I usually don't like going back to the same places... there is so much to discover elsewhere! But DV is an exception for me. Plus, it would be hard to find a better place to go in winter from here 

Anyway Presidents' day weekend seemed like a great opportunity to go back there. Hell, I had Eduardo (Joder!) who needed to put some scratches on his brand new 1200GS and Dirk (Aquavit) who had never been there and needed a guide... Just impossible to miss

We left early on Thursday pm with the plan to camp in Lake Isabella. On the way though, Eduardo told us about his brother living in Bakersfield and we ended up having dinner and a couch at his place. Thanks again for the amazing welcoming of the whole family .

Here are the 3 of us. We had a premonition about the BMW bags so we wanted to take a pic while they were still in pristine condition.



The 178 to lake Isabella on the morning was fine but with a bit too much traffic, includind groups of motorcycles in slow procession . We used the parralel Kern River Canyon Rd instead: narrow and twisty it was pure fun. My other favorite in the area is the Chimney Peak/Canebrake dirt trail. After all Eduardo needed to warm up a little since it would be his first time in the dirt with his GS (or almost any bike for that matter!). No worries, he is a natural and went right away as a good pace. Canebrake leads to a paved road called Nine Mile Canyon that offers great scenery:


In Olancha, on the 395 we stopped for some beef jerky. The "store" must be 12x12 but they DO have a web site!



Then we took the 190 towards Cerro Gordo pass, a great way to enter Saline Valley.



Some great scenery on the way up





Eduardo was doing just fine