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04-07-2017, 05:47 PM | #1 |
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Mojave detour
I finally delivered the new-to-them Yaris to my parents last week. The thread where I bought it and stuff is here. Google says to just take I-10 over and I-5 up, but I would die of boredom if I tried that. Every trip is an opportunity to see new things, so I stay away from the interstates whenever possible. Way away from the interstates. Hopefully I went to a few places justanotherdrunk hasn't been to yet, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has. I had to take I-10 out of town, but I went over to SR-72 as soon as I could, which goes through Parker and turns into California SR-62 at the border. Then, north on US-95 and left just past I-40. I beat the trains to Goffs (second picture), and turned north again on a 50-mile long road which cuts through the Mojave National Preserve. The first few miles are deteriorating pavement, overflowing with sand and with weeds growing in the potholes. The rest is dirt. I just have to say, fender gap is great. Rough pavement starts again just before it reaches the road that goes through Nipton in a great big valley. The bright spots across the valley are the Ivanpah solar station, the largest in the world. Anyone who's played the game Fallout: New Vegas should be a little familiar with this area. It's the southwest region of the game's map. The real version isn't much more hospitable. As I joined I-15, the wind picked up, and so did the dust. About 30 miles down the interstate, I came to a place I've been wanting to visit for years. What's left of it, at least. Lake Dolores started as a private resort in the 1950's. It was opened to the public a few years later, and attractions were gradually added until popularity fell. The park closed in the 1980's. A new company picked it up in 1990, and re-branded it with a 1950's kitsch theme, calling it the "Rock-a-Hoola Waterpark". They went bankrupt ten years later. It's an eerie place to walk around in, in spite of the relentless sun. The wind kept banging the remaining doors open and shut. All the buildings were in tatters on the inside, ripped apart by copper thieves. Back on the interstate, the wind picked up some more. ...or borrow your parent's, right? I got off in Barstow and had lunch in Kramer Junction, which is just the intersection of 395 and 58. I ate my burger and shared my fries with the dogs in the car, listening to the sand hiss against the windows, and watching the RV parked next to me sway like a boat at anchor. I took 395 north from there. The wind got so bad that the CHP shut the roads down to high-proflie vehicles. Anything taller than a pickup truck had to park and wait it out. As the highway climbed into the mountains, the blowing sand turned to snow. It was nearly a blizzard at Conway Summit, the highest point on the highway at 8,138 feet. It's hard to believe this was all the same day. I still had some tumbleweed stuck in the bumper. |
04-07-2017, 05:52 PM | #2 |
Mmm, fries...
Mmm, pics, too. Killer shots; and you're not kidding about all in the same day. Desert dust and mountain snow storm. So cool. That is the cool thing about my beloved home state. The politics, business regulations, Hollywood, etc. might all suck, but the weather is second to none and you can go snowboarding in the morning and surfing at night. |
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04-07-2017, 07:18 PM | #3 |
Radical Dreamer
Drives: spiritedly. Join Date: May 2016
Location: No Bueno Park, CA
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damn, now that sounds like an exciting trip.
i love the picture of the mountains <3
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04-07-2017, 10:13 PM | #4 | |
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Quote:
Everything lined up just right for that picture. Just a little bit of sun came through to light up the road ahead and give contrast to the gloomy mountains. I keep the camera on the passenger seat for when those moments pop up. |
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04-07-2017, 10:27 PM | #5 |
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Drives: '09 3-door 5-speed Join Date: Jan 2016
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I had to clean up the car one more time after I arrived in Oregon. I couldn't stand to give them their "new" car all covered in dust and dog hair. Unlike me, they have a driveway and a garage, so cleaning cars is real easy there.
I got their old Chevrolet to drive back. It's actually a cargo van, with a stripped-out interior, rubber floors, and a single jumpseat in the back. I came across an old hitchhiker outside Battle Mountain. I couldn't stand to leave all that space unused, so we traveled together all the way down to Tonopah, where he split for Utah. He was a nice guy, but Skippy was happier after he left. I somehow averaged 30mpg driving home in that 3.4L pushrod behemoth. I couldn't believe it. It's got a 25 gallon tank! |
04-08-2017, 02:16 PM | #6 |
Drives: 2016 SE Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 1,156
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sweeeeeeet !!!!!
awesome trip never been on that short section of old 66 between 40 and 95 where goffs is i was just thru mojave, chambless, amboy and cadiz a few months ago stayed in boron at a really small nice little mom/ pop hotel ... the old indian lady actually turned down my bed for me yep years ago i saw mile after mile of stopped trucks near kramer junction after a few got blown over never actually stopped at that old water park thanks for the pics i went thru nipton sometime in the 90s before digital cameras i was never much into photography before megapixel cameras debuted sadly i have very little record of all my trips prior to 2001 and in the 80s i was drunk didnt do many roadtrips in those years Last edited by justanotherdrunk; 04-08-2017 at 02:26 PM. |
04-08-2017, 07:56 PM | #7 |
Drives: Yaris 06 - 5dr hatchback Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Birmingham, UK
Posts: 390
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Nice road trip dude. Looks like some pretty rough dirt roads out there, i love the desert.
I was on a tour which crossed some of California and Arizona a few years ago. All i could think was how much i wanted to come back on a road trip and go off the beaten track. Your dog is adorable. haha
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04-08-2017, 11:55 PM | #8 | ||
Hubcap Enthusiast
Drives: '09 3-door 5-speed Join Date: Jan 2016
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Quote:
I figured you at least knew about that waterpark, though I half expected you to reply with a picture of your wife next to one of the broken waterslides. Quote:
If you ever get back to this part of the world and have some time to explore, we should hook up. There's so much to see here, and I've only scratched the surface, even though I live here. The dogs love road trips. I have two: Tasi the husky mix, who always keeps an eye on me when I get out to take pictures, and Skippy the hound, who's always calm and sleeps most of the way. We've been all over the place together. |
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04-09-2017, 01:29 AM | #9 | |
Drives: Yaris 06 - 5dr hatchback Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Birmingham, UK
Posts: 390
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Quote:
My dream US road trip would be to start probably at LA (ugh i hate the place) and make my way across the mountains to Arizona and maybe even venture into New Mexico then up through Nevada then into Oregon which looks really impressive from what I've seen maybe dip into some of the off the beaten track parts of California. I love all this crazy shit you see out in the desert. Nothing would just get left like that in Europe. Do you ever camp out in the desert? I hear pure huskies are crazy, that if you let them off the lead they will just run and run and run for hours. The mix must have calmed yours down. I wish i had a dog, but my shifts and living situation don't make it practical.
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- Yaris 2006, 1.0, 5 door hatchback "Betty" - 240,000 miles UK to Nordkapp in a Yaris
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04-09-2017, 04:30 PM | #10 |
Hubcap Enthusiast
Drives: '09 3-door 5-speed Join Date: Jan 2016
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The tires are just cheap all-seasons. I kept it around 20-30mph, up to 40 at times.
I actually got a rental Yaris stuck in about 3" of snow beside the road, but it was late-winter snow, all icy and crusty. I got my Metro stuck once, too, when a freak June rainstorm turned a dirt road into a quagmire. I'll sleep in the car on long trips, but I've never gone out and camped. Just day hikes. I'm not sure if Tasi is really a mix or not. She came from the pound, so who knows? She could run for days. She ran off once on at the summit of a hike. I found her again, waiting for me at the car, three miles away. She's almost 3 now, and only just beginning to calm down into adulthood. |
04-10-2017, 01:03 PM | #11 |
Drives: 2016 SE Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 1,156
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you need a jeep
i always wanted one but theyre so damn expensive |
04-11-2017, 05:44 PM | #12 |
Drives: 2008 Yaris Liftback (Sprocket) Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: San Antonio, Texas!
Posts: 2,799
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Yep, I could sell the 2005 Unlimited I bought in 2007 today for nearly as much as I paid for it ten years ago. Finding a deal on a Jeep is a challenge indeed!
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04-10-2017, 02:37 PM | #13 |
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Hell no! I wouldn't touch anything Chrysler with a ten foot pole, and that's even before we even start talking MPG. I just need to stay away from deep mud or snow. If I ever got something for off-road, it would be a little Tracker/Sidekick.
My uncle in Wickenburg had a CJ5 for a while (from way before the Chrysler days). It was cool, but after a little while he went back to a Samurai for bouncing around the desert. He buys and sells gold claims around the Vulture Mine. He knows all the hermits out there in the desert. |
04-11-2017, 05:43 PM | #14 | |
Drives: 2008 Yaris Liftback (Sprocket) Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: San Antonio, Texas!
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Quote:
By the way, I am pretty sure that's a CJ-3A like the one below; not a CJ-5!
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Last edited by MadMax; 04-11-2017 at 07:27 PM. |
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04-11-2017, 08:58 PM | #15 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
My uncle originally had a red ragtop Samurai, which he eventually sold to get that Jeep. He had it less than a year before selling it, and getting a horse named Smokey instead. He really missed the Samurai, though, so he found another one, a black tin top. That's the only one I've driven myself. Even on those road tires, it can scramble over just about anything. The Sidekick was the replacement for the Samurai in the U.S., with a bigger motor and fuel injection. It doesn't hold the same cult status as the Samurai, so they're easy to get cheap. |
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04-10-2017, 03:03 PM | #16 |
Drives: Yaris 06 - 5dr hatchback Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Birmingham, UK
Posts: 390
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If i was going off road i think the only thing i would take is an old 90's Subaru. Difficult to beat them for off road ability. Second choice would probably be a landrover defender.
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
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04-10-2017, 05:15 PM | #17 |
Hubcap Enthusiast
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No offense to your country, but I wouldn't touch any of the Land Rovers they sell here, either. The Defender isn't one of the ones we get, though.
I'm partial to the Suzuki Sidekick/Geo Tracker since they're basically an offroad Geo Metro. They share many of the same parts, and were built at the same Canadian factory. Cheap and easy to work on. |
04-10-2017, 05:50 PM | #18 |
Drives: Yaris 06 - 5dr hatchback Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Birmingham, UK
Posts: 390
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You would be right actually. Most of the newer stuff is pretty shit. The defender is old school, they were pretty simple back in the day. After some upkeep there wasn't a massive amount to go wrong with them besides rust and wear and tear and they are pretty unbeatable off road.
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- Yaris 2006, 1.0, 5 door hatchback "Betty" - 240,000 miles UK to Nordkapp in a Yaris
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