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 12 November 2011 - Yours truly with a B-2 Spirit Folks, I’ve got a big backlog of pics to post including quite a few from this past weekend’s airshow at Nellis AFB. I finally got through all the pics from Saturday at the airshow and I hope to have them posted tonight Have fun and I hope to see you back here soon  The Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake City. It was after a rather tasty lunch at Applebee’s with other old War Horses and Sea Dogs. The link is to Old Retired Petty Officer where most of them are. But I will toss in a few as well here. http://oldretiredpettyofficer.blogspot.com/2011/11/great-salt-lake-antelope-island-and.html
 The Wasatch reflected in the Lake  Antelope Island in the Lake  The Causeway to Syracuse, Clearfield, Layton and Hill AFB  Monument honouring the Mormon Battalion
Folks, it’s getting late and I’m getting a bit tired but I wanted to finally get this post published before I set off on another fun motorcycle trip of extended range You’ve seen plenty of pictures from the regular road that runs through the general area of Red Rock Canyon. It’s very nice to look at, but there’s quite a lot more to see if you’re willing to spend a few dollars to travel the thirteen miles of twisting asphalt and concrete known as the scenic loop  9 October 2011 - Calico Hills in Red Rock Canyon  9 October 2011 - Zoom in on the specks to see the rock climbers  9 October 2011 - Red rocks and a distant peak  9 October 2011 - Calico Hills and juniper  9 October 2011 - Red Rock Canyon Overlook from the other side  9 October 2011 - Looking down Red Rock Canyon from the north  9 October 2011 - Sunlight reflecting off one peak onto another Panoramas  9 October 2011 - Panorama - Calico Hills from a different point of view  9 October 2011 - Panorama - Desert juniper  9 October 2011 - Panorama - Evening in Red Rock Canyon The Bureau of Land Management charges $7 per car or $3.00 for a motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian to drive this gorgeous road. A twelve month pass is only $30, so I picked one up a few weeks ago and it’s already paid for itself That’s all for tonight, but I’ll be back sooner than last time Wow! It’s been how long since I posted something here 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 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  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  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  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 |
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Yes, I’m going to be back on the bike and heading for a distant destination on Thursday and I will be sure to take pics along the way 
With that in mind, I’m going to keep the actual writing in this post fairly short 
Hey, it only takes me 30 minutes to get to the start of the loop from my home or work, it’s a great road to practice cornering with its one way traffic and reasonable 35 MPH speed limit, and the scenery’s stunning 
Have a great day everyone 
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OK, I’ve never seen any UFOs out there, but the place is pretty cool 