Last Leg of Death Valley Ride

Gosh, with all the excitement of picking up the "new" old Honda Goldwing, I forgot to finish up the ride report from the last day home from Death Valley.
We ended up in San Clemente Ca. and toyed with going up and over the 74 to Lake Elsinore but that would have been a very long day. We ended up going down I-5 to Oceanside then East to highway 76 to Julian.
We woke up to pretty heavy fog or "marine layer" as they call it on the coast. By 9:00 AM the fog was lessening and visibility was over 1/2 mile so we were good to go.
We made a stop near Bonsall and then headed towards Julian.

Man....we got a lot of crap loaded on the bike....

took a quick break near Pala Ca. A lot of Indian Casinos up in that country now. The ride was beautiful and I had to shed a layer as it got warmer going inland.

Stopped in Julian for expensive gas then crawled down Highway 78 and the Banner Grade towards the desert. The temperature went up as we went down.... the Banner Grade is a steep 10%+ grade with 10 - 15 mph warning on the multitude of corners and switchbacks. Not a real fast road for the loaded sidecar. On our desent we did not encounter one vehicle coming up from behind and I took my time going down, taking in all the beautiful scenery. A great ride down into the desert.

I love this section of the desert. We ran towards Octotilla Wells on Highway 78. A great straight section....a couple of crotch rocket bikes came by while we were stopped....they must have been at 100 mph + as they screamed by heading into the desert.

Looking back up the 78 towards Banner Grade.

Break spot:

The terrain gets rocky heading down deeper into the desert.

The navigators view:

I've always wondered where the "Iron Door" was located....and we finally found it.....nothing like a cold beer and a frozen / micro wave corn dog for lunch!

The "Iron Door" was always an "Airhead" watering hole back in the days......now it's also a official "Clamper" Watering Hole too. Leaving there, we headed into Brawley Ca., then the back road through Glamis and then Ogelby Road to I-8...then Yuma.

This was one of those days when it was good to get home, but I didn't want the ride to end.....Time to plan the next ride before we head north for the Spring.....kinda thinking about the Central AZ. mountains...?