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Ranch Bar Progress Report |
Work continues on the ranch bar shade roof
with four of the eight sections complete minus the actual "shade."
Those will be simple corrugated plastic panels draped over the top
of the sections.
The bar won't be finished for the inaugural
rally later this month but it doesn't matter since nobody has
registered anyway.
Traffic Control
A line of about 100 heavy ars railroad ties
stretching about 1000 feet now separates aircraft and offroad
vehicle ground operations.
Wheelers have the ability to go pretty much
wherever they want to in spite of these barriers but we hope they
respect them as traffic separators.
The sign on the left in the photo has an arrow
pointing the same direction and reads, "No ATV's Or Offroad
Vehicles" and the sign on the right points the same direction and
reads, "ATV And Offroad Vehicle Parking."
The offroad vehicle lot has little idea or
simply doesn't care how the
400 hp turning their wheels along with their heavy weight tears up the ground
with normal driving as is evident from
the tire ruts seen in the photo.
The Wheeler's don't mean any harm but their
powerful wheels need to be kept away from the areas that aircraft
operate from.
Aircraft tires are not powered in the same way
as offroad vehicle tires. No matter the size of the tire,
aircraft tires are pulled by use of their propeller of jet engine.
That makes a huge difference in the force they exert on the ground
surface.
Celebrity Sighting
It's not just a bunch of yahoos who like
to tool around in the desert. There are some very successful
and influential people who appreciate all the desert has to offer as
well. Such was the case this week when I came across a true
gentleman by the name of John Matthews.
John is the founder and president of
Surefire
which produces flashlights for firearms as well as other tactical
products.
Surefire
and their products are a major contributor
to our soldiers success in Iraq.
I met John and his wife as they were driving
their red Humvee H-1 (that's right, a real Humvee) away from
the ranch as I was approaching. I have never seen a nicer
off-road vehicle. There appeared to be some kind of custom
camper attachment on top. Next
to the drivers seat was a computer screen bigger than most TV's.
I can only imagine what other bells and whistles this Humvee had.
I regret not having the presence of mind to get
a picture of John and his Humvee after we stopped our vehicles and
chatted in quiet, sunny, shirt sleeve weather.
Meeting John has made me want to start a new
page on this website dedicated to celebrity sightings. I think
we will see more of them in the future. Thanks, John!
New Addition To The Ranch Family
Columbus Day was Two-Two-Kilo's first visit to
the ranch to help build this place for desert fly-in adventurers.
Ed Mock of Panguitch, Utah recently parted with
this creampuff of a Cessna 150/150 which he meticulously
maintained. You don't find many 150's that are in this good of
shape.
Travel time to the ranch from the Ponderosa in
Henderson, NV has been cut from an arduous two hours and forty five
minutes in a wheeled vehicle battling with the "can't wait to get to
Vegas to loose my money" traffic from California speeding on the I-15 to just the forty five
minute part in the air.
The time savings in commuting to the ranch when
not having to haul building materials will result in quicker build
time for the ranch bar and other ranch amenities. Thanks Ed!
That's Funny
You know it's starting to
get cold in the Midwest when Northwest Airlines CEO Doug Steenland
has his hands in his own pockets.
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Ed Mock parting with a very
dear friend...Steve Winters allowing a late arriving
interested buyer first dibs...Bob Tweedy sitting right seat
for the ride home...Josh Holmberg driving the rental car...John
Matthews driving the ultimate offroad vehicle...Tom Okerlund
helping with tie-downs...
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