 40ish years ago I explored Rhyolite in another life. I expect the venture to be rewarding nonetheless. After Rhyolite it’s back to Panamint Springs for the night. Not foreign but there will likely be foreigners there.

Day four of our journey will find us back in Three Rivers for the night in a foreign campground, not our favorite and familiar first night destination at the Three Rivers Hideaway, but now opting for the Sequoia Campground and Lodge for the night.

Day five will be the return route to our daily lives where our no doubt expanded consciousness of self, others, nature, and higher meaning, along with dirty laundry awaits. Stay tuned for the post ride update on sisyphusdw7.com. Cheers!

2021 Fall Moto Musings: There and Back Looking for the Other Abbey’s Road … If you’re willin’

A Proposal of Twelve Days/Eleven Nights on Motos from Sunday, Sept. 26 – Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021

Lowell George & Little Feat – Willin’ Live 1977

Linda Ronstadt – Willin Live 1977

I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari

Tehachapi to Tonopah

Driven every kind of rig that’s ever been made

Driven the backroads

So I wouldn’t get weighed

And if you give me weed, whites, and wine

And you show me a sign

I’ll be willin’… to be movin’

The road beckons, as usual, Sisyphus and Associates are willin’ to scratch the “Quest into the Unknown” itch on this proposed journey that will reprise a scene or two from where we’ve been before (check out the links). This is to satisfy our incurable quest into the unknown, including some new territory close to Tucson and Tucumcari. Tehachapi, meh.

As the seasons begin to change, we hope the weather cooperates and foregoes any extreme behavior. Well, we’ll just have to wait and see. Our first two days are familiar as they include previous stops in Tonopah and Cedar City with drive throughs in Torrey, Caineville, Hanksville, and Green River. Our ultimate destination and turnabout will be Santa Fe in the Land of Enchantment. I’m curious how the state motto, “Crescit Eundo,” translated from Latin, means “It grows as it goes.” I’ll have to ask Bob and Suzanne our enchanting hosts about the allusion to dynamic progress…

Sisyphus is an insufferable map geek. The roads over which our route will take us fall into the Butler designated “road qualities” of Lost Highways, G1, G2, and G3 segments. Check out Mojave Moto Spring 2021 for Sisyphus’s expansion of the Butler “road qualities” descriptions at https://sisyphusdw7.com/2021/04/29/mojave-moto-spring-2021/. There will be deserts and high forested mountains, river valleys, and arroyos to cross through small towns on backroads that are our preferred intermediate waypoints. What did folks do before Google Maps and Earth? Okay, our quest will sort of be into the unknown. Sorry Mr. Natural.

You may think this trip isn’t so much a quest into the unknown what with having covered ground on previous rides and extensive use of mapping. And you’d be correct. The quest into the unknown isn’t so much about the terrain. We know we’ll be awed by the varied landscapes we’ll ride through. The quest is more about the journey following some of Edward Abbey’s travels and the romance of the road that seems to permeate the long-haul trucker’s, poet’s, and map-loving motorcyclist’s zeitgeist. So, why not let’s call it, There and Back Looking for the Other Abbey’s Road (Trip 2021).

For background on Edward Abbey see https://wilderness.net/learn-about-wilderness/edward-abbey.php.

For the deep Abbey dive, I recommend his book, Desert Solitaire, as a start. For a dip of the toe, try https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Solitaire

The Route

Sisyphus humbly offers a scroll-worthy (at least click on the blue map links) proposal for this twelve-day moto adventure, broken into Part 1, Eastward We Go, and Part 2 Westward Down and Bound. Bring your imagination along and join us if you’re willin’ as a brief narrative of the route with some images captured previously in-person and from the interwebs detail our intended waypoints and consider the ese on Guest-friendship that follows.

Part 1 Eastward We Go Merced to Santa Fe ~1400 miles

Day 1 – Merced to Tonopah ~281 (~309?) miles

Merced to Tonopah

There’s nothing creepier than a cemetery next to a Clown Motel

The Sierra poses the first “obstacle” to overcome. We’ll take CA-120 by way of J-59, CA 132 to Smith Station Rd. (281 miles) with the Tioga Pass Option, or the CA-108 over Sonora Pass Option (~309 miles) to Bridgeport then Lee Vining on US-395. It just depends on which route is on fire…

From Lee Vining, it’s US-395 to the junction w/ CA-120 to Benton (Hot Springs). From there we make our way on US-6 to Tonopah, across range and basin country, where Sisyphus and his Associate Pete stayed in the fall of 2020. You can read about that trip and the next two legs we are reprising from the Burr Trail Here We Come blog post. sisyphusdw7.com, Burr Trail Here We Come

Day 2 – Tonopah to Cedar City ~288 miles

Tonopah to Cedar City

From Tonopah, we ride on US-6/NV-95 through Warm Springs and catch the road to Rachel on NV-375. We hope to avoid being abducted by aliens who are allegedly held captive at Area 51. That doesn’t preclude stopping for a souvenir T-Shirt at the Alien Research Center at Crystal Springs should we escape. T-Shirt safely stowed, we proceed on US-93 through Caliente, perhaps for a delightful lunch, infusing cash into the local economies, to the junction w/ NV-319 in Panaca.

*Sisyphus’s Associate*, Pete at the Alien Research Center in 2020

From Panaca it’s NV-319 to the Nevada/Utah border where the road becomes UT-56 to Modena. Modena, just an R away from mRNA vaccine name recognition fame… I wonder if there’s a Pfize Utah?

From there we will climb to Cedar City on UT-56.

East of Cedar City, Cedar Breaks from the Chessman Ridge Overlook

Day 3 – Cedar City to Moab ~339 miles

Cedar City to Moab

Following breakfast, an early departure takes us on UT-14 to Tod’s Junction meeting UT-14 and US-89 through Hatch to the junction w/ UT-12 through Tropic, Cannonville, Henrieville, Escalante, and Boulder where we will tip our helmets to the Burr Trail, then roll into Torrey to the junction w/ UT-24.

From Torrey, it’s UT-24 along the Fremont River, past Capitol Reef, through Fruita, Caineville to Hanksville. Staying on UT-24 we make our way through Green River via a brief spin on I-70 to US-191 to Moab, Arches, and red rock country.

Day 4 – Moab to Chama (?) ~265 miles

Moab to Chama

The irony of technology vs the written word was not lost on Edward Abbey

Via Moab US 191 through the La Sals and into the Rockies to Monticello and the junction w/ US-491 we make our way through Lewis and UT-184, to Mancos and UT-3 and US-160 to Pagosa Springs. Here we take US-84 through Chomo, cross the Colorado/New Mexico border to the junction of US-84 and US-64. The last leg on US-64 is to the junction w/ UT-17 into Chama.

Day 5 – Chama to Santa Fe via Taos (?) ~164 miles

Chama to Santa Fe

Via US-64 from Chama, we pass through Brazos, staying on US-64 at Tres Piedras, we cross the Rio Grande on the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on our way to Taos. It’s fun to walk to the middle of the span and jump up and down. More fun if an 80,000-pound rig passes by.

From Taos, it’s UT-68 to Pilar, where we roll alongside the Rio Grande to Espanola and Pojoaque, then take US-285/US-84 into Santa Fe.

= OR =

Abbey’s Road Trip 2021 V1.1, a.k.a. The Aspen Anna Option (with a nod to Taos) (?)

This route option skips the Moab to Chama, Chama to Santa Fe Days 4 & 5 legs of The Other Abbey’s Road Trip V1.0.

With this option, the riding distance for days 4 and 5 increases by 140 miles so that we might visit Aspen. One of the other Associates, Andy, who you will recall from the Riding Under a Fool Moon post, has daughter who resides there. And Anna happens to be a former student of Sisyphus. Who knows, maybe we’ll see Lance Armstrong and George Hincapie riding their bikes, neither of whom is a former student, but Aspen is a small town. The bonus of crossing the Continental Divide resplendent in fall color looms as we make our way through the Rockies.

Day 4 – Moab to Aspen (?) ~315 miles

Moab to Aspen

Briefly, south out of Moab on US-191 to the junction w/ UT-128 to junction w/ UT-46 in La Sal. A short distance to the Utah/Colorado border where UT-46 becomes CO-90 we roll to Naturita where we don a few extra layers and take CO-141 up and up to the junction w/ US-50 just south of Grand Junction to Delta. Junction US-50 w/ CO-92 to Hotchkiss and junction w/ CO-133 to Carbondale and the junction w/ Rds. 101, 100 to CO-82 on to Aspen. Lots of twisties in the mountains.

Day 5 – Aspen to Santa Fe*(?) ~323 miles

Aspen to Santa Fe via Taos

Out of Aspen, likely wearing every stitch of clothing we’ve packed, it’s CO-82 over Independence Pass. Unless closed whether the weather! Then on to the junction w/ US-24. US-24 due south to the junction w/ US-285 near Johnson Village. US-285 to junction w/ CO-17 to Alamosa where we pick up US-285 crossing the Colorado/New Mexico border to Tres Piedras and US-64 to Taos. From Taos it’s UT-68 to Pilar where we roll alongside the Rio Grande to Espanola, and Pojoaque and take US-285/US-84 into Santa Fe.

Should the decision be made to skip Taos, remain on Hwy-285 to Santa Fe (Aspen to Santa Fe) ~303 miles. If my vote counts, I say Taos it is.

Meanwhile, on to Santa Fe…

Day 6 – Santa Fe Layover*

Without imposing too much, while in Santa Fe we anticipate that the Bob and Suzanne Delaware, our resident hosts, will consent to allow Bob to summon his considerable skills as a platinum tour guide to provide Sisyphus and his Associates with a condensed tour of Santa Fe. This skill set has been honed over a number of years shepherding student travelers to the nation’s Capitol and the Big Apple, as well as his personal European and stateside rambles.

Hopefully we’ll not have to deal with any plague spreading oppressors! Besides, Bob’s tour will get us out of Suzanne’s lovely red hair…

Part 2: Westward Down and Bound Santa Fe to Merced ~1,554 miles

Day 7 – Santa Fe to Mexican Hat ~322 miles

Santa Fe to Mexican Hat

From Santa Fe, we head north on US-84 to Pojoaque and cross the Rio Grande on US-285 to Espanola. Remain on US-285 to La Quachia (US-84) along the Rio Chama to Abiquiu, with Georgia on our minds, or choose the option to head west and visit Los Alamos via NM-502, -501, -4, and check out what’s shakin’ at ground zero for mutually assured destruction. In either case, then proceed to NM-126 through the mountains to the junction w/ NM-96 and US-550 near La Jara. From the US-550 Interchange, we roll through Counselor, Nageezi to US-64.

On to Farmington along the San Juan River to Shiprock where US-64 will take us across the New Mexico/Arizona border to Teec Nos Pos and the junction with US-160 and the Four Corners Monument north on US-160, a six-mile (x2) round-side trip.

Back on US-160 near Red Mesa, we cross the San Juan River just west of Bluff to the junction w/US-163 to Mexican Hat.

Day 8 – Mexican Hat to North Rim Campground ~265 miles

Mexican Hat to North Rim of the Grand Canyon

Okay boys keep the bikes in the middle of the lane

From Mexican Hat on US-163, in the midst of the Navajo Nation, to Kayenta and the junction w/ US-160 and AZ-98, up to Page and the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell where we’ll spend a moment considering the abject reality of climate change, then head to the junction w/ US-89 across Antelope Pass to Bitter Springs and US-89A crossing the not so mighty Colorado River on the Navajo Bridge across Marble Canyon to Jacob Lake (from Mexican hat it’s ~220 miles to Jacob Lake Campground) where Hwy-67, which takes us to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, lies some 45 miles south from Jacob Lake.

Day 9 – North Rim to Williams ~267 miles

North Rim to Williams (Via South Rim)

Backtracking, as the North Rim is an out-and-back, we take US-89A back to Bitter Springs, then US-89 south to Cameron, where we roll to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on AZ-64.

Leaving the South Rim, we motor on AZ-64 to Williams before getting on the Historic Rte-66 the following morning. Maybe we can find a corner to stand on with fine sights to see, not Dallas Alice, but the takin’ it easy girl…

Take’ It Easy You may recognize JB. How ’bout the fiddle player? Hint: DL

Day 10 – Williams to Shoshone ~327 miles

Williams to Shoshone

Getting our kicks on Historic US Rte-66 while takin’ it easy, we roll through Ash Fork, Seligman, Yampai, Peach Springs, Truxton, Cozier, Valentine, Hackberry, Antares, Hualapai, Berry, Getz, to Kingman perhaps to mistakenly stand on a corner scanning to see a flatbed Ford. Road-weary, a kind passerby reminds Sisyphus that the corner about which Jackson is singing is in Winslow, not Williams, or Kingman for that matter, though either city’s name satisfies the meter of the song… There’s probably a corner in Seligman we can stand on too, though there is one too many syllables.

In Kingman we take US-93 to the junction with AZ-68 to the Arizona/Nevada Border.

Entering the great Mojave at the interchange of AZ-68 and NV-163 and crossing the Colorado River again, what’s left of it downriver from the Davis Dam, this time in Laughlin, we head to Palm Gardens on NV-163. From the junction w/ US-95 in Palm Gardens, we roll to Searchlight and the Nevada/California border as NV-164 becomes Nipton Road to the I-15 (Barstow Fwy). From there we “slab” over Mountain Pass past the historic but abandoned and vandalized Hi-Lo Restaurant, to Baker and the world’s tallest thermometer where the Mad Greek Restaurant and Alien Fresh Jerky all await a similar fate.

From there we cruise through the remaining Mojave National Reserve to Shoshone on CA-127, the Death Valley Rd. We will heed the Desert Oracle’s advice and Desertoracle.com, Episode 127, Try Not to Die

Somewhere in the distance is the Amargosa River that “flows” through Shoshone

Day 11 – Shoshone to Goldfield ~147 miles

Shoshone to Goldfield

Our early departure from Shoshone takes us past Death Valley Junction and the Amargosa Opera House on CA-127 or we detour through Death Valley CA-190 ~164 miles to Lone Pine*

CA-127 becomes NV-373 at NV border where we continue to the Interchange of NV-373 and US-95 to Beatty, maybe catching Rhyolite on a short side trip on NV 374 (six miles, twelve round trip) that we missed on the Riding Under a Fool Moon, Death Valley by Moonlight ride (because of Sisyphus’s navigation error) for a picture or two. Then it’s back on US 95 to Goldfield (to check out the Santa Fe Motel and Saloon). Parenthetically speaking.

*Death Valley, Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells, through Panamint Springs on CA-190 to Lone Pine: DV to Panamint to Lone Pine

Goldfield prior to becoming a ghost town

Day 12 Goldfield to Merced ~317 miles

Goldfield to Merced

From Goldfield we take US-95 south, backtracking as it were, to the junction w/ the Lida NV-266 junction crossing the Nevada/California border to the junction w/ CA-168 at Oasis where circular irrigated alfalfa fields thrive. This was the scene of an alien abduction during our Riding Under a Fool Moon, Death Valley by Moonlight moto adventure linked above. This was a pre-pandemic ride in the fall of 2019 with the Associates Pete and Andy, one of whom mysteriously disappeared. Fortunately, for Anna’s sake, he was released by his captors and we were reunited in Big Pine.

Alien guidance systems posing as circular irrigated fields

Over Gilbert Pass, past Deep Springs College, where Sisyphus regrets not having the wherewithal to have attended, and over Westgard Pass to Big Pine Hwy on CA-168 where we take US-395 to Lee Vining and CA-120 over Tioga Pass and CA 140 to la douceur du foyer where there are numerous corners to stand on, but not many flatbed Fords. Thus ending the story of our route with a hard-to-read text, according to my editor…

Deep Springs College features fewer distractions than Chico State, Sisyphus’s alma mater

But wait, there’s more…

Abbey’s Road Trip 2021 Layover Days: Lessons From the Past Regarding Guest-friendship, An Ese…

Where Sisyphus considers a dialog with an Homeric epic. The italics indicate Sisyphus’s considerations…

While ours is scarcely an epic journey, Sisyphus will reflect on how the classics deal with road trips and apply their wisdom to our contemporary adventure. Sisyphus has considerable regard for how the past informs the present and future.

According to J. B. Hainsworth, in the course of the Homeric epic Odysseus encounters several examples of xenia, “guest-friendship” providing models of how hosts should and should not act. The Phaeacians demonstrate exemplary guest-friendship by feeding Odysseus, giving him a place to sleep, and granting him many gifts and a safe voyage home, which are all things a good host should do.

The Delawares have Phaeacian DNA.

Polyphemus demonstrates poor guest-friendship. His only “gift” to Odysseus is that he will eat him last. Calypso also exemplifies poor guest-friendship because she does not allow Odysseus to leave her island.

Polyphemus and Calypso offer classic “six of one, half dozen of another” poor guest-friendship outcomes. I’ve always known the Delawares to offer the finest beverage upon their guests’ arrival and to offer exceptional repast and delightful conversation before bidding adieu. Neither Bob nor Suzanne have ever once hinted at cannibalism. Their abiding hospitably permit their guests who’ve either satisfied or have exhausted their memorable visit to exit with good cheer. The Delawares conduct all guest-friendship with exceptional grace and decorum unlike Polyphemus or Calypso.

Another important factor to guest-friendship is that kingship implies generosity. It is assumed that a king has the means to be a generous host and is more generous with his own property. This is best seen when Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, begs Antinous for food and Antinous denies his request. Odysseus essentially says that while Antinous may look like a king, he is far from a king since he is not generous.

I promise to not relegate Pete or Andy as beggars to test Bob’s hospitality, as Odysseus did to Antinous since I know Bob, unlike Antinous, is kingly in his every manor and exhortation. If at all flawed in his sincere humility, Bob is indeed kingly in his generosity. I am reminded of his wise counsel: It never happened.

Guest-friendship follows a very specific pattern:

The arrival and the reception of the guest.

Arrival will be on September 30, 2021, mid afternoon, baring the incalculable unforeseen delays of any quest into the unknown.

Bathing or providing fresh clothes to the guest.

A garden hose or perhaps a refreshing Santa Fe thundershower will do. We may need to do laundry. Perhaps we can obtain a wash tub and scrub board from one of the vendors on the Plaza.

Providing food and drink to the guest.

We will sustain the first three rounds of any beverage occasion. Beyond that, neither Santa Fe nor the Delawares bear any responsibility for poor choices. The Delawares may still be on the hook to shuffle us off to the nearest pub or contact our loved ones for bail.

Questions may be asked of the guest and entertainment should be provided by the host.

Good cheer and maybe a beverage or two are the only requirements for entertainment since exposure to centuries of Santa Fe culture and history requires more time to absorb and greater tolerance than the Delawares can muster for weary moto riding dirtbags despite my earlier comments about Bob’s superb skills as a guide.

The guest should be given a place to sleep, and both the guest and host retire for the night.

A curb for our mounts, a yard for a tent, perhaps a couch or a chaise lounge will do. Should the Delawares elect to get a room for the night elsewhere, I think we can support their choice, as we pledge to limit damage to their domicile. We can’t guarantee that no harm will come to Bob’s tomatoes, however.

The guest and host exchange gifts, the guest is granted a safe journey home, and the guest departs.

Our gift will be our departure. As for the safe journey home, guaranteed. We will leave more or less on time.

Another important factor of guest-friendship is not keeping the guest longer than they wish and also promising their safety while they are a guest within the host’s home.

Departure will be on the morning of October 2, having stayed with our gracious hosts Bob and Suzanne for two nights max. It likely takes longer than that for the Santa Fe authorities to evict us. Regardless, the Delawares know Sisyphus’s attention span is limited.

Sisyphus will guarantee the safety of our hosts, only insofar as the pharmaceuticals and preventives guarantee our safety. We will respectfully do our best to erase any plague spores the heretofore mentioned oppressors have spread…

Thanks to Wiki for informing Sisyphus of the specifics of the Homeric epic.

The actual post trip narrative will arrive sometime in October, Sisyphus is already feeling it…

Just something to leave you with,The Road to the Sun, Pat Metheny.

See you again in October!