Let’s turn back the clock to around the year “Titanic” came out (1997). I was one of the lucky few to be a subscriber to Acura Driver magazine (now “Style”) in the late 1990’s. I recently started digging into the archives and found a few hidden treasures that I wanted to share.
Acura always tried really hard to highlight individuals or families who had a strong commitment to the brand, like this family with a bunch of Legends. I spy a rare 1995 Garnet Red sedan with the gold emblem package!
This photo feature was published in commemoration of the brand’s 10-year anniversary in 1996. How different does the lineup look today? Gone are the two-door models like the Integra, CL, and NSX. In fact, every single model from this picture has been renamed or discontinued entirely.
Had to laugh at this one – below is a look at what the http://www.acura.com website looked like in late 1997 – early 1998. Today’s interactive and elaborate webpages blow this one out of the water.
In each Acura Driver issue, then-Vice President Richard Thomas shared a letter to the Acura community that was followed by a photo of him with an Acura. This was one example, taken with a Heather Mist Metallic 1996 3.5 RL on the lawn of the Ritz Carlton. Posh. Pardon me, does anyone have any Grey Poupon?
And this one with his grandkids while on an outdoors excursion in a 1996 SLX.
Technology sure has come a long way, too. Below was a sketch of what was on the horizon for the world of satellite-based GPS navigation systems.
I especially loved this story of a sheriff in Jackson County, Missouri who used a 2.5 TL as his unmarked patrol car. “My TL outperforms the Crown Vic with its 4.6 liter police package,” he said. That’s impressive considering his TL had only 5 cylinders!
Just for fun: NSX-T advertisement
3.5 RL advertisement. “A Ride So Quiet, You Can Hear Your Heart Beat Faster.” Ha!
Good stuff! Speaking of Acura magazines, somehow I made it into the latest NSX Driver. It’s a publication of the NSXCA (NSX Club of America).
In each issue, the magazine features members who are new to the NSXCA. The of mine that they included was from a trip to Coronado Trail in eastern Arizona a couple of years ago.
Finally, I’m sending a shout-out to Jason from Driven for Drives as he continues his cross-country tour. He sent me this picture of a meet-up with my friend Sofyan in Washington, DC a couple of days ago.
Nice looking Fathom Blue ILX and Crystal Black TL!
You guys are making me want to hit the highway for some travels of my own. Stay tuned!
Back to the grind! Here’s just a quick slideshow recap today from a fun-filled 3-day holiday weekend. First off, a drive on the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday afternoon.
The city was bustling with holiday traffic.
I met up with my (Legend-owning) friend Jessie for a bite to eat at Smashburger.
And got a quick picture at my favorite casino: Excalibur.
Once I arrived in my hometown of St. George, Utah, I took my brother’s BMW M3 turbo for a spin.
Power to the max.
Lots of custom work here. And it pays off: The car has been dyn0-tested at > 500 wheel horsepower.
I also drove another German 6-speed that day: My friend Buck’s 2005 Mercedes-Benz C230 Kompressor.
This car replaces his outgoing Acura RSX.
Family BBQ at the park. Left to right: Bentley (brother), Kyann (sis-in-law), me, Tia (mom), Kali (sis-in-law), Payton (brother).
With my younger brothers.
Beckam
Vivienne
Rex
Love those kiddos! Sunset from my mom’s back deck in Washington, Utah.
And the song that got me dancing in my seat on the way home to Phoenix yesterday.
Give it a listen here with me. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
As I prepare for a road trip departure on this upcoming 3-day weekend, I’ve got a 3-part feature for your Friday serving of Drive to Five.
I’ve met some pretty dang cool people through this crazy car community over the years. Ryan and I ‘met’ (online, anyway) via a website called Prelude Power. Around 2007-08, I had a project car 1991 Prelude Si 4WS. Ryan owned the same car and we liked keeping each other updated. His car looked like this:
Ryan is from South Dakota but he and his dad visited the Phoenix area about 5 1/2 years ago and I met up with them. Here’s the picture we took on November 12, 2008. We stood in front of the Legend, of course, which had around 349,000 miles on it at the time.
This week, Ryan’s back in town so he stopped by for a visit last night.
Ryan still has his Prelude, but it’s come a long way in the last few years. Such a long way, in fact, that Honda Tuning Magazine did a feature story on it a couple of months ago. Here’s a link to some tech specs on Ryan’s build from the Honda Tuning website.
Ryan took the wheel of the NSX for a spin around the block. We both commented on how much the NSX feels a lot like a Prelude with its nimble handling, great visibility, and precise shifting.
We also took the ILX for a spin to grab a bite to eat.
Thanks for the visit, Ryan and Emily!
Million Mile Miata – here’s something you all might enjoy. Sometime last fall, Road & Track editor Zach Bowman picked up a < $2k craigslist ‘beater’ that he’s determined to drive to 1,000,000 miles. It had 325,000 on it and needed its fair share of maintenance. A few days ago he rolled 330,000 in the middle of the night, somewhere in Texas.
I’m not totally sure what Zach’s objective of this exercise will be, other than to push his little 1990 Mazda Miata until its odometer rolls over, but that’s a good enough reason for me to (and hopefully some of you!) tune in. You can follow Zach’s travels via the Million Mile Miata Facebook page.
Here’s a little more background on how the MMM idea got its start. Good luck, Zach! I’d love to meet you the next time you’re rolling through Arizona!
On a related subject of long-distance road-tripping: I’m insanely jealous right now. My friend Jason (who you’ll remember from the recent Canyon de Chelly road trip) is currently on a 17-state, 5,000-mile road trip across the country in his black 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 6-speed. Check out this picture taken yesterday, just outside Amarillo, Texas. It looks like a pretty barren landscape, except for those specks along the horizon.
Those specks are actually 10 Cadillacs buried in the ground, at an angle, that have been spray-painted over and over again by tourists. This is the Cadillac Ranch.
I don’t know how much access Jason will have to a computer during his trip, but keep an eye on his website, Driven for Drives. I’ll do my best to share bits & pieces of his story as he sends them to me, too.
Safe travels, Jason! And to any others of you who are out on the roadways this weekend.
I’m not usually one to trespass. I’m a clean-cut, straight-A-student kind of guy. But deep down inside of me, I’ve always liked exploring buildings that are off-limits. I guess part of the thrill is that of potentially getting caught. One of my favorite adventures recently was exploring an old deserted ghost town called Modena, Utah in fall 2012.
For 5 years now, my weekday afternoon commute has taken me through the Salt River – Pima Indian Community. Daily I’ve passed within 50 yards of this looming 3-tiered abandoned structure south of the Beeline Highway, but I’ve never taken the time to dig deeper — until yesterday. I decided to finally see if it was even possible to access the building. I hit the brakes in the ILX and took my next left-hand turn. Just before entering the driveway of an abandoned double-wide trailer, I veered onto a one-lane dirt road and pointed the car toward the concrete building to the east.
I could tell that the road at some time was paved, but decades of aging had returned it almost completely to earth. I dodged a couple of huge potholes. Soon, I saw that the square building had a 10-foot-tall chain link fence all the way around it (and barbed wire looped around the top). Except, there was an opening just wide enough to drive through. It was too tempting to resist.
I pulled the ILX into the fenced-off area and hopped out for a few pictures. One step out of the car and noticed the pavement was glistening in the sunlight. “Crap,” I thought. The entire ground was absolutely covered in shards of glass from broken bottles. I was hoping my Michelins would hold on. And they did.
I hurriedly took a couple of shots with my cell phone since my Nikon was at the house. The north end of the building at the ground level was totally open, so I peeked inside. Elaborate graffiti artwork adorned every surface, and a few stray pieces of garbage at the far end of the room were probably someone’s furniture at one point. I didn’t take the time to climb the staircase and view the upper floors of the building, but I’d like to go back – and armed with a better camera.
So what is this place? Its history dates back to 1963 when it was known as the Beeline Dragway. It was opened that year as a 1/4-mile drag race track. In those days, races were held on Saturday nights in the summertime and on Sundays in the winter – with some cars hitting speeds up to 200 miles per hour.
The raceway has been closed since 1975 when the lease expired with the Indian community. It has since been replaced by larger, much more modern facilities elsewhere in the valley including Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) and Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. Unfortunately, today there’s not much left of the Beeline Dragway. Some 40 years after its closure, the only memory of Beeline that still stands is this graffiti-tagged main building.
Here’s an overhead view of the area. Beeline Highway is along the top, with the lone building in the center of the screen as the structure which I entered. The track itself extended horizontally toward the east from the main building.
I like to think about what the reaction would have been if, 50 years ago, I pulled up at Beeline Raceway in a 2013 Acura ILX. For the 12 years that it was open, this building was witness to the height of the muscle car era.
I found this really neat video from 1969 when the Beeline was at its heyday.
Thanks to D25 reader Ryan for sending me this pic of his TL arriving in his home state of South Dakota. Nothing like a little road trip to kick-start the summer.
And a huge congratulations to our Italian reader, Francesco, on hitting an impressive 320,000 kilometers in his Fiat!
Thanks to all of you who continue to share your milestones with me. Keep ’em coming.
How did it take me this many years to succumb to the temptation and check out “THE THING”? I’m not sure, but I finally took the opportunity to visit a roadside attraction that I’ve passed by dozens of times. It’s located along the remote reaches of Interstate 10 in southern Arizona, in the desert landscape between Tucson and El Paso. I took my 2013 Acura ILX for a day-trip on Saturday to see what this place was all about.
Leaving the Tucson area eastbound, motorists are assaulted right away by bright yellow billboards in rapid succession, advertising this so-called “Mystery of the Desert.” It’s enough to make you wonder, “What in the heck is it?” And that’s exactly what the entrepreneurs who run “The Thing” want you to do! By the time I arrived at Exit 222 for Johnson Road about 40 miles later, I had counted upwards of 15-20 billboards with various messages luring me in.
You really can’t miss this place. Just when you start zoning out as the interstate makes its way through some rocky outcroppings, your eye is caught by the giant yellow structure. There might as well have been a fishing line reeling my ILX into the parking lot because I had taken the bait big time. I plunked down $1 cash and told the cashier, “One adult admission please.” The man pointed to a door against the back wall and said, “Go through the door. Follow the yellow footprints. The Thing is in the third building.” And off I went toward the entrance.
I thought that the entrance door would lead me into a dark, enclosed room of some sort. My eyes were blinded when it instead opened up to the outside. The adventure just kept getting weirder. Yes, there were yellow painted footprints on the sidewalk ahead of me, so I followed the cashier’s instructions to see where they’d take me. It felt like some sort of treasure hunt. Each of the 3 buildings was a giant warehouse of sorts with artifacts on display. The first had a couple of antique cars (1932 Buick and a 1937 Rolls-Royce), each covered up in a thick layer of dust.
I picked up my walking speed a little bit. “What is this stuff? Take me to The Thing already!” I thought to myself. I paused just momentarily to check out a few other things. Mannequins, an old phonograph, various vintage pieces of furniture, guns, and Indian artifacts. Cool, but I wanted to see The Thing. Continuing on I went: Building 1, then outside, then Building 2, then outside, then, I entered Building 3 at last. A colorful banner told me that I’d arrived. I felt like Clark Griswold when he finally spotted the perfect family Christmas tree.
There it was.
“It’s A Wonder!”
Yes, indeed. So, there was The Thing in all its glory, enclosed in a cinderblock vault with a plexiglass cover over the top. So, what was it? I think I’m going to be a tease and let the secret remain. Hahaha!
I grabbed a mushroom Swiss hamburger at the Dairy Queen attached to the gift shop before heading back toward Phoenix. It felt great to finally know what The Thing was. Here are the rest of my pics from the trip!
Pit stop in Benson, Arizona near Tombstone
Sandstone rock formation on I-10
Exiting at Johnson Road where The Thing is located
From the outside, the warehouses at The Thing are painted vivid colors.
I followed the dirt road around toward the Big Rig parking because I wanted the full experience.
Hype? Yeah, lots of it.
In we go.
Souvenirs galore. Yes, this place is a definite tourist trap.
Here are those yellow footsteps.
Building #1
The 1937 Rolls. Sign reads: “This antique car was believed to have been used by Adolf Hitler. The Thing is, though, it can’t be proved.” Clever.
More footsteps leading to the next building.
This one felt like a museum.
Edison phonograph. “Plays Cylindrical Records,” the sign said.
What the heck? A bedroom set in this building.
Post-tour lunch @ DQ.
And back to Phoenix I went! Drive time was about 2.5 hours each way.
Too cool not to share. My friend Jim tipped me off on the story of a man from El Paso, TX who sold everything he owned and set out on a motorcycle ride over the next two years that would take him through 36 countries in over 120,000 miles of riding. That man is Alex Chacon, and his page is called Modern Motorcycle Diaries.
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska! One of my must-see destinations. Hopefully in 2015.
Alex has captured some of his most memorable moments in a brilliant 3-minute video.
These 3 words are a big part of my childhood. As long as I can remember, my dad had a Ford pickup truck in the garage. I even learned to drive a stick shift in a teal green 1994 Ford Ranger.
Here was our F-150 at Lake Mead, Nevada where we frequently vacationed with our watercraft during the summer. My youngest brother Payton (pictured at left there, and now 26 years old) must’ve been digging in the dirt.
At some point we also had this bright red F-250. With its extended cab and long bed, it felt like driving a school bus. Forget about trying to park anywhere. And need I mention the fuel economy? This particular 1994 model year 3/4-ton Ford was powered by a 460-cubic-inch V8. I’d be surprised if my dad was getting anything north of 10 mpg around town.
What I did love the most about that truck, though, wasn’t just the fact that my dad had camouflage seat covers. It was the 5-speed manual transmission. Rare, I think. And man, it was fun to drive.
It’s now time for a whole new chapter in Ford pickups. Ford representative Brandt Coultas flew in from Dearborn, Michigan to share a presentation with the Phoenix Automotive Press Association (PAPA) on Tuesday evening about the all-new 2015 F-150. I attended the media presentation in Tempe, Arizona and learned a lot about F-150’s, past, present, and future. Did you know that this truck has been America’s best-selling pickup for 37 years and counting? Chances are, you’ve owned one – or at least known someone who has. A new F-150 is sold every 41 seconds on average. That’s 763,000 per year!
One of the hottest topics about this Ford is its all-aluminum construction. Much like the first generation Acura NSX, the F-150 will be made entirely of aluminum. This means that designers have helped the pickup shed over 700 pounds.
Brandt hit a button on the key fob and the tailgate dropped down smoothly. We are talking about a whole new level of technology and refinement. No “slam the tailgate down, make a running start, and hop up inside” here. The tailgate has a step-ladder built in. And, in all seriousness: a pole that extends to form a grab handle. Why, I never.
LED headlights pierce the nighttime darkness with ease – we received a demo of that later on. The glass moonroof in this truck covers nearly the entire roof.
Part of Brandt’s conversation centered around the durability testing that the prototype vehicles have undergone. The state of Arizona plays a key role in that process: Davis Dam, located in the western part of the state, is a 13-mile steep grade that Ford’s test vehicles must climb — in the heat of the summer, towing a full load, with the A/C on full blast. In all, Ford subjected its test vehicles to over 10 million miles of evaluation before giving this new model the green light.
Despite the fact that Ford is going for a “rugged” buyer, this truck will still have some luxury amenities. There are LED lights casting a light glow around the interior door handles: green when the door is shut; red when the door is ajar. Safety-minded or just for “wow” factor? You decide. Here, Joe Sage (Editor, Arizona Driver Magazine) gives that moonroof a look.
Thanks, Brandt for the preview! We all look forward to getting some seat-time in the new F-150 later this year.
Just for fun, a little more of my dad’s Ford pickup history, in chronological order.
1979 F-150 (circa 1983)
1989 F-250 (circa 1992)
1992 F-250 (circa 1994)
1994 F-150 (circa 1997)
2004 F-150 (circa 2007)
Now, how long before he buys a 2015 F-150 and puts camouflage seat covers on it?
A few weeks ago, I shared with you the write-up that my friend (and fellow automotive journalist) Ruben put together about my 2013 Acura ILX. Later on, he took to the streets in my 1992 Acura NSX and his impressions are now posted online. For a more detailed history on my 2.5 years of NSX ownership, that background is here.
That first generation NSX, which debuted a full 25 years ago at the Chicago Auto Show, has been getting a lot of praise in recent months. Acura’s next iteration of its iconic supercar will have some big shoes to fill. Check out these great articles by Blake Z. Rong of Autoweek and Steve Siler of Yahoo Autos about some of the merits of Acura’s mid-engined, aluminum-bodied beauty queen that’s aged better than virtually any other vehicle.
Here’s the link to Ruben’s piece about the NSX on RNR Automotive Blog. Thanks, Ruben, for the feature story!
Posted in ILX, Maintenance on May 11, 2014 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Legend): 529,358
Odometer (ILX) (Loaner!): 1,565
“Weren’t you just here?” asked the attendant on the service drive when I pulled into Acura of Tempe on Saturday afternoon for some ILX maintenance. “Probably,” I said. It’s no wonder I started using a punch-card to get a free oil change after every 4 paid oil changes. I get my money’s worth out of coupons like that. After last weekend’s long trip up north, the ILX’s “Maintenance Minder” told me that it was finally time to go in for a check-up.
Things were fairly quiet over there.
In she goes.
A challenge, though, soon became apparent. The technicians were not able to remove the locking lug nut on my left rear wheel in order to rotate the tires. I had to leave the ILX with them – potentially until next Tuesday – and take home a loaner car. So, for the time being, I’m in a snazzy Silver Moon Metallic ILX with the 2.0 liter automatic. And, just 1,500 miles on the odometer. It’s as if I’ve gone back in time.
Hoping for good news next week on the fix for that stuck-on wheel.
Check out this wicked ride that found its way to my driveway for a few days. My friend Dan flew to LA and allowed me to ‘babysit’ his pride and joy.
The stacked quad exhaust tips pictured below are a dead giveaway. What we’re looking at here is a 2011 Lexus IS-F. Its 5.0 liter V8 propels this car up to speed with alarming urgency. The IS-F is Lexus’ highest IS offering, with a no-holds-barred approach to delivering the most powerful, best-handling, and most aggressively-styled sports sedan from the brand. While the V8 is clearly audible at idle and emits a nice rumble, it’s the post-4,000 RPM range that really lights this car on fire.
In that higher rev range, the IS-F’s cabin fills with the deafening roar of the V8 and before you know it, you’re passing every Corvette in sight. The instrument cluster is dominated by a massive blue-needled tachometer. The speedometer, at less than half that size, hides in the lower right-hand corner. Ride handling is sharp and responsive. There’s just one way to describe this car, and I apologize for the language, but: It’s badass.
Photo quality won’t do these gauges justice, but it’s the best I could get at 68 mph at nighttime. I wanted to show just how tach-centric this setup is. And how, even at freeway speeds, the needle doesn’t even act like it’s awake yet — lingering in the 7:00 position like the car’s barely at idle.
One local tradition that I have with a few of my friends (when I’m in town on a weekend, anyway) is to attend a car show just a few miles to the north which takes place every Saturday afternoon. This time, in addition to the IS-F, we had a few other cars to take. Jack showed up in a (loaner) Mercedes SL550 roadster.
Matt brought his 2014 Infiniti Q50 3.7 Sport.
And Mike brought a (loaner) Mercedes S550 sedan. Jack and Mike were staying at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale which apparently allows guests to use its Benz fleet. Who knew? I think I’ll stay there the next time I need a stay-cation.
The S550 gauges are entirely electronic, with the instrument panel being dominated by two rectangular screens.
Arrival at the Scottsdale Pavilions car show.
Later, my friend Kyle showed up in his stunning 2005 Pontiac GTO 6-speed. Its exhaust note and corresponding rumble are enough to set off a car alarm here and there.
And Walter brought the 2015 Acura Legend coupe concept.
Did you know that Alice Cooper drives an Acura NSX? I watched him pull into the parking lot with this but I didn’t realize until well after I’d already left the show (and my friend Mike posted a picture online with Alice) that it was him! The car is an automatic with 35,000 miles on it. Wild wheels!
We had a great time at the show. Here are a couple of last photos from my weekend fun.
Even my “courtesy loaner vehicle” 2.0 liter ILX wanted in on the photoshoot.
1992 Acura NSX: 270 horsepower
2013 Lexus IS-F: 416 horsepower
2014 Acura ILX 2.0: 150 horsepower
Looks like I had my choice of a wide range of power alternatives this weekend.
Lastly: I’ve gotta send a shout-out to my friend Joe who brought me a gorgeous canvas print of my ILX. He had this printed up from a photo taken during our Canyon de Chelly drive a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks, Joe! I’ve got this proudly displayed for now on the dresser in my bedroom.
Posted in ILX, Road Trip on May 8, 2014 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Legend): 529,310
Odometer (ILX): 78,764
Trip Distance: 340 Miles
A rainbow shimmered in the mist far below as I watched thousands gallons of the Snake River tumble to the canyon floor ahead of me. Even from a viewing platform at the opposite end of the canyon, the sound of the water crashing down was powerful. Idaho’s name is the “Gem State,” and I cay say with a certainty that Shoshone Falls must be one of the state’s hidden gems. Even more impressive: Shoshone, just outside the small town of Twin Falls, is a full 50 feet taller than world-famous Niagara Falls at the New York – Ontario border!
I was inspired by my friend Josh’s recent post about his visit to Shoshone in southern Idaho, so when I put together a plan to visit some family in northern Utah for a long weekend, I figured it was well-worth the 5-hour round trip drive to lay eyes on the “Niagara of the West.” I was right. For anyone in the western U.S., you need to see this place.
After exiting Cache Valley last Saturday morning, most of my drive was on Interstate 84 westbound which routes northwesterly through some rolling hills of northern Utah. Amenities are few and far between along this stretch. Thankfully, Utah has posted the speed limits through that region at 80 miles per hour so the drive goes fairly quickly. I set the cruise control at the ILX at 80 which revs the 2.4 liter at around 3,400 RPM. A critical pit stop – of course – was when I got a photo at the Idaho state line. Josh had agreed to meet me at the falls, so at this point we were nose-to-nose in opposite directions on I-84.
From there, I-84 and I-86 intersected and I headed due west through the small southern Idaho towns of Rupert and Burley. You may remember Burley from a trip through this same area last year to a family reunion. Exiting the interstate toward Kimberly, I crossed the mighty Snake River on Hansen Bridge, a 1966 replacement to a suspension bridge that was initially constructed in 1916 as one of the only gorge crossings in the area.
As Josh and his 2005 Acura TSX finished up the last few miles of his westward trip toward Twin Falls from Boise, I had a few minutes to explore historic downtown Twin Falls. I stumbled across a charming little Volkswagen / Porsche repair facility on Main Street called R.S. Garner Enterprises.
Josh and I met at the best sushi place in town, “Sushi Ya” on 2nd Avenue. The all-you-can-eat menu hit the spot. After lunch, I took a moment to admire the condition of Josh’s TSX. Aside from a total of 3 or 4 dings in the body, the condition looks more like a 90,000 mile car than a 401,000 mile car. I got a kick out of Josh’s description of how he sets up his windows & sunroof for optimal wind distribution throughout the cabin when he’s on his drives. We cranked up our 2.4 liter engines and headed toward Shoshone just a few miles away.
Park entry was $3 and gave us access to Shoshone as well as an adjacent lake called Dierkes Lake. Shoshone was everything it was cracked up to be. The falls tumble 212 feet to the canyon floor. Certain sections of the falls have individual names: Bridal Veil, Two Graces, and Sentinel. Water levels vary throughout the year, but at certain times it’s possible to see the entire span of the canyon flowing with water. It’s also possible to see the falls nearly completely dry, as the Snake River is utilized for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation. Josh and I hiked around the south rim of the canyon for a few minutes and admired the scenery. It wasn’t far from this place where famous stunt devil Evel Knievel attempted to jump a sky-cycle (motorcycle) across the entire (1,500-foot-wide) Snake River Gorge back in September 1974. His attempt failed but he survived, caught by the wind and carried to the canyon floor by his parachute.
From Shoshone, we cruised a few minutes up the road and visited Dierkes Lake which was bustling with recreation on a Saturday afternoon. There is even a diving board set up there for swimmers, and we saw others who preferred to cliff-dive into the blue-green water.
Our last stop before we headed separate ways was the I.B. Perrine Bridge. It was completed in 1976 and stands 486 feet above the canyon floor. Josh and I parked our Acuras at the north end of the bridge and walked down beneath it. The bridge is a popular place for “BASE” jumpers and we watched a couple of crazies jumping off it with parachutes and sailing to the river below.
I had a great time seeing some of Idaho’s beauty and I thank Josh for joining me for this adventure! He and I will be getting together soon for more drives. “I’m only 5-6 hours away from so many national parks!” he said. Only someone with 400,000 miles on his Acura would say “only” in reference to a 6-hour drive. Haha.
Here’s a video that contains a few of the photos from our trip as well as a short clip.
Heading out on a bright Saturday morning from Providence, Utah. The Wellsville Mountain Range in the distance will be snow-capped for awhile yet this year.
I-84 West was a pretty lonely place aside from a handful of truckers out and about.
Not long after crossing into Idaho, two freeways merged together.
I set my sights on Twin Falls.
Stay Alert – Stay Alive! It’s easy to get into a daze in this desolate stretch of southern Idaho.
Clever road name.
I took this one in Burley, Idaho for a friend named Conor. Didn’t have the chance to try the menu!
Crossing the 1966 Hansen Bridge.
Parked at the overlook of the ravine near Hansen Bridge.
Made it to Twin Falls!
Can’t miss this place: “Stinker” gas Station. The Stinker name was coined originally in 1936 when the first station opened in Twin Falls.
A few shots of the VW repair facility called R.S. Garner Enterprises on Main Street.
Getting closer to the falls!
Best sushi place in town!
Battle of the bugs.
Josh takes a minute to refuel (only 91 octane for the TSX!) and clean up his windshield.
Here’s where the odometer sat at that very moment: 400,798.
I followed Josh the 4 or 5 miles to the area on the south side of the Snake River Gorge where Shoshone Falls was located.
Quick photo-op.
Happened to enter right behind a nice looking Acura MDX.
Brochure in-hand and ready to roll.
Here are some shots of the falls.
I can only imagine what these must look like when water is at full capacity.
Looking westward through the canyon at some of the cliffs.
Small waterfalls alongside the road.
Parked at Dierkes Lake.
Josh crossing the Snake River on the Perrine Bridge.
And here’s a look eastward through the ravine.
View underneath the Perrine Bridge.
View to the west, including a golf course.
Back on the road to run up a few more miles en route to Logan, Utah.
Passed this Canterbury Green 1994-95 Legend L/LS sedan but the driver didn’t even notice my thumbs-up.
Thanks for coming along! And a huge thanks to Josh for being a great host in showing me around Twin Falls. Be sure and follow his blog at TSX Travels for more of his insightful posts about driving his Acura around Idaho.
drivetofive 