Make Booty Your Favorite! A Death Valley Treasure Hunt with BigWan and LittleWan

[dustyrider]

The Wans ride in a personal space ruled by cartoon physics. Like Wile E. Coyote, gravity has no effect when he runs over the edge of a mesa until he notices that he should be falling. Big and Little Wan never admit that toppling over is an option, so they never topple over.

[LittleWan]

Hey you guys,
Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Some stuff came up.
Also, my fingers were all jacked up from too much typing.
I used to have a cubicle job (customer service) and it ruined my hands.
My knuckles swell up and hurt so bad I can only type by holding a sharpie in each hand to hunt and peck.
It's slow.
Stupid workplace injuries.

I miss that job, though.
It was fun. I worked with all guys (I was the only woman) and each one was a head case.
I fit right in.
We were notorious throughout the building for yelling obscenities.
One woman had to move her office because she couldn't handle all the swearing.
again, I fit right in.
Matt was afraid we'd have a workplace shooting, though.
I used to find one guy curled up the floor, hiding under his desk (no exaggeration!).
He had some issues.
And a gun collection.

Good times, good times...


Heh, heh.
Anyway...

Originally Posted by WRC51

Sounded like a stroll in the park with Matt laughing and chatting.

That's the cool thing about the intercoms - we get to joke around the whole time!

Originally Posted by horseiron1

Another Awesome ride report!!!!! Thanks again.
JJ

Thanks for reading, JJ!

Originally Posted by ROAD DAMAGE

Hey Matt,
Little Wan gave you some jumping lessons, didn't she? Come on dude, you can tell us.

Well, I have been making him do burpees with me!

Heh, I don't even think Matt has seen that photo yet.
I think it was the residual adrenaline pump

Originally Posted by RedRockRider

Ride Reports -- Super fun, but time-consuming!

Yes!
Yesterday I spent some time in Day Trippin', visiting RedRockRider, Idahosam and Dave62538675309...
Thanks, guys! That was fun.

Originally Posted by dave6253

Nice picture of the gravity-defying BigWan.I think that kinda explains the apparent immunity you 2 have to the laws of physics...

Originally Posted by dustyrider

Big and Little Wan never admit that toppling over is an option, so they never topple over.

Shhh! You guys! Don't jinx us!
Oh, we know all about the laws of physics...
Don't you remember when we rode into that perc hole?






I went flying up and over Matt and landed on my face.
(that's where I got my tag line)

Gravity's a bitch.





Day 3: Wednesday 189 miles

PSR - up South Park Canyon - Stone Cabin - back down South Park - PSR - Swansea - Salt Tram - Cerro Gordo - S5 - Saline Valley Rd - PSR continued



Swansea Grade is such a great ride.





Again, lots more pics back on page 8...

There are a few steep uphills - the elevation climbs quick in some sections.





It’s gorgeous up here.






That’s a happy camper!





I’ll give you this link again. Great info about the Swansea Grade trail.



I swiped this map from the internets.



It’s a google books excerpt from California Trails Desert Region by Peter Massey, Jeanne Wilson and Angela Titus.


Another fine map (with photos) Here.


As always, I’m doing my research, after the ride - just for the report.
I’m not finding much about Burgess Mine...
Anyway, we didn’t look for the mine itself (if there is one), but we saw the cabin.
Edit: Matt reminds me that we saw the mine tailings. Guess I neglected to take a photo, sorry.











We followed a trail...





It went to the campsite shown at the end of the spur (on that map)






9700 feet! It must be a cold place to camp.





But with a beautiful view.
(this was taken as we headed back to the main road)





We really wanted to go to that lookout, but it was closed to vehicles. Darn.
If we weren’t so lazy, we could have hiked...






Again, it’s mucking beautiful up here...






Edit: I forgot this snow picture!
We only saw a few tiny patches of snow this time.





There’s the Salt Tram Summit Station.





Again, I didn’t want to repeat all the same shots, so you can find more Salt Tram pics/info on Page 9


I couldn’t help but take a few more, though.











We had some water and snacks.





It was cool and pleasant, with some of the sweetest air we’ve had in a long time.
(The bay area is so sucky and polluted...)





You know we can’t pass up an opportunity to be silly...




Wow! Close one! I felt it whizz by my ear!!
Notice I didn’t flinch, though - held that camera steady.
I'm so trusting, huh? (or maybe just dumb )



We went to the cabin to sign the guest book again.
Hey, look - Chuck and Sharron signed right under us...





Found Browneye and the gang!





I have it on good authority that the guy on the XR650L was none other than
hanksmybuddy...
(I didn’t know if you wanted your name all over the internets, so I fuzzed it out)






Perused the wall of artifacts again.





Wow, I just barely remember pull tabs.
Looks like that Hires can is circa 1968?









That was a fun visit!

[bigdon]

Now I'm convinced. Mild mannered Big Wan dons his riding gear, mounts his overloaded School Bus and turns into





SUPERWAN !!!!!!!


I hope he thinks this is funny!

[BigWan]

Originally Posted by bigdon

Now I'm convinced. Mild mannered Big Wan dons his riding gear, mounts his overloaded School Bus and turns into





SUPERWAN !!!!!!!


I hope he thinks this is funny!

Kelly won't let me wear my cape, she says it'll get caught in the chain.

Glad you guys liked the jumping pic. Honestly, after riding that canyon you're happy to still be able to jump at all.

[LittleWan]

Haha, SUPERWAN!
I was hoping you were still reading this, bigdon!




Day 3: Wednesday 189 miles

PSR - up South Park Canyon - Stone Cabin - back down South Park - PSR - Swansea - Salt Tram - Cerro Gordo - S5 - Saline Valley Rd - PSR continued




Here’s a photo looking back at the Tram Station.





Close up.











Heading down towards Cerro Gordo.






I let out a little shriek right here -
we had built up some speed on the descent and got all wiggly in these loose rocks.






Again, one of the nicest things about this Swansea/Cerro Gordo/S5 loop is the varied terrain.






This rocky ledge road was fun!












The view was pretty spectacular, too.





We had such a good time on that section, I thought it would make a nice video.
While I was working on this part of the RR, I received some sad news.
I don’t want to get into it here, but it got me thinking about what’s important.
Big picture stuff.







So, that video is just a little reminder for us (and for you).
Don’t put anything off - if there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, do it.
At least take steps towards your goal.
Our time here is limited - we don’t know how long we have, but we do know it comes to an end.



There she is - Cerro Gordo, or “Fat Hill.”











If you want to know more,
this jeep guy has a nice report (including pics of the town).

4 Wheel Drive magazine did a tour of Swansea Grade/Cerro Gordo as well.

While I was looking for Burgess mine stuff, I found a story about Beveridge, a ghost town in this area.
You have to hike in, but apparently there’s a cabin to visit, if you make it (sounds tough).
If you're into ghost towns and mining, you might like Beveridge.







We were in ride mode, so we kept going just like last time (page 10).





S5 (or, as our map says, S88)





Just a shot showing one of the “S5” signs.





I tried to watch some of our hand held video from March -
holy crap, those things are unwatchable.
I am so, so sorry. I feel bad for even posting those.
After working with the beautiful HD/GoPro footage, it was especially brutal to watch.

I really liked the anthrax song with S5, though.
so I made a new one using the GoPro footage.
Much better in HD.
We were going slightly faster this time, since I could hold on with both hands,
and, we almost ate it in a different spot.






Man, that was an outstanding day.
Such a great ride.








We got back to PSR around 4:30. It was HOT.
Monkey-fighting HOT.

OK, we had 3 solid days of good riding. We’re done.






Haha, I know you guys are going, “Wait, that was 3 days? Not 3 weeks?”
Yeah.
Sorry.
This got a little drawn out.
But I’m done now!



I had a lot of fun - I hope you guys did, too.
Thanks again for reading and for playing along.
We had lots of enthusiasm and active participation in this report, it was fantastic!

[Ronin120]

LittleWan (and BigWan too),

Thanks for the ride report, pics and video. We were riding the same route earlier (we're listed in one of the logbook pics) this Spring and at the Chicken Corner (I was and walked my bike...) we ran across some guy from Bend, OR. on a XR650L coming down the South Park route. He mentioned that the two of you had done this ride and we all were in complete and total awe of your adventure riding prowess.

Best.

[oldtrucks]

Thanks for sharing the Swansea steps. I think the steep loose climb from about :40 to 1:10 is the most difficult stretch on that road. Once I started up that chute I was along for the ride, the bike was going where the rocks wanted it, I just held the throttle open and kept it pointed uphill. Gas On!

2 Up.......WOW

[Rwelch360]

great report, I really enjoyed lurking around here. great videos and pictures.

[trailrider383]

Desert riding, my favorite! Very entertaining ride report! You are fearless Little Wan sitting on the back of that bike! Do you ever wish for a brake pedal of your own like the drivers training cars? Or maybe an ejection seat?

I picture you riding this for relaxation. I have rode it and it's a blast! It's pretty close to Death Valley in Primm, NV.

[PinkPillion]

Originally Posted by LittleWan

Hey, PinkPillion!

We were so stoked to find the cabin unoccupied. The wind was flippin howling when we got there--way better than a tent!!

Took my cone out for a ride a few days ago.


So love this report. I don't want to see it end!

[larryboy]

Thanks for the great report, Wans!!!

[HairBear]

Great report. You do thisthisand this
BigWan, you do some really technical riding, on a rather large bike, carrying precious cargo. You have to stay pretty focused I would think. Do you really have time to smell the roses. Or is the riding the roses for you?

[BigWan]

Hi HairBear,

You know, I always try to take things in while we're on these trips, but I'm normally so focused on the riding I don't even like to stop.
It isn't until we get home and I have a chance to view the pics & vids that I really have a chance to see how pretty a place may have been.
It's kind of sad I guess, but I wouldn't change it if I could. I do it for the riding (not the roses) and the riding is Great!

[Eyes Shut]

Originally Posted by LittleWan

Haha, I know you guys are going, “Wait, that was 3 days? Not 3 weeks?”
Yeah.
Sorry.
This got a little drawn out.
But I’m done now!

No apologies needed! Your reports, pics, videos are great (and so very entertaining!)

[Nixels]

WAIT!

It's over????