I'm up reasonably early and walk over to the Nipton store for some breakfast snacks and coffee

I slept so well last night that even the booming trains passing a few hundred feet from my tent barely woke me up. I miss Bill's home-cooked breakfast at the Nipton café. Bill passed away just recently and the new management isn't open for breakfast yet.

I enjoy the morning shade of the eucalyptus trees at Nipton campground on this cool morning

I don't need them in this morning's weather, but these non-native trees are really nice when one wants to sleep in a little and not be woken up by hot morning sunshine cooking the tent.

Time to brush my teeth and pack up for the ride from Nipton to Malpais Spring, Mojave National Preserve

The morning sun is already heating up the quonset hut behind me that houses the washrooms.

A datura blooms at Nipton campground while a long freight train squeals by

Daturas grow all along the train route that crosses Mojave National Preserve.

The outdoor sink at Nipton is decomposing after many years of service in the hot Mojave sun

I fill up my four 1.5-litre water bottles, my two litre Camelbak and my 10-litre water bag. I'm hoping to find water at Malpais Spring, my next stop, but I don't know for sure if there will be any.

From Nipton campground, I look across the train tracks and up Ivanpah Valley toward Cima

Wide-open space for miles... I was up there just yesterday.

The cactus garden in front of the Hotel Nipton is artfully built of multi-coloured rock

Coloured rock creates spaces and patterns in the garden.

The 10-ton bike awaits departure at Nipton's outdoor sink after the final, heavy addition of my water supply

I bungee the weighty 10-litre water bag on my front rack to avoid overloading the rear rack. This saves my rear rack from breaking, but makes steering more difficult, and more demanding on the arm muscles.

Across the road from the Nipton General Store is a rock-display yard

Rocks for sale from the nearby Lucky Dutchman Mine; maybe some of the colourful rocks in the Nipton cactus garden came from there.

The 10-ton bike and I wobble up Nipton Road away from the campground and pass a few antique buildings while leaving town

Back on the highway, I begin the next phase of this year's adventure.

I head east up Nipton Road toward Crescent Pass, Nevada, up in the hills at centre-left

I'll climb almost 1850 feet over the next 4.5 miles. The cool breeze helps to moderate the hot sun. A tailwind makes the climb easier.

After half an hour, I stop for a few minutes on the way up the hill: I'm in Nevada now

A new "Welcome to Nevada" sign has been posted since I last rode by here and entered Nevada briefly, two years ago, this one with fewer...

At the Nevada border, I notice that my 10-litre MSR water bag is dripping a bit from the nozzle

Hmmm... it didn't leak when I last used it almost six months ago. I guess the plastic is finally reacting to being stuffed in my overheated saddlebags for days on end while bicycle touring.

From the Nevada-California border on Nipton Road/Nevada 164, I look back down the hill to the tiny town of Nipton

On the far side of the Ivanpah Valley are the Ivanpah Mountains, and behind that, the Clark Mountains.

Just beyond the "Welcome to Nevada" sign is an "Area of Critical Environmental Concern" sign

Perhaps it's referring to the Wilderness areas that I'll pass soon.