Oops

I guess my email address wasn't working right but it is now. I think.

What Were You Thinking?

Just read the story about the poor German family whose bones were recently found in Death Valley. Apparently they were boonie-hopping in a - yeah, you guessed it- a Dodge minivan, when they ran out of road. They decided to keep going though, even though their tires were shredded. Although there were plenty of springs nearby, it is Death Valley and it was July and there was probably no water to be had. Why you'd go off road in Death Valley in a minivan with children in July is beyond me.

You've GOT To Be Kidding Me

Mark Amodei is trying to run for Senate.

The same guy who helped push through the ATV Registration Bill claims Harry Reid is not listening to Nevadans. That must be why Mark never even opened the email I sent him regarding ATV registration, much less read it, or considered it.

Screw this guy. Keep him out of Washington. He's a moron.

Jose's Turn

It was Jose's turn this time- the ball joint on his 2006 Polaris about six miles into our trip. Luckily, we had enough tools to enable him to make a temporary fix and get back to the trailer.

Don't know why we're so hard on ball joints but nobody ever said Exploring Nevada So You Don't Have to was gonna be easy.

Luis's Waypoint Frenzy

We're going SOMEPLACE Tuesday. Luis sent me a slew of waypoints that, on
the surface, appear to have no rhyme or reason. Perhaps if I conect the
dots it will reveal a message saying where we're REALLY going......

A short fall trip

Planning on visiting the area around Brady's Hot Springs next Tuesday of all days, just to see what there is to see out there.

Machine Guns!

Is there anything more fun than watching 100 guys- with every possible machine gun you could imagine- firing at fireworks and sticks of dynamite at night?

I'm thinking, "No."

Tonopah Mining History Museum

OK, people, bring cash, because they don't take VISA for a charge less than $25. They did give us a discount because we were staying in Tonopah, though, so I bought a book.

Nice little museum they're running here. It could use some more signage, but they've done a lot of work and just about every aspect of a mining operation is here for you to look up and get up close to. Lots of stuffin good condition and this is a big important mine, here, not just the Tony's Knob Silver Mine. They yanked a lot of silver out of the ground here.

Friendly staff and not too crowded.

Forgotten Nevada Special Team To Visit Tonapah Mining Park

We will be visiting the Tonopah Mining Park
<http://www.tonopahhistoricminingpark.com/> this week on our way to
Arizona for the Big Sandy Shoot <http://www.mgshooters.com/>.

The Bobcat OHV Trail

While you were working today, Luis and I hit the Bobcat OHV Trail, and we hit it hard.

If you're gonna hit it, here are some things you should know. If you're coming from the west side, be advised that about 2 miles in, the BLM sign points right to Poco Canyon. You actually want to go left, up West Job Canyon.

But actually, you want to follow the sign, and take a ride up Poco Canyon. We did, and we were rewarded by a trip down Big Box Canyon. Then, back up the trail heading north, to connect with the trail in East Job Canyon. Continue east at great personal peril. You're now in Dixie Valley, where the possibilities are limitless. Return east, but instead of retracing your route, turn right at the microwave station or repeater or whatever it is. Follow West Job Canyon into Lahnontan Valley, as God intended.

Please don't bring your Mom's minivan.

Steve Update

No doubt you will remember Steve from Dead Man's Hill.  We returned today to check the status of Steve's pickup. It's not good.

 

Apparently, either Steve grew a set (a really, really large set) and attempted to drive down the hill, or some miscreants out for a thrill decided to help gravity along. Steve's pickup is now halfway down Dead Man's Hill. We didn't get very close, because it was a warm day and we're too lazy to climb the 45 degree incline to inspect the damage, but what seems to have happened is miscreants tried rolling the truck down hill. It went over a small cliff-- more like a shelf-- and then landed right side up wedged by a rock.

 

I took a crummy picture with my cell phone which may give you some idea of where Steve's truck landed, but don't expect much.

What "All Terrain" Actually Means

Some poor gal in Fallon just perished trying to ride her quad across one of the irrigation canals. Perhaps it's time to revisit what "All Terrain Vehicle" actually means....

Main Entry: ter·rain

Pronunciation: \tə-ˈrān also te-\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, land, ground, from Old French terrein, from Vulgar Latin *terranum, alteration of Latin terrenum, from neuter of terrenus of earth — more at terrene

Date: 1766
(1): a geographic area 
(2): a piece of land : ground b: the physical features of a tract of land 

People, people, people! Quads are not made to go travel on water, or through water. Those are called "boats." Sure, you can make a quad go through water, but you can put a cat on skis too-- that doesn't mean the cat is skiing.

 

I know that someone will say, "If only that quad had been registered...."

Carson City Crime Wave

This is the kind of thing that makes you want to lock up your ATV at night. Why our Sheriff's Department allows this kind of thing to happen is beyond me. I thought Carson was a nice town, a safe town, but apparently I was very, very wrong.

 

From the Nevada Appeal, July 3, 2009:

 

"A man reported at 11:38 p.m. that his neighbor on North Peters Street hit him with a pillow because the neighbor thought the caller had not returned shorts he'd borrowed."

ATV Registration

Here is the latest from the DMV website on ATV registration:

The 2009 Nevada Legislature passed Senate Bill 394 that requires registration and titling of off-highway vehicles if certain conditions are met. SB 394 sets up a revolving account to help fund the DMV's startup costs.

If the revolving fund reaches $500,000 by July 1, 2011, the Interim Finance Committee will notify the DMV. Registration and titling of off-highway vehicles will begin 1 year later. If the revolving fund does not reach $500,000 by 7/1/11, the changes to the statutes expire and the program will not be implemented.

SB 394 also requires the Governor to form a new Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles by July 1, 2010.

Oh, This Is Rich...

In this Sunday's Appeal...

 

 “There was a kind of rush to gen­erate revenues for the sake of gener­ating them,” said Sen. Mark Amodei of Carson City. “I don’t think there was a lot of leadership.”

 

Yet Mr. Amodei voted for the ATV registration bill, which will do nothing but generate revenues.

 

Pot... meet kettle.

Old Balls Mauled So New Balls Installed

The first picture is of the destroyed ball joint; in it you can see the joint but the ball is suspicious in its absence. Looking inside the joint in the next picture, you can see where it's worn out one side almost to the edge, enlarging the hole and allowing the ball to escape at the most inopportune moment. And finally, a new ball joint sits inserted, terrified of the abuse about to come.

In replacing all four ball joints, we found another one ready to go, and one more questionable. This is after about 3500 miles, albeit hard miles.

New Ball Joints

Apparently Arctic Cat Can't Tell Time

Kent from Arctic Cat called me again at 6:16 this morning-- apparently they're on Minnesota Time.

Arctic Cat Responds

I did get a call from the Arctic Cat Headquarters today. A very nice lady told me that, while my quad wasn't covered under the ball-joint recall, they loved me very, very much.

Why I Keep My Thirty-Two Year Old Car

Know why I keep my 23-year old car? Simple. My 2004 Jeep's A/C fan switch stopped working. Only works on high, which is indicative of the fan blower motor resistor failing. With parts, a twenty minute fix. Jeep quoted me $424.46 to fix it-- resistor $160.80, the wiring connector which probably melted is $96.80 with labor at $148.50.

I don't want to replace the entire air conditioner, just the stupid resistor. I'll hard wire the bastard in with a soldering iron instead of paying a hundred bucks for a stupid connector, but come on, fellows. You pull out the damn glove box, uncork the part, slap in another one, and you're done. $150 labor? For what? $160 for a damn resistor mounted on a piece of plastic? Which shouldn't have gone out in the first place?

Yeah, I think I'll just keep my old car.

To their credit....

To their credit, speedsupplies.com did finally email me today, but I had already ordered from someone else and cancelled my order with them. 

speedsupplies.com

Tried ordering some ball joints from an outfit called speedsupplies.com. Their on-line form didn't work for me, so I emailed them my order. No response. Went to their website to look for other contact info, called the phone number, but it's just a recorded message saying check the web site. Uh-oh. Cancelled the order and went with an actual Arctic Cat dealer, so hopefully they can get them ordered and on the way before summer is over.

Ball Joints - $118

The Forgotten Nevada Ball Joint Exploratory Finance Committee is accepting contributions in the form of cash, check, or money order to study the feasibility of raising $120 to purchase and install new ball joints on one the organization's primary research vehicles. You may send money via Pay Pal to robert[and then an underscore character]frenchu and then the 'at' symbol followed by yahoo and then a '. com.'

 

You could try deducting this off your income taxes but if the IRS calls we don't know you.

See Them Veto the Veto

Here is a candid photograph of the recent meeting of the Nevada legislature as they prepare their "final solution" for Nevada, making it more like California than ever before.

OK, maybe I'm going a little overboard now....

Veto Overridden- Californication Proceeds

The Forces of Darkness gathered May 31 to override the Governor's veto of SB394, another step in making Nevada less like Nevada and more like California.

White Caps Mine

The White Caps Mine page is up and running.

It occurs to me.....

It occurs to me now that, had I been in favor of the OHV tax, a state-sponsored OHV repair station and doughnut shop might have been nearby the now-smoothed trail I was riding on when my quad broke, and I could have sat in air-conditioned comfort while uniformed attendants repaired by quad, topped off my tank, and sent me on my merry way. Am I being selfish? Of course, maybe my quad would have never come apart, had I brought it in for the annual state inspection- they might have noticed the problem right away.

My Hero

Is Governor Gibbons the only one in this state that has the courage to tell the legislature to cut the waste and programs government shouldn't be funding in the first place? Are all the legislators as stupid as Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, who told fellow legislators that "Nevada is not a dictatorship. One person does not get to decide our state’s destiny.” Is she completely ignorant of why the Governor has the power of a veto?

The real question is, will voters remember the names of these twits when they come up for re-election?

Will they remember that the majority of our legislature tried to shove a new tax down the throats of thousands and thousands of Nevadans to protect a handful of ATV dealers?

I know I will. I'm going to remember.

SB394 - Returned to Senate with Governor's veto message.

Governor Gibbons, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.......

"Senate Bill 394 requires the registration of off-highway vehicles and enacts a new fee for such registration. Although the fee increase has the support of some off-highway vehicle proponents and off-highway vehicle retailers, the fee would not be imposed on those groups but would instead be borne by the individual owners of off-highway vehicles. I do not support a new fee on an activity that Nevadans have previously enjoyed freely." - Governor Jim Gibbons, May 26, 2009

And there you have it. Gibbons understands this perfectly. It benefits some off-highway proponents and dealers, who want all OHV owners to pay for it. We enjoy the activity freely now. That's why we live in Nevada, and that's why we love Nevada. And that's why we love the Governor, and despise and loathe the scum who voted in favor of this bill.

 

And you know who you are.

 

 

Death Defied

The trip out to Peavine Canyon, Manhattan, San Antonio Ranch / Smelter, White Cap, and environs was a glorious outing, for the most part. We even came that close to crossing paths with the Ghost Town God himself, Stanley Paher, who was out visiting (or due to visit later that afternoon) White Cap. But it was not to be.

First, we ran across a scorpion the size of a house cat while loading up Luis. Hmmmmm. We stopped at Jerry's in Fallon for a quick breakfast and toddled off to our campground in Peavine Canyon south of Austin. Way south. Scouting around for the ideal site, we came across a rattlesnake. Good feeling. Hopped on the quads and went up the canyon, but couldn't get to the cabins- it's closed as a wilderness area. Not a problem, we explored several other canyons and headed south to take a look at the San Antonio Smelter site and the now abandoned San Antonio Ranch. Steaks and spuds over the campfire that night, and just enough beer to cut the road dust. A very pleasant campground. We had company but the were quiet and respectful.

The next day we headed to Manhattan. We cruised through town knowing we could come back that afternoon to get some pictures. We circled around behind to the south and popped up in White Cap, very impressive ruins and buildings. A group whose name I can't quite recall "Great Basin Explorers"? who were also camped at Peavine were there in force, milling about. Very pleasant people. We understood that Stanley Paher was due that afternoon to give them a little tour or some such, and that possibly even Shawn Hall was in the neighborhood. None of the group realized how famous we were, and treated us like regular human beings.

Then we decided to head up to take a look at a historic site already erased from my brain, because as I was rounding a curve on the way down, a ball joint decided this would be a good time to separate and try to kill me. That was annoying. Very, very annoying.

Thankfully, I always bring several pounds of tie wraps, and after one false start, The Ramirez Brothers had rigged my ATV to be towed by Luis's Polaris, and off we went down 10 miles of Slaughterhouse Canyon to the waiting arms of the trailer. Oddly enough, we made it in one piece, with me sitting on the extreme right rear of the luggage rack to take weight off the crippled wheel, sucking Luis's exhaust fumes and fine powdery sand the whole way down.

I see now that Arctic Cat recalled 2002 models for defective ball joints, but it would seem the model run began about ten minutes after they stopped making mine. We'll see what kind of a company Arctic Cat is by their response to my inquiry about taking care of this problem, which, quite literally, could have killed me.

So. Almost killed by scorpions and snakes. Missed Stanley Paher by that much. Nearly killed by a defective quad.

All in all, an excellent trip.

VETOED!

Most Recent History Action: May 26, 2009 - Vetoed by the Governor!

Manhattan Trip

Well, we might see a little rain, but who cares- we're quadding without registration stickers and it'll all be good. The usual Forgotten Nevada Quad Transport Platform is taking a rest while Jose takes care of those particulars- stand by for pictures on Thursday. Or maybe Saturday.

SB394

The bill is in the Governor's office. Guess I'll go ride tomorrow as a free Nevadan one last time.......

Good News

We won't have to vote Amodei out. Term limits make this his last session. No wonder he doesn't give a rat's patootie.

SB394

Having completely ignored any anti-tax protests from the public or warnings from the governor, the Nevada State Senate and Assembly have sent SB394 to enrollment. It's on its way to the governor.

 

Q. What's the difference between a drunken sailor and the Nevada Legislature?

 

A. A drunken sailor spends his OWN money.

More Bullsh*t Intimidation on SB 394

“If we don’t get a handle on this situation, I think the feds will step in and we won’t be able to use our public lands,” said Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko.

 

What situation, John? What situation are you referring to? Tell us the situation you're referring to, then tell us how registration is going to "fix" it.

A Ray of Sunshine From The Governor's Mansion

While the measure (OHV Registration) has widespread support from numerous groups, Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to veto it. Jodi Stephens, his legislative director, said the plan includes new registration fees, and the governor won’t support such fees. - The Appeal

SB394 Progresses

SB 394 was amended by the Assembly and sent back to the Senate.

SB394

SB 394 squirted out of the Assembly Transportation Committee today,  May. 19 with a "Do pass" recommendation, It's now on its way to the Assembly Ways and Means so they can figure what size and color the stickers are going to be....

Roto tiller is Still For Sale

I'm getting a lot of hits on the roto tiller I still have for sale. No, I'm not coming down on the price, if that's what you're waiting for.

 

Un-Elect Amodei

Update on Steve's Ford

I have a report that Steve's Ford is still there, minus most of the glass.

Tree-huggers Support SB 394

Here is an example of some addled thinking....

 

http://nvgreenvote.org/documents/HotListSMar23_000.pdf

"This bill will promote responsible OHV use while greatly increasing accountability for the irresponsible users. In addition, the state would realize sales tax revenue increases, and would create a funding source to promote trail management, enforcement and restoration."

A sticker is going to increase accountability? Huh? Well, we know how well registration works for increasing accountability for other motor-vehicle users, don't we?

Pahrump Valley Times Does What Reno Gazette Journal Couldn't

I just noticed on the on-line version of the Pahrump Valley Times printed The Letter on April 17. They didn't seem to have a problem printing 300 words instead of 250....

More SB394 News

Senate Bill No. 394. Bill read third time. Remarks by Senator Rhoads.

Senator Rhoads requested that his remarks be entered in the Journal.

"Thank you Mr. President. This is the off road highway vehicle bill that we have been working on for eight years. It will not go into effect until it is adequately funded. We are looking at some grants to see if we can get the funding started."

Senate Passes OHV Bill

Here is a list of people- besides Maggie Carlton- who need retiring next election.

Votes (2/3 Majority Required) Senate Final Passage May. 16 Yea 17, Nay 1, Excused 2, Not Voting 0, Absent 1

Mark Amodei-Yea

Shirley Breeden-Yea

Terry Care-Yea

Maggie Carlton-Nay

Barbara Cegavske-Yea

Bob Coffin-Absent

Allison Copening-Yea

Warren Hardy-Yea

Steven Horsford-Yea

John Lee-Yea

Bernice Mathews-Yea

Mike McGinness-Yea

Dennis Nolan-Excused

David Parks-Yea

William Raggio-Yea

Dean Rhoads-Yea

Michael Schneider-Yea

Randolph Townsend-Excused

Maurice Washington-Yea

Valerie Wiener-Yea

Joyce Woodhouse-Yea

I guess my Christmas card list is gonna be a LOT smaller this year

Packing For the Trip

Just wanted to say, once again, what great folks there are up at The Epicenter, which I am officially declaring to be the Official MRE-Supplier for Forgotten Nevada! Yes, that's right, we simply don't purchase MRE's, heaters, entrees, or any other military or military-inspired foodstuffs from anyone else. Only the Epicenter meets the rigid standards that Forgotten Nevada demands! Only the Epicenter has the inventory and shipping facilities to get product into our hands in time for a quick ATV trip! Only the Epicenter is constantly changing and expanding, like the ebb and flow of life itself!
Here is one of their newest items, sandwiches! You can eat 'em cold or stick 'em in an MRE heater. These are found in the new FSR (First Strike Rations) and designed to be eaten on the move. They'll last 3 years at 80 degrees F. I am still waiting for MRE beer rations, though.....