On March 8 we headed out on a ride to a pretty obscure site in Nevada called Lunar Crater National Historical Landmark and Byway just east of Warm Springs, NV. To get there, we traveled some pretty remote roads starting with the Extraterrestrial Highway (NV 395) from about Ash Springs along US 93. This road takes you through the infamous Rachel, NV and be sure you have a tankful of gas before you go. Pretty lonely out there. No wonder so many UFOs visit! Once we hit US 6, it was a short run to the cutoff that is clearly marked for the lunar crater. If you aren’t into riding dirt roads on your street bike, don’t bother coming here! I never have too much apprehension about that till the road either gets SO rough or it gets SO soft that I find it hard to hold up the bike (with Cynthia on back too). If you have been following our adventure, you know I don’t have too much of a problem dropping my bike. The road was a challenge but you know, that is the whole idea of the tour! The scenery up that way is pretty astounding. Lots of volcanic activity once dominated the area. There are quite a few volcanic ‘cones’ as well as craters and lots of ancient lava flows. After our visit, we headed west on US 6 to US 95 and home. It was a pretty big day, clocking in at a total of 544 miles.
We continued our exploration of Nevada with a trip up north to the Carson City area. For those of you who haven’t been up this way, there is loads to see and do! Our first encounter was the Goldfield National Historical District right on US 95. Even though it is the seat of Esmerelda County, there isn’t much happening. I think Goldfield qualifies is a semi-ghost town. One thing is for sure- make SURE you are doing the speed limit through town! After running along US 95 at 80 or so for a few hours, 25 mph seems incredibly slow! We continued on US 95 and after a few twists and turns, we stopped for a visit and supper in the Virginia City National Historical District. This has got to be one of our favorite places. The ‘feel’ is just right and its place in history is unquestioned. It is pretty hard to fathom the quantity of silver (and other metals) that came from the mines there. The drive up to Virginia City on NV 341 from US 50 will take you through other gold mine towns but the route past Virginia City back down the mountain towards Reno is especially good for motorcycles. Definitely give it a spot on your bucket list.
We stayed in Carson City for the night and planned to stop at the Nevada Railroad Museum the next day on our way back to Las Vegas. They have a very special railroad car/engine called the McKeen Motor Car. Only one left in the world, this one was found as a diner before being restored by museum volunteers and staff. As you can see from the pictures, it is very Art-Deco. The McKeen Motor Car is a National Historical Landmark and it is but a small portion of the very cool railroad pieces housed in a pretty nice museum. Definitely stop for a visit!
Our next trip saw us traveling east to one of our favorite areas, north-central New Mexico. We left April 3 for a multi-day trip that was to include a visit to the Trinity site. Only open two days each year (the first Saturday in April and October) the Trinity site is the spot where the first nuclear bomb was exploded. We got there on the 4th, early we thought… and unfortunately for us, the line of cars waiting to get into the site was daunting. We had a lot of other things to see that day so we moved it on our bucket list to October (anyone interested in making the pilgrimage?). From there we visited 8 sites for our tour ending our day back in Albuquerque.
The first was just south of the Trinity site, Fort Craig. This is another place accessed only by a dirt road albeit a pretty good one. Fort Craig was built to station soldiers to help control what was then, an Indian problem in the Rio Grande valley. Then and after, the fort served as the largest fort in the southwest during the Civil War. An interesting spot to visit, especially if you are a Civil War buff, Fort Craig is in a picturesque area and has a fair amount of trails for you to explore the area of the old fort, though not much remains.
From there, we headed north and stopped at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and a quick lesson on the wildlife in the Rio Grande valley. In addition, we were able to pick up a stamp for the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historical Trail which winds its way up the valley. Within a few miles we stopped again at the Seviletta National Wildlife Refuge and by now you should have a pretty clear idea that this area of New Mexico teams with wildlife, especially birds. We rode towards Albuquerque and not too much further on found ourselves at Abo Pueblo to begin our exploration of the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument(s).
Comprising three separate but within close proximity, the Salinas Pueblos consist of Abo, Quarai and Gran Quivira pueblos. There is a lot of history at these sites bit not a lot of building. At each, the buildings which survive mostly intact are the churches. There are visitor centers at each site bit the main visitor’s center is in Mountainair, New Mexico. This high country of New Mexico is just right for motorcycling. Great roads without a lot of traffic, perfect for looking around at the scenery without too much caution. Basically, these three pueblos in the Salinas valley from about 300 years ago represent the Spanish effort to bring religion and pueblo life to the Native Americans. By the 1670’s the pueblos were abandoned due to bad relations with the Apaches and the strong influences of the Zuni district to the west and north-west. Since they all are so close, it is worth the drive to visit each of them as they do tell a slightly different story. We ended our day back in Albuquerque, a good central point for any exploration of the Rio Grande valley.
The next day we first headed east to Petroglyph National Monument, just on the other side of the Rio Grande from Albuquerque proper. Loaded with petroglyphs, it is a magical place with many sites to hike to and experience the art from so long ago. The western part of Albuquerque is a mass of volcanic rock, the best kind for picture drawing. The park has four distinct areas for hikes, all within a few miles of each other. Included in that is the volcano site that comprises Black and Vulcan volcanos. Easy to get to from Interstate 25, don’t miss it!
We then headed north on I-25 towards Santa Fe and the Pecos National Historical Park. Pecos NHP is pueblo site and is situated in the pass that the Santa Fe Trail passed through. The whole area is wonderfully packed with history due to its location. The adjoining Glorieta Pass Battlefield National Historical Landmark is considered the Gettysburg of the west. While attempting to invade the north in the western-most theatre of the Civil War, Confederate troops were turned back at Glorieta Pass by Union forces who were stationed at Fort Union (our next stop), securing New Mexico in Federal hands.
Fort Union National Monument is not far off I-25 but more than a few generations removed from today. Out in the middle of what seems like nowhere, Fort Union was a fascinating visit with a rich history spanning three fort constructions for 40 years beginning in 1851, a defender of the Union AND a major stop along the Santa Fe trail. I don’t know about you but being able to walk in the ruts left by multitudes of wagons heading west was an experience I can’t describe in words. You have to do it. It is a must visit, though there are other places you can sink your toes into the Santa Fe Trail but the combination of the fort and the trail is a moving experience.
After our visit to Fort Union, we headed back south and cut off I-25 at Santa Fe, heading up into the mountains towards Los Alamos to Bandelier National Monument. Bandelier NM is a really cool spot in that you can hike up to and into the cliff dwellings. Something you can’t do at a lot of other cliff dwelling sites. The loop up NM 502 and NM 4 back towards Bernalillo is a must motorcycle road. Be sure to stop at Bandelier though since the dwellings are so accessible and the area it is in is pretty nice. With a quick stop at Valles Caldera Natural Preserve along NM 4 to learn about the massive caldera that was once an active volcano, we ended our day back at our base in Albuquerque.
Both days saw some pretty big riding at over 400 miles each day with numerous stops which made the days long. We returned to Las Vegas and managed a little over 1,900 miles in four days. With a shade over 54,000 miles on the K1600, it was time for the 18,000 mile service interval (not to mention a tire too) before we could head out again.
By the 19th of April, plans had been set with Gary Waddell to go back out to BMS saddles and get our bike seats re-adjusted. I found mine way too soft for long distance riding so we decided to make the trip and to include a visit to Channel Islands National Park while we were in the neighborhood. What a bonanza of aquatic life the Channel Islands are! We were really taken back by the amount of premium activities you can pursue there. While we didn’t allot anywhere near enough time to fully appreciate the park, we’ve added it to our bucket list for later. Since it is only a short drive from Las Vegas and do-able anytime of the year, we expect to go back to Ventura and do to full boat tour island visit. While we didn’t stay very long at Channel Islands, we did get a chance to ride CA 33 as part of a loop from Ventura up into the mountains and over to Frazier Park and back down I-5 and in to Ventura again via CA 126. We had planned to ride CA 2 through Angeles National Forest on the way home but heavy clouds in the mountains caused us to bypass this road for a later date also.
We ended April with a total of 8,788 miles thus far with four states and 24 parks on our National Parks Tour. Stay tuned, much more to come! Greg & Cynthia