One of the activities I have taken back up is Motorcycle Touring. Looking way back, it started at age 12 in the late 1960's with my first dirtbike and all the freedom that provided in the formerly unrestricted, rural hills of Southern California. As time went by I have owned many motorcycles and have been active as well as dormant in the sport and pastime. Bringing it all current - after some deep family stress in 2012, I looked for an avenue to get away from distractions - for "solitude thinking", bordering on meditation where I could remove myself from the daily priorities to think out the processes to then create a protective and positive outcome for myself and those dear to me. Fortunately for me, there soon became nothing better than the very wide open, perfect motorcycle touring roads of rural Nevada. I mean the "very best" where you can travel for 30 minutes and never see another vehicle, all while being surrounded by the incredibly vast, crystal clear vistas of the Great Basin.
So here I am, back with a few photos and prose to share with you all on that very subject. I hope you enjoy.
Meet "My Therapist". She is a 2012 Harley Davidson, Road Glide Custom. Very low miles, excellent condition, and always looking for new accessories.
A lot of my motorsports friends ridiculed me for buying a cruiser and not one of the "latest fad - adventure bikes". I tried those bikes, I liked them and if I did not live in a local where roads are so empty, so smooth and so straight that they disappear over the horizon, I may have made that choice. The Harley suits me fine, it is incredibly comfortable, has a great stereo and enables the mode to induce deep thought and meditation on those long, perfect Nevada rides.
Today, after a few months of minor chaos, I was finally able to couple great weather, a bit of freedom from work and a lack of family responsibility together to hit the road for a nice 180 mile ride out to the Valley of Fire, State Park and Overton, NV and back. The photo above is in the park at a location called "The Cabins". I used my Nikon D5100 DSLR for this shot. The map below covers my route - all told - about 175 miles.
Below is one of the roads in the State Park. This photo was taken with my Iphone 4S with quality still a far contrast to that of the Nikon DLSR. A neat pic though none the less.
Between the park and the town of Overton is a BLM, Long Term Visitor Area "LVTA" where RV owners can camp for extended periods of time for next to nothing. These areas are commonly sprinkled with camps, all with privacy gaps that I'd sure agree with. The campers range from retired, full time RV dwellers with good apparent income to individuals that look to be at the fringe of our economy and society. The old coot below and his incredibly rustic, vintage trailer surely fit the later category.
It should be clear that I enjoy photography and the satisfaction of capturing interesting subject matter to share. This is definitely one to capture. The man's poverty is sad yet, it is good that he remains independent with a roof over his head, in a rural area with a wonderful vista and not some trash filled alley in the bowls of one of our overcrowded cities.
That's all for today folks. I will do better to keep the Blog more current. With that, My Therapist leaves you with the following message: "Be American - Buy American!"
Adios!
