October 13, 2019, Tehachapi to home, 328 miles. Last day, pushed hard, but we did take the time to visit the Tehachapi Loop.
If you look close you can see the train passing over itself.
And then,,,, cotton,
oilwells, no picture, an endless windbreak,,,
Blackwells Corner, with the James Dean figure,,,,
And then pounded home, I am afraid that I abused the little black coupe on this last day, faster and harder as get-home-itis took over. total trip miles 2302. Total gas mileage, 19.7 miles to the gallon. Added 2 quarts of oil, and no coolant. Not bad for a 89 year old car. So where we going next, troops?????
October 12, 2019, Las Vegas to Tehachapi, 265 miles. Leaving Vegas, saw a sign: "Last Starbucks for 100 miles." Could be classed as a desert hardship. 17 mile downhill into Baker for fuel. And the famous Baker thermometer, showing 67 degrees just for us.
There was a 400 mph jet car on display at the gas station, doesn't do dry lakes only runways and highways, little aircraft tires on the back, I don't know,,,,,
Refueled again in Barstow, couldn't find a Subway, but did find a sidewalk vendor with one dollar tacos. Small, good, and cheap. I had 4, Mark had 6, Jill had 3. Everybody else went to a Foster Freeze. While we were there, a guy came in and ordered 20. A regular customer.
Pressing on, we arrived at the Borax mine in Boron, just think, it all started with 20 mule teams pulling wagons from Death Valley,,,
Does he bite????
Largest open pit mine in USA,,,,
They use these itty bitty trucks to haul the minerals to the processing plant,,,
This tire weighs more than the A, and costs way more than a blue ribbon A,,,,
Somebody has a sense of humor at the Borax plant,,,,
Did a driving tour of the Mojave Air and Space Port, but being Saturday, all the hangars were closed, On to Tehachapi and the Apple Festival, found apple pie and strawberry rhubarb pie, so it was a successful day.
October 11m, 2019, Kanab to Las Vegas, 218 miles. Tailwind for the first 80 miles, imagine that, the wind gods are smiling on us. Hopped on Interstate 15 and joined the 75-80 mph traffic heading for Vegas. Needless to say, we did not do 75, more like 55 to 60 once in a while. Wasn't too bad, traffic just flowed around us as we did our dash through the desert.
We had intended to visit the Valley of Fire, but got a text saying, it was a 15 mile backup to get in, so we passed. Later found out some folks saw no backup whatsoever????? Don't know where the first folks were,,,,,
Anywaym, pressed on to Vegas. From our motel, we took a hike down to the strip, and walked all the way to the Bellagio for the fountain show. It was so fascinating, I failed to take a picture. But,,, got a few other pictures of the crowds on the sidewalks.
Couldn't resist this one,,,,
When I first came to Vegas in the dark ages, the casinos were widely scattered along the strip, Stardust, Sands, Flamingo, Tropicana, Hacienda, probably 1/4 mile apart with desert in between. And there was nobody walking on the strip, if you went from one to another, you took your car. What a difference today!!!!
We did find food, at Holsteins Burgers and Shakes. Most expensive burger I ever had,,, $17 for the burger, $9 for the shake, $4 for small fries. It was a good burger, stood about 4 inches tall, finally dismantled it to actually eat it. I do remember when the casinos offered really cheap food menus to entice you in, no more,,,,,
October 10,2019, Tour to Bryce Canyon, 175 miles. Destination Bryce, temperature when we arrived at Bryce was 37 degrees F and windy (chill factor, chill factor!!!). We put on every piece of clothing that we had and went sightseeing anyway. The colors and the hoodoos were spectacular.
Someone caught this picture of us going thru,,,,
Arrived at the Amphitheater formation,,,,,
Had some bundled up ladies here,,,,,
Did a panoramic video, you can hear the wind,,,,
Final banquet tonight, 750 people for dinner all in one big room. It actually worked, everyone was fed in a reasonable amount of time. And so, tomorrow, we head west, stay tuned.
October 9, 2019, local touring, 95 miles. Today was a free day, no official tour. Free to wander, our first destination was Coral Pink Sands State Park.
This little video is better,,,,,
Then Pat decided to slide down the dune, just filled her pockets and shoes with sand.
These dunes are home to the tiger beetle, only found here, no other place in the world, and which leaves these funny little tracks, which we tried to follow to a beetle, to no avail,,,,
After I gave up, Pat spotted one in the parking lot,,,,,
On to the Little Hollywood Movie Museum, which has old movie sets,,,, one was from Josie Wales.
Bob B. found another wagon master simulator, and polished his driving skills with the help from Nona!
Visited Pipe Springs National Monument, no good pictures, and then treasure of treasure, located a Model TT C-cab parked beside the road in Fredonia. Some work required, good thing it did not fit into the coupe.....
Dined at Houston's Trails End Restaurant, very long wait to get a table, some folks caught a few winks,,,,,
Predicted high temperature tomorrow, 42 degrees at Bryce Canyon. Brrrr.....
October 8, 2019, tour to North Rim of Grand Canyon, 189 miles. Early start to make the climb up to the North Rim. Kanab seems to be lower than all our destinations, about 5000 ft. North Rim is over 8000 ft. Anyway, as we climbed, we again drove through miles of incredible fall foliage. Impossible to capture the full beauty in a photo, but here are a couple,,,,, This is without a doubt, the best time of year to visit this area!!!
Also tried for a little driving video,,,
One of our favorite places,,,,
And some photos that just hint at the beauty,,,,
Pat decided to play mountain goat,,,,
I had to rescue her,,,,,
Love to sit on the veranda, put your feet up and enjoy the view,,,,
Minor car stuff today, one tire almost bit the dust,,,, fortunately not mine,,,,
Temporary fuel flow problem, too lean, makes gunfire like backfires,,,, also not mine, little black coupe running like a champ.
Patti thought she was shot,,,,
Finished the day with dinner at the Iron Horse, good friends, good food, good music, and wagon master training simulator.
Finished the day with a movie in the Parry Lodge Barn, "Proud Rebel", popcorn furnished by the Beamans. Dog lovers everywhere, find this movie and watch it.
