Southwest Tour, The River Run

     Every year, sometime near the end of April we pack up and head to Laughlin, Nevada for The River Run.  Our plan was to head to the motorcycle rally and then take a little tour of Arizona after, so we headed for Laughlin.    

     April often has bad weather that makes travel over the Sierra mountains impossible.  This year the weather cooperated and we were able to take one of my favorite rides, Carson Pass (Hwy 88) to Hwy 395 which runs along the eastern side of the Sierras to Bishop, California.

     Home in wine country to Bishop is about 370 miles, a good if slightly long days ride.  We left around noon, which put us in the high country after dark.  John Muir called the Sierras the "gentle wilderness,"but he must have meant during the day because after dark it gets cold. 

     Next morning we left Bishop and headed south on Highway 395 to Lone Pine, where we turned east and headed to Death Valley.  Death Valley is a giant optical illusion.  Where ever you are in Death Valley, everywhere else seems to be down hill.  I think the illusion is because the place is so big that you can see the curvature of the earth so if you are at the north end of the valley the south end looks like it is downhill and visa versa.

     I usually stop at the 100 feet below sea level sign for a photo.  Death Valley Junction is not actually in Death Valley, it is east of Death Valley.  It's also a good place to stop for a photo. 

     It's another 370 miles from Bishop to Laughlin.  The weather in Death Valley was in the high 90's, hot but not crazy hot.  We went through Parumph. Nevada and Las Vegas and arrived in Laughlin around sundown. 

Leaving For Laughlin 2010

We left for Laughlin with blue sky overhead but rain clouds all around. We managed to ride under the blue sky until we reached Stockton. The rain clouds closed and it rained. In fact it poured, and it poured on and off all day.

It was raining so hard that we were having trouble seeing so we stopped at Kettleman City on Hwy 5 and took a room.

The next day there were still rain clouds all around but we managed to ride between them and stay dry. We left Hwy 5 and went East through Bakersfield and over the Tehachappi Mountains to Barstow.

There are two ways to go to Laughlin from Barstow, we took Hwy 40 and cut off on an old section of Route 66 to Hwy 95, then cut off to Laughlin.

Our friends Rocky and Patty arrived a day later. They took the other route from Barstow, Hwy 15 to Nipton Rd., and through Searchlight Nevada to Hwy 95. Around Nipton they got snow and some stories to tell.

Laughlin, The Dark Side

Laughlin, Winding Down

On Saturday we were back at Laughlin and slept in late. Around noon we headed into town and hit a few vendors we hadn't seen yet. I think next year I'll start at the south end of the strip and work my way north to the Riverside Casino. We again, imagine that, found our way to the Casa Serrano for Mexican food and Margaritas.


Marie won some money playing video poker and she wisely decided to walk away with the winnings. We did a few laps of the strip and watched people who were watching us. About 10pm we decided to gamble some more and Marie won a few more bucks and surprise, surprise, I won a few. Gary and Sherrie reported, no joy, and we called it a night.

Sunday morning said goodbye to friends and rode away.

Laughlin 2007 Trip

Below Sea Level