Trip Report on the Lil A 'Le' Inn 11/1/03
The pics are all thumbnails click on them for a larger pic
The day had come.. Our Friend, Ian had made it in from England Friday evening and managed to get ready to meet up with us for the Ride up to Area 51 in the Nevada Desert.
The group of us met at 0530 on the North outskirts of Phoenix where we wondered what the heck were we thinking it was still dark out, we should still be in bed. Those who were brave/insane enough to do this were; Kent Ailes, Vinh Van Thieu, Eric Nerenberg, John Beck, Ian "Shooter" Morgan, Sue "BooBoo" Maiden and Yours Truly Tom "Yogi" Maiden
We fueled up and headed out on our Journey. Our first rest stop we took in Wikieup AZ for Fuel and Breakfast. This is a small store/restaurant/gas station but the food was good and it was our first chance to just talk with one another. After Breakfast we hit the road again.Heading towards Vegas..
Just this side of the Hoover Dam we stopped for some pics and for those of us needing to put on our helmets. I also called Clyde and Mary Jo Shonk at this point they had Caged it to Vegas (Clyde is still recuperating from his MC accident on the 4th of July) and were going to meet us at the the Lil A “Le” Inn. Let them know we were on the way and close. So far the trip had been pretty good though on the cool side. Temps have been in the 50’s all day this was to change a little later.
Heading out again we rode over Hoover dam and made our way into Vegas and worked on getting out of Vegas. Been awhile since I had been there what a change. Well we stopped for gas on the outskirts of Vegas and Vinh decided he was tired so he rode behind Kent and we left a bike at the gas station in Vegas. Once again we headed out as we still had over 100 miles to go to get to the Lil A “LE” Inn in Rachel Nevada
Once we got off I-15 and were just on 93 North, the road reminded me of Nevada 50 that Sue and I had done previously this year. It is labeled as the Loneliest Road in America. I swear 93 North out of Vegas is right up there with that distinction.. There is just nothing out there.. As we climb in elevation it seems to be getting colder too. Stopping in Alamo for gas and to warm up we figure we are only about 50 miles or so from our destination checking the time it looks like we are right on schedule.. We should get there just before 2.
Alright time for the Push to Rachel. Just a lil ways up the road we take 318 West then immediately take 375 West This highway is actually named the Extraterrestrial Highway we are now only 40 miles away but we need to cross a couple of 6,000 foot summits on the way. Very interesting ride. Good Road and what is that Storm I see off to our left. No problem the road seems to go away from the Storm. But as we climb it is still getting colder.. We get hit with a few sprinkles from the edge of the storm but nothing major then I notice as we climb those sprinkles are turning white. Yep we ended up riding through Snow Flurries over those Passes Nothing was sticking to the ground but it was an interesting visual for us Desert Riders. We finally get to Rachel Nevada home to the Lil A “LE” Inn , 483 miles from my front door, we were ready for a Hot lunch and some coffee. Clyde and Mary Jo were there and already had a table set up for all of us with Coffee Cups already on the table. As everyone said their hellos and talked off the ride up there.
We had a great time at lunch and enjoyed ourselves checking over all the merchandise available there.. Pat Travis, the lady that owns the Lil A "LE" Inn,was bending over backwards to make our stay enjoyable. We returned the favor by purchasing quite a bit of merchandise. Well after a long lunch and rest it was time to take off to make the 100+ mile trip back to Vegas where we had rooms for the night. A couple of us actually put on our rainsuits to add another layer of clothes to try and stay warm. We stopped at The sign labeling the highway as the Extraterrestrial Highway and then again at the jct of 93/318 where there was a sign advertising the Sale of Alien Jerky. Now the stand was closed but we could not pass up the photo op ;^)
Taking off from there Kent took off with Vinh on the back alone for one of his High Speed runs. Well we saw Kent a little ways up the Road receiving a performance award from the Local County Law Enforcement Professional. Luckily Kent wasn’t doing one of his triple digit runs and only got clocked at 85 in a 70 so manage to get one of those nice tickets Wasting a Finite Resource.. Much cheaper and no points. He is so Lucky ;^)
We stopped back in Alamo to refuel before our final run into Vegas. Kent Showed up and of course had to explain it all a few times.
As we made our way back to Vegas it once again got dark . Coming down out of the hills back into Vegas is really a pretty sight at night with all the Lights. We stopped for fuel and to pick up the bike we dropped off then headed to the hotel for the evening. We all did various supper things but most everyone was wasted as we had covered a little over 650 miles by the time we got to the hotel and I know at least a few of us hit the sack early that night.
Ian was staying in Vegas for a class so Sunday Morning the rest of us got up and headed out stopping at the Casino closest to the Hoover Dam for a breakfast. Once we got out of there it was just an uneventful trip home with Sue and I doing a little over 965 miles door to door and getting home a little before 4pm Sunday.
While it would have been nice to have a little warmer weather this was a great ride with very good friends and the Lil A “Le” Inn should be on all your destinations for somewhere down the road.
If you want to do it take i-15/93 north out of Vegas.
Take the 93 turnoff North
Make Sure to stop in Alamo for Fuel.
Turn left on 318
Then left on 375 about 1/4 mile up the road
You are now only 40 miles from the Lil A "LE" Inn
The address for the Little A"LE"Inn is
HC61 Box45
Rachel, NV 89001
Phone 775-729-2515
www.littlealeinn.com
Pat Travis is the lady who owns the place
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