Post from the V.P. Desert

Charger · Post by **Charger** » Sat Sep 29, 12 11:04 am

great pics Drew, keep em coming, that's got to be some of the most fantastic scenary on the planet

drewcrane · Post by **drewcrane** » Sat Sep 29, 12 3:31 pm

I a little bit of time here ,today is a long trip across the uninhabited part of the desert to Austin Nevada another site used for a chase scene ,and this town was used as a base for the film crew as wel as maintenence of the cars used a very small town 500 people ,so this will be pretty cool ....well Imean hot,35 c temps out here even in late September,here are some pix as time permits Roland has to wash his hair

...............

We did make it to the Grand Canyon pix do this no justice the massive scale is incredible and this is just the north rim,the beginning of the Canyon but Ican cross this off my list of places I have always wanted to visit.....however my favorite canyons so far are Antelope canyon ,and Brice Canyon.....they just have a look like nothing Ihave ever see on this planet much like Giants Causway very unique rock formations......Millions of years old

drewcrane · Post by **drewcrane** » Sun Sep 30, 12 6:29 am

The loneliest hiway in America hiway 50

Also ran in to a Brit from outside London he has been here since 1961 and this is his ride

we ate a sandi here in the middle of nowhere

This Hiway goes dead straight for 60 miles plus.........and then it just seems endless curves.and then we made it to Austin Nevada,and we are staying in a B&B Owned by Dee brewer Helming she is on the town council,her husbands name is Kip,his father owned the local Garage here in Austin and he serviced all the cars in the movie while they were filming,Kip was just a lad but he remember hanging out there ,he said the crew was here for about 2 weeks,

Roland will interview him tomorrow so we should get lots of info.and it is latehere, more driving tomorrow ,so Roland has traveled 4500 miles compared to my paltry 2500 miles not bad for 6 days of driving here in the Desert,the temps have ranged 30 to 35 c yes hot but just keep moving and it really aint that bad for September......

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Sun Sep 30, 12 10:32 am

I loved that road. Your photos are bringing back great memories for me.

Charger · Post by **Charger** » Sun Sep 30, 12 4:05 pm

shots like that [hiway 50 Austin Nevada 009] epitomise the American Road Trip

MilesnMiles · Post by **MilesnMiles** » Sun Sep 30, 12 5:20 pm

This is a great read on a grey autumn day! The Black cars look superb against that backdrop. Grand Canyon ain't bad either. My wife now wants us to go back there!

db · Post by db » Sun Sep 30, 12 9:07 pm

Amazing pics of an amazing place. Thanks for this Drew

I feel such a fool for never having visited the U.S.

drewcrane · Post by **drewcrane** » Mon Oct 01, 12 7:45 am

MilesnMiles wrote:This is a great read on a grey autumn day! The Black cars look superb against that backdrop. Grand Canyon ain't bad either. My wife now wants us to go back there!

Well...........there is so much more here then the Grand...........so bring it

drewcrane · Post by **drewcrane** » Mon Oct 01, 12 8:35 am

drewcrane wrote:
MilesnMiles wrote:This is a great read on a grey autumn day! The Black cars look superb against that backdrop. Grand Canyon ain't bad either. My wife now wants us to go back there!
Well...........there is so much more here then the Grand...........so bring it

I hope this warmes the heart and soul.it was so fricking hot here in the Black rock desert Ifollowed Roland out to this bowl of dust........so fine it resembled flour consistency ,Roland pulled off to the side of the road and he sunk in to the dirt......estimated 20 mm and he was stuck....it reminded me of deep snow......he kept on giving it gas.................I watched.......chuckled...and then Ihad to get out and shove away the dirt so he could get ...............I on the other hand sat calmly .............and gave it just a tad bit of gas and Iwas out of the soft dirt...............Roland just kept giving it gas untill he buried his tyre deep enough to to flat bury the wheel.........

I have alot of desert life (I camped out in the Sonora desert for 3 weeks)as well having this area in my back yard so speak,so I chose to use caution in this situation...............you are not gonna believe this but when we got to this area Idrove 1 ile with him and I bailed and told Roland " these cars were not made for this terrain,

He said "leave me here and go back to the hotel".....................

I said fine I have been here ,done this,....BUT HE HAS NOT.so not to spoile his trip I told him if you are not back at the Hotel by 10 pm I am sending rescue.......he showed up about 8: 30 pm and I had a sandi and beer ( I ,needed it too)ready for him,

I called my wife just to bounce it off of her............I left my mate out 75 miles from civilization...............in a very harsh area...................he actually left me standing there ,and he just drove off...........................I shot a vid (I will post later) of him leaving......................very surreal.

here is the last shot I have of him

Dave999 · Post by **Dave999** » Mon Oct 01, 12 11:28 am

looks epic in every sense

driving on a massive victoria sponge....mental

Dave

Dave-R · Post by **Dave-R** » Mon Oct 01, 12 12:23 pm

I would have gone into the desert too Drew.

But like you I know how to drive on soft ground, sand, snow etc.

But would have made damn sure I had plenty of water with me. And I mean PLENTY.

drewcrane · Post by **drewcrane** » Mon Oct 01, 12 3:17 pm

Dave wrote:I would have gone into the desert too Drew.

But like you I know how to drive on soft ground, sand, snow etc.

But would have made damn sure I had plenty of water with me. And I mean PLENTY.

Oh yea I though about you Dave and I knew you would do it too,

Me on the other hand been there done that many times .

And yes it is like a massive sponge.............or a bowl of flour,and no water to make bread.

I hope these posts warm you guys up

drewcrane · Post by **drewcrane** » Wed Oct 03, 12 7:07 am

We made it to the coast Monterey Cali Ithight the desert was hot,

It was 37 c in the shade and Rolands car is not made for this heat his water temp hit 98 c my car was a cool 81 c oil cooler work well Ididnt even use my electric fan and Idont have viscus fan ,so pretty good for me but Roland did make it ,he had to go a bit slower but once we made it past the last mointain range it really cooled off,along the PCH (PACIFIC COAST HIWAY IT RUNS ALONG THE WATER FOR 100 MILES....JUST SPECTACULAR

So I sit here on the Pacific ocean as Iwrite this with the waves bashing the coast just a major goal for me as Ihave never driven my car to sea level my car is tuned for 6k above sea level,my car has so much more power it even sounds different

MilesnMiles · Post by **MilesnMiles** » Wed Oct 03, 12 8:55 am

Great stories, Drew. Nice to see you exploring your own country. Britain is a small island and we tend to jump on planes and fly abroad without exploring our own backyard at times.

Charger · Post by **Charger** » Wed Oct 03, 12 9:26 am

great pic Drew that last one

i too have driven PCH, awesome scenary!! we stayed overnight in Monterey