2008 Spring Ride to Death Valley [page 3]
Ubehebe [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.011177+-117.454744+(p-20080419-1239-3799.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
The road out of Ubehebe [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.011177+-117.454744+(p-20080419-1239-3801.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
We left Scotty's and went to Ubehebe crater as Bob wanted to attempt to get a photo of the crater where it looked like more than a hole in the ground. The winds at Ubehebe made the gusts at Scotty's grave site seem like a gentle summer breeze. I put my helmet on the mirror stalk of the GS because it can't accidently get knocked off the bike sitting there... so I thought. The wind was strong enough to lift the helmet off the mirror stalk and crash it to the ground, breaking the front plastic vent cover. The helmet then bounced and landed on its back side, leaving a nice ding in the finish. We didn't stay long at the crater.
We headed east to Scotty's junction then south to Beatty where we stopped for gas. Didn't need to fill up, but $3.60/gal sure beat the $4.70/gal at Furnace Creek. The wind was really blowing, now. Next stop was the ghost town of Rhyolite.
Rhyolite rail and GS [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.903727+-116.828613+(p-20080419-1439-3802.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
Even stone walls won't last [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.901361+-116.829232+(p-20080419-1443-3803.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
A bank [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.901361+-116.829232+(p-20080419-1444-3804.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
The economy WILL turn around [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.901361+-116.829232+(p-20080419-1445-3805.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
They don't make them the way they used to [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.901180+-116.829229+(p-20080419-1445-3806.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
Another bank [map]
![[map]](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.901180+-116.829229+(p-20080419-1446-3807.jpg)&t=h&z=16){kind=link}
You could see the wind blowing up a huge dust cloud from Daylight Pass. I was hoping that the cloud was over Badwater, but as we got closer to Furnace Creek we could see that it was over the campground. We stopped at our now-full-of-dust tents to pick up some swimming trunks then rode over to Bob's room at the ranch where Randy and I changed to jump in the pool for a while. It was close to 100 F and blowing a gale. The pool was great.
After our swim we went back to Bob's room to change, again. The three of us wandered over to the bar for some beer followed by dinner at the cafe. I hoped that the wind would die down with the setting sun. My guess proved to be correct. Had it not been Randy and I would have experienced a very noisy night. We rode back to camp and shook the dust out of our sleeping bags. It was another very bright moonlit night.
We helped another rider who was quite tired after fighting the wind all the way from Phoenix, get his bearings in the campground. Once he was settled he came over to our campsite with some beer. We swapped riding stories and drank beer until it was time to climb into our tents. All-in-all, it was a good day.