It has been so long since we've been on a ride so we invite the couples to go with us to Death Valley.
We originally planned to stay in Tonopah the first night but the temperatures forecast were so cold there we decided to go to Moapa instead.
When we depart West Valley City it is snowing, so overheating was not an issue. But no problem we all survived the 6 hour ride and arrived in Moapa around dinner time.
And for dinner we went across the street from our hotel to this place, La Fonda which was very good both the meal and the service.
The next day we are on our way to Death Valley via the Lake Mead entrance then the Valley of Fire State Park.
Unfortunately while on the way there one of the bikes developed a slight problem. To address the problem we needed to go into Las Vegas, so Death valley was put on hold indefinitely.
The problem was soon solved - nooo.....actually it was not soon and it was not solved.
After spending a few hours in Vegas (shopping, visiting the Carrel Shelby Museum, etc) the rest of the group rode on to Pahrump where our next reservations were at. The limping bike was still limping....not withstanding the obscene "repair" bill....or rather "Non-Repair" bill. Lucky for bike owner though, there was an independent shop in Pahrump that fixed the problem quickly and cheaply - neither of those two things were accomplished by the Vegas shop with their factory trained techs.
While they were doing that I rode to the Las Vegas speedway where my nephew's son was racing. I got there just in time to watch his last race.
Jan and Kenny, on the black tri glide gave me this monkey with the bandage on its knee when I had my knee surgery. It was too cute not to do something with, so I made a helmet out of a ball and seat belted him on the back of my bike.
As we were going through valley of fire, the group decided to hike up to some petroglyphs. I decided to hold down a picnic table instead.
Ron and Ken take a break.
Beverly, Wendy, Jan.
The Carroll Shelby museum. Well worth the time!
We stayed at the Saddle West hotel , a place that I have stayed at numerous times over the last few years. Our three wives checked in while the guys were taking care of the bikes. The counter ladies were so rude to one of the wives that I've crossed them off as a place to stay in Pahrump. There are plenty of other hotels to choose from.
After check in and after I arrived from the races with had a super meal and discussed the next days ride - which would be the first of two days ride home. Route and details decided on we all retired for the night.
The route was mostly a reverse from the day before, the lake shore road from Henderson to Moapa.
At Moapa Bev and I left the others to return to Vegas for a wedding, the others continued on to Cedar City, Utah and home the next day.
The Ceremony and dinner were both very nice and enjoyable. Both Beverly and I were so happy that we could be there for the event.
Biker buddy Howard and his bride, Tina
And the next morning it was our turn to start the ride home. Unfortunately, the weather forecast on my route called for high winds and snow. The high winds were.....high.....and the snow was......snowy. By the time I got to Scipio, Utah I was cccccold! Another hotel night and home the next morning!
And that's it! Yet another SUPER ride, made even better by having good friends ....along for the ride! (See what I did there?)
No we didn't get into Death Valley, but that only resulted in us all agreeing that we will have to do this ride again!
Motorcycles are excellent fun!
Thanks for visiting and reading!!
