Bakersfield to Laughlin - September 25th

My trip nearly ended in Bakersfield, so it is with some relief, tempered with nervous concern, that I write this from Laughlin, Nevada. After a quick breakfast at our hotel in Bakersfield, Lloyd, Jerry and myself prepared our cars for departure. In my case, this required 2 quarts of engine oil, which is rather concerning, as the engine has never consumed much oil before. I think the extended high speed running, compounded by the high temperatures may be responsible. Anyway, this concern was soon forgotten as we drove out of the hotel car park. My car (known as Cisco, as it was the sale of the last of my Cisco shares that paid for it), started making a horrible loud graunching noise. I immediately turned off the engine, and the three of us tried to work out what was up. Restarting the engine, resulted in no noise, but as soon as I depressed the clutch pedal it returned. Then, it vanished. After a lengthy consultation, the combined heads diagnosed terminal clutch failure. However, as there still seemed to be some life in Cisco, we decided to take a test drive around the area. Surprisingly, the problem didn't return. I therefore decided to take a gamble and continue the trip, at least for now. So, we departed from Bakersfield, and headed east towards the Mojave desert. As we left the smog of the California Central Valley, the temperatures rose, and before long were in the 90s. I must say that driving long distances in a cramped, open-topped car under the blazing sun, has its downsides. There were times when I envied those who waved enthusiastically, and gave us the thumbs up, as they past us in their air-conditioned mini-vans! After a stop to fill up with gas and have a bite of lunch, we returned to our cars. As had become the norm, there was a small group of people admiring the cars - they seem to attract attention wherever we go. As we descended the mountains towards Nevada, the temperature reached 100 degrees, so it was with some relief that we pulled into the parking lot of our hotel in Laughlin. Laughlin, like many of the other towns close to the border of Nevada, is devoted to gambling. The room rates are low, as they expect to take your money in the Casinos. The streets are lined with bright neon lights trying to attract you to lose your money there. After a few hours to relax and cool off, it was time to get together with the rest of the group at one of the Casino hotels. In all, we have 12 cars so far, including 9 E-types. One or two more should be arriving very late, after having some problems. It was good to meet many of these poeple for the first time. We "see" each other regularly on the Jag-Lovers internet site, but most of us have never met. Tomorrow, the real adventure begins. I still have concerns that my adventure may start and end with calling for a tow truck to take the car back to Monterey...