Monday, May 27, 2019

Mr Kool


If you can't laugh at yourself ...


Make my day, tell a friend about this blog!

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

DOGGISH SAYINGS

The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue." -Anonymous

"Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." -Ann Landers

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went." -Will Rogers

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face." -Ben Williams

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." -Josh Billings

"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person." -Andy Rooney

"We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made." -M. Facklam

"If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons." -James Thurber

"A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down." -Robert Benchley

"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult." - Rita Rudner

"Dogs need to sniff the ground; it's how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard." -Dave Barry

"And nobody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog."- Franklin P. Jones

"If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise." -Unknown

"Outside of a dog, a book is probably man's best friend; inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx

"Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!" -Anne Tyler

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." -Robert A. Heinlein


Make my day, tell a friend about this blog!

Sunday, May 19, 2019

DMT - Until the next time

foo


This is how it ends up, bikes in the driveway and stuff all over the lawn. Plans undone, a plane to catch, disappointment in the air.

Maybe I could have given Jason and Erika the Taco and trailer to get back home to meet their plane while I continued on. At the time it was all about getting Erika back to see her mom and whatever was best for her. 

Adventures have only vague plans and uncertain schedules. You take it as it comes and play it as it lays. There were plenty of hits on this trip like Monica the ranger who gave us some tips on places to see and camp away from the tourist crowds. Cheryl, the waitress at our lunch stop, mailed our postcards for us so they would have the Death Valley CA postmark.


The Taco is ready to take us to another adventure. It's just a matter of time before Death March Tours heads out again.


Make my day, tell a friend about this blog!

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Heading Home

A family emergency is calling us back. Adventure awaits another day

More confusion

Repacking for the change of plans.

Day 5 - Plan B

A slight change of plans after a rough day of sand and gravel roads. And one small accident.

 We're back in Beatty again. (You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!')

Today we are switching to the Taco and continuing on our original plan. Same route but a different vehicle. 

After regrouping and reloading we will be heading for the BDR this morning.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Day 4

Packed up and ready to go. Off to Dante's Peak and then to the connection to the BDR. We've maxed out on hot for now so we're moving on from Death Valley

Monday, May 13, 2019

Day 3

Obviously in no hurry today. But that's what it's all about. Some days are fast and furious, others are laid back and lazy

Day 3 - Looking a little more organized

Breakfast at Mel's and a quick stop for some more supplies. Then off for more fun and adventure

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Taking the long way home

Went to see the Rhyolite ghost town and the 30' tall Lego lady. 

Then decided to ride through Titus Canyon. In some places it's only wide enough for one car to fit through. I have no pictures because the ones I took are incapable of showing the scale of the rock formations.

When we got back to the highway we found the road blocked by some emergency. It was dark and we were tired. If it we didn't have bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all! 

Like everything else today, it was just another bump in the road to be dealt with. A not to long detour had us heading to Beatty and a well deserved shower.

What fresh disaster tomorrow?

Rhyolite Station

Waiting for the train

Back to the future

Has my friend Bob says, "Crude but effective! "

Progress

Our Airbnb host, Dick, to the rescue. A Navy guy glad to bail out the Air Force (me) again

DMT - Day 2 - UnHoley Crap

See the mounting hole in the plate that Jaram welded to my pack frame? Me neither!

And that is a BIG problem!! And it's Sunday when all the shops are closed. But help is on the way. Stay tuned ...

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Another Gem

We took a wrong turn and found this hidden gem. Quite a surprise to find an old train here in Ely Nevada.

Along the way

A study in contrasts as we travel west

Major's Place

Check out the sign in the window

Loaded and ready to go

Only an hour and a half past the scheduled departure time. That's early for us

DMT - Day 1 - Packed

Amazing but true! I'm packed. Now to load the bikes on the trailer

Friday, May 10, 2019

DMT - Day minus 1 - I get by with a little help from my friends

Friend #1 - Jaram

The Happy Trail frame didn't match the gas can holder and I need a last minute welding job. Jaram at Russell Welding is a fellow biker and understood the urgency. Dropped the frame off at 10am and got a call at 3pm that he had fabbed a new plate and welded it to the frame.

Friend #2 - Maureen

I had gone up to the RotoPax warehouse to pickup the gas cans last Tuesday but when I got home I found they didn't fit. Back to RotoPax today and Maureen took the time to exchange the one I had and show me a better way to mount it so it fit the Happy Trail frame. Gave me a RotoPax water bottle too so the I wouldn't get too thirsty.

All the preparations have been manic and stressful but people like this, who go out of their way to be helpful, make it seem like a world I want to live in. I should have taken their pictures to properly recognize their efforts.

Thank You So Much!

Here's what a RotoPax gas can looks like:

1.25 gallons of gas for an extra 50 miles

This the Happy Trail pannier frame with the RotoPax mount


This is how they fit together.


And this is how they look on the back of the bike. Pretty tidy!


Still with me? Here's Erika and Jason. The other 2/3rds of the Death March Tour. As you can see, packing is in progress.