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Part
1, Background and Prep
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Part
2, Day 1, 2 |
Part
3, Day 3, 4, 5 |
Part
4, Day 6, 7, 8 |
| Part
5, Day 9, 10, 11 |
Part
6, Day 12, 13
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Part
7, Day 14, 15 |
Part
8, Day 16, 17, 18 |
No Excuses!
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Day 14: Stage 11
Today
was another long haul, from Page, AZ to Tonopah, NV, via the Dixie National
Forest (bear in mind that the definition of �forest� can be stretched
quite a bit). Our trusty
Imperial ran like a rock (oh, wait � that�s Chevy trucks).
OK, it ran like a gemstone � better than any ordinary rock!
It seems to like the high altitude (which lowers its effective
compression so it tolerates the local dinosaur juice (max 91 octane).
We covered five mountain passes today, all over 6,000 feet � and
one over 9,900 feet! The string
of stops we hit was Page, AZ; Cedar City, UT; Caliente, NV (GOOD name!);
Rachel, NV (a micro burg of a few tens population, famous for its proximity
to Area 51, on the Extraterrestrial Highway); and Tonapah, NV (an ex-mining
center turning tourist, and on the route of the original 1908 Great Race
around the world � we filled every single hotel room in town).
None were in the high ranges where the air is thin and cool, but
rather the foothills of lake pans (dry) between ranges, where there is some
chance at water! The peaks have
only birch and fir trees, and then only in a band above the heat.
The stone is often exposed and eroded into exotic shapes and colors.
It
appears volcanic in some places! I
didn't know there was a history of active volcanism here.
There sure is a history of erosion and VAST emptiness!
Overall,
we were very lucky that the skies were overcast.
We even ran into some cooling showers from time to time, so the
temperature was entirely bearable (we don't run A/C, in tribute to and
solidarity with the other Racers in more primitive rides).
Here�s another couple of shots: one of the stone shapes in the
hills, one of the endless straight road across a dry lake valley (one of
many, as seen from the passenger seat):
Polarized
sunglasses really make these colors jump, but the lens lacks that filter
(and the sense of scale is totally lost in a photo � this stuff is huge!).
Here�s
a shot during clearer light. These
pillars are HUNDREDS of feet high:
No
shots of the Imperial (or other cars) today.
It was too long a drive, and too much alone.
We covered about 500 miles of desert in 12 hours of rallying and
transits. We had to blend in
some 87 octane (more or less) at Rachel, NV � a town of just a few dozen
residents. It�s midway on the
straight and desolate �Extraterrestrial Highway� that runs by Area 51,
the USAF proving ground where legend has it the flying saucers landed
(Roswell) and were hidden by the Government.
Well, I don't know about that, but I have never seen a more remote
outpost and can't imagine one in the lower 48.
Still, the folks were friendly and fun � offering free water,
punch, and Twinkies (!).
Most
of us bought some funny Alien stuff (I got a little stuffed green one to
ride my visor when the top�s down � by luck, his one arm flaps there,
like he�s waving as we motor along at 50-60 mph!).
We
managed a 1-second score on the first leg of the day (3+ hours long), but
got caught at a train crossing and mis-entered the time delay there (having
written it from the digital stopwatch as 1 minute 30, but filing for the
allowance as 130 seconds) leaving us with a 54 second leg (instead of 14)
and a 1:19 for the day. We
dropped a bit in the standings: 11th in Rookies and 58th
overall. Rats!
We�ve got the basics, but need to avoid secondary errors!
Day 15: Stage 12
OK,
now that�s better! Today,
another high desert day from Tonopah, NV to Placerville, CA; we ran pretty
tight (after an initial whoops that we corrected by timing off the next car
up, visible on these long open roads). We
scored 22 seconds for the day, enough to place 5th in Rookies and
20th overall for the day. That
moves us up to #10 in rookies and 50th overall.
We are just 12 seconds away from 5th place in Rookie, too.
Today
began the �Championship Run.� These
are the last three days of the Race; days that cannot be dropped, no matter if
they are the worst score of the whole two weeks.
Again,
our Imperial was solid. The left
front brake remains a little sticky, and will grab first on a sharp
application, but it�s OK in gentle work and remains controllable under all
conditions. There was low air
pressure in today�s run (almost all above 6,000 feet, with the Sage Hen,
Conway, and Sweetwater passes all over 8,000 feet), so we had no ping at all
during the challenging ups and downs, despite the questionable fuel quality
from yesterday. Knocking began
only at the very end, once we came down from the end town of Placerville, into
Sacramento, where we are spending the night.
We
had a day as beautiful as it was entertaining and successful score wise.
Again, it was crisply cool in the morning and rose only to 93 at the
high. That�s according to our
John �Duke� Wayne thermometer, a useful trinket we picked up at the
morning fuel stop at Frontier Movie Town (these places still exist on the blue
highways).
My
mother was born not too far from here � �not to far� as a Nevadan
figures it means within a day�s drive at 80 MPH � in Lovelock, NV!
There is no way to convey the scale of this place but consider these
two photos from today�s run, that covered another three mountain ranges and
flat bottoms between:
Look
closely at that image to the right. You
can see the road continuing perfectly straight past the car ahead, for at
least 20 MILES, right up into the next mountain.
And there is NO other sign of human presence than the road, for that
whole span! And that�s typical
of these valleys!
At
lunch, we pulled in to Minden, NV. They
had a good reception but the street was too narrow for the diagonal parking of
our mighty Imperial, so we parked in front of the National Guard display:
Would
you believe we towed that OTHER tank?
Remember
what I wrote yesterday about the huge scale of this place?
Here�s another hint at that.
The next image is a thunderstorm ahead.
Look closely! You can see
where the rain is falling, to the right side of the road.
From the time this shot was taken, we drove another 30 minutes before
we passed this spot! That means
that this single photo encloses a depth of at least 50 miles (to the
mountains) and a width of just as much! The
rain is falling from a cloud bottom several thousand feet above the ground!
Today
we crossed the last of these flat dry valleys (occasional thunderstorm
notwithstanding), moving finally into the moister mountains of the coast, and
YAY! We finally made California!
And entered into the snowcapped Sierra. Look at how suddenly a little
water changes the environment:
With
that, we were finally off the flats and back into twisty hills.
John Classen, Rallymaster, laid a superb and VERY beautiful and
challenging course past Mono Lakes, and down west slope in a series of 15-25
mph switchbacks that tested brakes, patience, precision, and faith!
When we rolled into Placerville, CA; everyone was pretty spent, but
strangely exhilarated! They put on
a great spread for us � I think it was the biggest crowd yet.
Certainly the food they offered was THE best: local wine, salad, four
varieties of hot meat or veggie pie, and more!
Alas,
it�s too small a town to fit us all in the local hotels, so we drove on to
Sacramento for the night. I filled
up the Imp and added some octane booster.
We�ll see in the morning. Maybe
I�ll set it back another degree.
A
note for those seeking photos of our Imperial on the Great
Race website (Editor's note: The Great Race website no longer
exists). There are a few now. I
know of one on Stage 9, page 6; Stage 11, page 6; and Stage 12, page 8.
There is also a link to this and several other racer�s blogs there
now, too.
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