Ghost-Towning Nevada

On our ride to and from the Beartooth Rendezvous in Montana, club member and riding buddy Gene Austin and I took some time to explore a few Nevada ghost towns on our ‘GSes.  In our travels, we found some of these old settlements to be still inhabited and very well preserved.  In some we found the ghosts dispossessed, and the site re-opened by huge mining operations with hundreds of employees on the site.  Other sites turned out to be nothing more than a name on a map with an all-but-forgotten past.

Not long after the discovery of gold in California in 1848, hordes of miners and suppliers spilled over into Nevada.  California has its own ghost-towns from the ‘49er days, and many of them are still inhabited or preserved as historical monuments – Coloma comes to mind on the west slope of the Sierras, and Bodie in the eastern Sierra.

Nevada on the other hand, is more remote, and its ghost towns present some interesting destinations for riders on GS type motorcycles.  Our goal was to retrace the paths of these early miners, and explore the towns they created and mines they worked - sort of like “modern day ‘49ers”.

The road to Berlin Ghost Town, Nevada

We left Placerville and headed east up Mormon Immigrant Trail, over Carson and Monitor passes, and out Nevada 208 to a favorite breakfast stop – Rosie’s Cantina in Wellington NV - then over to US 95, past Walker Lake to Nevada 361.  We were headed for the three neighboring ghost town sites of Berlin, Grantsville and Ione located just east of Gabbs, NV. 

Well preserved Ghost Town of Berlin, Nevada

If you find yourself low on gas near Gabbs, go into town and find the gas station.  It will be closed.  Walk across the street to the grocery store, and the woman at the counter will be happy to open the pump. 

Berlin is a well-preserved site with historical placards and park ranger. In fact, together with the Ichthyosaur fossil discovery, it’s a state park, and  the overnight camping here is great.

I’ve read that the northern part of Nevada was once covered by a huge inland sea during the last glacial period.  Called Lake Lahontan, it covered 8,500 square miles.  The fossils of huge prehistoric waterborne dinosaurs called Ichthyosaurs were discovered by the early miners, and are now located in the park.  These fossils present geological evidence of prehistoric Lake Lahontan. 

We left Berlin on the dirt road heading north to Ione, which claims a population of, “Around 10”.  One wonders what the heck people do out here.  I didn’t even see any power lines coming into town.







Reese River valley south of Austin, Nevada

 It’s a fast dirt road through the upper Reese River valley for the 40 or so miles to Austin.  Austin has its own ghost town past, but today, it has comfortable cheap motels, friendly people and good food at the International Café.

Our return route from the Rendezvous brought us back through northern Nevada and more ghost towns.  We came through Owyhee NV, where we picked up a fantastic dirt road heading south

Transportation in Tuscarora Ghost Town, Nevada

  
towards Chicken Creek Summit and the Ghost town of Tuscarora, Nevada.  This little gem is the site of an old smelter with the remains of a huge brick chimney.  We got a feel for the hardships of the early settlers of this town – mostly immigrants – by walking through the graveyard and reading their epitaphs.

After a short ride west on I-80, we stopped for lunch in Carlin.  Here we came across a group of BMW GS riders from Quebec.  How anyone can ride a GS across the western U.S., and keep their clothes and motorcycles so clean and shiny remains a mystery to us.



Smelter ruins in Tuscarora, Nevada

 We headed south on NV 306 toward the “ghost towns” of Tenabo and Gold Acres.  Both these sites were a disappointment.  The mines have been re-opened by huge conglomerates with hundreds of employees coming and going from the sites.

The pavement ended at Gold Acres however, and we continued south towards Austin on what appeared as a dirt road on the map, but turned out to be a maze of dirt roads in reality.  I guess a GPS could have helped us.  



Well marked pioneer route - Hastings Cutoff, NV

 After wandering around the desert like members of some lost tribe, we finally came across a ranch house whose “driveway” was actually the main dirt road to Austin that we’d been seeking.  The cowboys at the ranch house got us pointed in the right direction.  Now, if we were using GPSes, we may have never met up with these good ole’ boys!

We made our way back to Austin before dark, and got one of those cheap comfortable motel rooms, dinner at the “International”, and beers and conversation with some local characters in the 1850’s era bar.

This was our last night on the road on this trip.  Sure, we had some mechanical problems, and we got lost, and we were tired.  But isn't that what one would expect from “modern-day ‘49ers”?

Tom “Tuco” Harris (August, 2009)

For more information about the BMW Club of Northern California, visit: http://www.bmwnorcal.org/

Beartooth Rendezvous - "The Last Best Place"

Montana riders say the Beartooth Rendezvous is riding, “The last best place”.

That may be open to argument, but Dead Indian Summit, Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, Beartooth Pass (10,947 ft) are areas that provide some of the most breathtaking scenery and adventurous motorcycle roads in the country.  They are located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, just east of Yellowstone National Park in the Shoshone National Forest.





Bear Tooth Pass Road above the treeline



Shoshone, the first national forest in the United States, was designated by President Benjamin Harrison in March, 1891.  Most of the history of this area occurred before then, but Camp Monaco, just east of Yellowstone NP was the site of “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s last big game hunt in September of 1913.  It was named for the Prince of Monaco, who was a member of one of Col. Cody’s many notable hunting parties.




Rally site



In 1877, Chief Joseph and his tribe of 800 Nez Perce were chased by the US Army throughout this area for 1100 miles in an attempt to flee to Canada which ended in the last major Indian battle in the United States. 





Gene Austin and I rode off to this fantastic area on our way to the Beartooth Rendezvous near Red Lodge Montana on our BMW R100GSes.  

We left Placerville early, and headed east on US 50 following the old Pony Express Trail through northern Nevada past Ruby lake

Alpinesque Lamoille Canyon,Nevada

and across the rugged Ruby Mountains.  After an overnight in gorgeous Lamoille Canyon, we crossed northern Utah near Promontory Point on back roads - mostly dirt.  We paralleled and crossed many other pioneer routes and wagon trails, and we were surprised at how well marked these trails were even in some very remote locations.



Atlantic City, Wyoming

Dirt roads inevitably allow rocks to find some way of doing damage, so after an unplanned detour to the BMW dealer in Salt Lake for a new tire, we rode up Ogden Canyon, and on to Wyoming.  Our goal was to stay out of Yellowstone NP, and keep with the old wagon trail route, stopping at ghost towns and historic points along the way.   We crossed the Divide at South Pass, and took the dirt road leading to two well preserved ghost towns near South Pass – Atlantic City and South Pass City. 

South Pass City, Wyoming

North to Riverton, we rode the magnificent Wind River canyon, and over-nighted in Thermopolis with its Indian hot springs – open to the public and free.  Next morning it was on to Cody for breakfast at the “Irma”. 

Opened in 1902, Buffalo Bill maintained two suites and an office in this historic hotel after helping found the town of Cody in 1895.  Cody Wyoming is one of a few cities that still have an authentic “Old West” feel to it.  I hope it stays that way.

Bear Tooth Rally site

The rally site is the Lions youth camp about 10 miles south of Red Lodge.  The camp, sitting at about 6,700 ft elevation, is rustic, but nicely equipped with shower cabins, bunk houses, and meal hall.  In addition, fast flowing Rock Creek passed thru the campgrounds, and its whitewater sang everyone to sleep at night.

The rally hosts were the Beartooth Beemers, MOA#303, and the pin map showed most attendees from Montana and neighboring states plus California and Colorado, and as far away as Illinois and Florida.  Plus, there was one young guy on a trail-worn Airhead GS from England.  Rally co-chair was Bob Clement of Bob’s Motorwerks in nearby Roberts, MT. 

In a conversation with Bob, I learned a lot about the shortcomings of the Valeo starter on the R100GS.  Having just turned 40,000 miles over Beartooth Pass, the original Valeo on my GS ended its service life – rather ignominiously – in front of the rally registration table.

Clark Fork Canyon on Chief Joseph Hwy, Wyoming

I think the rally met its attendance limit of 250, but the camp didn’t feel crowded at all.  Food was provided all day long by volunteers of the Lions Club.  Three dinners were included with pre-registration, and were nothing short of fantastic.

Live entertainment on Saturday night was provided by two local guys who were outstanding on vocals, harmonica, guitar and banjo.  The beer trailer was full of local Red Lodge Ales on tap, and people were taking full advantage of the ales.  Well, I was anyway.

Some of the characters we met at this rally were - unique.  High miler type guys on high miler Beemers.  Conversations with some usually ended in a roar of laughter.   Maybe this entire trip had Gene and me in “ghost town” mode, but the “log cabin” feel of the remote Lion’s camp, and the characters hanging out here was like stepping back in time to Buffalo Bill’s day.

Weather was . . . well, let’s just say between the hard freeze one night, seeing new snow on the mountain sides only a few hundred feet above us, getting hailed on, and dodging thunderstorms during our subsequent ride north to Helena, Montanans were calling 2009, “The summer that wasn’t”.

The Beartooth Rendezvous was the destination, but as usual, it was “all about the ride.  Ten fantastic days of ghost towns, pioneer trails and historic sites: a typical GS ride.  This time, looking back, we may have indeed rode, “The last best place”.

Tom “Tuco” Harris (August, 2009)

For more information about the BMW Club of Northern California, visit http://www.bmwnorcal.org/





Red Rock Rendezvous, (or East of Ely)

The Utah BMW club – the Beehive Beemers, MOA #169 – holds an annual rally in the town of Panguich in southern Utah.  Panguich is located right in the middle of Red Rock Canyon country, containing some of the most fantastic scenery in the country.  There are four national parks and two national monuments all within a day’s ride from Panguich.  Fellow NorCal BMW club members Gene Austin, Nick Brown and I made plans to attend the Red Rock Rendezvous.



It’s about a 16 hour ride from Placerville CA to Panguich UT.  That’s two easy days.  We left early Wednesday, and had breakfast in South Lake Tahoe at "Heidi’s" – Nick’s favorite - and took US 50, then NV722 across Nevada, and lunched in Austin at the old “International Cafe” – my favorite.  There we met a couple from Colorado on GSes and told them about the NV722 route that parallels US50 from Austin to Eastgate NV – the highlight of any US50 trip.



We planned to make it to Ely with plenty of daylight left to set up camp at Cave Lake state park or at the KOA just east of town – weather permitting.

As it turned out, the weather didn’t permit, so with threatening skies, and dropping temperatures, we took Tom Bodette’s advice, saw the light, and got some rooms at the local Motel 6.  The next morning broke with sunny skies and crisp temperatures.  We left Ely and headed south on US93 in the shadow of Wheeler Peak to breakfast in Pioche Nevada.



The little mining town of Pioche NV is becoming one of our favorite stops.  Breakfast at the Silver Café right in town gives riders a chance to meet the friendly local townsfolk.  We struck up a conversation with a couple of retired miners who had worked the mines all over Nevada and Utah, and rode Harley’s “back in the day”.  One of these fellows offered to give us a tour of the old “cathouse” across the street, which is now restored and serves as a beautiful hotel and saloon called the “Overland”.  All the upstairs rooms were actually suites decorated 19^th century style, and looked quite comfortable.



Well, we could have stayed in Pioche listening to Harley Davidson stories until lunchtime or beyond, but we got itchy for the road to Panguich – which took us through beautiful Cedar City, UT, and included a fantastic canyon ride up UT14 to Cedar Breaks national monument at over 10,000 ft. elevation before dropping back down to 6,500 ft. into Panquich.



Rally Campsite at Lion's Park



We reached the rally location at the Lions Club Park and were met by the smell of green grass in the campsites, and brats on the grill in the beer garden.  By the time we checked in, unloaded our motorcycles, pitched our tents, and sampled the local microbrews in the beer garden, any plans we had to ride that day disappeared with those brats smothered with onions.  That’s ok.  The next day promised to be one of the most fantastic rides on state highways I have ever seen.

It’s a good thing the human brain doesn’t have a “sensory overload” alarm or “visual capacity exceeded” warning, because riding out “Scenic route” UT12 from Panguich would have the alarm bells ringing, and the warning buzzers buzzing.

Just east of Panguich is Red Canyon, a stunning array of wind carved and water sculpted rock – all in that signature bright red-orange color.  A side trip through Bryce Canyon national park then opens up into the vast Grand Staircase – Escalante national monument.  

In the town of Escalante is the turnoff to Hell’s Backbone.  This is a dirt road, and a GS rider’s dream.  The road circles around the top of Box Death Hollow Wilderness, and culminates at Hell’s Backbone, where the road narrows to cross over a natural arch over a deep narrow canyon.  Photos can’t do justice to these vistas.  You have to see it to believe it.  The road reconnects with UT12 near the town of Boulder.



Escalante Canyon



If a rider chooses not to do Hell’s Backbone it’s ok, because he will be treated to the most breathtaking section of state highway imaginable – along the top of surreal Escalante canyon on the narrowest strip of highway with sheer drop-offs on both sides and no guardrails.  I wondered, is this SAFE?!

No matter.  We caught our breath, and had some lunch in Torrey.  The best riding road of this day-trip was still ahead.  We left Torrey and headed west.  Just past the town of Fremont is the turnoff to Fish Lake.  The road starts gaining altitude immediately.  The pavement is flat and clean.  The curves are tight and constant.  Nothing obstructs the view of the snow-capped peaks ahead.  There is no traffic.  This is our road.  This is our day.

The road tops out at over 9,000 ft elevation and skirts around Johnson Valley reservoir and Fish Lake surrounded on three sides by mountains.  We continued our loop ride back to Panguich, and arrived tired and hungry.  We satisfied the hungry part at the Cowboy Smokehouse restaurant – a favorite among rally-goers.



Nick hamming it up in Kanab

We covered over 300 miles this day, but saved many of the stopovers along UT12 for future visits: Kodachrome Basin, Petrified Forest, Anasazi Museum, and the Natural Bridge near Fruita.


Saturday we got out late and took a leisurely trip down to Kanab and did tourist things in this tourist town – tourists by the busloads!  Lots of western movies and TV serials were filmed in and around Kanab, and the European tourists soaked it up.

The Bar-B-Que pit

Saturday night was the bar-b-que dinner.   The previous day, what looked like an entire cow was chopped up, seasoned, wrapped in foil and wet burlap bags, and thrown in to a huge brick-lined pit where logs and wood had burned all day, and been reduced to hot coals, then covered with metal sheets.  The beef was tossed in, and then covered with a huge metal sheet at ground level - forming a three foot air gap over the beef - then covered with dirt.  The result was absolutely the best bar-b-que beef I ever tasted.

We had met up with Walt Farnlacher at the rally, and decided to ride back to California together.  The return trip took us back through Nevada on NV375 – the “Extraterrestrial Highway” – and the little town of Rachel.  There’s no passing this way without a visit to the “Little Ale’Inn” in Rachel.  They serve a decent lunch, and always have interesting local characters hanging around.



Walt & Nick at Tioga Pass



And what better way to return to California than Hwy 120 through Benton Hot Springs, and over Tioga Pass through Yosemite.

The Red Rock Rendezvous in Panguich, Utah is small but unique.  There is a big bonfire every night at the beer gardens, and they cook their own bratwurst and sauerkraut lunches and bar-b-que dinner – with the help of the local fire dept.  The rally site is right on the edge of town, and there are numerous motels and restaurants within walking distance, and permanent showers at the adjacent fairgrounds.

This article combines my past two year’s experience at the Red Rock Rendezvous.  Many thanks to Bill Kessinger and his friend Mary for the day-ride recommendations on UT12, to Hell’s Backbone and the Fish Lake loop.  For more information about the BMW Motorcycle Club of Northern California, visit: http://www.bmwnorcal.org/.

Tom “Tuco” Harris

(June 23, 2010)



Portland OR to Anacortes WA

This past May, I got a chance to crew a 40 foot motor yacht from Portland OR to Anacortes WA in the north San Juan Islands in Puget Sound.  My neighbor Roger owns the vessel "Slow Flight", a Krogen 39.  For more photos, go to: http://www.krogen39trawler.com/

"Slow Flight" is the latest in a number of blue water boats Roger has owned.  (Last year he took it from Portland to La Paz, Baja Mexico.)  We spent three days  provisioning and clearing maintenance items before a shakedown cruise on the Columbia river.  On this trip Roger took a crew of 4 - me being one, and hired a professional skipper to navigate the Columbia bar and the entrance to Puget Sound. 




Slow Flight



The trip took three days, with one overnight in Warrenton OR before crossing the Columbia Bar with an outgoing tide.  The bar was very rough.  The ocean was not calm either.  We had 2-4 foot wind waves with 6-8 foot swells at 10 second intervals.  We stayed at least ten miles off the Washington coast to avoid the crab pot lines, and entered the Straights of Juan de Fuca about 3:00am.  Once inside the straights everything calmed down, and all we had to do was stay out of the way of all the freighters.



Approaching Anacortes

We passed near Vicoria B.C. Canada, and I was surprised to learn that my daughter Betsy and husband Justin who live in Seattle were staying in Victoria over the weekend.

Now that the boat is safely docked in Anacortes, we can have some fun taking it out fishing and crabbing.  I hope you're reading this Roger.

Tom "Tuco" Harris
(June 23, 2011)