Day 6

Final location: Mammoth Lakes, CA; Final odometer: 19526; Miles so far: 3201.0
I napped fitfully all night. I was already moving when a backhoe roared by on the camp road at 5:28 AM. Not much scenery, the lake is pretty low.
It is a pretty desolate area around the northern end of Lake Mead. I think all of Nevada must look something like this - up near the Burning Man location it was similar terrain.
The "Campground Host" told me of a short cut to I-15, it ended up being through another park where you had to pay the fee on the honor system. Begin the good Scout I am, I did pay. It was worth it. Valley of Fire is another nice ride with brand new resurfaced roads. There is camping there and I probably could had spent the night there instead. Oh well. Blew by Vegas.
Headed up toward Death Valley. Should be there by high noon - perfect! But it only got to 113, I was hoping for 120. Really.
Climbed to the top of Zabriskie Point. Warm little stroll in jeans and boots in 100+ heat. A good ways up. I pity the folks who were nice and comfy in their AC and had to come out into the heat - at least I was used to it. Somewhere along the way the temperature did hit 113F. I stopped at the first store on the way out for more ice and told the lady I had expected 120F. She mentioned that it was that last week and that the runners (?) wanted 120 too. Anyway, she was complaining about the humidity! I put on my wicking shirt and a wet towel for the rest of the ride through the valley. And just my luck - I got rained on in Death Valley! The pass(es) coming out of Death Valley were pretty curvy and very windy (lots of wind this trip). This is at the top of one of them and where I encountered the first of the runners that the store lady mentioned. They were strung out for at least 30 miles, running/walking in pairs with support vehicles. At one point there were a bunch of them stopped where water had flooded across the road. I saw a truck go through it and so blasted through, it wasn't very deep but I put my legs up in the air, yelling "Wheeeeee!!" for the entertainment of the runners and supports stopped there. I stopped in Bishop, CA (no, not raining, just a convenient place to park) to talk to Carsten in San Francisco about how much more of a trip I had ahead of me to get to his place. We decided that I would not definitely make it today and that I should take my time through Yosemite too. He told me the Mono Lake area would be a good place to stop. Unfortunately, Carsten was going to be at a client tomorrow, so I'd have to skip that visit. At this stop, I also took the opportunity to call SCP in Reedsport, OR about getting a replacement back tire. Victoria there agreed to look into it for me.

A nice view just north of Bishop, CA, none of this moisture made it to my side of the mountains.

Ended up in Mammoth Lakes, CA at a Motel 6. It had gotten really chilly and wet so decided on a hotel versus camping (which also saves about an hour in setup on either end of a stay). I chatted with a nice man from Wichita, KS in the hotel parking lot who was out touring around solo on his Harley. I ended up sitting with him at dinner at an Italian place across the street and having a nice long conversation with him. I had the Mammoth Pizza (no picture, it's just a pizza) with two Mammoth Brewing Co's Hefeweisen which was really good. Walked back to the Motel 6 for some blogging and sleep. Will go through Yosemite, then San Francisco (have to cross the bridge!), then points north.