Key West - 2012

I left San Francisco on September 6 on my 2004 BMW R1150R, which is outfitted with BMW panniers, and a sport windscreen. The bike had a fresh service and a new battery, and even though it had over 100,000 miles on it, I felt confident that it would handle the long ride without problems. I rode across the central valley through Manteca to Yosemite, where I followed Highway120 over Tioga Pass. There was road construction in the park, but 10 miles or so after turning towards the pass the traffic thinned out and I had a clear ride all the way to Highway 395 and Mono Lake. I continued east on 120, which goes through an Aspen forest east of Lee Vining and becomes a roller coaster until it reaches Highway 6 in Benton, which I followed into Nevada. By this time it was dark and I rode the last 60 miles very carefully watching for deer until I arrived in Tonopah.

This trip I wasn't camping and had made reservations at the Clown Motel, which features pictures of clowns in the rooms, and has quite a display of clown-themed ornamentation in the lobby:

The next morning I continued east on US 6 towards Ely until I turned south on Nevada 375 - The Extraterrestrial Highway. Forget US 50 in the northern part of the state, this is the real "loneliest highway." The road gets its name due to its proximity to Area 51, the Air Force base where top secret aircraft and weapons are tested, and where, some people say, alien technology from a crashed UFO has been recreated. I had breakfast in the tiny "town" of Rachel, a small cluster of house trailers and a cafe/bar. The Little A'Le'Inn trades on its proximity to Area 51 with clever decor and tongue-in-cheek humor:

Highway 375 goes over a couple of 5500 foot passes before it ends at US 93, which I followed through Caliente before turning east on Nevada 319 in Panaca, where at the border the road becomes Utah 56. In Cedar City I followed UT 14 east over an 8000 foot pass to Long Valley Junction at US 89. I rode north for a few miles to Highway 12, which I followed east to a small motel just outside of Torrey, UT. Torrey is a small town, but a popular vacation spot and I had a very good dinner at a restaurant in town before finding my way back to the motel.