Now Boondocking in the Lahontan State Recreation Area

Sunday, October 11

I woke up to outside temperatures of 30° f, a bit chilly. Still with the heater running it was just fine. I rapidly broke down camp and was on the road by 7:38, by 14:30 I was at the Lahontan state recreation area and have figured out how to pay for a site, I think. 

It says $20 per night for camping and entrance fee for designated campsites, however how do you classify primitive beachside camping? I went ahead and paid for 2 days what the hell. 

The temperature here is much warmer at 69° according to the thermometer, with a low of only 44°! 

Nice and sunny as you can see, and basically no wind just a gentle breeze once in awhile. 

Altitude: 4150 ft.

Monday, September 13

I woke up to cloudy skies and they would turn out to be pretty much gray and slightly chilly.  There's apparently some winter storm warnings being issued for the West Sierra Nevada region.

I did take Yagi, my TW200, out for a little ride just to check things out near me. 

I had spotted a small herd of wild horses in the distance, so I returned towards camp to get closer to them for this video: 

A view of camp from the access road:

Not much else happened, I did spot and prepped to help some guy get unstuck from the sandy beach across the lake from me; however by the time I got there the Park's representative had shown up to tow him out.

I'll be heading into California tomorrow, assuming the winter storm doesn't shut down I-80.

T-Dub'ing to Lava Butte

While Martha went to do some shopping in Henderson, I rode out this morning on Yagi, my TW200 to check out Lava Butte.  It lies outside, the borders of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The beginning of the trail, shortly after it becomes a dirt road from the trailhead off of Lake Mead Boulevard was pretty rough, you definitely need 4x4 and good ground clearance just to get on the trail!  (Big boulders and ruts with a decent slope)

Here was today's objective:

The way to the butte was not bad at all after the entrance, I experienced not too many technical bits along the way except the last steep hill before google maps said I was at the butte.  It was quite steep but Yagi did it with no issues, in spite of my reservations.

Lava Butte

I continued on the "designated route" on this BLM land, detouring slightly at times for pics:

Yep, this is the "designated route"

This rock formation caused me to detour slightly,

and no, I didn't ride closer...

Back on the designated route, I caught up and passed a white pickup truck only to see a spot for pics, so he ended up passing me anyways.  It's always nice when slower vehicles yield the road to faster moving vehicles when off-roading.

You can see southeastern Las Vegas Metro

I left Yagi after taking the above pic and wandered over to the nearby cliff edge seeking views of the valley next to me:

While at the edge, I saw this colorful rock formation...then I spotted the car.  See it?

Yep, either idiots dumping an old car after using it as target practice or remains of some of Las Vegas' mobster history...probably the first theory.  :)

A view of the valley, colorful right?  This is in spite of the light due to overcast skies.

Looking back the way I walked, can you see Yagi?

Once back on Yagi, one last pic of the cool rocks forming the cliff edge:

Soon after the above pic, I was at the Wet Lands Conservation Park and motoring along a sedate dirt road towards the outskirts of northeastern Las Vegas.

As you can see, storm clouds had been steadily gathering and I was anxious to get back to the camper before the rains came at Noon.  I would make it through the city tangle and back onto Lake Mead Boulevard without any issues and only got a little bit wet from scattered showers.

Not a bad little route, this Lava Butte trail, I'd rate it as moderate for a rider with my lack of off-road riding skills.

Boondocking in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area's Government Wash

A somewhat short driving day today as we drove to be close to the Las Vegas, NV area.  Since we gained an hour once we were in Nevada, we were setting up camp by Noon.

There's several rigs here but the sites are pretty dispersed so far.  Not enough rig to make for crowded conditions yet.  We got ourselves a pretty good spot with views of the water on Lake Mead:

Close to sunset, which wasn't much of an event, I rode out on Yagi to check out the rest of the area.  

Not much to tell, more rigs to be found, but still good dispersal patterns.  The roads are rocky and rough so slow going for camping rigs and cars, easy stuff for Yagi.

About a 1/2 mile as the crow flies from our campsite, I was accosted by this dog which was running amuck.  He kept circling the motorcycle as I worked to get away from it, barking the whole time.  I finally left it behind and watched as it then decided to hound a couple who were walking their own dog.

The dog, any dog, is supposed to be on a leash but its owner obviously don't believe in "rules".  The owner finally ran up and grabbed the dog's harness and dragged it away to their "camping rig":

It took this incident for me to discover I'd left my Mace dispense in my other pants.  Just as well I guess, it would have been the dog which paid for its stupid owners' lack of control.

I stopped briefly to chat with the couple with the other dog and they too expressed their surprise and disapproval at the dog and his owner's lack of control.

Anyways, I left that area behind me, it wasn't at all scenic anyways.  Returning to my campsite, I got these shots in the golden hour's light:

We'll be here a couple of days or so before moving on.  It was very windy today and hot, with a high of 92 I think.  It's supposed to be a bit cooler tomorrow but we'll see.

Uraling to Burning Man

The Burning Man site, that is!

This morning I drove Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol, to the site of the Burning Man Project.

The event is held on the Playa of the Black Rock Desert, where I'm presently boondocking.  Turns out, I'm camping just shy of 4 miles to the east of the site!

More info about Burning Man here:  https://burningman.org/

Obviously, the huge crowds that are drawn for this event later in the summer, would be a non-starter for me.  However, visiting the site to see what it looks like vs what it looks like when "Black Rock City" comes to life is quite acceptable.

The "city" actually showed up on Google Maps' Satellite View and I used it to steer Scarlett to the center of the city.  I wouldn't have found it otherwise, as presently there's no evidence of it having been there!  Kudos to the cleanup crews used by Burning Man organizers!

screenshot from my phone

using google maps

google sourced photo of the city

Scarlett, sitting right where the blue dot

shows the city center in the first pic

source: google

Lori and Chris Z. stopped by to drop off stuff and I fed them lunch before they continued on their way towards Crater Lake in Oregon.

I'll rejoin them again somewhere near Spokane, WA by the end of this month.

Yagi is Back! Now Boondocking on the Black Rock Desert's Playa

Wednesday, May 10

Well, the pickup of Yagi from the mechanic wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped.  Still, by 9AM I had possession once again, paid the bill and was headed towards Tonopah, NV to join up with Chris and Lori Z.

Yagi basically has a new top end for her engine.  Here's some pics of the old parts that were replaced:

You can see where the intake valve that broke off impacted on the piston's face several times and apparently holed it too.

The intake valve broke off from it's holder, basically looks like it sheared off!

The intake valve is well and truly jammed in the head.

I joined up with the Z's later in the afternoon and we had a few shots of Ensign Red Caramel Whiskey to soothe my sorrows.

Thursday, May 11

I woke early as usual, took Yagi for another test ride around the BLM area to the south of the town of Tonopah where I spent the night.  Yagi ran great!

Around 9AM I left the Z's to scout ahead to our next planned boondocking site.  It was in the "playa" or beach of the Black Rock Desert NCA (National Conservation Area).  Same area where the storied Burning Man Festival is hosted annually apparently.

I found the hot springs that had led me to pick this area but no camping allowed within 300 ft of them so I searched for some place nearby.

So I went down the Trego Beach Access road and after dithering for a bit as to whether Uma was too heavy for the sand or not; I did venture out onto the playa/beach and picked a spot close to the access road just in case.

Uma didn't sink too much so it's all good for now

Chris and Lori Z experienced some vibration issues with one of their Overlander's ties.  So they stopped while still in civilization to have it looked at.  Hopefully, it'll be something easy and simple and join me soon on the playa.

Tonight's sunset wasn't too bad:

Uraling in the Valley of Fire State Park

I rode Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol Sidecar Rig, the five miles or so to the western entrance to the Valley of Fire State Park.

I left the campsite by 7AM so I got to the place before it got crowded.  I still kept encountering the same people at each site but that's not unexpected.

Note to self, if there's ever a next time for this park, and you're there early enough, go to the Fire Wave first!  It's apparently quite popular so this way you beat the crowds.

Elephant Rock (meh) near the western entrance

The Seven Sisters, again meh, but worth a stop if you're picnic'ing I suppose.

Nice little access road crossing massive rock formations.  You take this road to get to Mouse's Tank:

Mouse's Tank, on the other hand, proved lacking.  It's apparently a .75 mile there and back trail, felt longer and the disappointing end didn't help.

Mouse's Tank

Across the highway from the stop for Mouse's Tank, there's some picnic benches.  I checked out the area behind the benches and found a neat rock formation which I'll call the Sunburst:

A view of rock formations from Parking Lot 1 enroute to Parking Lot #3 where one can begin the trail to the Fire Wave.  There is no stopping allowed for the four mile stretch before spot #1 and beyond spot #3.  Too bad.

From Parking Lot #3, you walk about .75 miles (1.5 mile there and back) to the Fire Wave.  The light of the nearly Noon sun had quite the flattening effect on the swirls of the rock that form the wave:

The Wave?

Near Rainbow Vista

I stopped at the sweeping curve near the Visitor Center (meh) and got a shot of their "Balancing Rock".  Perhaps I'm jaded from having seen other Balancing Rocks elsewhere...

There were many more cars and people than earlier so it was time for me to exit the park and return to the campsite.

I spent the afternoon reading a book outside the VRRV as the winds steadily became stronger and stronger.  I did go into town briefly to get gas for Scarlett and rubber seals to fix a slight leak in the kitchen faucets in the VRRV.

Got a call near 5PM, the mechanic said they're close to fixing up Yagi and should be done by 10AM tomorrow.  We shall see.  I'll probably displace to Henderson in the morning and prepare the VRRV for further travels as I await receipt of Yagi.

I doubt I'll return to this park.  It looked so promising but ... meh.