dirt dame 561 Posted December 8, 2008 So we posted a little too late again and nobody showed up today for our ride. But I suppose everybody has had enough of Ocotillo Wells for a while, after the BIG Thanksgiving weekend. Jeff and I parked near the restrooms and the Ranger station at the north end of the park. Got there around 9:45. There were very few people out there this weekend. The temperature was around 70 degrees and it was mostly overcast in the morning, but got sunnier as the day went on. So, it was very good conditions for a day in the dez. Our first loop started out in the "street legal only" State park, where we found ourselves a nice canyon or two to explore, then we followed the wash back to the OHV park and had some lunch. After that we headed across the riding area to the Blu In to top off the tanks and went cross country over towards Pole Line road, which we picked up and then took the trail to the Artesian Well (which by now is just a big roosted out mess), then hit some mud hills and meandered over to the Gas Domes. By then, it was 3:00, so we high-tailed it back across the desert to the truck. By now the wind had kicked up bit, as we prepared to leave. So we got back home after dark and all I had time or light to do, was unload my bike and roll it into the garage. Trajan still needs a bath, an oil and filter change, a valve check, and because of a little drop I took in the sand, I need to repair the wires to the speedometer which somehow were damaged in the fall. Our first stop.... The road in. Somewhere in the bottom. Another canyon. Our final stop: Gas Domes Jeff inspects it to see how deep it was. It was deeper than he expected. Mud hills to the south east. Cloudy skies to the north. It was a good day in the desert. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrophyHunter 15 Posted December 8, 2008 Some great scenery! Woulda missed the plated section but sounds like a good day to be in the dez. Everybody was probably burned out from the T-Giving weekend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Hammerin Hammon Posted December 8, 2008 Wow nice ride, great pictures. I wish I could have gone but I was still on suspenssion till 11:13 12-07-08 Thanks Dirt Dame. I will live vicareously from my jail cell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulmbowers 236 Posted December 8, 2008 Nice images, looks like a great ride. I appreciate it when people stop to take photos- I never do fn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted December 8, 2008 Nice images, looks like a great ride. I appreciate it when people stop to take photos- I never do fn So I have noticed. I suppose it's because you do photo stuff for a living? Or, you are just too busy enjoying riding? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tlking6 0 Posted December 8, 2008 Very nice Mimi, wish I could of been there with you guys. Looks like you had the place to yourselfs. Christmas season is very very busy for me so I probably wont get out untill the 26th. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RogerTOWM 0 Posted December 8, 2008 Wow, Great photos! I sure am sorry to miss this ride. Beautiful sights and two great people to ride with, but my bike is all in pieces over at Jon’s house. Well actually I had to stay home and do some welding on my son in law’s trailer. We converted an old boat trailer someone had given him into a toy carrying trailer. Hopefully you will do this ride again and I can go then. I’ve never been in canyons that narrow before. It sure looks sweet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted December 8, 2008 Wow, Great photos! I sure am sorry to miss this ride. Beautiful sights and two great people to ride with, but my bike is all in pieces over at Jon’s house. Well actually I had to stay home and do some welding on my son in law’s trailer. We converted an old boat trailer someone had given him into a toy carrying trailer. Hopefully you will do this ride again and I can go then. I’ve never been in canyons that narrow before. It sure looks sweet! That one canyon got so narrow, that the bikes wouldn't even fit! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirt dame 561 Posted December 8, 2008 Very nice Mimi, wish I could of been there with you guys. Looks like you had the place to yourselfs. Christmas season is very very busy for me so I probably wont get out untill the 26th. I went out there on Christmas day, last year and the desert was even emptier than today. I'm sure for those of you who have expressed an interest in joining in on this type of ride, we will be posting another one in the not too distant future. We will make sure that we plan and post it earlier in the week next time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roostingu 0 Posted December 8, 2008 this ride really turned out well although it would have been nice to have some of you people along for the ride. we did about 65miles but we stopped to look a lot and enjoyed the area, we went to ride another area with slot canyons that had features called luge run, we encountered signs indicating private property not sure what that was all about but I am going to try to find another way in? we did alot of cross country stuff and with the help of the gps was able to cut off several miles of whoops which was great fun but on a couple of occasions caught way to much air, I like jumping but sometimes, the landings hurt I hit one that looked good on this side but when in the air saw the ground disappearing beneath me and from about 10ft gave the crossbar a little kiss, no worries my forward momentum kept me upright. the mudd hills were kool and those ridge lines could be somewhat challenging. I can see there is a lot more to see out there, my first time in over 35yrs the hills look the same exept for some of the tracks on some of those knobs I don't think we would have thought to ride some of those lines? no mechanical issues today no crashes all went well and I think this area needs some more time. Hey now mmm chocolate milk? I got some interesting video and will post a couple of short videos tomorrow great ride, now I need to find a job so I can afford to keep doing this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenosan 2 Posted December 8, 2008 So we posted a little too late again and nobody showed up today for our ride. But I suppose everybody has had enough of Ocotillo Wells for a while, after the BIG Thanksgiving weekend. Jeff and I parked near the restrooms and the Ranger station at the north end of the park. Got there around 9:45. There were very few people out there this weekend. The temperature was around 70 degrees and it was mostly overcast in the morning, but got sunnier as the day went on. So, it was very good conditions for a day in the dez. Our first loop started out in the "street legal only" State park, where we found ourselves a nice canyon or two to explore, then we followed the wash back to the OHV park and had some lunch. After that we headed across the riding area to the Blu In to top off the tanks and went cross country over towards Pole Line road, which we picked up and then took the trail to the Artesian Well (which by now is just a big roosted out mess), then hit some mud hills and meandered over to the Gas Domes. By then, it was 3:00, so we high-tailed it back across the desert to the truck. By now the wind had kicked up bit, as we prepared to leave. So we got back home after dark and all I had time or light to do, was unload my bike and roll it into the garage. Trajan still needs a bath, an oil and filter change, a valve check, and because of a little drop I took in the sand, I need to repair the wires to the speedometer which somehow were damaged in the fall. Our first stop.... The road in. Somewhere in the bottom. Somewhere near the end. Another canyon. A park sign that was slightly vandalized. Jeff poses with some "wool". While I had another idea about wool gathering.... At Blu In. No hordes of people out there this afternoon. Our final stop: Gas Domes Blurpy little puddle. Jeff inspects it to see how deep it was. It was deeper than he expected. Mud hills to the south east. Cloudy skies to the north. It was a good day in the desert. Nice scenery, I know that area well. Several years ago my wife and I were riding with her 10 year old nephew. Typical kid was playing in the muddy water of Gas Dome and fell in. He was up to his neck by the time we grabbed him. Needlless to say we put him on his quad and took him straight to the showers. Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roostingu 0 Posted December 8, 2008 some video's http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7...22299&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=12...43316&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=11...32524&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=53...26451&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=81...43316&hl=en Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
