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Death Valley over Presidents Day Holiday

10K views 103 replies 28 participants last post by  Zee Fifty 
#1 ·
Death Valley over Presidents Day Holiday




For those forum members who aren't aware of the DV gathering that takes place in Feb. here's some info so you can think about attending. This gathering is 9+ yrs. old and still going strong. I believe it was started by a few AZ riders and it has been picking up steam every year. It's a 3 day event but you can come and go as you please as it's a "do your own thing" event. The only plan is......their is no plan. The group stays in Beatty NV and most get there on the Friday of the Presidents Day Holiday. On Sat. after breakfast most of us ride into DV to see the different sites and some do the Scottys Castle tour. I'm not sure if Scottys Castle will be open for tours in Feb. as they had flooding damage last Oct. and some roads were damaged also. Best to do a search to see how the roads and Scottys Castle is. On Sun. a group usually rides over to the Bishop area for what else......food and more good conversation. Can't go wrong with that combination. Most folks pack up Mon. morning and head home. I'm sure others will chime in with more useful info on this gathering. We have had riders attend from as far away as Tenn. and as close as Las Vegas. It's never to early to plan for this.
 
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#33 ·
Hehehehehe...

From the JPG that @UNCLEJOHN posted:

Any midsize to larger machine that loves to dance in the corners and is comfortable on the bee lines is great. Fuel range is an important consideration, so know your motorcycle's capability.
Funny, until you've been there, done that and go "man, it *is* a long way to civilization!"
 
#34 ·
Any other roads left to visit?

Road Closures

Lower Wildrose Road: Closed between the Wildrose Campground and Panamint Valley Road. Access to Wildrose Campground, Wildrose Peak and Telescope Peak trails is possible via Emigrant Canyon Road from CA 190.

Upper Wildrose Road: Closed from Charcoal Kilns to Mahogany Flat due to snow.

Scotty's Castle Road: Open from CA-190 to Ubehebe Crater Road. Closed into Grapevine Canyon (Bonnie Claire Road) due to flood damage. No access to Scotty's Castle or NV-267.

Racetrack Road, Ubehebe Crater, and Mesquite Spring Campground are not affected by this closure.

Artist's Drive: Will be closed from January 9, 2017 through March 16, 2017 for much needed flood repairs.

Keane Wonder Road and Mine: Closed due to mine safety hazards.
 
#43 ·
YA GOTTA WATCH IF YA BUY A "CRYBABY " A BEER .......TEARS HAVE SALT IN THEM AND NEXT THING YA KNOW YA GOT BEER FOAM RUNNING ALL OVER /BAR/TABLE. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED !!! :surprise:0:)>:)
 
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#47 ·
Paul, I been out shoveling all that California rain that turns to snow when it hits the Utah state line!!:nojoke:
 
#51 · (Edited)
Hey guys... just wanted to chime in to say that I'm not going to be able to make it this year... :(

Some of you may know, but if not... I got injured while driving my truck last September in Montana. Without getting into a lot of details, spinal cord damage left me temporarily paralyzed. Thankfully, the paralisys only lasted a few hours. Still had to have surgery though, and I'm back on the east coast... sidelined & slowly recovering. Lots of mostly small issues remain, but the biggest issue is that I only have very limited use of the right arm, hand, and fingers. Needless to say I'm currently unable to ride, and haven't ridden since that day in September.

But anyway, this isn't about me. Just wanted to check in, wish you guys a great time, great weather, and great riding. Hope I can maybe make it next year.
 
#55 ·
On Sunday the 19th, my wife and I are going to ride over to Lone Pine and stay there Sunday night before our ride home on Monday to the Los Angeles area. I was thinking about riding up to Tonopah, over to Bishop and down to Lone Pine, as we wanted to stop by Manzanar. Not sure if we will be able to get over the mountains from Tonopah to Bishop due to recent weather. I think I saw on the map the highest elevation on that stretch of road is about 7100' or so. Has anyone been on that route in the winter? Ice?
 
#56 · (Edited)
EDIT: Original reply wasn't exactly correct...

See @Bluehighways reply below mine. This is the route (or the reverse) we've taken from Beatty to the Bishop/Lone Pine area on Sunday.

Saturday's ride is around 250 miles or so...depending on route Sunday's ride can be 300 or thereabouts.

There is a few YouTube videos of 266 & 168....

 
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#59 ·
Looks like i have a room to share if someone going and hasnt booked yet motel 6 in beatty. HAVE IT FRIDAY/SAT. / SUNDAY
 
#62 · (Edited)
At a seminar tonight; I'll be looking closely in the morning. Accuracy jumps at day 7 or less


EDIT: Three sources, none of them match very well in the desert.

Southern & central Cali will be hammered...so the gang from up north may have a bit more rain to deal with.

I'm going with some rain ending Friday, cloudy & cool Saturday and a bit of clearing on Sunday for the park and surrounding area.
 
#63 ·
Room to share/split

Have a room to share if anybody looking to split with. Friday saturday n sunday ck out monday morning. Motel 6 in beatyy nv john 321-242-0720 or send pm
 
#64 ·
I have been making this trip every year for the last 6 years or so.
Some years the weather reports were worse than this year. But the weather ended up being ok or tolerable

So I am going to hold off in a wait and see scenario

As it looks right now Friday will be a wet day traveling to Hotel

I'm willing to suck up one bad day of travel but not the whole **** weekend

Yeah I know I could sit in the hotel bar sucking down cold ones with all of you bastards but I can do that at home also without you degenerates lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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#65 ·
<...>Yeah I know I could sit in the hotel bar sucking down cold ones with all of you bastards but I can do that at home also without you degenerates lol
:biker:

:capwin:

...and miss the yearly ambiance of Beatty, NV in mid-February??

:mrgreen:



...besides - degenerates?? Usin' em big werds now, huh?

Hehehehehe....
 
#67 ·
Change of plans!

Hi Guys, my plans have changed . I won't be riding DV this time.. Rain has a way of ruining my fun. I'm going stay in Palm Desert and ride Joshua Tree National park and some other locale mts roads on dry days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Rain set to hit Friday so I will head on back home to Temecula Southern Ca Friday ... Best Regards Eldon
 
#68 ·
WEATHER UPDATE

:serious: :nojoke:

It's degrading...but my next look in ~24 hours seals the deal.

FOR THOSE THAT ARE COMING FROM A LONG DISTANCE FOR THIS RIDE

YOU are the only one that judge a forecast with the accuracy you are comfortable with. Please look at Furnace Creek as well as Beatty and any major community on the way.
 
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#69 ·
WEATHER UPDATE



:serious: :nojoke:



It's degrading...but my next look in ~24 hours seals the deal.



FOR THOSE THAT ARE COMING FROM A LONG DISTANCE FOR THIS RIDE



YOU are the only one that judge a forecast with the accuracy you are comfortable with. Please look at Furnace Creek as well as Beatty and any major community on the way.


I am going to wait until Thursday before canceling if need be.

Come on we go through every year or so and it ends up turning out ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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#70 ·
Thought the desert doesnt get much rain !! ???? Not gonna cancel now . All about the ride. See who's ever there. Maybe would be different if been there before .
 
#72 ·
Oh, I'm not bailing out quite yet...


The forecast *is* changing somewhat, but for many riding on Friday, it looks like we'll all be getting wet, no matter where you might be.
 
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