2011 Monster Roadie

What I like to think of as the annual road trip turned into "The Mack Daddy" this year. We left friday night and Ryan drove through the night until we reached Bodie, CA. The plan wasn't to drive all night but it just sorta happened, we did take the scenic route crossing from NV to CA. In the daylight I think we decided the long way around was prudent even if on accident. We ate in Wendover and just kept rolling until about 5:530 or 6:00, took a nap and we were eating at 9:00 when the cafe opened. Bodie is a CA State Park that I would recommend to anyone interested in mining/ghost towns. There isn't the opportunity to "go off the trail" but they have done a great job in preserving what it would have been like in the late 1890's early 1900's. From Bodie it was off to Tonopah, NV. We stayed in The Clown Motel (yes the one highlighted in Ghost Adventures. Hereafter anytime GA needs to be mentioned they will be referred to as D.B. & Co.) it wasn't creepy at all, in fact it was clean and neat. It was 100 percent better than the one in Beaver. The leader of D.B. & Co. is just a pussy. After we checked it was off to Rhyolite, lots of standing (and partially standing) structures. This is where we met the gross nasty karate/ninja spider. Got back to the motel exhausted but still managed to check out the Tonopah Cemetery. No ghosts but many very cool old grave markers. The cemetery was primarily for those killed in a mine accident. Sunday morning set off to Goldfield & Gold Point NV, I was very disappointed with both of them. From the book we were using and the show with D.B. & Co. I thought both were all but empty. Nope, not even close. We did get to the Goldfield Hotel and the high school (cool bldg's) but were not able to get in either. The high school is right next to the police station, probably a bad idea to look for an opening we could get in. There was a store across from the Goldfield Hotel, notice the sign below. What were they thinking?????? Goldpoint did have some neat historical buildings and there was a very nice lady that took care of the museum. On the way back to Tonopah we got side tracked at the Redneck car graveyard and an unknown mine site. Interesting stuff there, good call Amanda. We missed Cherry Creek NV but it is sorta close enough to hit in a day trip. Got home at a reasonable hour, it was so nice to sleep in my bed. Overall it was a fantastic trip and I am so lucky to have some one to go with, thanks man. The Big Boy is just for fun. I mean really when was the last time you saw one of those babies? If you're really interested in the next couple of days there will be more posted on Facebook.