May 30: Leaving Las Vegas

(click on the pictures for the high resolution version) 

    

I left Lone Pine early in the morning, and set course for Death Valley! The picture is taken on the Paramint pass, connecting the Owens valley to Death Valley. It looks as if there is some kind of lake in the distant valley (fata morgana!).
The unworldly dune constellations at Zabriskie point. It was immensly hot in the valley, 110 F (=43C) according to a ranger, at 9 in the morning.
After Death Valley, endless miles in the northern part of the Mojave desert, between California and Nevada, would lead me to Las Vegas. Not too much worth mentioning; I almost ran over a scorpion crossing the road and I had to struggle with severe wind gusts and a scorching sun. It was so hot that even at 90 mph it still felt like somebody was blowing a hot air dryer on you. I had lunch in Vegas and quickly hit the road again (too hot for a photo stop, so no pics of the Strip!), following I-15 to the north. After a short section through the northwestern part of Arizona, I ended up in Utah (which means I rode through 4 different states today - not bad!).

Some Joshua trees near the Arizona-Utah border (rare in this region according to my Lonely Planet).
One good thing about being out here with the Monster: people are generally very appreciative about the bike and walk up to me during stops to chat (and the 'head turn' effect is much stronger than in the Bay Area).
I would spend the night in Cedar City, and couldn't resist doing a small detour (over a gorgeous winding road) to visit Zion National Park. Beautiful red colors in a setting sun. Mileage today: 4027 (did 454).

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