Searching For New Stuff In The Same Old Desert

Just a quick note about my RevIt Gear...I wore it every day in the rain and it kept me really warm and dry. The outside would get wet, but the waterproof liner never let it get to my clothes or skin. The next morning the outside would be completely dry and it would be ready for more. I like the fact that I was able to put all my T-Pro armor in it, too. It was pretty trashed when I got home but a quick run through the washer and it looked brand new again. Love it

Ugh! That is heartbreaking, ghte I'm sorry to hear it. Hopefully it'll at least bring a massive explosion of wild flowers for you.

After tooling around in the rain for the early part of the day, we dropped down out of the Pueblo Mountains and made our 2nd trip to Fields in as many days. No way was I leaving Oregon without a Fields burger and shake
It was as good as I'd hoped, and it made the rainy ride back to camp totally worth it. Not long after returning to camp, though, the sun came out and it turned into a fantastic day.
We took full advantage of it by taking my Husky TR650 Terra out for some exploring.
Virgin Valley is beautiful beneath blue and white skies...

At first glance it looks pretty remote and barren...


But if one looks closely, there are signs of life everywhere...

Not to mention opals...


We headed out towards the ponds. Love the lettering in the Virgin Valley area of the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge...



After birdwatching at the ponds, we both agreed it would be better to take the long way back. Isn't it always?



Ran across this crazy thing and wouldn't have known what it was had I not seen something similar down in the Los Padres National Forest...

Birds get thirsty out in the desert...


This guy was hanging out with a herd of wild burros. Interesting white brand on his rump...

Hmm...what's that white stuff over there near the ridge? Let's go check it out!

Hah! Sorry. I had to start primping for a date and I ran out of time
The date ran late, so...
Hopefully I'll wrap this up this evening!

A hidden playa! Less than 10 miles from where we've been camping for years!



Let the fun begin!
















Time to let the clutch cool off...





Playas are huge fun, and we had this one all to ourselves. They are not fun in the rain, though, so the first drops had us scrambling off the playa post haste. The track that's visible in front of the bike was left by us on the way out. These roads don't get much use...



Of course the sun came out as soon as we left the playa and headed for base camp...







The beautiful Pueblo Mountains...

I'd love to take credit for those wheelies but it was Eric doing them, not me

The rain over the mountains paid off big-time as we headed back to camp...




The grassy sections still had quite a bit of moisture in the ground, and there was a bit of standing water in the ruts. This section smells so good all the time, but it's incredibly sweet when it's been raining...




The source of much happiness...




Always look up...





The last campfire is always bittersweet...



We slept well that night, as we always do in the desert. The sounds of the wild burros did not keep us awake, thus leaving us fresh and ready to go the next morning. We reluctantly loaded up and headed down the long road towards civilization. We were sitting at the stop sign where the dirt meets pavement when we heard the truck and trailer coming down the road making a ton o' noise. Eric said it sounded like wheel bearings. We pulled out behind him but kept a good distance. Good thing...
















We helped as much as we could, then wished him luck and headed home. Funny that our trip started and ended with a wheel lying in the road.

I wanted to go somewhere new this year, but we ended up in our same camp spot and riding some of the same areas. I feel a little silly now about all the complaining I did before we left. I'm fortunate that I got to see all the new things that had been left undiscovered for me on all those previous trips. I hope you all enjoyed them as much as I did. Thanks for coming along!




WoodsChick

Yep

I've been staring at this report for a long time until I noticed this part.

Thought Eric had a helmet camera!

Great report as usual.

Thanks, Coffee!