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June 15, 2011

Bishop to Stove Pipe Wells

Well, if anyone had thought it was hot on the way to Bishop, they rethought that as we backtracked a little to Big Pine and then took the nice and twisty Route 168 around the top of Death Valley, then headed down 95 to Beatty, where we had a great lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall run by a nice couple. Rob and Daryl had done this trip with the SoCal VRCC quite a few times, but Franz had always taken 136 from Lone Pine directly into Death Valley. We went into the Park after lunch and headed for Stovepipe Wells and the motel where Franz had made pre-paid reservations in November 2010. Stovepipe Wells is part of the Park and so not a Best Western for sure, but it has everything you need on-site. It has a pool and since it was 115 when we got there, the pool was the first place to hit, after getting beers/soft drinks and making sure the air in the rooms was on. There is a steak house/diner on-site, a bar, a general store and 2 gas pumps. What more could you ask? The newbies were amazed at the changes of scenery as the group rode from the beach to the Sierra to the desert.