May | 2011 | drivetofive

Archive for May, 2011

Top 25 Countdown

Posted in Legend, Milestones on May 20, 2011 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 475,007

Today on my way home from work I rolled past 475,000 which officially puts me in top 25 mode. It’s all downhill from here! The coupe continues to faithfully get me to work and back each day and I look forward to where my weekend travels will take me in the next 25,000. Today’s achievement happened on Arizona Highway 87 southbound, between Fountain Hills and Mesa, Arizona.

Here’s a picture of the scenery where it took place.

Here is a video of the turn-over. Poor quality due to the sun’s position and the fact that I was trying to drive at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vz_vHpdkEg

Nothing new to report at this time, mechanically. No news is good news, as they say. Next oil change is due at 476,000.

Here are a couple of pictures from last weekend after I gave the car a much needed quick bath. From a few feet away it still looks pretty dang good. It isn’t until you get up close that you notice the peppered front end, missing clear coat on the trunk, misaligned bumper, and a few inevitable door dings (though, like most any car lover, I am an extremely careful parker!).

When I washed the car I also took note that I’ve been wearing a hole in the floor mat with the heel of my left shoe! Good thing I have a new-in-the-box set of floor mats for any special occasions still. And notice I’m rocking “dealership” adhesive plastic on the entry sills. Love it! I bought a 200′ roll of this stuff on Ebay years ago and may never use it all. Comes in especially handy during the (short) Arizona rainy season.

Finally I thought it would be interesting to post a chart I threw together which shows the Legend’s mileage accumulation over its lifetime. Since I have service records from its birth, it’s easy to plot everything out for a visual. The line very visibly steepens when my ownership takes place about halfway through. And my rate is pretty consistent too. There are only two blips on the radar: a section in winter 2004/05 when I drove a “winter beater” for a month or two during my college degree in northern Utah at USU, and a section in mid-late 2007 when the car spent a month or so for repaint after I hit two deer in Austin Texas.

Onward to 500k!

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Tombstone

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on May 9, 2011 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 474,031

My friend Kevin and I took a trip back in time yesterday to a town in southeastern Arizona that’s notorious for its history in the Wild West: Tombstone. It’s a town, appropriately, of “Ghosts and Legends” as noted in this sign I had to capture during our visit.

Tombstone is home to daily gunfight reenactments at the O.K. Corral. Today, the town of 1600 residents survives primarily on tourism since it’s so far removed from civilization and is basically in the middle of nowhere in the Arizona desert. Not the place to break down in a 500,000 mile car! But we made the round trip safely and in the comfort of A/C and with good music along the way. Kevin and I belted Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” at one point and put the car’s Bose speakers to full use. Here’s a little more light reading on the town of Tombstone itself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone,_Arizona

It took Kevin and I about 3 hours to get there from the Phoenix metro area, via Interstate 10 eastbound and through Tucson. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the old west for a little while (and fantastic root beer floats) and then continued on our way to Sierra Vista, Fort Huachuca, and back to I-10 for the return leg of our trip. Here are a few photos from our half-day adventure.

Entrance to town from the north side of town on Arizona Hwy 80:

And a shot at Wyatt Earp’s Old Tombstone village:

Just prior to the trip, I got a $47 full service oil change (no coupon this time!) at Acura of Tempe with 5W30 oil. I caught the technician JUST as he was about to pull the car into the automatic wash after completing the work. I never have them wash the car. I’ll handle that on my own, thank you! The notes on my paperwork indicate that everything checks out with the exception of a burned out front left marker light bulb and inoperative washer fluid nozzles (they’ve been broken since 2008). The tech recommended a power steering flush and a transmission service, which is odd since I just had them change the MT fluid on my last visit at 467k.

The temps in Phoenix continue to creep up and we’re into triple digit territory already this year. Welcome to oven mitt weather! Let’s see how the old Legend fares through another Arizona summer. A/C blows ice cubes so for that I’m grateful.

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Grand Canyon

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on May 2, 2011 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 473,108

Roadtrip weekend! Had a couple of new adventures in the old Legend. On Saturday I delivered a set of wheels to my friend Tommy who met up with me in Indio, California – a short 4 hour drive each way from Phoenix.

This morning, I picked up 3 friends (Matt, matt’s mom Mahnaz, and Linh) and we headed northbound to the forested mountains of Arizona. The 2 door was surprisingly accommodating for all of us and it made the ascent from Phoenix’s 1,000 feet to Flagstaff’s 7,000 foot elevation without too much complaining. I had to spend a fair amount of time in 5th gear through the 65 mph grades on Interstate 17. From Flag, we motored westbound to the tiny old town of Williams right off I-40. The Grand Canyon Railway took us to the south rim of the park where we enjoyed a few hours of the sights before catching the return southbound train. Visitors from the park appeared to range in background from so many different countries. Those of us who are local take for granted that the park with its 1-mile deep ravines is in our own backyard.

By the time we got back to the depot at Williams it was 5:30 p.m. or so, and we squeezed back into the Legend for the 188 mile return trip to the Phoenix area. Home in Scottsdale now and still haven’t fueled up so I’m pushing 400+ miles on this tank and the fuel reserve light still hasn’t illuminated. Not bad! Though the downgrade from FLG-PHX definitely helps aid MPG. Another successful journey and the Ac didn’t skip a beat.

Mahnaz, Matt, Linh, and me at the wheel on I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff

This was our set of wheels for the last leg of the trip to the Grand Canyon: A train operated by the Grand Canyon Railway. Not as nimble as an Acura but a lot more leg room for our party of 4!