I loaded up the hawk and the g/f's ninja with all the gear we needed for camping for the weekend up in Death Valley. Tent, stove, 2 bags, lantern, pillows, pads, food, pots, clothes, chairs...

I'd like to see Artists Drive (4th, 5th pic) closed to tourists and reopened as a race track. One way, one lane wide, no painted lines, just a raw strip of asphalt cut into the canyons with great views dropping back into the valley. Unbelievable.

Hopefully I can click send before I pass out, that was a helluva lot of riding in 2 days. Saw a little bit of everything, mountain tops, -282 feet below sea level, broke 30,000 miles, some dirt, even hit 155 indicated (yes with Cortech bags on!) across the desert floor. The size of that place really makes you feel like a bug in a frying pan. Luckily the heat wasn't turned on.

 

Awesome pictures! I bet that was one hell of a ride. Did you take pics of the Ninja loaded down as well?

 

Right on, brother! Looks like a great trip .... great time of year to do it.

 

Never been in a desert. Looks crazy. Maybe one day I'll get there.

 

One of my favorite National Parks of all time. I've been there in August when it was 115 degrees. I've also been there in February when it was 72 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Beautiful park, and nice pictures as well.

That big deck they built at Badwater is really nice.

Artist's Drive is something everybody should see.

 

One of the guys in our group has this crackpot idea to visit all the national parks in the US. Might do Yosemite and Yellowstone later this year!

 

The run into Yosemite is unreal but you'd better be paying attention. No guard rails =long drop.

 

Not to mention lookie-loos in 30' motorhomes running across the double yellow.

 

Sounds like an awesome trip. You must have one super cool chick!

 

My wife's been trying to get me to Death Valley for years (she lived in Bishop for 4 years). Definitely don't want to go in the summer. The wind can some times be brutal on the way up there. Glad you got good weather.

 

I love the desert. I am gonna have to make a run to death valley sometime. Bike looks awesome all geared up.

 

Always good to see a brother out there adventuring. What kind of mirrors are those? How many miles did you do? Cruise control? Helmet sound system? GPS? Details!!

 

We did 850 miles in 36 hours. Mirrors are from a FZR-1000, have a Throttlemeister and Cardo Scala helmet radio. I usually use google maps on my phone, but reception out there is non-existent.

The other bikes were 2 Ninja 500s, FZ-6, and a Goldwing (with 120,000 miles on it!) My bike looked a tad bit out of place, maybe it was the arrest-me-red paint job.

Note to self, next time don't use folded rear pegs to hold bags off exhaust, it wore a hole through the bottom of the bags. I'll have to patch that area with something durable, or just leave the pegs down and let the rear plastic take all the weight.