Gremlin's Tall Stories

The alarm rang at 6am as planned. I got up at 7am… that wasn’t the plan. Once again, I silenced the alarm instead of getting up. Oh well, headed to the main building for the complimentary breakfast, receiving comments of surprise at seeing me up (it’s not that unusual is it?) and some of the others were busy having breakfast.

I packed (yeah… watched some SVU at the same time) and gassed up on the way out of town. As usual, prepay was required, the attendant saying ...

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I was vaguely awake when Murray and Anjum were getting ready, some stupid hour like 5am. We’re heading through Death Valley today, and it’s strongly advised not to be crossing that during the middle of the day, so we’re starting early. Even the afternoon is no good, as the temperature simply continues to rise throughout the day. Death Valley is one of the hottest places on earth, as it’s below sea level and the heat is trapped in the valley.

Murray and Anjum ...

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That cursed alarm is going off at 8am and it won’t stop. Unfortunately, I had to put it on charge last night, so it’s not by my bed, instead it’s on the table. I stumble over and turn it off. Murray is in the bathroom, and Anjum wants a shower, so I sneak a quick break between them.

Downstairs for the complimentary breakfast, this time there are also pancakes and yoghurt, so I have that as well. We were planning to go and shoot some guns this morning, but Ken found ...

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The alarm rang at 8am… and I wasn’t friends with it. Still, one does what one must in order to fulfil dreams. Anjum had just entered the bathroom and I waited (half asleep in bed) to see if it was quick or not. It wasn’t, so on with some clothes and down for breakfast, where I should find Ken and get more details on the Shelby visit.

Ken wasn’t around at breakfast, but spoke to some others. 9.30am downstairs for the Shelby Museum. Breakfast was complimentary ...

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A short day meant a later start, so I dropped the bag down at the van at 9.30am, they were leaving at 10am, but since they were leaving later, so could I, so I had a shower and got ready afterwards, finally leaving the hotel shortly before midday, finding a gas station and heading down Highway 163.

Simply packing the bike had resulted in a sweat, and it was no cooler on the bike when moving, sitting in the high 30s. The roads were straight, almost featureless and hot. Turning right ...

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7.30am and the alarm is ringing. I make the mistake of rolling over, but catch myself within 10 minutes and crawl out of bed. Bag down to the van, Kevin isn’t looking so flash (he did admit to 4 jugs the previous evening, and then probably something else) but he’s awake at least.

I’m not awake for long however, back to bed, the alarm set for 9am. Shortly after, I’m up, showering and packing. It’s warm outside already, high 20s. I continue along 89ALT, and ...

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7.30am and the alarm goes off. Kevin had said leaving at 8am, so a bit of a sleep in (at least for them). I’d already been awake from Murray and Anjum moving around. Then I realised I hadn’t even collected my bag from the previous evening so nothing to do there.

Still… I had to get up anyway. The sun was still somewhat cold and I wanted to check my tyre pressures as I thought they may be down a bit, especially from the bashing off road. Sure enough, both needed a couple ...

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6.45am and the cursed alarm is going off. Kevin had said yesterday he thought it was about a 7am start, so I drag my bag out and down the row to the van, where he is already loading it. I think I smiled briefly at Jan, and straight back to bed. Didn’t go to sleep however, as Anjum would be around shortly to collect his camera battery.

He comes shortly after 7am, and thinking it’s now safe to count sheep, as I’m right on the verge of sleep, Murray comes knocking. He’s ...

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