Message posted by FosterVS on June 15, 2012 at 18:58:55 PST:

"I love exploring the desert, I could stay out there for days! Gas is the problem. There is no official gas station in Rachel so range is a factor."

I too love the desert, the scenery is so desolate yet stunning. I was out there for about 3 days, but it is just too hot for me in late May/early June. I was "vehicle camping" in my Dodge Caravan, towing a 4 wheel quad, and no AC at night. Wasn't too bad, 90F or so. I have been there in March and November too, too damn cold then.

My Caravan gets fairly good mileage, even towing the quad, around 22mpg. What really saved gas was exploring with the quad, which can run all day on not much fuel. I also had a large jerrycan to top up the van, and a smaller one I take with me on the quad for emergencies.

"Once again, Joerg made a excellent boundary plug in for Google Earth. You can see all the dirt roads that cross the restricted boarder so you have a good idea when your getting close. Sadly most end the same with a cattle fence gate or just signs saying "Restricted Area.""

I had made sure I had the whole area cached in GE, and saved the cache. I also have a USB GPS unit that came with Microsoft Streets and Trips, which works in GE and gives you realtime positioning. So I had all my boundaries and checkpoints to refer to when I was there, which was really nice. I also have a Garmin GPS with a handlebar mount for the quad. It actually shows most of the trails in the area, also shows the Nellis range boundary. Not that you want to count on that, the visual boundary markers at the gates are what should be relied on.

Sure wish I had taken up this "hobby" when I was younger, and fitter...

In Reply to: Re: Western Access to Tikaboo Pk? posted by Gregos on June 15, 2012 at 14:52:16 PST:

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