Unexpected events in Nevada

We weren't expecting to sit by the side of road in Nevada, waiting for a tow for the BMW. We also weren't expecting to spend the night in Kingman, Arizona - our original destination was St. George, Utah. We've learned that being prepared for the unexpected is key to motorcycle travel, and today was a really good example of being prepared.

To avoid the heat at the end of the day, we started a bit earlier this morning from Tonopah, NV. We headed east out of Tonopah, a one-time silver mining town, on Route 6. The road headed straight for 18 miles through a desolate valley with no trees and very little vegetation until it started twisting and climbing into the Sierra Nevada mountains, then once again was a straight shot through a valley until we reached the next mountainous area. We reached Warm Springs at the intersection of Route 6 and NV 375, which once was a thriving stagecoach stop and now is only empty buildings.

We continued east on Nevada 375, which in 1996 was designated the Extraterrestrial Highway because of many UFO sightings along this road, which is near to Area 51. We didn't see any UFOs, but we did spot small herds of cattle and horses, sometimes far off in the high desert valleys or other times grazing right next to the road. This is open-range area with no fences, and we were lucky to not see cattle standing in the middle of the road.

Once again the road stretched out for miles in front of us as we traveled through the desert valleys, then wound its way up and down the next mountain range.

About half-way down this 98-mile highway is the town of Rachel, which according to its website has a population of 98 humans and an unknown number of aliens. Mike was riding conservatively today, since operating gas stations are far apart. Tonopah is 110 miles from Rachel - which used to have a gas station - and 50 miles from Ash Springs, the closest gas station to town.

There are many signs to watch out for low-flying aircraft, and we spotted large radar installations on some of the highest peaks. Yesterday afternoon and this morning we were riding near several large military aircraft and bombing training and testing facilities.

We spotted bright blue water in the distance, a rarity in this part of the southwest. This is the Key Pittman National Wildlife Preserve, developed to preserve habitat for wildlife and birds.

Until this point, our trip was going as planned. Mike turned right onto Route 93 since the closest gas station was only 5 miles. After we filled up the gas tank, we continued right when actually we should have turned left according to our original route plan. It's a good thing we turned right, because not far down the road the charging indicator light came on, and then systems started shutting down:  first the ABS system, the speedometer, and finally the console cluster.  Finally everything stopped working, and as we were headed downhill we coasted as far as we could.

We were about 30 miles from Las Vegas on a fairly busy 2-lane highway, and luckily had good cellphone service. Mike called BMWMOA roadside assistance, two people stopped and gave us water, and within an hour we were sitting in the tow truck, headed to the BMW dealer in Las Vegas.

Stu from Stu's Motorcycle Towing has a nifty hydraulic motorcycle platform that lowered flat down to the ground so Mike could roll the BMW onto the platform. Then the platform lifted back into the rear of the truck. Fascinating!

The guys at BMW of Las Vegas were fantastic. They gave us a local suggestion for lunch at BJ's Cocktail Lounge with fantastic service and food, and took the bike right in and within another hour it was repaired and we were on our way. By now it was 2:30pm, the hottest time of day, so we decided to skip St. George and headed instead to Kingman, AZ which is only 3 hours from home. The temperature peaked at 117 degrees before we got out of busy Las Vegas stop-and-go traffic, and settled to a more reasonable yet stifling 105 degrees on Route 93 south to Kingman.

We arrived in Kingman, hot, sweaty, tired, and thankful that Mike has excellent roadside assistance, two friendly travelers stopped to make sure we were OK, Stu was quick and friendly in picking up the motorcycle, and BMW of Las Vegas was so helpful and quick to repair our bike.

Lonely roads in California and Nevada

Today marks the second week of our motorcycle trip from home in Prescott, Arizona to Denver to visit our kids; through Wyoming and into Montana to visit friends Sharon and Chris; west through Idaho and a 2-day stop in Walla Walla, Washington; continuing west to Portland, Oregon where we spent 3 days; and now heading home along the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway through Oregon and California, finally turning east into Nevada. 10 days on the BMW has shown us a wide variety of landscapes, small towns, large cities, and twisting highways.

Today we started our trip in Chester, California on Lake Almanor, a large reservoir with the first dam built in 1914. Chester reminds us of small towns in the Adirondacks in upstate New York, where year-round outdoor sports and activities drive the local economy.

Yesterday we ended our ride on California 36, enjoying the twisties and climbs up and down the mountains to Chester. Today Route 36 heading east from Chester is a straight road running through wide open meadows, pine forests that have been recently logged, and a short section twisting through the mountains.

Southeast of Susanville we picked up US route 395, heading southeast to Reno, NV through irrigated farmland with views of the Sierra Nevada mountain range to the west.

We rode through Reno, NV on Interstate 80 east for about 40 miles, turning off onto Route 50, which roughly follows the path of the Pony Express in 1860-1861. Route 50 is known as the "Loneliest Highway" for good reason:  the towns are tiny and spread far apart, and there is almost no traffic. We zoomed through 4 mile and 8 mile flats, sandy areas that spread for miles on both sides of the road.

We turned south onto Nevada route 316 in Middlegate Station, one of the Pony Express stops. This road had even less traffic than Route 50, with only one small, dusty town with mostly empty buildings along the 63 mile stretch we traveled. Gabbs is the home of the only magnesia mine in the United States, yet the town is considered a semi-ghost town.

The one gas station in Gabbs featured a broken-down building with no glass in the windows and 2 non-functioning gas pumps. We've been in this situation before, and Mike slowed down from 80 mph to 55 mph to conserve gas, and when we reached Route 95 we turned north instead of south to find the closest gas station. We made it to the gas station in Hawthorne with 17 miles to spare.

We noticed hundreds of dirt and grass-covered bunkers on both sides of the highway around Hawthorne, and later discovered that this is the site of the Hawthorne Army Depot, a 14,236 acre facility that was originally built in 1930 and today has over 2,000 ammunition storage bunkers with over 600,000 square feet of storage space.

As we headed south with a full tank of gas, the temperature climbed into the mid-90's even at 5,000- 6,000' elevation. A sign just outside Hawthorne stated "no services for 100 miles", another indication of how remote this area is.

We passed a few empty buildings covered with graffiti, remnants of isolated towns that are gradually disappearing into the desert until we rode into Tonopah, our destination for the night. Tonopah began with the accidental discovery of gold and silver in 1900 by a prospector named Jim Butler. Jim's burro got loose overnight, and when he found it the next morning he picked up a rock to throw at it. He noticed the rock was heavier than expected, and stumbled upon the second-richest silver strike in Nevada.

The 408 miles we traveled today seem remote and desolate to us; imagine how it must have felt to pioneers and prospectors in the late 1800's. I'm glad we have a BMW motorcycle instead of a burro!