Extraterrestrial Highway

We first attempted the ET Highway a few years ago in the Firebird. We only got a couple miles past the sign before we began to lose tire pressure. We had no choice to turn back, thankfully, we were saved by Jesus. Luckily, he kept late hours at Oscar's garage neighboring the nearby Shell station. He had our tire repaired in no time, but we turned back home since the sun was already beginning to set.



Fast forward to present day, we aimed for a successful run down State Route 375. This time, we were in the Camaro.











Located near Area 51, this is a hotbed for UFO activity. There are often reports of sightings of mysterious lights, and I don't doubt its true. I didn't realize it at the time, but there is a odd bar of green above the mountains in the photograph. I'm sure there is some reasonable explanation, but it's fun to think I might of captured a UFO. The next two photos were taken seconds apart.















We got an early afternoon start. We hit a few storms, spotted some cows in the open range, were surprised to find water, and cruised through the valleys in no time. It was an incredibly scenic drive. We really enjoyed the ride. The trip back from Tonopah was slow and boring in comparison. If we were to do it again, I'd like to go back the way we came (via 93, Crystal Springs). Any guesses as to our top speed?

Extraterrestrial Highway

Last weekend, Frank got off work early and the weather was beautiful; a nice long cruise in the Firebird was in order. We decided to check out the Extraterrestrial Highway. We got up to Alamo and noticed the tire pressure was low. We topped it off and set off on our way.







After a photo opp stop, we continued down the loniest highway. Only it was not too lonely we came across seven other vehicles before we were forced to turn back because we were losing air, something was wrong with the tire.







We went back to Alamo, and thankfully, Oscar's garage was open. He was able to diagnose the problem, change the air stem, and get us back on the road in a jiffy. We were incredibly thankful it was 110 miles to home and not much in between. That's far more than any spare tire should bear.

We made it back home without any other troubles. We hit some new top speeds in the process. We'll have to attempt the loniest highway again sometime soon.

NHRA

Sunday we went to the Strip at the Speedway for NHRA. We went last fall and had a great time. This year was great fun, too. Although it was a bit different. All qualifying races took place the days before so Sunday's races were full-throttle. It was cool to see top speeds, but there were far less races. I'll prefer to go on Saturdays for future NHRA races. We don't follow NHRA so whoever wins is lost on us, we're just there to smell the burnt rubber and racing fuel, and feel the heat and rumble as the cars blow past us.


Everytime the In-N-Out car raced we craved a double-double.


Looks like it might lose...


But the In-N-Out car won! That race anyway. They lost later in the day.


Stock might not have the speed of top-fuel or funny cars, but I still love to see 'em race.




Back to the big dogs...


This was the race of the day, battle of the Force's. Ashley lost.



After the races, we grabbed a bite... no, not In-N-Out. We got a stuffed pizza at Amore. It's been months since we had been there. Props to us for showing restraint. It's tough to stay away from thay ooey gooey goodness.

Then, we returned home and soaked in the hot tub. My body ached from pulling weeds the day before. Frank suggested margaritas, he made two pitchers... we drank, we laughed, we relaxed. It was perfect end to a great weekend.

NHRA Video

NHRA Nationals

Check out my blog post at LLV, NHRA: The Need for Speed for details about the Nationals on Saturday. Below are several photos I took throughout the day.


Pro-Stock & Stats




Top Fuel Dragsters and their stats.










Funny Cars





Tomorrow I'll add a couple videos.

Hot showers and fun ahead

I’m happy to report we have hot water. Frank found a plumber on Craigslist, he’s just starting his business. We saved over a hundred bucks by buying the new water heater through him and having him install it. We priced Sears, Lowes and Home Depot. He came the same day, within a couple hours, did good work and worked fast. Craigslist is awesome.

Hot showers are simply wonderful! Two days never seemed so long.

Switching gears…

San Francisco is a month away. We booked our hotel; we’ll be staying just outside Fisherman’s Wharf. The location should be very convenient. We won’t be renting a car so easy access to public transport was important. We haven’t done a trip without a rental or own transportation since days of visiting of Las Vegas, over seven years ago. The trip will be here before I know it. It’s time to start researching places to eat and things to do. We definitely want to take a Bay Cruise and visit the Ferry Building for tasty eats, everything else is up in the air.

Besides the trip, we have other fun stuff ahead to look forward to. First, this Saturday is Bite of Las Vegas. Frank will be working, but I’m going to take my brother. Train and Uncle Kracker will be playing along with a handful of other bands; Le Reve is supposed to have some sort of performance, too. In addition to music, there will be restaurants from all over the valley selling their specialties. Tickets are only $8 at the gate and if you bring a canned good, they’ll take $1 off. It should be a fun-filled day.

Later this month, Frank and I will attend an awards dinner at Red Rock inside Cherry Nightclub. My company was nominated for Best Places to Work. Hopefully, we’ll take home an award.

Then, on the 31st Frank and I have tickets for NHRA at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We’ve been to the venue before for NASCAR and Midnight Mayhem, but this will be the first time seeing NHRA. We saw street-drags, years ago, when we lived in Chicago, at the Joliet Motor Speedway. It was a great time. Cars were loud and fast! We saw a semi-truck with a jet engine rip down the track. It was a sight to see. NHRA Finals should have dozens of top fuel cars; they are supposed to have top speeds of 300 mph and more, and quarter-mile times anywhere from 4.42 to 5 seconds. That is sick!

Frank will be off that whole weekend. It’ll be great having time off together. Sunday will be a lazy day in front of the TV watching football. It’ll be a nice treat.

Farewell to summer

Labor Day weekend always seems sadden me. I never want summer to end…even living in the desert. I realize perfect weather is on the way, but I’ll miss the long days filled with plenty of warmth and sunshine, lazy afternoon’s poolside and barbeques.

We had a great weekend, we wrapped up restaurant week, drank and had laughs with friends, went shooting and got stranded in the desert, took a cruise to Mt. Charleston, caught a movie, ate at favorite haunts, and even spent an afternoon in the pool soaking up the sunshine.

Shane drove in from Phoenix, his visit was leisurely not a single vehicle repair was planned. He got into town late Friday evening, meanwhile Frank and I watched lightning from the cave mountain near the house after our lackluster dinner at DJT.


We met him at the house, and headed to PT’s Pub after he got settled. The guys played pool while I hung at the bar trying my luck at Keno. Later, they joined me, and we caught up over beers.

Saturday, we had breakfast at the Original Pancake House. Gouda omelets. No need to say more. We got a slow start to the day, eventually we headed out for an easy off-road drive. The guys wanted to shoot some clays and I wanted to test out the new camera.




What's that in the desert?


A water heater. You got to love the irony.


We had our fun, we had a few hours until our dinner reservations so we decided to head home and rest up a bit beforehand. However, the Suburban had other plans. It refused to start, the battery lacked juice. Fortunately, we weren’t too far from home only a few miles. Walking was an option, but Frank called a friend to meet him where the desert meets civilization, he then rode back to the house and return with the Jimmy. Shane and I hung by the Suburban hoping someone would come by and we prayed no flash floods came through. We were 0-1. I suppose we lucked out. Frank showed about 45-minutes after he set off by foot. After a few tries they were able to jump the battery and we were on our way. We had just enough time to shower and head to the Luxor for dinner.

Dinner was good, we considered dollar blackjack at the Sahara, after, but the crowds in for the holiday were ridiculous. Instead, we decided to return home and hang by the house.

Sunday before we met LVCFO/AZFBA members for a cruise to Mt. Charleston, we took a drive through Red Rock. It was gorgeous, the early morning sun highlighted the vivid colors of the mountains.





Our baby, followed by Shane's




Then, it was onto the meet. Both groups are for people who drive f-body vehicles, Camaros and Firebirds.

Reminscent of an inside-out Oreo


One of these things is not like the other, one of these things doesn't belong...


We were delayed by an hour waiting for others to show, but we had a great time cruising up the mountain.








We stopped for photos outside the ski resort. Pretty girls in a row.




Then the group went to Famous Dave’s for lunch while we stayed on the mountain for a picnic. We ate, and then tossed Frisbees around before heading back. The ride down the mountain is always a good time.


Sunday night we had friends over for a fantasy football draft. Afterwards, we made a few pitchers of margaritas while we played Yahtzee.

Monday came much too quickly. We went to breakfast at Hash House a Go Go. It’s been featured on every food tv show, and it seems to be great for business. It’s always been a hopping place, but Monday was insane. We waited a half hour for a table, plus another thirty minutes for our food. Thankfully, the brown sugar flapjack and pork tenderloin benedicts did not disappoint.

Back at the house Shane and Frank worked on the Suburban’s battery. So much for no vehicle repairs. Not too long after that Shane headed home, and Frank and I hit the pool. We picked up a solar cover a couple weeks ago, it makes a world of difference we’re maintaining temps five degrees higher than before.

We topped off the weekend by catching Extract at Rave Theaters. Eh, it seemed to lack a point. Then, we walked over to Yardhouse for dinner. Food was great as usual; Frank had the house amber and hefeweizen, and I tried the Bitburger Pils and Redhook Slim. The latter had nice body for being a light beer, I really enjoyed it.

With that, Labor Day weekend was just a memory.