Leaving Las Vegas into the Valley of Death

I stayed at Lake Havasu State Park for 10 nights, far longer than I usually stay at any one place. My thoughts of riding to the Grand Canyon were foiled by the fact it was snowing and well below freezing there. At LH, I fell into a routine, walk to the library in the morning, work until mid afternoon, go to the brewery for food and an IPA, then walk back to the campground for a swim and sunbathing. It was tough duty but somebody had to do it. When I felt they were about to kick me out, I headed north into Nevada but couldn't find a campspot, so I got a room for one night in Las Vegas. The next day I rode west toward Red Rock and then into Death Valley. It was great weather and great scenery. Riding into Death Valley from Shoshone felt like descending into Hades. I camped 1 night there at Furnace Creek.

Southwest

After leaving Anaheim (thankfully) I rode the Ortega Hwy to Lake Elsinore. It's great to be back on the road. I met up with my cousin Neil, whom I had not seen in 30 some years. We shared a pizza and caught up. I then set my gps for the Salton Sea, but when it tried to take me on 40 miles of I-10, I suspected there was more interesting riding. So I rode from Banning to Idyllwild through the beautiful San Bernadino Natl Forest. The Salton Sea didn't seem so interesting, so after one night I left for Lake Havasu, along some pretty lonely roads through the Mojave Desert. It very nice here, warm and dry, and Lake Havasu City has everything one might need. Life is good.

Mammoth to LA

Getting from Mammoth Lakes to LA via public transportation requires either detailed knowledge of schedules or a generous supply of patience. Since I lacked the former, I needed to summon the latter. Within a mere 3 days and a series of cheap motels, I was able to reach LA and meet my sister and niece (from a different sibling) for a nice evening in Chinatown.

The next morning I walked back to Union Station and rode the Amtrak Surfliner to Anaheim. After checking into a another cheap motel, I walked to the place where my motorcycle was stored the end of last August. After digging out several other rec vehicles, they got to my bike, which still had the key in it. Surprisingly, it started right up, so off I rode. As much as I favor public transportation, after 2 weeks of waiting for buses and trains to get from Reno to Mammoth Lakes to LA to Anaheim, there is no denying an exhilarating feeling a freedom from having my own motorized wheels again.