Road Trip Preparation

In a couple of weeks, I hope to meet my friends, Stormy & Sunny Weathers, at the Arizonian RV Resort east of Gold Canyon where we will begin a month long journey up through northwestern Arizona, southeastern Nevada and southern Utah. As I discovered this past year, southern Utah has some very fine sand off-road that can be difficult to navigate. In an effort to be as prepared as possible, I recently went all out and spent $16.99 for a collapsible shovel just in case I get stuck and Sunny has to dig me out...

When collapsed, it can easily be stored under the front seat

On the other hand, Stormy & Sunny took a different approach to trip preparation by simply buying a new Jeep...

I thought it was so we would have a winch to get us out of trouble but Stormy said "no", it was so they would have a Jeep that would be color coordinated with their motor coach. It's good to have friends in high places!

Mojave Megaphone

Located on a rocky outcropping in a remote area of the Mojave Desert miles from civilization is a large, metal object that no one seems to know what its original purpose was...

Getting to it involves a challenging climb

Imagine the work needed to place it on those rocks

Someone recently used turnbuckles to attach an animal skin, perhaps, hoping to turn it into a drum

In researching this mystery object, I found a number of suggestions as to what it is and what it did. My favorite explanation is that it was used to amplify the sound of a hand cranked siren to warn people in the valley that the military was testing poisonous gas/chemicals. Knowing this blog is frequented by some of the smartest people on the planet, tell me what you think it is in the comment section below.

Lastly, if you have ever wondered where the "middle of nowhere" is located...

Christmas Tree Pass

Christmas Tree Pass is a dirt road from Route 95 south of Searchlight, NV to Route 163 heading into Laughlin, NV where I not only found a Christmas tree...

Click on images to enlarge

I found a Christmas cactus...

The surprise of the day was Grapevine Canyon where after a quarter mile hike, you are treated to the largest collection of petroglyphs I have ever seen...

Winter 4x4 Jamboree

This past weekend was the Winter 4x4 Jamboree at Sand Hollow State Park in Utah. A young couple that I have been following online created a video of some of the obstacles in "The Maze" that I thought you would enjoy...

Gunship Helicopters

Have you ever wanted to fire a M249 machine gun from a helicopter at steel targets, airplanes and zombies but did not want to go to Iraq or Afghanistan to do it? Well, you are in luck. Gunship Helicopters, here in Las Vegas, offers such an adventure starting at $550/person...

They will even video the experience so you can show your wimpy friends back home what real men/women do when they come to Las Vegas.

Alcohol Dragster

My neighbor, Glen, was kind enough to show me his alcohol fueled dragster with a 2,000 horsepower engine that generates a top end of 202 mph...

Glen and his buddies from Alberta bring their machines down every winter to race here in Las Vegas and Arizona. 

Gaia GPS

Most hardcore OHV owners I have met have one or more navigation apps that they run on their gps enabled smartphones &/or tablets. Here is an excellent video on the benefits and features of the Gaia GPS software...

Merry Christmas

One of the nice things about Las Vegas is the number of restaurants that are open 24/7 365 days a year. I joined my neighbors, Steve, Doug and Nancy, for a half price Christmas buffet at Arizona Charlie's. I decided to splurge and spent $5.00 for all the fixings and dessert.

Doug had been on a plant based diet for a number of months but decided he was going to eat meat for Christmas. Fortunately, he warned me not to get between him and his plate so I still have all my fingers.

Glittering Lights & Giant Fire Spewing Praying Mantis

I tend to go to bed with the chickens but tonight my wild, party animal neighbors invited me to see Glittering Lights at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where over 3 million Christmas lights were on display. I have seen some impressive light shows over the years but this was by far the largest. Unfortunately, the following photos do not do the experience justice...

On the way back home, we stopped at Container Park to see the giant, fire spewing praying mantis...

Bigger Tires

Jack Dell, a fellow Jeep owner, emailed me this photo...

Amazon CamperForce

The Amazon CamperForce program provides RVers with seasonal full-time work that pays $15.00-$16.00 per hour. There is also a "Completion Bonus" that pays $1.00 for each regular hour worked and $1.50 for each overtime hour worked after your assignment ends. Plus, the following benefits:

• Paid campsites 
• Paid referral bonuses 
• Life and AD&D insurance
• Medical and Prescription Drug Coverage enrollment available after 90 days

Click here to view a YouTube interview with a CampForce employee, who discusses the pros and cons of the program.

Allergic Reaction

It appears I have had an allergic reaction to my most recent macular degeneration injection...

Hopefully, I can get it cleared up with a little Benadryl and be back to normal in no time.

Update (12/8/2018): I received an email from Google indicating that this post contained "Shocking Content" and as a result Google AdSense would be restricted. I solved the problem by simply deleting AdSense. It appears we have become a Nation of Snowflakes.

Youth

As we get older, we tend to reminisce about times gone by. I was going through some old photos taken long before digital cameras and thought I would post some of my favorites...

The name is Brown, James Brown

Who is that skinny guy

Back before I became invisible to young women

The future was so bright I had to wear shades

Wemo Mini Smart Plug

As part of my "energy conservation" program, I purchased a couple of Wemo Mini Smart Plugs which allow me to control electronic devices from either my phone or Google Home Mini smart speaker. Now, instead of having to get up and walk 3-4 feet to the appropriate device, I just say "Hey Google, turn on/off the fan or heater". And given the fact that the smart plug works over your home's WIFI network, you can do it from anywhere in the world. You can even schedule when you want lights to be turned on/off so that your home looks occupied.

Update (1/4/2019): When the Wemo plug works, it is great but I have found their service occasionally breaks down and is not as reliable as it should be.

Cheated Death Once Again

If you would like to know what it is like to ride off-road at Sand Hollow State Park, I believe this photo of the vehicle I was riding in as a passenger will help...

Photo courtesy of Mack

This is the section that got us

Fortunately, neither John nor I were seriously hurt which speaks well for the safety of the side by sides. He bruised his left shoulder and my thighs are a little sore from hitting the grab bar. We were both wearing four point harnesses which I highly recommend.

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Earlier while driving through the "high rent" Westside campground, I spotted friends that I first met in Moab some years ago. They are here for the big CST SxS Adventure Rally. Knowing that I wanted to see as much of the trail system as possible, I rode "shotgun" with Doug and John.

Here's what I learned:

• First and foremost, you should travel with a group, preferably, one that has been here before. There are not a lot of signs out there and the potential for trouble is high.
• Although you can ride here with a small machine (less than 1000cc), you will do much better with one of the big machines with lots of ground clearance and large tires, particularly, for the rock crawling sections which are numerous.
• As you have probably gathered by now, there is not much "easy stuff" here. In my opinion, the bulk of the OHV trails are for experienced riders. However, for those adrenaline junkies, who crave some of the toughest/gnarliest obstacles I have ever seen, this is the place.

The battery in my camera died before we got to the really difficult areas so I did not get as many photos/videos as I would have liked...

Here's what the "big dogs" drive

Update (11/8/2018): A cold front moved into the area last night. The forecast for Kanab is low 50s during the day and low 20s at night so I have returned to Las Vegas.

Sand Hollow State Park

I can see why people like Sand Hollow State Park. It has a beautiful blue lake, golden sand and 16,000 acres of OHV riding...

Click on photo to enlarge

I took a short RZR ride on the beginning of Nasty Half which is rated a 9 out of 10 and discovered two things very quickly:

• The sand here is extremely fine and soft which makes steering tricky and getting stuck easy. You definitely want to lower the tire pressure on your vehicle.
• There are obstacles here not for the faint-of-heart. You can get in trouble in a New York minute.

Unless I can find someone to ride with, I may not see as much of the OHV area as I would like. I do not want to break down or wreck in the middle of 16,000 acres by myself. 

Tonight's sunset...

Hump-N-Bump

The rock crawling rally this weekend is the annual Hump-N-Bump sponsored by the Vegas Valley 4 Wheelers. They have guided rides ranging from easy to "hold my beer while I try this"...

Surprise of the day...

Big Horn Sheep

Update (11/3/2018): Last night, it was an unrelenting stream of vehicles heading to the trail system. Fortunately, I was so tired I fell asleep anyway.

Road Trip

My RZR was feeling unappreciated so I am taking it on a road trip. The first stop is the Logandale Trail System. As fate would have it, there is a rock crawling rally this weekend so I am hoping to get some good photos for the blog.

If all goes well here, I am thinking of heading up to Sand Hollow State Park to explore an area I first heard about from a trail guide in Moab. Am looking forward to seeing what it is all about.

Assuming my machine and my body are still intact after the above, I may go back to Kanab, Utah now that it is cooler. I understand there are some amazing rock formations in the area. Hopefully, the RZR will allow me to get to them.

Update (11/2/2018): Last night I boondocked on a ridge overlooking the town of Logandale. After the sirens, jets and occasional gunfire in Las Vegas, the silence was deafening. And the night sky was filled with millions of stars. It's a dirty job...

Street Car Super Nationals

The Street Car Super Nationals event is coming to Las Vegas November 14-17 and a number of participants are staying here in the RV park. On my after dinner walk, I came across this beauty...

I suspect that paint job cost more than my Jeep

700+ horsepower

Memento Database App

While looking for an app that would make creating a home inventory list easier, I came across a terrific program called Memento Database. It allows you to record and retrieve all kinds of information right on your smartphone.

It comes with a home inventory template which can have you up and running in a very short period of time. You simply photograph your asset and it is automatically inserted  into the database. Then you enter whatever information you wish such as date of purchase, value, condition, etc. If your priceless Slim Whitman record collection is ever stolen or destroyed, you will have documentation for the insurance company.

In addition to a plethora of templates for almost any occasion, you have the option to design your own "libraries/tables" with whatever "fields" you wish to include. Best of all, it's free!

Contact QR Code

QR codes are two-dimensional barcodes containing information that can be viewed using a QR code reader. You see them in stores, magazines, etc. It is a great way to store data in an easily machine-readable format.

As a full-time RVer, I am continually meeting people that I want to share contact information with, particularly, the url of my blog. I have some calling cards that I can hand out but there are occasions when I do not have them with me. However, I generally carry my smartphone wherever I go so I created a barcode that contains my name and blog address using a QR code generator...

I keep the above image on my phone so that it can be scanned by others with smartphones. It's a quick and easy process that, hopefully, you can use.

Unique Las Vegas Attractions

I suspect visitors to Las Vegas spend most of their time and money on The Strip & Downtown Fremont Street which everyone should do at least once. However, in the six months I have been in the area, I have discovered some other attractions within an hour's drive that do not get as much publicity but are worth seeing...

• In the downtown area, I would recommend Container Park with its giant, fire spewing praying mantis and the Neon Museum.
• East of The Strip on Tropicana Avenue is the Pinball Hall of Fame.
• Just west of the city is Red Rock Canyon.
• Northeast of the city is Valley of Fire State Park.
• Southwest of the city is Seven Magic Mountains and the Pioneer Saloon.
• Southeast of the city is Nelson Ghost Town.

Photo Editing Apps

I have been playing around with photo editing apps for smartphones. You can do something really cool things including making dull, boring photos look interesting...

Varnist app using "Sketch" at 50% intensity

Dublin Gulch

Just outside of Shoshone, CA is Dublin Gulch, an area where in the 1920’s miners carved residences into the sides of clay embankments. They remained occupied up until the 1970’s...

Click on photos to enlarge

Those are old tin cans in the foreground (must have eaten a lot of pork n beans)

Along the way, I discovered another lonely road...

And another boat abandoned in the middle of the desert...

Pioneer Saloon

The Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings, NV is another opportunity here in the Vegas area to step back in time. It was established in 1913 and has changed very little since then.

My neighbors, Brad & Liz (rumored to be notorious outlaw bikers)

The interior and exterior walls are of stamped tin and manufactured by Sears and Roebuck. It is thought to be one of the last in the United States.The legendary bar was manufactured by the Brunswick Company in Maine in the 1860's. As you belly up to wet your whistle, you will rest your foot on the original brass foot rail installed when the bar was built and where Clark Gable waited for three days for word on his wife of less than two years, Carole Lombard. She was lost in a plane crash near Mount Potosi. 

For $15 you can join the Asshole Association complete with official membership card
They currently have over 63,000 members (that's a lot of assholes)

On July 3rd 1915 during a poker game, a man named Paul Coski was caught cheating and during a scuffle between him and another man named Joe Armstrong, Mr. Coski was shot several times and killed. The bullet holes are still in one of the pressed tin walls of the Pioneer Saloon.

Unique part of the saloon's history

The latest in HVAC technology in the early 1900s

You can even have your own locked keg out back of the saloon