350 miler to the desert on the bird today...a few pics

[dazco]

Headed out towards death valley today and rode up thru the hills where Randsburg and Jonasburg ghost towns are. Really cool place. It's an old gold mining town from the 1800's that is quite well preserved. Some of the old buildings are in use today like the saloon and general store. Also a very interesting old cemetery i walked thru with graves dating to the early 1800's. What a amazing place. I wanted to go find more ghost towns but just to get there and back took me most of the day even at speeds averaging 80 MPH. Oh....and i buried the speedo !!! 120 MPH ! I know it had more but at that point the wind was bouncing my glasses all over my face and i had to ride with one hand using the other to hold my glasses steady. So i figured i'm at the last # on the speedo so that will have to do ::BigSmiley:

Anyways, i know it had at least enough left to do 125 and i'm pretty sure 130. But i'll have to wait till i have a full face if i decide to. I have no doubt at all it will peg 140 with the BB kit. Theoretically it won't even hit redline till around 180. So it will go as fast as the motor can muster. BB, pipes, airbox mods and a good tune and who knows !

This is the actual jail from the gold rush days. Of course they refreshed the paint, but inside there are 2 cells just as they were except for a couple dummy prisoners to liven it up.

Heres the original saloon. They're a restaurant now, tho i never went in to see how original it is inside. Just plain forgot to....DOH!

The town is full of toursits on the weekends, mostly dirt bikers

It's almost halloween, so i thought a cemetery shot was appropriate

The long and not so winding road

 

[CarlS]

Nice photos. I would really love to ride that part of the world. I'm jealous.

 

[dazco]

I love this kinda stuff too. Historical places that remind you of the simplicity of a better time....i'm just drawn to that kind of thing in a big way. There are other places around there, but it would take an overnighter to see them. Thats much easier for couples than a single person. But one of these days i will get to them. theres another one thats much more realistic because it's kept exactly as it was left when the miners left.....Bodie. It's a bit far, but i know people who've gone there and they say it's amazing. All the buildings are closed and left exactly as they were....cups and plates left on the tables exactly as they were when the people abandoned them. You can't go in them because they are locked, but you can look in the windows. I really burn to go there. but thats about a full days ride if not more. One day...one day....

But Carl, if you ever get out this way, i'll happily take you on some great rides. I only have a tiny studio, so i couldn't really offer a room. But if you ever do get out here you got yourself a riding partner !

 

[CarlS]

Thanks, Dale; I will get out that way in the next couple of years. Between you, Gary, and Barney, I should have some great riding. I did get to visit some ghost towns in New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. I, too, love that sort of thing.

 

[The Seeker]

Glad to see you stretch it's legs...LOL!

What a cool place to visit!! Thanks for the pics and narration ;-)

 

[dazco]

Quite welcome. Glad you liked them. :ya2:

 

[DaveM]

Wow that is so cool now these are the places I would love to see and especially on a bike. :y18:

 

[dazco]

yeah, they are the most interesting places to visit on earth next to the 7 wonders. I really need to explore that area more. I'd love to take a week off and do that, but it's hard to find hotels in death valley and the surrounding areas. There ARE some, but there are few, they are expensive, and the ones i've looked at online seem a bit seedy looking.

 

[DaveM]

Well then you can experience how it really was back in the wild west :y114:

 

[Dilligaf]

Great pics Daz, man that is one sweeeeeet looking bike! I was going to ride to SoCal Tuesday but the flu has me down. When I recover I am ging to cross the Sierra the see friends in Dayton NV, see Virginia City and wander around aimlessly for a few days.

 

[dazco]

Thanks, and if you ever wander down this way on a weekend lemmie know.

 

[CarlS]

Gary, get well quickly; I'm sorry to hear the flue has you down. Prayers on the way.

 

[Dilligaf]

Thanks guys, first time in years it caught me.

 

[Ksquared]

[quote author=dazco link=topic=7441.msg40438#msg40438 date=1255886104]
yeah, they are the most interesting places to visit on earth next to the 7 wonders.[/quote]

Great pictures of both the place and the bike. Not so sure I'll be getting one now, as something else has caught my eye, but I still love it.

As for the quite above, you may find that hard to do, since al but one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World are no longer in existance. the only one remaining are the Great Pyramids of Cheops at Giza. Here's some pictures of my (much) better half in front of the Great Pyramid last year

And here she is again in front of the Sphinx:

One place you don't ever want to ride is in Cairo - incredibly bad traffic and, as our tour guide explained, the lane lines are just suggestions. Glad to have gone once - will never go back.

Again - great pictures of the bike - glad to see you enjoying it so much.

 

[Candy]

Dazco - Those pics are stunning..... Love little old towns like that with so much History and all that....... and the ghosts that are there.... .... i would love to see that place one day!!!!

Will add it to my Bucket list of things to do!!!!! :y18:

 

[dazco]

Ksquared...thats my #1 all time dream destination. Something about the pyramids and Spinx that intrigues me to no end. I've looked at them on google earth a lot and one thing that amazed me the first time i did was that you always picture the pyramids out in the desert in the middle of nowhere, yet they are surrounded by neighborhoods ! I'd still love to see them. By the way, which bike caught your eye?

Candy...thanks. There are a lot of those around here because i live in an area that was where the big gold rush of the 1800's was. So there are a lot of little mining towns that popped up overnite then were abandoned when the gold ran out. The one i really wanna se because it's truly abandoned and no one can use the buildings for anything today like they do in randsburg and no one lives there....that would be bodie. This is THE ghost town. Check it out...
http://www.bodie.com/

One of the many bodie pic....

 

[DaveM]

Now these are places I would love to see. :y115:

 

[CarlS]

Ksquared, that looks like it was a great trip. That one is on my bucket list.

 

[Ksquared]

Dale: I've been seduced by the new Victory Crossroads. I was always planning to put hard bags on the Thunderbird, but the Crossroads is such a beautiful and well integrated design, with lots of power and storage space, that it fills my needs perfectly. Saw one at Biketoberfest on Saturday and confirmed that that was the way I'm going to go.

Still love the 'Bird though.

 

[CarlS]

Please let us know when you get it and post photos. We love all things on two wheels here.