Beatty VFW Poker Run 2019
Denis & Sandi Inman
Sandi and I met Brian and Jeremy at Mel’s for breakfast at about 7:00 AM. The Pahrump Valley 4 Wheelers, for various reasons, arrived at the Beatty VFW 5th Annual Bullfrog Historical Mining District Poker Run check-in and starting area at sporadic times throughout the morning, but we waited for Mike & Debbie to finally show up before eventually heading out onto the trail. We had a total of 8 Jeeps, mostly Wranglers, led by Paul & Gary in a Grand Cherokee. Sandi & I inhaled the next least amount of dust in the second position. Next was Brian then Mike & Patti in their Gladiator. Jeremy was in the 5th spot, then came Rick & Mary followed by Bill & Shirley. Mike & Debbie with their big beer flag brought up the rear.
The trail opened for running at 8:00 AM, but we didn’t set off as a club until about 9:30. We left the assembly area at the highway and Fluorspar Road and headed East past Crowell Mine through Tate’s Wash to Thompson Mine. Our group continued over 4650′ Tram Ridge, saw the Silicon Mine and descended to Beatty Wash. As we approached Highway 95 and the Amargosa River, we drove past the hot springs and adjacent to Spicer Ranch before crossing the highway.
Trekking onward, the PV4W proceeded West on Pioneer Road past Crystal Springs to Lower Indian Springs. As we continued on, the group went around the North side of 4670′ Rainbow Mountain and 4663′ Black Peak before making a stop in Rhyolite Ghost Town. From there, we didn’t have far to travel to make it back to the Strozzi VFW Post 12108 and the final poker hand checkpoint. The route was 35.5 miles and took slightly under 4 hours to negotiate. This years route was very similar, if not the same as the series of tracks we followed last year. It was not very challenging, but virtually perfect for a poker run.
Sandi and I listened to the completion of the NASCAR truck race from Talladega Alabama while out on the trail, but were still anxious to get back home, so we left right after having a beer at the VFW. We believe that most of the club stuck around for the dinner and the band. A few even stayed in Beatty overnight to experience Mike’s impressive singing voice at the Karaoke show inside the Stage Coach later in the evening.