Now, Kyle was in the military for 24 years and I suspect he got used to waking people up at ungodly hours. He had clearly developed a successful technique because at 4.30am the house started shaking with the sweet sounds of Dire Straits and the Sultans of Swing. If that wasn’t enough to stir us from our slumbers, then his next act of human alarm clock was even more extreme; a blur as Kyle ran down the stairs accompanied by the some of the most famous words on the trip so far: “WAKE UP MAAAAAAAAN!”. This was repeated several times as he excitedly bounced around the room like a tennis ball on steroids!

And before we knew it he was shaking us out of our sleeping bags and getting us on our feet. It was by far the most vigorous and effective wakeup call we had ever had. He then introduced us to “3 in 1 American flavoured Mongolian Coffee” which certainly helped the waking up process. If any one of you have a logical explanation of precisely what 3 in 1 American flavoured Mongolian Coffee is, please let me know. Anyway, it certainly was tasty, and before long we were readying the SRZero and support van for the next leg.

With the desert sun rising in front of us, the convoy of the SRZero, support vehicle, motorbike and Kyle’s car headed off with Nik and Kyle leading in the SRZero. For half an hour we drove east on the famed Route 66 until we came to Barstow which is where Kyle had to leave us to go to work. It was unfortunate to see him depart as over the last 36 hours he had somehow become an integral and cherished member of the team. We wish him all the best for the future and we hope that he can find the time to bunk work and join us on our travels somewhere!

After Barstow we headed east and after a few more hours of boiling hot desert sun (even though it was still so early in the morning) the infamous skyline of Las Vegas loomed up ahead. After seeing this city in so many films and pictures, it was a surreal and giddy experience driving up to the Strip in such an outrageous car!

Now, I have had one or two emails from misinformed individuals who lambast RGE for being a disorganised rabble. The truth is that this is far from the case, and for most days we have several contingency plans for where we can charge the car and get some sleep ourselves. On this occasion, we had several options, all offered by the kind members of the local Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association (LVEVA). However, being on the Strip with the SRZero, we felt we had to try our luck at one of the big hotels.

And so we headed for the Mirage, which was highly recommended to us by some friends as a fantastic place to stay! In we drove into their carriage driveway; jaws brushed the floor as we silently cruised by and came to a halt outside the main entrance. Before long we had several of the managers outside, and the team were animatedly explaining to them how we had the idea of charging the car up in their facility, and then displaying it in the middle of the entrance for all to see. Oh, and we wanted to hold a media event there.

They were a little shocked to say the least, but in true Las Vegas style, they made it happen, and all the necessary clearances and permissions where swiftly obtained from the higher authorities! And to polish it all off, we were offered a highly discounted rate to stay in their hotel…perfect! The hotel’s engineers were sent down to help us locate a plug while the rest of the team happily chatted away to the growing audience. While doing so, the local contingent of EV enthusiasts came by to see the hotel, and as with San Francisco several days earlier, we spent a happy while going into detail about the car and project.

After just 2 more hours, the car was on charge in a secure part of the hotel’s garage, we were checked into the hotel, showered, changed, and ready to explore a little. As for the rest of the day, there’s a famous saying which goes something like: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!”

We completely agree!

As always though, it was never as easy as expected. While Toby and I were on our way back from LA, we heard from the others that the chargers had tripped the circuit breakers in Kyle’s house early on in the night and we had nowhere near enough charge to make it to Vegas today. Damn!

So, after resetting the circuit breakers and getting the car back on charge, all we could do was wait. The hotel was kind enough to let us hang around for a bit longer without paying, but soon they kicked us out and Kyle welcomed us into his home for the day. Here, we made best use of the internet by catching up on emails, web updates, and blogging. But soon the lake (yes, a lake in the middle of the desert believe it or not!) beckoned and we had to take a quick swim and kayak in the lake to refresh ourselves.

However, other than work and the occasional swim, not much else happened aside from checking on the car and ensuring that it was charging, which it was. We calculated that the car would be ready for the drive to Vegas at 5am the next morning, so we took the opportunity to catch a few hours to sleep before the early start.

Throughout the day, Kyle allowed us free access to his house and possessions in a demonstration of complete generosity and relaxation, despite how keen he was to have a drive in the car. In fact, Kyle was the coolest, most laid back guy we had met so far on the trip, and it was really great getting to know him while stranded in the desert. So, a big thanks from team RGE to Kyle!

Unlike the previous morning, bright sunlight streamed through the broad windows of the MacCarley’s house, and we were awoken to the smell of cinnamon buns and blueberry muffins. RGE do not often have the chance to have breakfast as we are so often pushing to get to the next destination, but on this occasion we afforded ourselves the luxury to sit down and enjoy a delicious breakfast with our hosts. Time was short though, and very quickly we had to get moving. It wasn’t a complete goodbye yet though, as Art and his family accompanied us back to the university for our last few activities in San Luis Obispo.

Firstly, we met up with the local press and gave an interview in front of the car while it was still on charge. Next up it was time to unplug the car and give some rides to a few people. First up was Art; I don’t think he had ever seen his campus whizz by so fast! On one occasion, we were speeding down the road where I was assured there were no bumps, when suddenly the road dropped about 15cm beneath us in a very brutal speed bump of some description, and for the first time the SRZero took to the skies. Well, plummeting to the ground would be a far more accurate description actually, and very quickly we hit the ground hard! Fortunately, the SRZero’s beefy race suspension was able to handle it, and a light inspection at the end of the drive showed no untoward results! Next we were able to give the local press a quick spin, and with our last part of our Californian PR complete, it was time to say our goodbyes and head for Helendale!

So far, RGE had made it an unofficial goal to navigate our way from Alaska down to Texas using just normal, traditional maps. We actually did cheat one day when the roads got a little complicated, and that one time we used a GPS we got hideously lost! So we stubbornly kept to using just maps (we will use a GPS from Texas onwards though) and we headed off back up Highway 1 to try and find the exit which would ultimately take us to Helendale.

The road seemed to deviate wildly from what was drawn on the map, and soon we were on a small and very twisty road heading up through the mountains. But despite the road taking a big hit on our battery state of charge, it was one of the most beautiful roads we had so far encountered and even though we ended up back at the same point we were half an hour earlier, it was well worth the drive! Anyway, now that we were back on the right path, we sped off towards Helendale.

Along the way the scenery changed from dramatic coastal mountains and vegetation to scorching inland desert. But interestingly, despite the heat and parched ground, the roadside was dotted with lush orchards growing dates, pistachios, plums and a whole range of other fruits. The water source of these plantations soon became apparent; occasionally we could spot canals crisscrossing the desert, bringing in water from the mountains in the distance. This was intensive irrigation at its most extreme! But soon it got too dry for even the irrigation to continue, and the golden desert stretched off into the distance.And then, on the horizon, lots of white dots could be seen covering the surrounding mountains. Driving closer revealed this sight to be thousands upon thousands of wind turbines, ranging from the small to the absolutely massive. Check the photos to see what I mean…there’s no way I can explain it in words! And here’s an interesting contrast; just before driving into view of the wind turbines, we came across a huge oil field dominated by the “nodding donkey” pumps scattered across the countryside as far as the eye could see. Man’s past and current energy addiction juxtaposed with man’s search for renewable energy; quite a sight!

On we continued into the diminishing light until we came to Shadow Mountain Road, the final few miles into Helendale. And at the end of the road, at the turn into this tiny desert town, the sheriff was waiting for us. This was certainly not the first time we had been stopped by the police, but it was the first time they were waiting for us! As it turned out, they had got wind that the car was arriving and were eager to see it. They were a super friendly bunch, and we swapped rides; they gave un an off-road drive in their 4×4 squad car, and we gave them a drive in the SRZero. The video online shows it in much better details! It was fantastic fun, a unique experience, and after hearing some quite amazing and dangerous policing stories, we wish these fine gentlemen the best of luck in their future law enforcement endeavours.

During this entire escapade, we met Kyle Bauman who was a local resident of Helendale. He was actually an acquaintance of Claudio from the Long Way Round trip back in 2004. Anyway, he had kindly offered to host the car in his garage which is where we promptly headed after giving the sherrif a very fast drive through the town! He had also organised us our hotel rooms and had brought us some pizza as he knew we would be hungry; what a legend! We were looking forward to meeting our host in more detail during the next day, but for now it was time for some deep, deep sleep!