dewdude
High on resolution.
It took me 11 years through an unknown number of sabbaticals...but this post right here is #3000. So I decided to be one of those guys sharing vacation photos....and share some vacation photos. This is going to be the short short collection of a few photos that I actually took. I was too busy taking everything in and driving to be constantly snapping photos.
Back at the end of June I got on an airplane for the first time and after 2 flights, a 3 hour layover, and 9 hours of travel time; I landed in Las Vegas. Vegas was, at this time, just an overnight stop and place to pick up the rental car and the friend that would ride with me to our final destination....a small isolated ranch in Northern California near the base of Snowstorm Mountain. Why were we going? We're ham radio geeks and a bunch of us from our online club were gathering there for Field Day. Third year for most of these guys, first time I made the trip. Let me tell you...I had no clue I'd even be able to pull it off. In the end I was totally unable to stick to the budget, but I made the best of the 9 days I was gone.
Ahh...the second "first car experience"...the first rental car. Was it the one I wanted? Nope. Did it cost more than originally intended? Yup. Did the rental car company expect me to do this? Yup. In reality it only cost like $150 more than my original rental agreement for a smaller SUV with LDW and sat radio. This didn't have sat radio, but had aux input...plus the upgrade was "free" if I took the "premium protection plan"...which apparently completely covered me for just about everything. I'd been flying for 9 hours, it was the record day for heat in Vegas....I just wanted to get to the hotel and lay in some AC. I can't complain...that 4Runner was a seriously sweet ride...and we wound up needing every extra bit of room by the time I had 3 people and provisions stacked in the car. I had it for 9 days, cost me $800; could have been worse. Plus it had California plates so when I got to the inspection stations I really never believed existed...I just got waved through.
Can one drive through Nevada and not stop at the Area 51 Alien Center? I don't think so, and neither could I. Plus by this point I'd finally rehydrated myself enough I had to pee. I have to assume that desert air just sucked me dry by morning...it wasn't even hot and I just couldn't get enough water.
"Downtown" Goldfield, NV. Not quite a ghost-town...but there's literally nothing here. I think the only paved road is Rt 95 that runs right through town. There's a diner and supposedly a bar...both close really early. Seriously...if you come through here past 5pm there's nothing going on. I believe it serves more as a speedtrap since you go from 70 to 25.
Hello from Reno. We stopped here for the night because two others from the group were flying in to Reno. I saw more of the pizza place down the block from Harrah's drinking than I did of the city.
I did have a hell of a view from my hotel room.
It was after the trip to Wal-Mart before heading to the ranch that I was glad I did spring for the larger SUV..otherwise we would have had to cut down on soda! (haha).
Here's the house. Situated among acres and acres and acres of public BLM managed land...you almost can't get more off the grid without living in a tent. Running water provided by a gravity-fed system fed by a mountain spring (I'm not kidding...we had water people pay premium prices for just coming out of every faucet); propane for heating (in winter), cooking, running the fridge (yes...propane powered fridge), hot water...even gas lamps in the house! They do have some gas powered generators up there for electricity.
And it's just an absolutely beaituful place.
I can totally see why everyone converges here for Field Day.
"What do I care? It's not like it's my car." This was largely from doing excessive speeds on the nice flat wide dirt roads they had out there.
Yes, we had a pretty good bar. Everyone bring whatever...it all went to the bar for communal consumption; no drinking top shelf once plastered.
We also had some pretty serious radio gear...for something that was taking place in the middle of nowhere on generator power.
Obligatory group photo.
This is one of the few photos from our communal collection that I'm sticking here. There's a crazy story about that sweatshirt. I bought it in the spring of 2007 randomly at Wal-Mart...and have been wearing it for 10 years. I never imagined the thing would ever see the state of California in it's life....but...here it is. I decided to put the thing in to retirement afterwards. Except maybe to wear it to field day.
Monday morning was "pack up and go home"...during which I took this picture and was stunned that HDR on my smartphone decided to work for a change.
This actually has more going on than most of the drive...though it's much like this. Straight roads, nothing but desert and mountains. It was a pretty long 310 miles back to Vegas...especially since I'd detoured through Virginia City which added more time than I imagined.
I guess he traded in his Trans-Am.
It's at this point that I guess I have to end post #3000...as I was told I couldn't post more than 20 images. So the last 8 will have to be in post #3001.
Back at the end of June I got on an airplane for the first time and after 2 flights, a 3 hour layover, and 9 hours of travel time; I landed in Las Vegas. Vegas was, at this time, just an overnight stop and place to pick up the rental car and the friend that would ride with me to our final destination....a small isolated ranch in Northern California near the base of Snowstorm Mountain. Why were we going? We're ham radio geeks and a bunch of us from our online club were gathering there for Field Day. Third year for most of these guys, first time I made the trip. Let me tell you...I had no clue I'd even be able to pull it off. In the end I was totally unable to stick to the budget, but I made the best of the 9 days I was gone.
Ahh...the second "first car experience"...the first rental car. Was it the one I wanted? Nope. Did it cost more than originally intended? Yup. Did the rental car company expect me to do this? Yup. In reality it only cost like $150 more than my original rental agreement for a smaller SUV with LDW and sat radio. This didn't have sat radio, but had aux input...plus the upgrade was "free" if I took the "premium protection plan"...which apparently completely covered me for just about everything. I'd been flying for 9 hours, it was the record day for heat in Vegas....I just wanted to get to the hotel and lay in some AC. I can't complain...that 4Runner was a seriously sweet ride...and we wound up needing every extra bit of room by the time I had 3 people and provisions stacked in the car. I had it for 9 days, cost me $800; could have been worse. Plus it had California plates so when I got to the inspection stations I really never believed existed...I just got waved through.
Can one drive through Nevada and not stop at the Area 51 Alien Center? I don't think so, and neither could I. Plus by this point I'd finally rehydrated myself enough I had to pee. I have to assume that desert air just sucked me dry by morning...it wasn't even hot and I just couldn't get enough water.
"Downtown" Goldfield, NV. Not quite a ghost-town...but there's literally nothing here. I think the only paved road is Rt 95 that runs right through town. There's a diner and supposedly a bar...both close really early. Seriously...if you come through here past 5pm there's nothing going on. I believe it serves more as a speedtrap since you go from 70 to 25.
Hello from Reno. We stopped here for the night because two others from the group were flying in to Reno. I saw more of the pizza place down the block from Harrah's drinking than I did of the city.
I did have a hell of a view from my hotel room.
It was after the trip to Wal-Mart before heading to the ranch that I was glad I did spring for the larger SUV..otherwise we would have had to cut down on soda! (haha).
Here's the house. Situated among acres and acres and acres of public BLM managed land...you almost can't get more off the grid without living in a tent. Running water provided by a gravity-fed system fed by a mountain spring (I'm not kidding...we had water people pay premium prices for just coming out of every faucet); propane for heating (in winter), cooking, running the fridge (yes...propane powered fridge), hot water...even gas lamps in the house! They do have some gas powered generators up there for electricity.
And it's just an absolutely beaituful place.
I can totally see why everyone converges here for Field Day.
"What do I care? It's not like it's my car." This was largely from doing excessive speeds on the nice flat wide dirt roads they had out there.
Yes, we had a pretty good bar. Everyone bring whatever...it all went to the bar for communal consumption; no drinking top shelf once plastered.
We also had some pretty serious radio gear...for something that was taking place in the middle of nowhere on generator power.
Obligatory group photo.
This is one of the few photos from our communal collection that I'm sticking here. There's a crazy story about that sweatshirt. I bought it in the spring of 2007 randomly at Wal-Mart...and have been wearing it for 10 years. I never imagined the thing would ever see the state of California in it's life....but...here it is. I decided to put the thing in to retirement afterwards. Except maybe to wear it to field day.
Monday morning was "pack up and go home"...during which I took this picture and was stunned that HDR on my smartphone decided to work for a change.
This actually has more going on than most of the drive...though it's much like this. Straight roads, nothing but desert and mountains. It was a pretty long 310 miles back to Vegas...especially since I'd detoured through Virginia City which added more time than I imagined.
I guess he traded in his Trans-Am.
It's at this point that I guess I have to end post #3000...as I was told I couldn't post more than 20 images. So the last 8 will have to be in post #3001.
