Go Big And Go Home - Day 10 - Extra……..

 

Tonopah was an interesting town.  It was much larger than we expected and surrounded by mountains.  I believe it was a mining town at one time but definitely had an old town vibe.  We had supper at Tonopah Brewing where BBQ meets Beer!  We ordered the salad with smoked turkey breast and had to split it cause it was just “extra” big.

We headed out early as we had a long ride ahead of us.  We didn’t expect many stops today other than one or two but we had more miles that previous days.  We continued along Route 6 enjoying the ride and the views.

Along the route we came across some road work with a sign indicating that we should expect up to a 30 minute delay.  When we arrived where the flag man was we were able to get off our bikes and take some pictures of the valley around (the one to the left is one of the pics).  Route 6 brought us to Route 375.

Route 375 is a little “extra”, the Extraterrestial Highway!

Our next stop was in Rachel at the Little A’Le’ Inn.  A building in the middle of no where or as some would say “out there”.  This was a great stop especially since we were stopping here and meeting up with bikers we had met earlier and 3 other bikers heading the other way, one of them on an FJR same year as mine.  We enjoyed a quick bite to eat, lots of pictures and of course lots of chats, story sharing, road recommendations and maybe a trinket or two…definitely a new sticker for the top case.  More pictures below just because it was one of the coolest places for people who love UFOs and all things “extra”

Earlier on the 6 we had passed a US missile base, the only indication was a faded sign and the only reason it was noted was the vehicle, only vehicle, ahead of us turned on to the road…

As we continued along 375 we noted signs regarding low flying aircraft all along the open desert.  I will only say that we heard them many times, however I only had one sighting as it slipped over one of the mountain ridges.  This part of Nevada and along 375 is used for US military testing and training.  The valleys are so big they can easily fly low between the mountain ridges.

Then there are the open range signs….the signs don’t depict cows….they depict bulls.  This open range resulted in one “close encounter” with said bull…..we could see him crossing the road so we stopped on the road a ways back to give him time to cross…the bull, in no rush, decided to stop in the middle of the road and check us out before moving over to the range on the other side.  The best open range signs however, were not just signs of bulls crossing the road!  Some of these signs had alternating flashing little lights around them…..we referred to these as Disco Bulls!….they were just a little bit “extra”

We were still travelling at 5000 to 6500 ft elevation.  As we pushed through some of the passes, it was amazing to see the changes in landscape.  

The mountains were always part of the view but the valleys changed almost from pass to pass.  Most were green and lush, or dry with sage and other brush…..all open ranges as well. 

As we approached Utah, we started to see these cactus type plants, in some areas they were sparse and in others they were thick as a forest.  Todd was able to identify these as Joshua Trees….not really trees, they are cactus.

As we rode the 18 into Saint George, the rock formations and colours started to change.  As we turned a corner we were looking at the a huge red canyon….extra in every way, extra big and extra red.  We found our way through to Todd and James house, rode up into their garage and then knocked on the door…hoping we were at the right place.  As soon as we knocked we had our answer by way of the two alarm system on the other side called Maddie and Moby…..we are going to have a fun couple of days exploring and have some downtime….I expect we will also be getting some “extra” loving from the fur babies.

Oh, we also picked up a friend along the way…..he’s a little extra and we have called him Terry…..Extra-Terry-estrial!  He is joining Teddy for the rest of the trip but we will share pictures later when we get on the road again.  For now we will be spending time with family so don’t expect any posts for a few days as we enjoy our downtime with them!  See you in a few!