Day 2: Lee Vining, CA to Springville, UT — 541 miles
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Seams like no sooner than I really finally fell into a good sleep after tossing and turning most of the night, my alarm was prodding me in the ears to wake up.
Mornings aren’t exactly my forte, but I had miles to make up for after the late start the day before and my Dad was most certainly going to be waiting for me by the time I got to Utah. My visions of spending a few days ambling to our meeting point had long since evaporated, and now I just had to cover the miles — something I had really wanted to avoid until getting to middle America. At least I wasn’t on the super slabs, and the mountains were still stunning in the not-so-early morning light.
Departing Lee Vining — rolling out of town about 7:30am.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F4.0, 27 mm, 1/1000 s, @56 MPH, map
Mono Lake has always been a spot I’ve wanted to do some dawn photography to capture the tufa towers
around the alkali lake. You can see a few at the lake’s edge below, but, the day’s miles were already feeling like a burden having to pass on by without taking a closer look.
Mono Lake — “Navy Beach” was used by the Navy in the 50′s & early 60′s for weapons testing.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F8.0, 105 mm, 1/400 s, ~5.2mi from prev photo, map
The area south of Mono Lake is full of volcanic remnants. I need to come back here and do some exploring of this area.
North range of Crater Mountain — Once upon a time, these volcanic cones exploded filling the plains with pumice pebbles (foreground) to a depth of 20 ft
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F9.0, 33 mm, 1/250 s, ~3.0mi from prev photo, map
The volcanic peaks quickly turned into a forest that sprang up from the pumice fields. Those are literally pea sized bits of pumice making up most of the top layer of “soil”.
HWY 120 — Rolling through the Inyo forest, east of Yosemite. This was a very fun stripe of tarmac.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F5.0, 27 mm, 1/200 s, @54 MPH, ~3.6mi from prev photo, map
HWY 120 east of Yosemite was a very pleasant surprise. The short bit through the forest transitioned into the the high desert I’d expected from the start with rocky vistas, fun sweepers between the valleys, and smooth, fast straights the rest of the time with almost no other vehicles in sight.
Into the high desert — After leaving the Inyo Forest, HWY 120 carves its way through the high desert.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F5.0, 27 mm, 1/1600 s, @52 MPH, ~13mi from prev photo, map
Jumbled up rock outcropping — HWY 120 heading towards Benton, CA.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F7.1, 27 mm, 1/640 s, @44 MPH, ~16mi from prev photo, map
There’s not much out here and this section of US 6 was almost as empty as HWY 120.
US 6 & the Toiyabe Ntl Forest — Heading east from Benton out the valley, looking back over my shoulder.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F7.1, 27 mm, 1/500 s, @40 MPH, ~19mi from prev photo, map
I had planned on stopping in Tonopah for gas and breakfast. I didn’t bother fueling up before departing — it’d be about 220 miles on the tank, but I had made great mileage trough Yosemite according to the fuel computer and my own reasoning with ~15 miles practically coasting down Tioga Pass. I should easily be good for 250.
As I coasted into Tonopah, I started to ease into the throttle for the slow-roll through town and she just didn’t respond. The engine made a feeble amount of power and more throttle kept it going another second and then it was done. Well, huh; out of gas! Was my math off by that much?
I’d actually passed a gas station a block behind me (now, down hill from me), but, just for giggles I hit the starter, and sure enough, it fired right back to life. So, I continued into town another block and pulled into the next gas station and proceeded to fill the tank to the brim with only 3.78 gallons — about what I expected. The F800 has a 4.2 gallon tank, maybe a bit more when you take it all the way full like I often do — clearly, it was not out of gas.
A bit flustered, I rolled through Tonopah looking for a place to eat, only to find much of the town had seen better days. I circled back and pulled into the parking lot of the casino/restaurant. Still miffed about why the bike died, I turned off the key and leaned the bike over to get off when it became all too clear that the parking lot was most certainly not sloped *that* much and before I could catch it, the bike and I toppled over with the kick-stand still safely stowed away. What a dumb ass! And, to add insult to injury, my attempts at righting the bike only resulted in the bike rolling down the hill and me losing balance and putting it back down again.
A somewhat frail looking older man wearing a Harley hat had seen my last lift attempt as he exited the building and he came over to offer some assistance. With his help, he kept it from rolling and I lifted and we got it sorted out. I thanked him for the help and asked him if he rode while eying his hat, to which he muttered through a toothless scowl something about his ole’lady kicking him out for the night. Not exactly the conversation I was look’n to start, so, I thanked him again and started gathering the yard sale of cycle gear that I’d hastily thrown off after realizing I wasn’t going to quickly hide my embarrassing incident before any might notice.
Yes, I needed some breakfast, and coffee too.
I called my Dad and we sorted out where the motel was that he’d gotten for us. I couldn’t find that address in Springville UT, so, I called the motel and they assured me it was at the intersection of a HWY such and such. More searching, and I called them back a second time and asked what city and *state* they were located in — sure enough, Google maps failed and the lady confirmed that the motel we’d been calling was actually in Springville, NY, not Springville, UT. Good job Google…
Finally, back on the road, I’d been waiting for the classic Looney Toons desert scene with high buttes and this was starting to look encouraging…
Still in the Toiyabe “forest”. Not much more than scrub…
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F7.1, 27 mm, 1/800 s, @81 MPH, ~99mi from prev photo, map
Leaving out of Tonapah, it was easy to let the right hand roll into it with long stretches of perfectly straight roads.
Infinity road — Rolling east on US 6 after breakfast in Tonopah.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F8.0, 27 mm, 1/500s, @84 MPH, ~15mi from prev photo, map
US 6 — Crossing a small range to the next valley.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F4.5, 27 mm, 1/2000s, ~62mi from prev photo, map
The temperature was starting to climb on my way to my next fuel stop of Ely, NV. Not too bad, low 90′s if memory serves.
Dry lake bed
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F4.5, 27 mm, 1/2500s, @77 MPH, ~2.5mi from prev photo, map
Between Tonopah and Ely, it was considerably greener than I would have expected.
US 6 — A few curves to the next valley.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F4.5, 27 mm, 1/2000s, @49 MPH, ~38mi from prev photo, map
High-desert “forests” seams like an odd designation. It’s not like any tree hardy enough to survive out here needs the ego boost.
Entering Humbolt National Forest
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F4.5, 27 mm, 1/2000s, @60 MPH, ~1.2mi from prev photo, map
The clouds and widely scattered showers kept the temperatures nicely in check.
Desert showers — These were well off my path.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F4.5, 27 mm, 1/1600s, @84 MPH, ~9.6mi from prev photo, map
Wile E. Coyote is scheming someth’n up round here — This is what I was look’n for.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F4.5, 27 mm, 1/2000s, @88 MPH, ~8.1mi from prev photo, map
Ely to Tonopah is ~172 road miles. Doing the math, my 4.2 gallon tank will get me there so long as I average better than 40 MPG, which really isn’t all that hard to do on the F800. My lifetime average for the bike is hovering around 55 MPG. But, the faster you go, the worse the mileage gets.
So, I literally used the fuel computer to set my speed on the empty roads. Around 95-100 MPH netted right about 40 MPG when tucked down behind the windscreen and about 38 MPG in my normal upright position. I didn’t hold that the entire time as I really didn’t want to have a performance review from one of Nevada’s finest, so, I’d drop it down for oncoming cars down the road. But, I still managed to cover the 172 miles in just a bit under 2 hours, which puts me at an average speed of 86 MPH including in-town puttering — not too shabby.
However, as I’m rolling down the shallow canyon into Ely, the bike sputters and dies again; this time a couple of miles from town! I was coasting down a hill, so, I let that go till it became uncomfortably slow and bumped the starter. Sure enough, she fires right back to life and I nurse the throttle into town and pull into the first station. Only 3.6 gallons to fill it up. This is starting to get annoying…
I figure there’s a venting problem in the tank as it only seams to happen after coasting for a bit right after running it hard.
On down the road, I start to wonder if I should have put some rain gear on.
How wet am I gonna get? — Not enough to warrant rain gear.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, F5.0, 27 mm, 1/1600s, ~30mi from prev photo, map
Fortunately, I only picked up a few sprinkles along the way. Enough to cool off very nicely, but,
not enough to really get wet. I’d missed heavy rains by a few minutes in some parts as the road was full of puddles. But, this rain cell on the left almost got me good.
In my path — That little stripe of road going up
the hill — yeah, that’s not the main road. The main road turn turns left directly into the rain.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1000sec, 18mm focal L. ~19mi from prev photo, map
I keep the camera in my tank bag, but, I just wasn’t fast enough and missed my second “Welcome to the state of ___” sign. So, feel the love, and welcome to Utah, and all that. Doesn’t really look all that much different.
Notch Peak on the horizon — Out from under the rain clouds. Welcome to Utah.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1250sec, 52mm focal L. @69 MPH ~61mi from prev photo, map
It’s hard to read, but, the sign says “Next 4 mi” under the arrow.
4 miles of fun? — One can only hope…
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1600sec, 18mm focal L. @61 MPH ~2.4mi from prev photo, map
Cat Canyon — Some interesting geology between the curves
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1250sec, 18mm focal L. @49 MPH ~2.2mi from prev photo, map
Cat Canyon
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1600sec, 18mm focal L. @38 MPH ~0.2mi from prev photo, map
More corners…
Cat Canyon — the rocks appear to have volcanic layers.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1600sec, 18mm focal L. @36 MPH ~0.2mi from prev photo, map
Turns out, the 4 miles of squiggly arrow sign meant there were 5 curves. *sigh* The highway department so over sold it.
But, out of the canyon, I was greeted by this stratified mountain.
Notch Peak — The upheaval of the mountain has left the stratified layers of rock exposed.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.0, 1/1600sec, 46mm focal L. @73 MPH ~1.4mi from prev photo, map
Leaving Ely, NV, the scenery just evaporated in the heat. This wearisome stretch heading into Hinckley, UT left me with a dry taste in my mouth. Literally. I have a 3L Camel Back strapped to the pillion seat and it went dry a few miles from here.
Hot and boring — Miles and miles of dry lake beds
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/6.3, 1/1250sec, 18mm focal L. @80 MPH ~19mi from prev photo, map
I backed off on the speeding a (little) bit in UT, averaging 73MPH through the 146miles between Ely and Hinckley. Not only were there more cars on the road, but, I just had that looming feeling I was asking for trouble.
Stopped in Hinckley for gas and water and was struck with a, “You’re not in Kansas California any more” feeling. The adorably perky, attentive cashier quickly asked if I was looking for something in particular as I absentmindedly stared at the wall-o-beverages behind glass doors. “Just a large bottle of water”, and she pointed out the 2 places they were kept. As I paid she struck up a conversation about where I was headed, etc with genuine interest and listened questions.
It’s all too easy to get jaded living in the city with so many people doing their best to ignore the fact that there’s so many people. Troublesome small talk between strangers can be avoided by simply not acknowledging another person’s presence; eye contact is verboten. The stop in Hinckley was a welcome reminder that not everywhere holds to these terms.
Gett’n warm — 100.4˚F in case it’s not clear. Not the hottest seen, but, I didn’t expect any less at 4:00 in the afternoon.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/1250sec, 18mm focal L. @79 MPH ~6.0mi from prev photo, map
49% of US power — generated by coal at places like this. Nice of them to build it out in the middle of nowhere, fewer complaints about pollution that way.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/640sec, 70mm focal L. @70 MPH ~58mi from prev photo, map
The rocks started getting a bit more interesting after departing US-6 and heading east on UT-132.
Ranch country
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/1000sec, 18mm focal L. @64 MPH ~15mi from prev photo, map
Painted hills
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/500sec, 18mm focal L. @49 MPH ~1.4mi from prev photo, map
Hopped onto I15 for the last few miles into Springville.
Bald Mnt — Things are starting to get more rugged.
NIKON D70, ISO 500, f/5.6, 1/400sec, 52mm focal L. @80 MPH ~33mi from prev photo, map
My dad was traveling from the Boise area of Idaho. He had fewer miles to cover, and I fully expected him to be there before me. But, I’d made pretty good time for the day and saw a text message that he’d be about a half hour behind me. Perfect — just enough time to take a dip in the pool, and lounge in the hot tub (which wasn’t all that hot).
We found a Mongolian BBQ/Chinese joint near the hotel for dinner. Dad asked if they had Coors Light, and the waitress just shook her head in the negative. So, I ask if they have Tsingtao, and she shakes her head the same and it finally sinks in — we’re effectivelly in a DRY state. Denied the one thing that really would have capped off a great day’s ride.
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