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- Zooming in, I can make out the tidbit of civilization that is Ludlow, California along old Route 66 and I-40
- Zooming in really hard, I can see some of the rock turrets at Eagle Rocks, not far from tonight's home at Mid Hills campground
- Yup, it's a stream
- Yuccas in Woods Wash near the exposed rock
- Yucca spines
- Yucca in Woods Wash, plus some bonus carvings
- You could crawl through this rock igloo near Cave Spring
- You can't see it here, but there's a thin layer of water on the ground under all the grass
- Yet more neato rock layering effects
- Yesterday, to get out here, I boarded the Amtrak train in Stockton, followed by an Amtrak bus to Primm, NV in the Mojave Desert
- Yesterday, I took the Amtrak San Joaquin train with my bicycle down California's Central Valley
- Yesterday, I boarded the Amtrak train with the 10-ton bike at Stockton, California, after a short Amtrak bus ride from San José
- Yesterday, after an Amtrak bus ride from San José, an Amtrak train picked me up in Stockton, California
- Yesterday morning I left San José and took Amtrak train and bus to Baker, California to start the trip
- Yesterday morning I left home and rode to the San José Amtrak station for my rides to Baker, California
- Yes, that should be the stream from Cornfield Spring, that green patch right there
- Yes, Cave Spring, Mojave National Preserve, just ahead
- Yep, it's getting darker by the minute
- Yellow Eriophyllum wallacei flowers are scattered intermittently in this Castle Peaks wash
- Yellow early-sunset glow in the Cady Mountains, on the other side of Broadwell Dry Lake
- Yellow desert marigolds decorate the shoulders of Nevada 164 east of Crescent Peak
- Yellow desert marigolds and purple desert four o'clocks grow by this juniper near Indian Spring, New York Mountains
- Yellow creosote bush flowers, barbed wire, Ivanpah Dry Lake, and that white peak in the distance
- Yellow and peach cactus flowers next to the small pink blooms of range ratany, adjacent Wee Thump Wilderness, Nevada
- Wry Canyon smiles back at me, Death Valley National Park.
- Wow, this must be the most shot-up thing I've ever come across!
- Wow, there's a trickle of water here at Indian Springs
- Wow, I've really overslept this morning, just woke up at 11h30 after a rather sleepless (and cold, low 20s) night
- Wow, I've never seen all of Gold Valley like this before...
- Wow, I can now see across Gold Valley to the Hole-in-the-Wall area where I hiked yesterday
- Woohoo, the fire is starting to burn!
- Woods Wash Valley Road continues through remote territory
- Woods Wash Road makes a two-mile U-shaped detour around the government property
- Woods Wash Road is visible in this view from the side of Table Mountain
- Woo hoo, I've made it back to Henry Coe Headquarters and my week spent in the Park comes to an end
- Within 15 minutes, the sun has dipped enough that my upland valley here is largely shaded
- With Wild Horse Mesa in the backgound, I spot an oversized and eroded old tire along Woods Wash Road
- With the setting sun in my eyes, I ride more quickly than usual down Kelso Dunes Road because the surface has just been graded
- With the Button Mountain road 100 feet from my tent, I watch a nice sunset through the joshua trees toward the Cow Cove area
- With sunset completed, it's time to boil water for tonight's instant meal and settle in for the evening
- With sunset at Mail Spring comes a bit of relief from the day's heat, followed by thousands of stars in a moonless sky
- With sunset approaching in half an hour or so, I'm starting to cast nice long shadows on the edge of Broadwell Dry Lake
- With so few flowers in bloom, I'm happy to find a few Encelias (brittlebrush) flowering on the Barber Mountain Loop Trail
- With relatively few wildflowers along Ivanpah Road, this little garden against a New York Mountains backdrop gets my attention
- With Pachalka Spring's greenery behind me, I walk back to my bike and look for a spot to set up my tent
- With no set destination, I start walking up the wash past Indian Springs and notice some intriguing rock layers
- With much downhill to come, I look back up at the distance I've already dropped down.
- With Kelso well-behind me now at the bottom of the hill, the heat of the day is catching up with me a bit
- With assistance from my Delorme GPS, I locate the old road that I'm hoping to follow; it's nearly invisible!
- With an hour of daylight left, I walk up to the end of Indian Springs Road to explore a little
- With a bit of sadness, I pack up and leave my Cima Dome campsite to mark the last day of this Mojave National Preserve trip
- Winters Peak, Death Valley National Park
- Windmill near the junction of upper Wild Horse Canyon Road and Black Canyon Road, Mojave National Preserve
- Windbreak
- Wind blows rocks to the other side of the dry lake
- Willows and mini dry waterfalls in the canyon
- Willow Wash, where I'll be hiking in a while, is in front of that hill in the middle ground
- Willow Spring itself
- Willow Ridge Trail rises out of the poison oak forest to a more meadowy area.
- Willow Ridge Trail rises out of Los Cruzeros
- Willow Ridge Road, lots of steep ups and downs as it rides on the ridge top. I have to drag the bike up some of the steep hills
- Will I get clean at Pacheco Camp?
- Wildflowers, Willson Peak. Henry Coe State Park, April 15, 2017
- Wildflowers, Willson Peak. Henry Coe State Park, April 15, 2017
- Wilderness markers delineate the end of the old road for cars and bicycles
- Wildcat Spring, Mojave National Preserve
- Wildcat Spring is not completely dry, yet, upon further inspection
- Wild pigs on Paradise Flat along Red Creek Road.
- Wild pigs
- Wild Horse Mesa, the target of today's hike, is the flat-topped formation ahead
- Wild Horse Mesa, Mojave National Preserve; I enjoy the views from the summit at about 5600 feet
- Wild Horse Mesa summit lies just ahead
- Wild Horse Mesa hike route, Mojave National Preserve (Day 5)
- Wild Horse Mesa hike profile, Mojave National Preserve (Day 5)
- Wild Horse Canyon Road rolls along as it approaches the Barber Peaks area
- Wild Horse Canyon Road meanders over the hills
- Wild Horse Canyon Road junction, and Mid Hills campground is just two miles away
- Wild Horse Canyon Road is one of my favourite mountain-bike rides in Mojave National Preserve
- Wild Horse Canyon Road is always so scenic as it rolls gently downward toward the Providence Mountains
- Wild Horse Canyon Road is all scenic, but I especially enjoy riding down this part with the Providence Mountains in the distance
- Wild Horse Canyon Road dips down into the upper part of Macedonia Canyon as I ride back to Mid Hills campground
- Wild Horse Canyon Road continues its twisty-windy descent, which is getting flatter
- Wild berries (chokecherries?) on the way down Walsh Trail
- Whoever came up with the idea for an outdoor shower at Pacheco Camp deserves a round of applause
- White thistle in Cedar Wash on the way to Pinto Mountain, Mojave National Preserve
- White thistle growing in Woods Wash
- White Tank Spring, Henry Coe State Park
- White Tank Spring, Henry Coe State Park
- White primroses and orange desert-mallow flowers along Keystone Canyon Road
- White drapery
- White buckwheat flowers in Macedonia Canyon valley
- While walking the mile up Red Creek toward Paradise Lake, it occurs to me that something here has changed since last year...
- While walking down Mail Spring Road, I recall good memories of last year's hikes in the distant hills
- While walking around, I notice a lot of these small animal burrows around my campsite
- While walking across the plain between Lecyr Spring and Keystone Canyon, I take a break under one of the big juniper trees
- While taking my shade break under the train tracks, I notice a washed-out cattleguard on the old road to the Lucy Gray Mine area
- While sitting here, I ponder the view to my right further up Devil's Playground Wash in Bighorn Basin
- While sipping my coffee, I notice that the water bottles which I left outside last night have quite a bit of ice in them
- While setting up my tent under the eucalyptus trees just south of the Nipton store, a train rushes past
- While setting up camp, a pickup truck drives by, not seeing me, and drives up the hill a bit (see the headlights at bottom-left)
- While riding through Daggett, I stop to check out the old sign for the now-defunct Sportsmans Club
- While riding the I-40 freeway past the military base on the way back to Barstow, my GPS mysteriously crashes
- While pausing to plot a good route down the short steep hill, I notice a small cave in the hillside
- While passing a trailer park along Route 66 near Daggett, my eyes notice an unusual mobile home
- While packing up, the tent wants to be a kite; I discover that one of my tent poles has been bent by the wind
- While lingering in the shade of the Kelso Depot waiting platform, I chat with a couple on their first visit to the Preserve
- While in my tent choosing my afternoon ride, the dirt-bike tour group members arrive at Nipton in a cloud of noise
- While heating water for coffee, I walk around to familiarize myself with my new surroundings
- While getting ready for today's hike down to Piute Spring, I have my first and only sighting of humans for the day
- While filling my bottles, I glance across the road at the Crowbar Café
- While eating breakfast in the tent, I study my maps in preparation for today's hike over to Live Oak Spring
- While climbing up the rocky hillside, I plow through a spider web by accident and have to brush this unusual spider off me
- While at the Rex Mine headframe, I get out my maps and decide where to go next
- While at the Kelbaker Road summit, I take a look at the power-line road which I could have taken to get here from Cima Road
- While at Cedar Canyon Road junction, I notice an indecisive SUV, so I go speak to its driver; maybe he needs directions
- Where am I?
- When sunset approaches, I walk up a hill near my site at Mid Hills campground to take in the views
- When people come down Cedar Canyon Road, here's the sign that they see when they reach the end at Kelso-Cima Road
- When I think of the Cima Dome area, I think of gorgeous sunsets, and tonight is no exception
- When I reach the road to Lecyr Spring, I turn and hike up that way, with the New York Mountains peaks in the background
- When I reach the old corral at Howe Spring, I realize that it's completely burned
- When I reach the junction of the north and east forks of Beecher Canyon, I turn left and start walking up the east fork
- When I reach the base of the higher hill ahead overlooking Ivanpah Valley, it doesn't look like it will be as steep as expected
- When I reach Macedonia Spring, I dont find any water at all
- When I reach Cedar Canyon Road, I stop to check my GPS for directions
- When I reach a patch of mature, unburned sagebrush, I turn east (left) and begin hiking cross-country to Mid Hills campground
- When I hiked here last year, I dropped down into Beecher Canyon, below at left; but not this time
- When I arrived here at Indian Spring, a flurry of doves took flight and left; this one watches me from a nearby branch
- When Crucero Road reaches Broadwell Dry Lake, it forks to make two separate northbound roads
- Wheeeeee, Morning Star Mine Road descends into the Ivanpah Valley and the haze of the day
- Wheee, here we go riding straight ahead the 4.5-mile length of Broadwell Dry Lake!
- Whatever this was, there's practically no mortar left at all between the stones
- What's that red speck poking out of that boulder?
- What's more scenic than a tent in a Mojave Desert sunset?
- What's left of the old road is slowly starting to slide down the hill and return to nature
- What could this old sign be out here in the middle of nowhere by Broadwell Dry Lake?
- Westward on Route 66 I go, crossing under the I-40 freeway and leaving Newberry Springs
- Western tanager
- West New York Mountains Road, heading toward the east end of Pinto Mountain
- West Edgar Canyon #3 makes a tight left turn just ahead, and continues to rise into the Providence Mountains
- West Edgar Canyon #3 is, as you might expect, full of rocks, big and small
- West Edgar Canyon #3 gets narrower and passes through some deep shade
- Well... part of the Center Flats Road ahead is somewhat flat
- Well, well, there turns out to be a series of big rollers here on the way down. I've just come down the first.
- Well, this is it: Government Holes, Mojave National Preserve
- Well, this is as close as I've ever been to Lobo Point, Mojave National Preserve, that outcrop in front of me
- Well, this is about as far up Saddle Horse Canyon as I'll go; I want to be riding up Wild Horse Canyon Road around sunset
- Well, there's Primm, Nevada just ahead; I guess this year's trip is officially over
- Well, there are some water-indicating grasses growing here...
- Well, the old sign isn't legible any more
- Well, the cistern in this old corral along Cima Road is dry, so I presume the big water tank nearby is empty too
- Well, the Cima store might be closed right now, but it's an interesting place to take a break nonetheless
- Well, that short downhill was fun! At the bottom of the hill, I reach Los Cruzeros and take a break.
- Well, since I'm at the base of one of the Castle Peaks outcrops, it's time to decide whether to continue upward or not
- Well, my planned hike down this side canyon in the Sleeping Beauty mountains instantly ends when I reach a 10-foot drop-off
- Well, it's time to start heading back down Idora Mine Canyon and back to camp
- Well, it looks like almost a mile of this sand lies ahead of me, and it would take some time to push the bike through it all
- Well, I've just passed through some yellow; now it's time for some purple
- Well, I've been riding Ivanpah Road for a mile now and am passing the settlement of Barnwell again; so far, so good!
- Well, I probably could climb down that way, in front of me, but I decide to check my maps first
- Well, I guess I'll keep looking at Table Mountain and wondering what's up there, since I didn't make it to the top
- Well, I guess I'll drop down into the valley between these Castle Peaks hills and start heading back to my campsite
- Well, I exit the Wilderness boundary and take a look back at Twin Buttes and Table Mountain before hiking back up Woods Wash Rd
- Well, I can't deny any longer that it's about to get dark here on Route 66
- Well, here's how much water remains at Mail Spring in late spring 2012
- Well, here's a rock summit at Eagle Rocks that I don't think I can climb
- Well, here it is, Summit Spring, Mojave National Preserve, a disgusting concentrate of cow shit and water
- Well, here I am at Indian Spring, New York Mountains, Mojave National Preserve
- Well, after my one-hour delay, I've remounted my saddlebags and have decided to continue on 7 miles more to Keystone Canyon
- Well after dark, I find a nice campsite along a road near Mail Spring, Mojave National Preserve, and set up for a couple of days
- Welcome to Nevada!
- Welcome to Cedar Canyon Road
- Weigh station at the abandoned Aiken Mine, Mojave National Preserve
- Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness: I take a short energy-bar and water break at the turnout along Nevada 164
- Webs
- We're ready to ride the half mile down from the Old Dominion Mine area to Crucero Road
- We're almost back at the minivan when we pass one last Desert four o'clock blooming in the sunset
- We're all taking photos of each other; Sarah sits on one of the Teutonia Peak ridges
- We were here
- We turn around for a moment to look back toward Teutonia Peak
- We start the climb up Goldbelt Grade to get over Hunter Mountain by dark
- We start seeing the occasional Desert four o'clock bush with its intense magenta flowers
- We pass through the village of Tecopa before heading on to Tecopa Hot Springs
- We pass another blooming Claret-cup cactus along Teutonia Peak Trail as we descend
- We find ourselves at the top of the Goldbelt Grade at a time of day when photographers come out
- We drive in Sarah's minivan over to the Teutonia Peak trailhead from Mid Hills campground for our end-of-day hike
- We drive 10 miles across Hidden Valley toward Goldbelt Spring
- We drive 1/2 mile up a short steep road that we pass a couple of miles after Teakettle Junction
- We come around a bend by Macedonia Canyon Road and start heading uphill; the cows aren't running quite so quickly anymore
- Way off in the distance, I can see flat-topped Table Mountain, which I'll pass later on the way to Mid Hills campground
- Water trickling down the rocks creates a small brook
- Water tank and windmill on Gold Valley Road, Mojave National Preserve
- Water remains in this tinaja in Bull Canyon from the last rains
- Water has exposed a swirling pattern in the earth and rock layers here
- Water flows down from the mountains
- Warning to me: "Rough Road Next 23 Miles"
- Warm sunshine ahead
- Walsh Trail descends quickly into the Pacheco Creek canyon
- Walsh Trail crosses the dry Pacheco Creek stream bed here
- Wallflower, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest