Australian Belly Tank

[Reverend Hedgash]

Which one?

[Stainless1]

James... at least you remembered where you headed before you started drinking 

[Dr Goggles]

I went to fat town, I'm finding my own way back. 200lbs of bacon, burger, bbq and boutique beer fuelled bachanalia.

Ok, landed in LA after flying from Melbourne via Aukland. Got our rental car Vlad the blood red Impala, stayed on the canals in Venice, ate at the trashcan (El Tarasco), got phone sims, went to Canters pigged out, ate sushi in Venice beach, went to the walk of fame, bought some basics for Wendover....  hit the road for the Joshua Tree National Park.

Stayed at 29 Palms. If you go there take your own food, seriously.

We watched the sun go down out in the park, saw a coyote slinking past.

Headed for Vegas via Ambon blasting along the old back roads. Visited Hoover Dam. Got the the zoo late afternoon. If you want Wi-Fi or phone reception stay away from Vegas, or for that matter anything you can eat at a reasonable cost. Still Cassie hadn't seen Vegas, and , well, it needs to be seen. We had a good feed of crawfish and mussells and then hit Frankies Tiki bar, that place is something else. Needless to say it ain't on the strip.

We already knew that the meet was off by this point but we were still going to meet salt family, we planned to get to Wendover by 3pm Saturday.

TBC........

[gkabbt]

.....went to Canters pigged out,

I worked for a wonderful Jewish family when I lived in Los Angeles and they first took me there in 1970!
GREAT place to eat and my wife and I go there when we visit Los Angeles.

Gregg

[Dr Goggles]

I love the drive north through Nevada up to Wendover, the huge valleys that go on until the horizon. Australia is a big place but time has worn it down and the stability of the plate on which it sits means they aren't making mountains like they used to. What was big here has been eroded over billions of years, the highest peak here is under 8000ft, yeah, I know, you've got a hundred mountains higher than that. That drive through Nevada is one that makes you realise how small we are.

Somewhere along the road there we saw a guy thumbing a lift , in the absolute middle of nowhere. He had nothing except a huge stuffed toy under his arm. Wherever he was going it wasn't to be with us.

We spent three days in Wendover, she's a lonely place when the racing is off. Freud, Brett Kepner and Wayno were about the only familiar faces at the 6, everyone was thinking about the trip home. There was an aimless feel about the place, different to the manic intensity that is Wendover during Speedweek.

We met up with Chris and Kate and Chris's dad at the Rainbow and looked over the Midget, he's a better man than to be clenching his fist at the heavens despite the shattering weight of five years of work culminating in a month long thrash and a punishing drive. Time and again people tried to sort of apologise to us for the cancellation, but we were on holidays, we'd lost nothing. I've done the cancellation bit, the race that doesn't go ahead, blown the money to get stuff done, and not gone, it's tough but it makes the good times all that much sweeter.

TBC

[Stan Back]

I doubt if we'll live long enuf, but the SoCal to Wendover trip I conduct is maybe a total of 100 miles longer.  I can tell you'd love to join me.

To Vegas and up the 93 thru Caliente and on to Pioche, a mining town perched on the side of a mountain with cabled ore buckets hung all the way to the valley to the smelter.  And a drink in the Overland Hotel, circa whatever.  On to Ely for the $40 night room in the tallest building in Nevada (1926 -- five stories).  I've always tried to have a beverage in every bar in Ely in one night.  Never made it.  There's one building with 3 bars in it -- all different.  And Big Valleys after Big Valleys.

And on the way back -- outta Ely to Tonopah to the Mizpah Hotel, the tallest building in Nevada (1905 -- four stories).  And then down thru Goldfield, a big, run-down mining town, and a bit farther to turn west at the closed whorehouse to cross the mountains thru the Brisstlecone Forest, the oldest living trees on earth.  Tight, curvy road down to Hwy. 395 at Big Pine (Lone Pine, can't remember) and the view of the eastern Sierra including Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous 48.

Go one way, come back another.  (For those that never tried it, I clocked the Tonopah route this year and it appears only 30 miles longer than the 318-93-15 route and you don't have to go thru Vegas.)

Any way, I'm fortunate to look forward to my trips to SpeedWeek.

Stan

[jdincau]

We usually go the Bishop, Tonopah, Ely route, I hate the drive to Vegas on the 15. My favorite part of the drive is highway 6 from Currant ranch junction to Ely, it goes through a neat winding valley with little cattle and alfalfa farms and we always see an elk or two.

[Milwaukee Midget]

We met up with Chris and Kate and Chris's dad at the Rainbow and looked over the Midget, he's a better man than to be clenching his fist at the heavens despite the shattering weight of five years of work culminating in a month long thrash and a punishing drive. Time and again people tried to sort of apologise to us for the cancellation, but we were on holidays, we'd lost nothing. I've done the cancellation bit, the race that doesn't go ahead, blown the money to get stuff done, and not gone, it's tough but it makes the good times all that much sweeter.

"Shattering weight?"  If I ponder that, I'm compelled to argue.

Reality - you have no idea what an inspiration you and the SOS project is to keeping the Midget to task.

How many times have you been rained out in the last half dozen years?  2208, 2011, 2012?  I've got more T-shirts from DLRA Speedweeks that DIDN'T occur than ones that have!

Punishing drive?  Long, yes, but we drop down to Interstate 80 and get off at exit 4.  I often revisit your trips to Gairdner in your build diary.  I doubt many of us would be doing this if we had to conduct business in as remote a location as you do.  Many of us here complain about being gouged by the casinos for rooms - I remain mindful of the fact that we've got hot showers, clean beds and phone service.

In 2009, it was your fellow countrymen at Marsh Restorations, bringing over their Healey recreations that clarified for me what my mission was.

2010 saw me making a 22.5 mph pass that had me questioning the whole project, but never withdrawing from it.  No regrets.

2012 saw a stuck valve almost destroy the project.  Went to World Finals anyway, and turned the rest of the week into a vacation with Kate not to dissimilar to your holiday here with Cassie.  No regrets.

2013 saw Mark's influence on the project, and a speed that raised a few eyebrows.  Certainly no regrets there.

2014 at World of Speed saw the work come to fruition with a record.  And the one regret I have - and one I hope to someday remedy - is that my plan of you piloting this car to a record will one day happen.  I see a record on two continents in your future - I only wish it could have happened this year in the Midget. 

No, there was no shattering weight.  It's all a grand experiment, and one in which I feel particularly pleased with the company I've been fortunate enough to keep.

Now here's the REAL deal.

There is a WHOLE BUNCH OF THE UNITED STATES OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, UTAH, IDAHO, ETC., that you seem compelled to ignore.

I will not stand for it, and neither will Kate, and I suspect Stainless might be a bit put-off by your inability to cross the continental divide as well.

Doc, the door is open, and it goes beyond an invitation.  We expect a visit - and you'd better bring Cassie. 

[Dr Goggles]

There is a WHOLE BUNCH OF THE UNITED STATES OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, UTAH, IDAHO, ETC., that you seem compelled to ignore.

I will not stand for it, and neither will Kate, and I suspect Stainless might be a bit put-off by your inability to cross the continental divide as well.

Doc, the door is open, and it goes beyond an invitation.  We expect a visit - and you'd better bring Cassie. 

You're too kind Chris.

As soon as I can work out how to fund an endless drive I will visit every f***** town on the continent. The less we'd heard about a place the more we liked it, there must be 5000 little towns where you could get some kicks. Public sculpture, flashing lights, museums? got 'em here. I(we) are a bit more about the National Geographic type interface, it's people in the environment and what they do that interests me so much more than Disneyland or the big city sights.

People asked what music we saw. The only proper gig we saw was just around the corner from where we were staying in Seattle. A pizza place, it was the barmaids birthday and some friends had put on an impromptu gig, there were maybe 20 people there, three of them slam dancing to the goofy post punk stuff they were playing, honest and raw.

That, the Idaho State Fair and the minor league ball game we saw in Portland were up there as the highlights of the trip.

More to come.

[Stainless1]

Now here's the REAL deal.

There is a WHOLE BUNCH OF THE UNITED STATES OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA, NEVADA, UTAH, IDAHO, ETC., that you seem compelled to ignore.

I will not stand for it, and neither will Kate, and I suspect Stainless might be a bit put-off by your inability to cross the continental divide as well.

Doc, the door is open, and it goes beyond an invitation.  We expect a visit - and you'd better bring Cassie.  

Plenty of room for visitors here in the flat lands... now that you have thoroughly visited the land of fruit and nuts, as well as the northern hitherlands of the west coast you can venture into places like Colorado, Kansas and Wisconsin... and besides, we have something to discuss... best done face to face  

[Dr Goggles]

Plenty of room for visitors here in the flat lands... now that you have thoroughly visited the land of fruit and nuts, as well as the northern hitherlands of the west coast you can venture into places like Colorado, Kansas and Wisconsin... and besides, we have something to discuss... best done face to face  

...and accompanied by that game where you stab the table between your fingers?

[Dr Goggles]

I doubt if we'll live long enuf, but the SoCal to Wendover trip I conduct is maybe a total of 100 miles longer.  I can tell you'd love to join me.

To Vegas and up the 93 thru Caliente and on to Pioche, a mining town perched on the side of a mountain with cabled ore buckets hung all the way to the valley to the smelter.  And a drink in the Overland Hotel, circa whatever.  On to Ely for the $40 night room in the tallest building in Nevada (1926 -- five stories).  I've always tried to have a beverage in every bar in Ely in one night.  Never made it.  There's one building with 3 bars in it -- all different.  And Big Valleys after Big Valleys.

And on the way back -- outta Ely to Tonopah to the Mizpah Hotel, the tallest building in Nevada (1905 -- four stories).  And then down thru Goldfield, a big, run-down mining town, and a bit farther to turn west at the closed whorehouse to cross the mountains thru the Brisstlecone Forest, the oldest living trees on earth.  Tight, curvy road down to Hwy. 395 at Big Pine (Lone Pine, can't remember) and the view of the eastern Sierra including Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous 48.

Go one way, come back another.  (For those that never tried it, I clocked the Tonopah route this year and it appears only 30 miles longer than the 318-93-15 route and you don't have to go thru Vegas.)

Any way, I'm fortunate to look forward to my trips to SpeedWeek.

Stan

Ive always wanted to do a "Willin" tour...... Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah, one day Jim I'm going to hitch a lift with you there and back and you can show me the sights, four legs should make that Ely challenge do-able.

[manta22]

Goggles;

If you're going to be in Tucson, give me a call.


Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[Freud]

In our racing world You could likely be Australia's representative.

Of course NZ is standing at Lands End, arms crossed defiantly, saying

"What about us?'

Who nose...........maybe they just haven't told their story yet.

We are blessed by all of you.

FREUD

[Dr Goggles]

Hey Pa, blessed to be part of it