RobertJ.
Member
A little over a year ago, my wife and I were in Las Vegas. We've been there a bunch, and we're to the point now where we don't even go to the strip unless we're going to a show. We stay in a condo on LV Blvd. about four miles south of Mandalay Bay, and it's like an oasis in the desert for us. My wife spends her time in the pool, sipping wine and reading, while I go out exploring in the desert.
A couple years ago I started rockhounding, and my first time doing that in the Vegas area I did pretty good. I found some great big agates and my first piece of petrified wood. I was out near Lake Mead on Anniversary Mine Road, just off of Northshore Drive. We had rented an SUV, so the "four wheel drive only" road wasn't a problem.
About six months later, we went back to Vegas for another week in the sun. I couldn't wait to get back out to where I had done so well finding rocks. But this time, we rented a Ford Focus. I knew the road I had been on wasn't THAT bad, so I decided to go out there with the Focus. I wound up getting it stuck in soft sand about a mile and a half from the highway, about 630 am. I figured no problem, I grew up on the beach, and wasn't a stranger to getting a vehicle out of the sand. I opened the trunk to get the jack, and there was no jack! I dug with my hands for four and a half hours, and never did get it out! I used big flat rocks under the tires, and every other trick I knew, and finally gave up at 11 am.
That's when I started my hike to the highway. I had no sooner started walking, and my phone beeped. My battery was dead! So, I make it to this deserted highway (deserted meaning one car every 5-10 minutes) and started hitch-hiking. I forgot that I had just spent almost five hours on my stomach digging with my hands, and I was filthy! So, the few cars that did go by just kept going. I hiked about two miles to the road that goes to the Callville Bay Marina, I figured my chances were better at an intersection. At least I might get to talk to somebody and explain my plight.
Amazingly enough, I never lost my sense of humor in all this. I did pray repeatedly, "Lord, I need a ride!"
Finally, a cab had just delivered some people to the marina, and he stopped at the intersection. He rolled his window down, and I asked if he was headed back into town. He said he was, and he asked did I have any money? I said yes, and I got in. I had $150 tucked away in my camera bag, but when I saw he took plastic, I decided to use that instead, and just tip him with cash.
An hour later, (and $95+tip later) I was amazed that I was sitting on the couch in our condo telling my wife this story. But I still had a big problem. I had a rental car stuck out in the middle of nowhere!
My wife got on the phone and started calling tow trucks. Nobody wanted to touch it. Finally one company said they would, but they charged $300 an hour, with a minimum of two hours. I knew this might be closer to a 3 hour job, and since this wasn't a Maserati, we passed.
So I told her to call Fox Rent-a-Car, since it was walking distance from where we were at. I had her rent a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the next day. It was $50 for the day. I walked over and got it at 6am, then picked up my wife, and we headed to Lake Mead. On the way, we stopped at Walmart and I bought a shovel and a tow strap.
We got out there, and she couldn't believe the road I did make it over, let alone where I got stuck! We got to the car, and nobody had messed with it, which is what she was worried about.
I dug for a little while, then we backed the Jeep up to the Ford, and I tied them up. My wife pulled with the Jeep, and I backed out, until I was on solid ground.
Sonia had shopping she wanted to do, so she drove the Jeep the rest of the day. I took the Focus to a car wash, and you couldn't even tell what an exciting experience it had just been through.
This was an "electronics free" vacation for me, since I was in between laptops. Our resort had computers for people to use, but it seemed like a hassle to try to use one to contact our Las Vegas members to see if someone could help me out. Plus, I had gotten myself into it, so I felt I needed to get myself out of it. Which I did, but boy was it a learning experience!
Since then, we've been to Arizona and Alaska. My wife had some strict rules for me on these trips! She needed detailed info about where I was going, and I needed to check all my emergency equipment before going (Like I hadn't learned that on my own!)
But I'm still looking forward to going back to Lake Mead!
A couple years ago I started rockhounding, and my first time doing that in the Vegas area I did pretty good. I found some great big agates and my first piece of petrified wood. I was out near Lake Mead on Anniversary Mine Road, just off of Northshore Drive. We had rented an SUV, so the "four wheel drive only" road wasn't a problem.
About six months later, we went back to Vegas for another week in the sun. I couldn't wait to get back out to where I had done so well finding rocks. But this time, we rented a Ford Focus. I knew the road I had been on wasn't THAT bad, so I decided to go out there with the Focus. I wound up getting it stuck in soft sand about a mile and a half from the highway, about 630 am. I figured no problem, I grew up on the beach, and wasn't a stranger to getting a vehicle out of the sand. I opened the trunk to get the jack, and there was no jack! I dug with my hands for four and a half hours, and never did get it out! I used big flat rocks under the tires, and every other trick I knew, and finally gave up at 11 am.
That's when I started my hike to the highway. I had no sooner started walking, and my phone beeped. My battery was dead! So, I make it to this deserted highway (deserted meaning one car every 5-10 minutes) and started hitch-hiking. I forgot that I had just spent almost five hours on my stomach digging with my hands, and I was filthy! So, the few cars that did go by just kept going. I hiked about two miles to the road that goes to the Callville Bay Marina, I figured my chances were better at an intersection. At least I might get to talk to somebody and explain my plight.
Amazingly enough, I never lost my sense of humor in all this. I did pray repeatedly, "Lord, I need a ride!"
Finally, a cab had just delivered some people to the marina, and he stopped at the intersection. He rolled his window down, and I asked if he was headed back into town. He said he was, and he asked did I have any money? I said yes, and I got in. I had $150 tucked away in my camera bag, but when I saw he took plastic, I decided to use that instead, and just tip him with cash.
An hour later, (and $95+tip later) I was amazed that I was sitting on the couch in our condo telling my wife this story. But I still had a big problem. I had a rental car stuck out in the middle of nowhere!
My wife got on the phone and started calling tow trucks. Nobody wanted to touch it. Finally one company said they would, but they charged $300 an hour, with a minimum of two hours. I knew this might be closer to a 3 hour job, and since this wasn't a Maserati, we passed.
So I told her to call Fox Rent-a-Car, since it was walking distance from where we were at. I had her rent a Jeep Grand Cherokee for the next day. It was $50 for the day. I walked over and got it at 6am, then picked up my wife, and we headed to Lake Mead. On the way, we stopped at Walmart and I bought a shovel and a tow strap.
We got out there, and she couldn't believe the road I did make it over, let alone where I got stuck! We got to the car, and nobody had messed with it, which is what she was worried about.
I dug for a little while, then we backed the Jeep up to the Ford, and I tied them up. My wife pulled with the Jeep, and I backed out, until I was on solid ground.
Sonia had shopping she wanted to do, so she drove the Jeep the rest of the day. I took the Focus to a car wash, and you couldn't even tell what an exciting experience it had just been through.
This was an "electronics free" vacation for me, since I was in between laptops. Our resort had computers for people to use, but it seemed like a hassle to try to use one to contact our Las Vegas members to see if someone could help me out. Plus, I had gotten myself into it, so I felt I needed to get myself out of it. Which I did, but boy was it a learning experience!
Since then, we've been to Arizona and Alaska. My wife had some strict rules for me on these trips! She needed detailed info about where I was going, and I needed to check all my emergency equipment before going (Like I hadn't learned that on my own!)
But I'm still looking forward to going back to Lake Mead!
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