Miata Mailing List: June 1994, Message #98
sponsored by



     


   From: Redfire@eworld.com
Subject: The Road To Indy - Day 1
   Date: Tue, 7 Jun 1994 02:34:30 -0400

The Road to Indy - Day 1

[This posting delayed due to travel restrictions. DFD]

Ely, NV
Saturday June 4, 1994


Greetings from the "Loneliest road in America!" Five cars have made it safely
to Ely, Nevada. We all traveled different distances to get here. Mine was the
shortest at 471 miles. We have been traveling up above 6,000 and 7,000 feet
elevations all day. I have been getting about 35 mpg which is the highest I
have ever gotten (usually I get 27). I also noticed that the air horn sounds
a little weak up here, especially when the air is warm. Just not enough
molecules to compress and blow through the trumpet. We have settled in at the
Copper Queen for the night.

After a few hours sleep this morning I was able to finish loading the car. I
was amazed myself at how much I could actually fit into the trunk. First of
all, I have a Sony CD changer in the trunk already, and the spare tire well
is filled with miscellaneous items I always carry. Still, I was able to add a
multi-gallon wash bucket completely filled with cleaning supplies, my helmet
(stuffed with tools), 7-plus changes of clothing, two pairs of shoes and two
jackets in a suit bag, a bag of toiletries, an attache case, a student-type
book-bag of books and magazines, a pair of binoculars, and assorted
miscellaneous items. I did have to leave the cooler at home. The powerbook
stores in its case behind the passenger seat along with a travel bag. My
camera bag (with R/C Miata) and CD's go in the foot well. The bear has the
passenger seat all to himself. Whew!

After loading everything up, I went off to meet the two Reds coming from
Navato. We met just west of Sacto at 8:30 am in a BK parking lot. We were on
the road by 9:00. We started east on I-80 for the first leg of our journey as
we had a lot of ground to cover and had to catch up to the BRGs. We started
up the foothills past Auburn and into the Sierras. A quick break for gas near
Emigrant Gap brought the first of many similar experiences. "Do you know each
other? Where are you going? Wow! Are they all red?" Through Donner Pass and
Truckee, coldest city in the lower 48, we traveled until suddenly we dropped
down through the rocky valleys, the forest ended, and the desert began.

When the billboards the replace the trees, you know you're in Nevada. We
continued on 80 through Reno/Sparks until we reached Fernley and headed
towards Fallon on Alt-50. After lunch at the Jerry's Restaurant in Fallon
(who were those people in the back room anyway, D-day survivors?), we gassed
up and continued on our way East on US-50. Past the Naval Air Station (Watch
out for low flying aircraft!) the flat desert gives way to hills, dunes, and
eventually ridges of mountain hills, which we crossed one after another. We
routinely passed through mountain gaps 6500 and 7500 feet in altitude. There
were many historical markers along the way but we did not have a chance to
stop and investigate. Mile after mile we traveled with little sign of
civilization. The signs proclaimed it "The loneliest road in America!"

After two hours of travel we reached the little hamlet of Austin. The town is
situated on the hillsides at the mouth of a secondary valley which climbs up
over a ridge. This siting is kind of strange because the town sort of perches
over the desert below but is not at the top of the ridge either. We stopped
for a break and noticed a site soon to become familiar. Piles of dead insects
(grasshoppers/locusts?) on the ground cleaned from radiators. After leaving
Austin and crossing the Toiyabe ranges, it was 70 miles through the desert to
Eureka, "The loneliest town on the loneliest road in America!" I don't know
about that. Seems to me like they wanted to be a little less lonely with some
tourist greenbacks. Much more commercial than Austin, but sited in the same
way. We did not stop in Eureka but continued on our way. While crossing
through one of the passes, Harriet was taking a photograph out the back of
her car. Off flew her sunglasses right in front of me. I had visions of a
nice dent in the nose so I swerved to avoid them. Though I may have scared
the guy coming the other way (figures... you only see an oncoming  car when
you want to use the other lane) the glasses survived and were duly returned.
They were tempted to start calling me Swervin' Irvin (sorry Ernie) but
refrained.

After a while I began to look for the loneliest rest stop in America, and
while I never found it, I think I saw the sign. East of Eureka through the
White Pine mountains, the topography begins to change. The desert slowly
gives way to grasses and trees, and eventually becomes pine forest in White
Pine County. There is a lot of copper mining in this area and we saw some old
mines and equipment as we passed through. There are also a lot of open ranges
there and that means cattle crossings. Coming around one bend we almost had a
steak for dinner. The Escovers passed safely around the subject animal but it
didn't move till it saw me coming. One look and it was running away like I
was a cow nightmare given form. Maybe Bansel scared it off. Anyway, we
finally rolled into Ely about 6:00 pm and checked into the Copper Queen. We
met the two Greens which had arrived a few hours earlier and exchanged travel
information. We had arrived at our first stop safe and sound.

We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant. Everyone made sure to bill their meal
to room 103 since Bill was being such a good sport. Afterwards we met in the
Horsts' room to make arrangements for tomorrow, Sunday. We have reservations
in Grand Junction, Colorado at the Best Western Horizon Inn. They weren't
easy to get though and Carol had to call several hotels several times before
we could get them confirmed. (One place said they were too busy to talk on
the phone!) While waiting for the reservations to be confirmed, Harriet, Tom,
Dolores, and I played a card game called SET, the object of which is to find
certain combinations of three cards which match certain convoluted
parameters. Sounds easy but it can also be tough. It was fun though.

The last order of business for the night was to wash the car. Because I am
traveling alone (except for the bear) I was elected to bring the wash bucket.
I also have soap, wax, polish, wheel cleaners and brush, towels, ArmourAll
'Dull', and shammie. Unfortunately I don't have a hose and neither did the
hotel at this hour of the night. That meant lots of trips to the bathtub with
the bucket, but the car is now clean and bug-free. 

Well, time for bed. Tom wanted to watch Looking for Duckman on the USA cable
channel, but it wasn't on. Apparently he and Harriet are into duck humor. (We
passed a sign for the Duck River which is nearby and they keep making jokes
about it.) Time to sign off.

See you tomorrow. Ciao.

David D./Redfire #:<{)> 

P.S.  There is one radio station in this area and every few hours they change
radio formats. CW, Rock, Christian, etc. Anyway, I turned it on once and
heard two CW songs. One about "Nothing looked good on you" and another about
a guy selling VCRs at a Wal-Mart in "Little Rock". Why don't I listen to this
stuff more often?