Shoshone

       
Things really began to change once out of Henderson. We zipped through the desert and bingo…Pahrump! www.parhump.org Nope, we didn’t hit a coyote, nor, perish the thought, an armadillo. Pahrump is burgeoning metropolis about 50 miles NW of Vegas, and has not particular mission in life except to provide entertainment for the gamblers and, hmmm, for those seeking companionship from legalized brothels. Oh, yes, it is also the closest town to the famous Chicken Ranch Brothel. Ah, well, we can’t all be puritans.

Then another 25 miles and we were in beautiful downtown Shoshone, Nevada. Listed as an old Ghost Town, it is a blooming town of 100 hardy folks, at the south end of Death Valley. We rolled into town and tied our steeds up at the Crowbar café. We were preceded by a group of some 50 Germans on a special cross country tour, on rented Harleys, and led by a van with a mechanic and luggage. They were all on a month long ride across America, clothed in even Harley regalia to keep the motor company open for another year. Amazing that they were all in leathers and were about to descend into the depths of Death Valley and a bout with 104 F weather! Man, they had to be sweatin’!

We ate well, used the internet, browsed through the Shoshone Museum and Tourist information center, stared at the gas signs showing $5+ per gallon, and then bid our farewells. Nathalie and Thomas headed north through Death Valley, while I headed south about 15 miles to meet up with Mark and Gordon, in Tacopa Hot Springs, population 50. I will miss Shoshone, and hope to get back there soon so I can revisit the museum and the Crowbar Cafe. Good stuff!

Nathalie and Thomas were great riding partners across the country, and though sad to see them off, we would be together again in a few days when we connected up in San Francisco. These rides are about the world around us, but when the evening comes up, and we are all at dinner, it is always about the Friendship.The ride down to Tacopa Hot Springs was smooth, and awesome, seeing the beginnings of salt basins, wetting my appetite for the upcoming ride through Death Valley.