LandRoverLasVegas
Observer
We were lucky and fortunate enough to get our hands on an authentic 1995 Camel Trophy Discovery, vin# SALLJGMF8MA106497, plate number M380HVC. From what we know about the history of the vehicle, it was a 1995 full Camel Trophy spec Discovery 2.5 diesel 5-speed, left-hand drive edition. It was never used in the actual Camel Trophy event, but was used as a 1996 “Selection” vehicle. The plate number was for country ID. We do know that 365 was Spain, 369 was France and 370 was for the Netherlands. Ours is 380, but we cannot find any documentation on what country 380 was, however there is an Australian flag stickered on the vehicle. If anyone knows any more history of this vehicle, please let us know.
We have had the Discovery in our possession for some time, but we have slowly been going through it to make it a reliable support and event vehicle for our dealership. From the day it arrived, it ran poorly. We quickly found out that it had a cracked block, so we had to purchase a rebuilt unit from the UK. We later then did the brakes and added an electric fan to the cooling system. Due to the heat in Las Vegas reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit, we added A/C, trading it for a heater!
Now that it is mechanically sound (!) I decided to take it for an easy day drive on and off road in the local Nevada desert and “test the waters” with it.
We started out from the South West Las Vegas Valley at 5:00am sharp in cold and total darkness, hoping that by leaving this early, that when we would reach the Valley of Fire State Park (I-15 and Valley Of Fire Exit), we could take advantage of the “golden hour” of dramatic, orange sunlight for which to take some photos of the Discovery in a majestic setting.
Our timing was spot on as we reached the park at 6:30am and had time to get shots of the vehicle at all angles with sweeping brick-red rock formations all around it. After driving throughout the giant park and getting the shots, we headed right on through to into the Lake Mead National Park, where we were in for a ride through history. A straight shot about 23 miles through the Valley of Fire State park on Valley of Fire Highway. Zig-zag right then left to enter the Nation Park and go another 3.5 miles down a dirt road called St Thomas Road where you will have to park and walk 1.25 miles to the abandoned town of St Thomas.
St Thomas was a thriving Mormon town populated from 1865 to 1938, when the completion of Hoover Dam made it necessary for the town to evacuate for the expansion of Lake Mead. It was then that the entire town and its surrounding land was then submerged in 60 feet of water and its fate was sealed.
This was the case for about 70 years or so until the population of the Southwest exploded and a drought took place, drying up the lake in the St Thomas area allowing for one to walk through it!
As you can see in the photos, the town (orig. population 500) is now mostly cement foundations. The “streets” are still clearly visible as are some of the buildings like the post office and the school. The nice thing about this “find” is that because it is so remote, there is not a lick of trash anywhere, except for original bottles and bits of china that survived the 70-year flood. Here is a link to Wikipedia.org about the town - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Thomas,_Nevada
After exploring the remains for about an hour and a half, we got back on the St Thomas Road to 169 and headed North for about 9 miles to the quaint town of Overton for lunch at Sugars.
After a delicious ½ pound burger and fries and nowhere to have a nap due to a food coma, we just decided to head back to the I-15 and head back into town. About 9 miles North on the 169, about 2 ½ miles south of the I-15 we noticed an old rusty water tower off to the East. We decided to investigate. We headed into the desert on to a semi-paved road named Waterline Road, which led us to the property that the old rusted water tower was on. It turned out to be an abandoned cement mill that saw its last days over 10 years ago. We parked just outside the entrance and poked around and took some great photos, which you can see.
Finally we headed back to Las Vegas in time for dinner knowing that the Discovery is ready for some real off0roading in the near future!
We have had the Discovery in our possession for some time, but we have slowly been going through it to make it a reliable support and event vehicle for our dealership. From the day it arrived, it ran poorly. We quickly found out that it had a cracked block, so we had to purchase a rebuilt unit from the UK. We later then did the brakes and added an electric fan to the cooling system. Due to the heat in Las Vegas reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit, we added A/C, trading it for a heater!
Now that it is mechanically sound (!) I decided to take it for an easy day drive on and off road in the local Nevada desert and “test the waters” with it.
We started out from the South West Las Vegas Valley at 5:00am sharp in cold and total darkness, hoping that by leaving this early, that when we would reach the Valley of Fire State Park (I-15 and Valley Of Fire Exit), we could take advantage of the “golden hour” of dramatic, orange sunlight for which to take some photos of the Discovery in a majestic setting.
Our timing was spot on as we reached the park at 6:30am and had time to get shots of the vehicle at all angles with sweeping brick-red rock formations all around it. After driving throughout the giant park and getting the shots, we headed right on through to into the Lake Mead National Park, where we were in for a ride through history. A straight shot about 23 miles through the Valley of Fire State park on Valley of Fire Highway. Zig-zag right then left to enter the Nation Park and go another 3.5 miles down a dirt road called St Thomas Road where you will have to park and walk 1.25 miles to the abandoned town of St Thomas.
St Thomas was a thriving Mormon town populated from 1865 to 1938, when the completion of Hoover Dam made it necessary for the town to evacuate for the expansion of Lake Mead. It was then that the entire town and its surrounding land was then submerged in 60 feet of water and its fate was sealed.
This was the case for about 70 years or so until the population of the Southwest exploded and a drought took place, drying up the lake in the St Thomas area allowing for one to walk through it!
As you can see in the photos, the town (orig. population 500) is now mostly cement foundations. The “streets” are still clearly visible as are some of the buildings like the post office and the school. The nice thing about this “find” is that because it is so remote, there is not a lick of trash anywhere, except for original bottles and bits of china that survived the 70-year flood. Here is a link to Wikipedia.org about the town - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Thomas,_Nevada
After exploring the remains for about an hour and a half, we got back on the St Thomas Road to 169 and headed North for about 9 miles to the quaint town of Overton for lunch at Sugars.
After a delicious ½ pound burger and fries and nowhere to have a nap due to a food coma, we just decided to head back to the I-15 and head back into town. About 9 miles North on the 169, about 2 ½ miles south of the I-15 we noticed an old rusty water tower off to the East. We decided to investigate. We headed into the desert on to a semi-paved road named Waterline Road, which led us to the property that the old rusted water tower was on. It turned out to be an abandoned cement mill that saw its last days over 10 years ago. We parked just outside the entrance and poked around and took some great photos, which you can see.
Finally we headed back to Las Vegas in time for dinner knowing that the Discovery is ready for some real off0roading in the near future!
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