Turning 60 in Death Valley

Well, I turned 60 last week. It's kind of like an out of body experience.... I don't feel 60 but when I look in the mirror I wonder who that old guy is. Anyway my wonderful wife asked what I wanted to do and after saying no to my first request she said OK to camping in DV. We camped in Furnace Creek and pretty much had the tent area to ourselves.


Here's my awesome wife. This was her first time ever to DV so we checked out a some of the "must see" places.
Of course Rhyolite is a must.
Off to Titus Canyon.



The V-Stom is new to me and I was really pleased with the way it handled gravel roads.
Leadfield... I never stopped to read the sign before. My wife likes to stop and look around. That's one of the benefits of riding with my her instead of a bunch of hooligans.



I stupidly left the bike on the side stand a a gust of wind knocked it over.:eek1

Off to Artist's Drive and Badwater Basin. (old fart!)

We went to Shoshone for lunch at the Crowbar. Very cool restaurant!

Then we headed to the China Date Farm. All they had here were some sort of figs... not what I thought. Seriously, it's a cool place. If you haven't been there it's worth the side trip.



I'll try to get this finished up tonight if I can stay awake at my advanced age

Nice ride; beautiful country; I'm also 60 and will be making that trip to DV soon enough from Jupiter, FL.

Looks like you both had a great time! Is that a 650 or 1000 VStrom? Just curious

Awesome... It really is beautiful country. If you're like me and get to see some of the other National parks like Canyonlands, Zion, Bryce Canyon and more you won't want to leave. Have fun!

Happy Birthday. Thanks for sharing the the pictures of the second request.

Hi Akadvntr,

It a 1K. It's new to me and I really like it so far.

Happy birthday, We camped in the site next to you Saturday night.
Here is the report.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...8#post20711778

Happy Birthday! I turned 50 this year. You've given me the idea of doing a cool ride on my birthday next year. Thanks for sharing.

Hey I'm still awake and it's past 8 PM!

Of course on the way back from the Date Farm it only made sense to go by the Armagosa Opera House. It was deserted.


That night it was really windy again... makes for a messy tent. No mater what we did the fine sand blew in.


The next day we headed up to Dante's Peak. There was still some snow on the road. We hiked up the trail a ways but didn't stay long. It was really cold.


On the way back we rode through the Twenty Mule Team Canyon.

We messed around there for a while before heading to Scotty's Castle and then the Ubehebe Crater.


It was a little windy


The next day we decided to wander around the Panamint Range so we packed up and headed for Wildrose road.

We went to Skidoo, dropped the side bags at the marker and wandered a bit.


It's hard to imagine that there was a town here. I wonder how they imagined the future of their new home.... did they expect to live out the rest of their lives there?


A few more of the area before my battery went dead.... besides it's after 9 PM. Pretty darn late for an old fart like me.


Thanks for looking!


Where's that flask?

Thanks! It was nice talking with you guys. I made a note of some of the places you went so I can check them out. Nice ride report!

Ken

Thanks Razzeaux! Don't wait... do it now! And then do it when you turn 51 too.

what a great way to spend your 60th! Beautiful country, I'm taking notes on the sights to see! I'm excited to do some riding down there in April. Thanx for sharing!

Happy birthday! I'm going in April with my son, brother and some friends. Been there twice before during Veteran's Day weekends, this will be first time in spring. I can't wait to go. I'll have to check out some of the places you pictured that I haven't seen before.

Thanks for sharing, I've always been fascinated by Death Valley and your pics help rekindle my fire to go back again. Oh yeah, great choice on bikes, plus a wife that will smile even when camping in the cold and wind, you're a lucky man.

That babe is married to a guy who's 60? There's hope for me yet! Love DV. Thanks for the shots. Much appreciated from the winter wonderland.

My first trip to DV was about 6 0r 7 years ago and I couldn't believe how much I liked it. I've been back at least once a year and I like it more every time. This was my wife's first time and she really liked it and yes, am a very lucky man.

Every day I wonder how that happened. We've been married 15 years and she still seems to like me.... go figure.

Thanks for all the nice comments guys.

Nice pics----I'm old too---tried to stay up past 9 to finish this-------couldn't----so got up at 4AM
like I always do---ready to rock and roll

Hope to be there this April.

BigDog

I can't think of a better way to spend a birthday than being in Death Valley with a beautiful women. Congratulations. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
Death Valley is one of my favorite places on earth. I used to ride to the Crowbar restaurant on weekends for breakfast. <o></o>

I was there for the first time 2010 but it was a bit hot in mid September. I hope to be back this April celebrating my 50th but that will be a week or two earlier and at a buddies place in Tucson. It's a neat place for sure.
Oh and it was windy as hell when I was at Ubehebe Crater too.