Life’s been a bit busy and tiring as usual, but I wanted to finally get a couple of posts published for a change

The Road Runners Internationale are a special group of people.  They’re the men who built the base at Groom Dry Lake, the reconnaissance aircraft that gave the U.S. the edge in the Cold War, the pilots who flew them, and the families who supported them.  Some of the programs were more tightly held secrets than the atomic bomb was in WWII and have only recently begun to be declassified.

I met T.D. Barnes and first learned about the Road Runners  at Aviation Nation 2004 – my first trip to Nellis Air Force Base for an airshow.  Over time we chatted via email and I was honored to be invited to join as an associate member.  Reunions are held every two years and I sadly missed the last one.  I wasn’t going to miss this one

5 October 2011 - Yours truly at the Black Mailbox

5 October 2011 - Roadrunners and friends at the Black Mailbox

5 October 2011 - About to mail a letter to the aliens

5 October 2011 - Panorama - Mailbox Road

5 October 2011 - Panorama - The Black Mailbox on the Extraterrestrial Highway

 Every reunion, the Road Runners have a field trip somewhere nearby.  This is the first time I’ve managed to clear time to go on one   Past field trips have gone to the Nevada Test Site where T.D. used to help test nuclear weapons and to Creech Air Force Base where the U.S. Air Force bases most of the Predator and Reaper UAVs which have been so effective in the wars overseas.  This year was a bit different.

We all got together in a convoy and headed north from Las Vegas, then onto Highway 93 north, and then west on the Extraterrestrial Highway.  We made a couple of stops along the way including the one in the pictures above at the Black Mailbox.  Long time readers will likely remember seeing pictures of this place before from back when I first got my HHR.  It was along again due to the need to help carry people to our destination for the day.  Yes, even in the cold and rain, I’d rather have been on my bike – just as long as I had the right gear   Still, the trip was well worth it especially with a couple of Canadians and a couple of Russians along as passengers

5 October 2011 - Down at the Little A'Le'Inn

5 October 2011 - A small view inside the Little A'Le'Inn

The 2011 Road Runners field trip was to the closest bit of civilization you can find near Groom Dry Lake.  That place is Rachel, NV and it is very small, indeed.  The largest business in Rachel is the Little A’Le’Inn    OK, I’ve never seen any UFOs out there, but the place is pretty cool

5 October 2011 - Panorama - Looking southeast from the Little A'Le'Inn

5 October 2011 - Panorama - Looking east from the Little A'Le'Inn

 As you can see from these pictures, the Little A’Le’Inn is rather remote and in that sense is similar to Groom Dry Lake.

5 October 2011 - Mining history in the Groom Lake area

 There were prior attempts at making use of the area before the Air Force showed up in the early 1950′s, but they didn’t quite pan out.  I can only imagine the tough life that those early miners lead out in the southern Nevada desert.

5 October 2011 - The Roadrunners Internationale and friends at the Little A'Le'Inn

 Inside the Little A’Le’Inn, people were packed in like sardines in a tin. Everyone enjoyed the great camaraderie, delicious food, and superb hospitality of the owners and staff

It’s amazing to me that this event even happened.  T.D. and several of the Road Runners also commented that even a few years ago, they never could have imagined that they would be at a place like the Little A’Le’Inn which is so close to Groom Dry Lake, packed in with friends, family, and news media, accompanied by the Central Intelligence Agency’s gift shop staff.  The novelty still remains when telling the stories about some of their formerly secret projects.  I still can’t believe I get to be in the middle of it all and I get to talk to the people who developed the planes I never thought I’d be allowed to know much about.  This was a truly great day

5 October 2011 - Joerg Arnu at the podium in the Road Runners' command post!

 Joerg Arnu is the webmaster for Dreamland Resort and the Road Runners’ websites.  Originally from Germany, Joerg knows more about the Nellis Range than I’ve ever thought to ask.  This trip was his doing and I commend him for managing to organize such a great day   He’s also one of those strange people who thinks that the best way to go down a road on a beautiful day involves two cylinders, two wheels, and leaning in corners   Yeah, we’ll probably go for a ride together sometime before too long

5 October 2011 - Panorama - Groom Lake Road in the diffused storm light

I took the photos that became this panorama on the way back to Las Vegas from the Little A’Le’Inn.  That road you see off in the distance is Groom Lake Road.  That is the road that leads to a place I’d love to visit someday, but which I will likely never reach.  It’s the road to Paradaise Ranch, AKA Watertown, AKA Dreamland, AKA Area 51.  It’s the place where the U-2, A-12, SR-71, and many other very special aircraft were developed.  Work still continues to this day on aircraft development and flight test out at Groom Dry Lake.

I don’t know what’s going on at that secret spot in the desert and I know it’s for the best that I don’t as I don’t have the need to know.  In the end, I’m just glad I’ve had the chance to meet the people who made history there in the past and that’s enough for me

Thank you, Road Runners, for all you’ve done for your country in the past and for all you continue to do to educate the rest of us today

10 August 2011 - Panorama - They say there's burros around here...

 I’ve seen these and other warning signs plenty of times, but I really can’t ever recall actually seeing a burro   Red Rock Canyon is part of a federal wild horse and burro management area and it’s not like they’ve got a whole lot holding them back from the road, so I guess the signs are a good idea…

10 August 2011 - Blue Diamond, NV - Burro population unknown

 I’d never actually turned onto the road into Blue Diamond, NV before but it looked like a place that might be worth seeing just for the heck of it.  Curiosity can be a real pain sometimes and end up costing plenty of time but there’s times when it pays off   I just loved this road sign and absolutely had to get a pic of the bike with it   Now, where the heck are those burros hiding

10 August 2011 - Blue Diamond, NV - Correction, burro population at least two

 I swear I didn’t notice these two burros until I was getting back on the bike after taking that picture of it with the road sign   Yes, those are wild burros munching on the lush, green grass of the local park in Blue Diamond, NV which is directly across the street from that great sign

10 August 2011 - Another burro along the road to Bonnie Springs

10 August 2011 - A couple of burros grabbing dinner in Red Rock Canyon

10 August 2011 - Burros heading off into the desert

 And then I saw even more burros along the road and even off the main road   I go from not remembering ever seeing a burro in Red Rock Canyon to having them practically everywhere I look   OK, I’m having a little fun with the smilies, but I really can’t remember seeing a burro out in Red Rock before today and then here they are all over the place.  I can’t say just why it is, but I like ‘em   Maybe it’s because they add even more character to one of my favorite places

10 August 2011 - My V-Star with the Old Spanish Trail historic place marker

10 August 2011 - Old Spanish Trail historic place marker west of Blue Diamond, NV

 I wasn’t really in the mood to stop today – I just wanted to keep riding   Why not ride up to Mountain Springs?  It’s there and the road to get to it has a nice 65 MPH speed limit and some nice, sweeping curves after all   I’d only been down that road one time before, but remembered it was nice.  It was back on my trip around Mt. Charleston that took me through Indian Springs and Pahrump and I didn’t remember seeing a marker for an historic place.  Having nowhere to be and all evening to get there, I turned around and rode the bike across the gravel (which was entertaining to say the least) for a couple pictures and to learn a bit.  I never knew about the Old Spanish Trail, but now I have yet another piece of fairly useless knowledge in my head

10 August 2011 - Panorama - Motorcyclist's view of the moon over the desert

 During my later evening travels through Red Rock Canyon, I noticed how the moon was coming up in the light sky, but still very visible.  I figured why not stop and get the shot for the blog?  I think it came out pretty good even if  it doesn’t live up to 10% of how it looked from inside my helmet

10 August 2011 - Panorama - Yamaha motorcycles at Red Rock Canyon Overlook

 My last stop during the ride (aside from grabbing sodas on the way home) was back at the Red Rock Canyon Overlook.  I noticed that just about every parking space was full, but there were also a couple of sport bikes parked off to one side.  I decided to be friendly and go say hi

I wish I could remember their names, but there was an older eastern European guy who was riding the blue bike and a young couple who’d arrived on the red bike.  All very nice people and we had some fun talking bikes for a while   The guy from the red bike asked if I was Jeff after seeing the plate and said he thought it was nice

I couldn’t pass up the chance to get this picture and I’m glad it came out as well as it did   All three of these bikes are Yamahas and they’re lined up in order according to their performance levels.  My bike’s really rather slow all things considered and is meant for cruising around, enjoying the sights, and doing so in comfort for a long time.  The red bike is a Yamaha R6 which is meant for spirited riding and fun on twisty bits of the road.  Think of it as a reasonably quick sports car with two wheels.  The blue bike is a Yamaha R1 which is fairly similar to the R6 only much faster   If the R6 were a Camaro Z/28, the R1 would be a Corvette Z-06   Both are more than capable of delivering power and handling in huge doses and both can also land you in jail before you’re out of second gear if you’re not diplomatic with the throttle   I’d love to ride one once I lose some more weight and after I’ve had a good deal more experience on the road

Well, it’s now properly late/early and I need to get some sleep before I head back to work in a few hours.  I’m going to end this post here, but I hope you enjoyed it at least 5% as much as I enjoyed riding the roads and taking the pics   Thanks again for reading and have a great Thursday

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6 August 2011 - BMW of Las Vegas - K1600GTL

6 August 2011 - BMW of Las Vegas - K1600GTL

 Somehow it got into my head that the Triple Seven Special at Mr. Lucky’s sounded like a good idea for dinner   Yeah, I just wanted to ride and to have an excuse to go play in traffic at 70 MPH   Funny thing, but I realized I hadn’t been to BMW of Las Vegas in quite a while.  Well, neither Kurt nor Peter were there, but this was   Yes, that’s the K1600GTL in all it’s $20,000+ glory   The engine is a 1.6 Liter, inline six cylinder unit producing about 160 BHP.  It’s quick and should ride very nicely, but I don’t think I really have to worry about picking one up anytime soon

I also found out that BMW of Las Vegas carries PIAA powersports bulbs.  Actually, they even had the one I’ve been thinking about for quite a while in stock on the shelf.  I went back Monday and picked up a PIAA H4 Star White bulb for the low price of about $40.  OK, so it’s not cheap but it’s supposed to throw about twice the light of a standard bulb without using more power and overtaxing the bike’s electrical system   I haven’t gone for a proper night ride with it yet, but I’ll let you know how that goes as soon as I get a chance which will likely be this weekend.

6 August 2011 - Filling up the bike

I had to stop to fill up the gas tank again on the way home from the Hard Rock   I’m trying to figure out why it feels like I’m always at the gas station even though the bike gets between 40 and 50 MPG and has a four gallon tank

OK, I’m actually just joking here and you don’t need to drive all the way to Las Vegas to knock some sense into me   I just have so much fun riding this motorcycle that I barely touch the car and I can always seem to find an excuse as to why I just have to go out and ride

I’ve got more pics from today that I have to get put together and posted, so I’m going to cut this one off here.  Have a great day

Now that I’ve gotten around to it, I hope you enjoy the pics and such   Don’t forget to click on the pics for full size

24 June 2011 - Panorama - Goblin Valley State Park

24 June 2011 - The Three Sisters in Goblin Valley State Park

24 June 2011 - Valley of the Goblins - Click for full size and look at the people for scale

 After arriving in Utah at the end of a 10+ hour drive (3 of those hours due to my own :censored: stupidity ), I settled in for the night at Cindy’s place and got some sleep.  The next day we packed up her car with the two of us, Cindy’s mom, and her 90 year old grandmother for a relatively short trip down to Goblin Valley State Park   I love interesting desert landscapes like this

Goblin Valley is named for the “goblins” you see in the pics above.  Click here for the park’s website and more info

25 June 2011 - Entrance to the American West Heritage Center

25 June 2011 - Barn and pasture with horses at the American West Heritage Center

25 June 2011 - This foal just loved to run

25 June 2011 - Pathway along the creek

25 June 2011 - Panorama - The Wasatch Mountains in the distance

25 June 2011 - The visitors came by horse drawn wagon...

25 June 2011 - And they came by tractor as well!

25 June 2011 - Wild roses at the American West Heritage Center

 After our visit to Goblin Valley, we headed north past Salt Lake City and spent the night in a hotel.  We wanted to get an early start to the day as we’d planned a few different stops   The first stop is the location you see above – the American West Heritage Center   Now, if you’ve ever thought about what it was like to live on the American Frontier, but wanted to know the truth you’ve got to go there   Aside from what you see above, there’s a blacksmith’s shop, a carpenter’s shop, sod house, dugout house, mountain man encampment, Indian village, and quite a bit more.  The people in the shops make truly wonderful crafts and sell the products to help fund the center.  Admission was very affordable and I highly recommend this stop to everyone.  Folks, take your kids and show ‘em what it was like instead of leaving ‘em to read history books in school

Speaking of living history, wait until you see the pics and video in the next part of this post!

25 June 2011 - Monument at Golden Spike National Historic Site

25 June 2011 - Monument at Golden Spike National Historic Site

25 June 2011 - An authentic piece of history from building the Transcontinental Railroad

25 June 2011 - Jupiter and No. 119 on the rails at Promontory Summit

26 June 2011 - No. 119 with coal smoke rising at Promontory Summit, UT

26 June 2011 - Jupiter with wood smoke rising at Promontory Summit, UT

26 June 2011 - Historic marker for the site of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, UT

26 June 2011 - No. 119 with coal smoke rising at Promontory Summit, UT

26 June 2011 - Jupiter with wood smoke rising at Promontory Summit, UT

26 June 2011 - Controls for No. 119

26 June 2011 - Big lumps of coal in the tender for No. 119

26 June 2011 - No. 119 and Jupiter face to face

26 June 2011 - Info about No. 119 - Click for full size so you can read it

26 June 2011 - Info about Jupiter - Click for full size so you can read it

26 June 2011 - Information about rails and how they've evolved

26 June 2011 - Controls for Jupiter

26 June 2011 - Looking at No. 119 from Jupiter

26 June 2011 - Builder's plate on Jupiter

26 June 2011 - Sand container on No. 119

26 June 2011 - Sand container on No. 119

26 June 2011 - No. 119 just about to start moving

After we left the American West Heritage Center, we headed for another history lesson.  This time it was to be a truly historic site with nearly perfect replicas of the machinery of the time to bring it to life

The National Park Service operates the Golden Spike Historic Site and the two replica steam locomotives that run there.  On May 10, 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was completed at Promontory Summit just north of the Great Salt Lake.  This rail link was incredibly important to the growth of the west coast of the United States

Sadly, but understandably the original locomotives – Jupiter and N0. 119 were scrapped in the 1920′s.  They were worn-out machines of a bygone era that nobody was all that interested in at the time.  The National Park Service decided that they wanted replicas of these engines and approached Walt Disney to see if he could build them.  Walt declined saying he could not give them the realism the project deserved.  Chadwell O’Connor Engineering Laboratories of Costa Mesa, CA stepped in and underbid the government itself while spending twice what the contract paid so that they could do the job right

And folks, they got it RIGHT!  I felt like I’d been dropped back in the 1860′s for a couple of minutes as No. 119 huffed past me with the smell of steam and coal smoke wafting on the wind and the sound of the bell and whistle ringing into the distance.  This is another one of those places to take your kids for an experience they won’t forget.  It’s places like Promontory Summit and people like those who keep these locomotives running who allow today’s kids to make a personal connection to what they read in their history classes.  That personal connection can make all the difference when they’re learning to enjoy learning and very likely can be the difference between good grades and wanting to play video games

Click here for a great deal more information at SteamLocomotive.com

After the fun and interesting time we’d spent in the past so to speak, Cindy and I headed on over to Crystal Hot Springs to soak in the mineral rich waters   I didn’t take pictures due to the number of kids around and the possible misgivings of the other visitors, but we had a nice, relaxing soak and felt even better   After that we found a hotel nearby and called it a night.

27 June 2011 - Avionics bay in an F-111 at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - Inert B-61 thermonuclear weapon - I've been told I can't have one

27 June 2011 - F-16 and Old Glory at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - A-10 Warthog (Glenn's jet's sister ) and the First Navy Jack

27 June 2011 - SR-71C at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - SR-71C at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - SR-71 start cart at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - SR-71 flight/space suit at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - Too much good stuff at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - Cushman scooter at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - Cushman scooter at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - Cushman scooter info at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - B-1B on outdoor display at the Hill Aerospace Museum

27 June 2011 - More good stuff on outdoor display at the Hill Aerospace Museum

 We didn’t actually have plans for our final day up north, so we headed somewhere we’d been before so I could drool all over the floors again   The last time we went to the Hill Aerospace Museum we only had about 45 minutes to see everything.  This time that wasn’t a problem!  Cindy glanced around and read a book outside for a bit while I appreciated the cool flying machines, but we both had a good time.  Oh, and in case you’re wondering – Yes, I want one of those Cushman scooters

Finally we headed back down to Price, UT and kicked back for the evening with a movie.  I really didn’t want to go home so soon, but we can’t always get what we want.  At least it was an overall good trip with wonderful memories that also provided ideas for the next time I head north in search of cool old stuff and new experiences

That’s it for this trip report.  Here’s hoping you enjoyed reading it 10% as much as I enjoyed the trip itself and that you also might have learned a bit here and there   Have a great Tuesday, everyone

9 July 2011 - South of Jean, NV on the old highway with thunderstorms in the distance

 Unfortunately, the pics you see here show how far I got – about a couple miles south of Jean, NV on Las Vegas Blvd.  This was one of the places I’ve wanted to take the bike for a while.  Before I-15 linked Las Vegas and L.A. this was the main road into town.  Most of it south of Jean has been left to erode over the years and while I had thoughts of going until it ends about halfway to Primm, I thought better after feeling how harsh the ride was.

9 July 2011 - South of Jean, NV on the old highway with thunderstorms in the distance

 So why did I turn around and head back instead of jumping on the I-15 to Primm you might ask?  Well, if you look in both of the pics above you’ll see the answer in the background.  Here’s a hint – those clouds weren’t just dumping rain.  Now, anyone who’s read this blog for a while probably knows I love thunderstorms.  I just don’t like the thought of being on a motorcycle in one if I can help it – especially if I don’t have decent rain gear & I’m one of the tallest things around and not in a car

9 July 2011 - Sunset with showers over Red Rock Canyon in the distance

Another reason I headed home can be seen in this last pic.  Here’s a hint – look at where the sun is and consider that I’m about an hour from home with the route I had planned.  Yes, I went through Red Rock Canyon again to get back home.  I figured the rain would move on before I got there (it did – I only encountered sprinkles) and while it might be dark (I love my motorcycle’s high beam!), at least I wouldn’t have to deal with Saturday night traffic on city streets that would probably be under that rain by the time I got there.  All went well and I got home safe and only slightly damp

I’ll have more before very long, but until then have a great day