So two weekends ago, instead of heading directly back from Vegas I decided to swing by the Hoover dam. Since I was already SE of Vegas, I figured instead of heading NW back through Vegas only to head south again, that I'd take 95 and then 164 back to the 15. Scenic, right?
Well, I got to 164 and about 2 miles in traffic is stopped dead. Ahead you could see road crews doing something. Some 45 minutes later they let us pass, albeit very slowly. It looked liked they were repaving and they had laid down gravel as the first layer. Going no more than 15 (much to the disappointment of the drivers behind me), I avoided all but one rock to my windshield.
I thought I was home free.
About 30-45 minutes later I am cruising back on the 15 and the ride quality is noticeably different. I pull off in Baker to take a look and as I'm pulling into the gas station with my windows down, all I can hear is things falling off the underside of my vehicle, clanging against various metal bits. Stop car, get out. THOSE JERKS HAD PUT TAR ON THAT GRAVEL. The entire underside of my car was littered with tar covered rocks that managed to weasel their way into all manner of unpleasant places. Now that they had started to fall off, turning, stopping or movements of the suspension resulted in a painful symphony.
Long story short, after nearly an hour with a hose and a stick I managed to remove all the gravel from the shock towers and various bits of running gear and got the vehicle safe for travel.
Now, nearly a week later, I still have to spend an hour or so after work with some tar remover tediously removing bits of tar that had splatter all over the car. The rims a different story and will need to be taken off to be completely cleaned.
Unfortunately in this case, what happened in Vegas definitely did not stay in Vegas.
