drivetofive

Odometer:  480,150

The Legend sat in hibernation for 3 days while I roamed around the hills of northern Utah visiting family and friend over the long Independence Day weekend.  My parents live just over 800 miles north of the Phoenix area in a small valley of northern Utah.  I was glad for any excuse to again retreat to lower temperatures and also get a chance to see my new niece.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a mileage accumulation weekend for the trusty old Legend as it sat in the garage from Friday through Monday.  A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jeremy had me transport a local 1997 Lexus SC400 for him which he’d received as part of an inheritance.  Just over 70,000 miles, original owner, rare “renaissance red” with two-tone interior.  I was happy to oblige as I’ve always been a fan of the Lexus coupes.  My next task became getting the car to Jeremy in Salt Lake City, so my friend Matt and I saddled up in the luxo-coupe and rolled northward last Friday night.

Here’s a photo of the coupes together pre-departure.  The $56k Lexus is a fine ride but excludes some of the features I’ve come to love in my Legend and was never (except in the 6 cylinder version) offered in a manual transmission so the driving experience was a bit sedated for my tastes.  Still, there’s nothing quite like the sound (albeit heavily dampened) of a V8 motor at wide open throttle.  Mmmm.

As luck would have it, once Matt and I got to Salt Lake City, my friend Branson allowed me the keys to his Cayman White Pearl 1995 Legend LS coupe 6-speed.  Since he works for a local dealership, Branson was able to snag a vehicle off the lot for the weekend and I used his Legend as my rental for the next couple of days.  Silky smooth (freshly clayed) paint, new leather, sporty TL Type S wheels.  This car’s about as close to mint condition as you can get at 142,000 miles.  We drove past the home in Logan, Utah (only 20 minutes or so from the Idaho border) where I grew up.  The yard has changed but the memories are still there!  I lived in this home from ages 5 through 12.

Two great days of food, family, and fun later, it was time to head back to Salt Lake City and hop on a US Airways flight back to Phoenix.  It was great to see the fireworks displays from my window seat at 11F and to be back at home with my comfy memory foam bed.  I’d wondered if the Legend would fire up on the first try since I’ve been told the battery is junk, but indeed the car came to life immediately when it was time to head to work this morning.  Lots of preparations to do in the next couple of weeks before I head on my cross-country adventure to New Jersey.

Here’s one last shot of Sardine Canyon as it descends into Cache Valley where Logan lies.

This entry was posted on July 6, 2011 at 1:33 am and is filed under Misc Travel, Utah. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.