Day 5: Day ride from Nipton up to I-15 near Clark Mountain area and back
Today is a not quite a day off, but close. I'll stay here and camp at Nipton again tonight. I'm sleeping in today, then going for a short ride up to I-15 and see what the old roads in that area look like.
22.9 miles, 2:08 hours, 33.4 mph max speed, 10.7 mph average on today's "maintenance ride" from 3000 feet up to 3400 feet and back.
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Date: November 09, 2000
Size: 12 items
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My Nipton campsite
Another nice sunny morning with clouds floating around; still cool and windy though.
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One of the tent cabins at Nipton
It would be interesting to rent one of these on a cold night and have some heat during the evening.
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The historic Hotel Nipton building
I love the rustic cactus garden in front of this bed-and-breakfast. There's another such garden just off to my right.
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The shower building (quonset hut) at Nipton
With fiberglass walls, it's not quite an outdoor shower, nor is it quite an indoor shower.
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Inside the rustic Nipton shower building, dirt floors and all!
The dirt floors (or maybe I should say "sand floors") add a special character.
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Picnic table behind the Nipton campground
Those jagged hills are the Castle Peaks, which are inside the Mojave National Preserve (Nipton is just barely outside the Preserve).
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Nipton General Store and the café building
The café is the building on the right.
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Nipton Road crosses ugly I-15
I go on my day ride, climb a hill, and end up at I-15, nine miles away from Nipton.
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Looking down into Ivanpah Valley, west of the I-15/Nipton Road interchange
At the end of Nipton Road, on the other side of I-15, exists a network of backroads, some of which lead to Wilderness Areas managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management).
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Riding down the old road just west of I-15
I ride just a mile or so to get a taste of what the area looks like in case I decide to venture into the area beyond one day.
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Cattle-guard on Nipton Road at I-15
I turn around and head back toward Nipton, about nine miles away, crossing the freeway again and riding over this cattle-guard along the way.
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Top of Nipton Road, looking back toward "town"
Nipton is that little spot off in the distance on the way up to the hills in the background. I have a great downhill ahead of me to conclude today's short ride. Haze, sunshine and clouds intermingle in the sky.
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