100 Days 48 States - The Journey

"Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether."
- Hunter S. Thompson

TODAY’S ROUTE:
Stove Pipe Well, Death Valley NP, CA to Kingman, AZ: SR-190 East to Furnace Creek then Death Valley Junction, East on State Line Road to Pahrump, SR-160 East to I-15 North to Las Vegas Boulevard to Sahara Avenue East to Boulder Highway (SR-582) to I-515 South to US-93 through Boulder City to Hoover Dam, back to Boulder City, US-95 South through Searchlight, Cal Nev Ari to I-40 East to Needles, continuing past Topock, Yucca to US-66 to Kingman. (MAP)

THE DETAILS:
I spent the night at the lodge in Stovepipe Wells. Prospectors traveling through Death Valley, in the 1800’s, dug for water near the Sand Dunes, and to mark the hole someone stuck a length of stovepipe beside it. The name stuck as well. I was originally going to camp last night up the road at Furnace Creek, but I left L.A. too late, and the idea of setting up camp in the dark is about as appealing as riding through here in July.

Death Valley. The name alone makes you start to sweat. It was 134 degrees here once, the highest temperature ever recorded in the hemisphere. Last week it was 110, but today it will only reach the high 80s. The elevation, near Badwater, is also the lowest, at 282 feet below sea level. But despite the severity of the land, Death Valley hosts 900 kinds of plants and 98 species of animals. And the vast emptiness creates an utterly beautiful place. There are snow covered peaks, rugged canyons, and beautiful sand dunes.

I’m on the road early, hoping to get through here before it gets too warm. I stop for the stamp at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center (160 feet below sea level) and then head over to Zabriskie Point. Here an overlook offers views across the badlands of Twenty-Mule Team Canyon and the ancient lakebeds beyond.

The map shows no quick route to Las Vegas from Death Valley. Going north or south from Death Valley Junction will get you there, eventually. But when I reach the junction, there’s a big sign that says "Direct route to Las Vegas, 85 Miles" and points down a road that’s not on the Rand McNally. But when I zoom in on the GPS, the road shows up. I’ll take it, saving about 50 miles.

It’s only 11:30 AM when I reach Las Vegas, but this town is ridiculous any time of day. If you haven’t here lately you wouldn’t recognize the place. I was last here two years ago for the second Tyson/Holyfield fight, and I hardly recognize the place. There are gigantic hotels sprouting out of the ground, growing faster than weeds. There’s the enormous Mandalay Bay, and then the Bellagio. And of course, New York, New York, and now even Paris is here with an Eiffel Tower that’s almost as big as the real thing. It’s fun to ride down the strip, even with all the traffic. But I’m glad to just be riding through. 15 minutes is about all of Vegas I can take right now.

Just down the road is the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Hoover Dam. More than 5,000 men worked around the clock for five years to complete the dam, taming the violent waters of the Colorado River. Finished in 1935, the dam rises over 700 feet and provides all the electricity Vegas could ever need. Behind the dam is Lake Mead, and a 290 square mile boating paradise twice the size of Rhode Island

I head south to Needles, back into California, hoping to get the stamp for the Mojave National Preserve. But the information center there is closed Mondays. Dam it. OOPS, I mean DAMN IT. But as I head north again, up towards Kingman, I see something that makes me glad I went this way. A high flying jet airplane, with a short contrail, is passing in front of the rising moon. For a split second the moon looks like it has a ring around it, like the planet Saturn. It’s amazing, and I’m the only person in the world who just saw that. Cool.

THE DAILY TAKE:
Miles Today: 354.2
Total Miles: 18,809
Time on Motorcycle: 5 Hours 44 Minutes
Average Speed: 61.9 MPH
States Visited today: 3 (CA, NV, AZ)
Total States Visited: 32
National Park Service Passport Stamps: 2
NPS Stamp Totals: 139 Stamps, 29 States
Weather: Sunny, Cool on the bike, Hot when stopped
Average Annual Rainfall in Death Valley: 1.64 inches

SEEN ON THE ROAD:
"Dips, Next 9 Miles" - road sign on route 190 in Death Valley National Park

RANDOM PASSINGS:
You might have noticed the three web links in the details section above. Yes, it’s official. I have gone out of my mind. But I did spend the time tonight to figure out how to grab stills from the Cannon Elura Digital Video Camcorder and save them to my laptop. So, the 100 DAYS 48 STATES Web Site is now up and running. It’s not much right now, but I’ll be posting to it as I can, and probably complete it after the journey is over. In the meantime enjoy the photos at http://www.danielcohen.org. Special thanks to Ted Saland who designed and delivered the 100 DAYS logo.