Skip The Lambo and Drive A Miata
Las Vegas For Car Nerds
Racing, Museums, And The Valley Of Fire
There are many things for gearheads to do in Las Vegas. Take in an F1 race. Actually race exotics. Visit the Shelby museum and so on and so forth. One suggestion common to virtually every listicle on this topic is driving through the Valley of Fire State Park. With otherworldly beauty, this desertscape east of Vegas is indeed worth a visit just for the visuals. Looking over a map, car nerds will also note the wonderfully sinuous roads winding through the place.
However, the popularity of this valley translates to hordes of tourists, often behind the wheel of huge, wallowing RVs (read: slow). Fortunately, there is a way to clip endless apexes on your way to the Valley of Fire, with virtually zero traffic, and at the helm of the canyon carver’s vehicle of choice - a Miata.
Mazda, You For Me
I’ve been enthusiastically driving cars of all ilk for many years, but for no good reason, I’ve never driven a Miata. This is strange as Mazda is my brand of choice. An early favorite was the first-gen Mazda3 hatchback. Did the factory rubber wear out far too fast? Indeed. But what a kick that car was in the corners.
Today, my daily is a third-gen Mazda6. Like the 3, it’s a stick and a blast to drive. Not super powerful, but planted and happy to hoon it up. The Miata is no stranger to accolades and has long been on my list. So, when the opportunity arose to screw off in Las Vegas for a long weekend, I opened up Turo and did the hard work of selecting the right car for the job.
Turo: A Candy Store For Car Folk
Browsing Turo for car enthusiasts is no different than my kids staring slack-jawed at the 452 flavors of ice cream on hand at our local shop. Shall I max out my credit card to drive a McLaren for 3 hours? Or shall I see why so many people buy RAV4s?
Setting the Turo filter to rank by highest price - in a place like Vegas - generates big buck exotica from the likes of Lambo, Porsche, et. al. Tempting as it is to splurge on a 200-mph monster, the fact that you can rent a Miata for about 1/10th the cost of a fire-breathing Ferrari is a siren song to my cheapass brain. Plus, my objective was to have analog fun on the road, not go Clark Griswold Full Send Mode in my 812 Superfast, and on that front, the Miata delivers.
Sliding Around In A Miata
In fact, if your definition of fun in a car includes tail-happy shenanigans - mine does - it turns out the wee Mazda will kick loose during such benign maneuvers as a U-turn. Lost on my way to the Shelby museum, The Google told me to flip a Uie. On dry roads in the warm Vegas sun, I did so, and the little bugger came around on me!
I did give the gas a firm goose and it’s possible the tires were well-worn, it was a rental after all, but still! I caught the slide-happy Miata and was on my way…with a big shit-eating grin. Turns out, the Miata was going to be more fun than I realized.
Back Roads > Interstates
After a brief stop at the Shelby Museum (it’s okay), I made my way to the Valley of Fire. Now, if you look at a map from Las Vegas to the Valley, the most direct route is via I-15 for a 46-minute, 46-mile drive of boredom. As seen on my custom graphics, this is INCORRECT.
What yer gonna wanna do instead is head east out of town on highway 147, pick up 167 near Gypsum Wash, and head towards the Cleopatra Volcano. Follow this all the way to the Valley of Fire Highway for an hour and a half journey across 62 miles of endless sweepers, tight bends, crisp apexes, and not a soul in sight. This would be the CORRECT way of getting there.
Driving around the Valley of Fire itself is spectacular, but as mentioned, also clogged with folks uninterested in exploring automotive limits. The highway that runs through it offers ample driving excitement, and if you stay on it, will connect to Interstate 15. I drove the whole thing and it’s fun, but the traffic is heavier. Of course, the best part about a run like this is turning around at the end and doing the whole thing in reverse.
Analog Driving Glory
There are arguments to be made that unnecessarily long drives like this are best enjoyed at the helm of a heavy hitter with huge power and shocking handling. However, I argue that a Miata is hard to beat here. Feather light, rev-happy, wonderfully analog, and an absolute blast to push through the twisties with the top down, I wouldn’t trade that Soul Red Crystal Metallic Miata I drove for anything else. You can have your computer-controlled four-wheeled super gizmo. Me, I like the direct connection of a true driver’s car.
