drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  528,849

Odometer (ILX):  69,158

You know, I haven’t always lived where the palm trees grow.  From 2004-2005, I resided in the far northern reaches of Utah where people actually experience four distinct seasons, unlike in Arizona.  I earned my undergraduate degree at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.  USU was established in 1888 as a small agricultural college but today has multiple campuses and a total student body of over 28,000.

“Old Main” is the oldest building on campus, which dates back to 1890.  This photo was taken in August 2005.

In July 2012, my brand new ILX took its first trip to Logan.

Logan is about 80 miles north of Salt Lake City, and only 19 miles from the Idaho state line.

I had every intention of keeping my prized (then sub-150k mile) 1994 Legend out of the snow.  I even bought a “winter beater” – a friend’s 1991 Legend L coupe 5-speed with 186,600 miles on it.  Here’s a shot from October 30, 2004 – the very important key hand-off photo.  He sold me the car for only $700.

It’s hard to believe that was 10 years ago.  I wasted no time in getting the car cleaned up.  It was fun to have two Legend coupes for awhile.  Check out my dad’s collection of antlers in the garage!

I put that Charcoal Granite Metallic 1991 coupe to good use at college.  I hauled hundreds of pounds of canned goods during a local Thanksgiving food drive.  It was riding low on the suspension with all that weight in the interior & trunk.

Thanksgiving 2004 with my friend Heidi in Nephi, Utah on the way back to college after the holiday.  Yes, those are 17″ wheels off a 2002 Lexus IS300.

Frosty winter morning in Cache Valley, northern Utah.

Unfortunately, my time with that particular coupe was cut short when it overheated on a date and blew the engine’s head gasket later that same year.  At one time, I also had a 1991 Honda Prelude Si 4WS that I used in the wintertime.

Eventually, though, the 1994 Legend did have to report for snow duty.  And it surely did endure some extreme weather.  These were taken during & after one particular snowstorm in the winter of 2004-05.

Thank goodness for front-wheel-drive and a heavy car.  The Legend did great in the snow.

Digging out

The good news is that during those winters, I lived close enough to campus to walk there and I didn’t have to deal with icy road conditions on a daily basis.  Even though I don’t miss the weather, I do miss the sense of community and school spirit that was overflowing at Utah State University.  Go Aggies!

This entry was posted on March 6, 2014 at 11:39 am and is filed under Legend, Throwback, 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.