It took a while to find "Highway North" and when we did it was like suddenly being on a roller
coaster. The speed limit in the city is 25/30 mph but when you venture onto the highway it dramatically jumps to 70. The effect
is like a nightmare for the unwary driver with everybody suddenly whizzing along and nobody willing to give way if you happen
to be in the wrong slot on the 5 lane (each way) track. The OZ driver is a model of consideration and courtesy in comparison.
No matter, we made it and were headed in the right direction for our plans. Unfortunately I missed
the correct exit and we wound up on the wrong road north. Nevertheless we decided to stay going and after a longish journey
of almost 160 miles through some rough lookin' places featuring wild desert and small mining towns, we eventually arrived
about 6 pm in a strange place called Tonopah. This comprised one street only - Highway 95 - and stood slap in the centre of
what's known as the Pioneer Belt of Central Nevada. We decided we better hole up for the night there (yup, that's the way
they really talk) and I pulled in at this Norman Bates type motel. When I stepped out of the car I nearly passed out with
the COLD! It was ferociously brass monkey stuff and we were still dressed for OZ weather. We sprinted into the Reception hut
to be greeted by two feckin' little Yorkie Terriers tryin' to pretend they were bleedin' Rotweillers. Soon this lady appeared
and booked us in. It's strange that in America they always ask strangers for the car registration.number and being a hire
car I could never remember it. To tell the truth I find it difficult to remember our own car number back home most of the
time. However, despite our seeming a novelty to these locals we really couldn't possibly have been any stranger than the friggin'
town itself.
After "settling in" to a fairly "dingy" room we got ourselves well wrapped up and ventured out
to explore. In effect there was only 1 real bar/restaurant in the place which was also the main hotel. This place appeared
to "double" as the local railway station with the train tracks running right behind the premises. It was exactly like something
you'd see in those old cowboy films with swing half doors on the inside and wild west type photos "festooned" on the walls.
Also of course the inevitable slot machines in the foyer lent a nod towards the late 20th century. We had a local meal of
enormous steaks and "fries", salad "on the side" (mostly coleslaw) and beers. Nothing to write home about but good for keeping
out the awful cold.
Afterward we wandered into the "cabaret" lounge where a fella and girl on stage "murdered" country
songs using some sort of multi-instrument yoke, which looked like an electric piano. The other customers all seemed to be
"Hell's Angels", which was also a strange experience. They didn't seem too good at "holding their drink" and we seemed to
have sort of temporarily lost our voices, seeing that we were speaking in whispers an all. I felt hyper alert there (just
in case) and I can honestly say that the drink had absolutely no effect whatsoever on either of us. What a strange and novel
thing! Anyway the night ended without untoward incident, leaving us feeling very cheated for having used up so much mental
alertness unnecessarily.
Next morning we awoke to a bloody blizzard. After loading up, we took our leave of the Golden Hills
Motel with the check out lady's words to watch out for flying saucers. Yessiree we were in the middle of the "strange lights
in the sky" territory. Driven by the cold again, we went over to the only "food store" in town to buy something to eat. There
was a sign outside to leave your weapons with the town marshall. To our naive eyes the place was even weirder in daylight.
When we got to the check out desk in Scolari's Food and Drug Company, this Deliverance lookin' fella standing there says "paper
or plastic". For a second I thought we might be plugged if we gave the wrong answer. However, as nearly always, first impressions
turned out to be wrong and your two greenhorns survived to tell the tale of how we nearly spent some time in the Wild West
of byegone? days of yore.
After "breakfast" we "moseyed" on out to the "loneliest road in America" - Highway 6 - and headed
for a place called Warm Springs, which we thought was a town but turned out to be just a crossroads junction. Yup, it sure
was lonely. We passed just 3 cars/jeeps in about 45 miles, with nary a house nor hut in sight. The weather was awful with
hail and sleet and visibility at times was very poor. The roads there are unfenced and have plenty of warning signs to look
out for "wanderin' steers". Reminded me of WA except for the cold and "steers" instead of the "longed for" heat and Roos.
At one point we passed a turn off for the Tonopah Test Range which is where the ghouls try out the latest military hardware
and from where they apparently detonated a number of nuclear devices back in the 50s and covered the area we were going through
with fall out. If we develop any fried brains symptoms at some stage we'll know where we got them from.
At Warm Springs, so called because of a warm (nuclear powered?) water pond which I'm told some
of the locals like to have a dip in now and again, we turned onto the famous ET Highway 375. This skirts all the border/edge
of allegedly the most secret military facility in the USA - Area 51 - and is a top attraction for UFO buffs having reportedly
experienced numerous sightings along its 90 mile stretch. The country round about is mostly sage brush desert, which is hardly
surprising if they were detonating nuclear fuckin' bombs there in the past, but with high elevation. Some parts are over 8,000
feet above sea level and as you can imagine this just added to the cold. We went through some dramatic weather half expecting
a close encounter with a twister by the look of some of the cloud formations, before arriving at the "city" of Rachel. This
turned out to be more or less just a mobile home park with a bar/restaurant and a filling station. However, it was home to
the weirdest pub I've ever set foot in.
"The Little A-le-Inn" extended a big welcome to passing UFO crews. Inside the walls were covered
with pictures of flying saucers and aliens (Greys) and there was a sort of "thumb through" library where you could read about
the local sightings. We had another breakfast here and bought a few tacky souvenirs for Maeve and Eimear at home as well as
some fridge stickers, cigarette lighters and postcards to prove we (and the pub) were really there. The only other customers
were two fellas from Copenhagen who were fascinated by the surroundings. One strange thing did happen while we were there
- Ber accidentally dropped her camera on the floor and when she retrieved it unopened she checked inside to see if everything
was okay and discovered that one of the batteries was missing. A quick search of the floor quickly located the lost bit but
we were all left wondering how it had escaped from the camera. Any strange thing in this strange place seemed only mildly
remarkable.
Outside the pub there was a sort of plinth with an inscription stating that this was a time capsule
to be opened in 2050. Apparently it had been sponsored by The State of Nevada, no doubt for tourist reasons, and by the makers
of the Independence Day "motion picture". Some of the wilder fringe have it in their heads that this film was really a sort
of documentary, designed to acclimatise the human race to aliens before they revealed themselves openly to us. The legend
of Area 51 is that the ETs are established there directing UFO research and development "in cahoots" with the US government
since the late 40s. Sadly (but maybe just as well) we were unable to get anywhere near Area 51 itself. Some off road signs
alerted the curious that the site of over 2,500 square miles was a restricted area and warned "use of lethal force authorised".
The restricted zone itself had been extended back in 1995, making it more difficult for the great unwashed to gain access.
Some maintain that all of the old research and testing operations, most probably to do with the Stealth Bomber type technology,
have since been relocated next door to somewhere in Utah. Still the trip was a very interesting experience of an unusual part
of the real America
Leaving Rachel to its own peculiar ways, we set our course to complete what was basically a full
circle back to Las Vegas.
