Miles of beautiful mountains

The 1938 WPA Guide to Idaho described this section of HWY 93 as "miles of beautiful mountains, ranging from soft flanks to the lean and glittering backbones".  Cold overcast skies this morning leaving Arco.  Temperature around 45 degrees.  70 degree change in a week.  Working to adjust.  Added all the layers in the saddle bags.  

In 1983 one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit North America rumbled through Lost River Valley instantly dropping the valley floor as much as 14 feet and forming dramatic escarpments in the area.

As the valley floor dropped, the Lost River Valley Range rose.  All occurring within a matter of minutes.

The Salmon River meets the road in the flats moving into the Salmon River Gorge with sheer canyons and steep walls of rock.

Into Salmon the highway twists and turns for 35 miles along the river.  After several days of straight handlebars it became a magical ride of pressing and leaning into the turns.  Heavy clouds promised rain all afternoon.  It was a cold, but dry.  Looking for hot coffee.

Kickstand down in Salmon ID tonight. 

be strong, be safe, Carlan

Into the Sawtooth Range

Heavy clouds with light rain leaving Jackpot.  Temps dropping from days of 105 degrees to mid 50's.  Open plains turn to green fields of new hay.  Bugs splattering my windshield.  Feels good to breathe in the cool air.

At Twin Falls HWY 93 meets the Snake River Canyon.  Completed in 1976, the I.B. Perrine Bridge spans the Snake River for 1500 ft.  The bridge rises 486 ft above the canyon floor.  A perfect location for BASE jumpers.

How do you pack your parachute for jumping off a bridge?  They say very carefully with a smile and a prayer.

The ride down is a smooth glide followed with a long hike back up.  Think staying on the blacktop might be smoother.

Several miles east of the bridge along the river is a massive ramp of dirt.  September 8, 1974 was the day Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon in his  rocket-powered Harley-Davidson sky cycle.  Unfortunately, one of his parachutes deployed on takeoff.  He gently floated down into the canyon.  As Evel would say..."Where there is little risk, there is little reward."

Volcanic outcropping beging to appear along the road.  Craters of the Moon National Monument encompasses three major lava fields and about 400 square miles of sagebrush.  The lava fields are examples of open rift cracks.  They include some of the deepest known on earth at over 800 feet deep.  Speaking of sagebrush...a four foot high tumbleweed is gently moving toward the road ahead.  Back off the throttle, the weed slows, roll on the throttle, the weed speeds up. You know the rest of the story.  More small pieces of tumbleweed covering the bike that you can count.

Six days on the road.  Looking' for a washing machine and dryer tonight in Arco, ID.  Rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

be strong, be safe, Carlan

Meetin' the TRIBE

Last night saw the bikers rolling into the Hotel Nevada in Ely.  Figured it was a Labor Day weekend run beginning.  This morning front of the hotel was crowded with bikes and members of the TRIBE NOMAD MC.  They had ridden in from across Nevada, Oregon, California, and Utah for their annual run.   A special time to patch in new members and remember fallen brothers.  They have 22 chapters internationally.  Didn't take long to start shaking hands and sharing stories.

Redman, International President of the MC, made me an honorary brother.  Other brothers from different states handed me "Brother Cards".  "When you need anything, show the card, we'll take care of you".  Swinging my leg over my bike, several brothers gathered in a circle around me.  Shared a special blessing for a safe trip.  Brotherhood, spirit of the road, that's what it's all about.

Leaving Ely a  sign reads...next gas 124 miles...no services ahead.  And they call HWY 50 the Lonely Highway.

The historic Pony Express route crosses HWY 93 just north of McGill.  Quite a different iron pony.

Gas tank filled at the 124 mile marker.  Another 75 miles to Jackpot.  First heavy winds of the trip.  Front to the west.  Temperatures drop quickly 20 degrees.  Into Jackpot tonight.  Jackpot was founded in 1956 after Idaho banned slot machines.  Jackpot's visitors mostly come from Idaho, as do its power, water, even its clocks are set to Idaho time. 

Kickstand down at the Four Jacks Hotel.  Red carpet in my room with slots and roulette wheels printed in purple.  Pure Nevada border-town gambling.

be strong, be safe, Carlan

Extra-terrestrial life does exist...?

Few miles north of Alamo HWY 93 meets the intersection of Nevada 375.  Better know as the Extraterrestrial Highway leading directly to Area 51.  It was a detour from my route, but it needed to be explored.

Within a few miles it was very apparent extra-terrestrial life does exist.  They seem to come in peace.

Forty miles of road without passing a car HWY 375 comes to Rachel.  Rachel is located just outside the gates of Area 51.

Some of the local residents had stopped by the cafe for lunch.  Asking if I could make a picture they were a bit shy about making eye contact.

Turning back from Area 51 to return to HWY 93 alien objects were seen hanging from Joshua trees.

Rejoining HWY 93 the road opened into the Great Basin.  Mile after mile, cloud after cloud,  the experiences of seeing extra-terrestrial life first hand, making photographs of extra-terrestrial folks,  yes...they must be out there...somewhere....

Kickstand down in Ely, NV at the historic Nevada Hotel.  Probably dreaming about ET tonight.

be strong, be safe, Carlan