drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  529,096

Odometer (ILX):  72,767

Trip Distance:  354 Miles

111 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt said:

“The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison—beyond description; absolutely unparalleled throughout the wide world… Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children’s children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.”

Sixteen years later in 1919, the Grand Canyon was officially named as a national park.  I echo President Roosevelt’s sentiments and encourage any of you who’ve not yet seen the Grand Canyon to plan a trip there soon.

A little background on today’s destination:  The “Skywalk” attraction didn’t come around until about 7 years ago.  It’s a horseshoe-shaped glass platform 70 feet in length that extends from the canyon wall.  Anyone who’s afraid of heights should steer clear, but for me it posed a unique opportunity and I was thrilled to finally get the chance to experience it.  The $31 million structure is said to be able to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake and is engineered to hold the weight of 822 people @ 200 pounds each.  Max capacity is set at 120 people, though.

(photo credit – Hualapai Indian Reservation)

From our hotel in Kingman, Brad and I headed out in the ILX on an overcast Sunday morning and drove up US Highway 93 to the eastbound turnoff toward to the Skywalk, taking us through the trailer town of Dolan Springs.  The attraction is located on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, and thus a part of our entry fee went toward a surcharge for entering the Indian land.  Guess they’ve gotta make that $31M back somehow!  The last 9 miles of our drive on Diamond Bar Road were graded dirt/gravel, but that didn’t deter us.  You’ve all seen me off-road the ILX before.

The ILX felt right at home in the desert environment.

The Skywalk experience far exceeded expectations for me.  After parking the car, we checked in and picked up a map of the area. Included in the fare was a full meal as well as a shuttle ride to 3 different destinations and thousands of photo opportunities.  The first was called Hualapai Ranch.  It was an attempt at re-creating an old Western town, complete with a saloon and some stables.  We had our lunches there, and the portions & quality were great.  I went with the baked chicken.

The second stop, Eagle Point, was where action revved up.  The tour bus stopped and Brad and I raced off among a stampede of foreign-language-speaking tourists.  The canyon in all its splendor was there for the viewing.  It was unnerving to stand at the cliff’s edge and be buffeted by strong wind gusts.  We were ushered through a metal detector and got busted for attempting to take our cell phones onto the Skywalk – d’oh!  You see, no “personal effects” whatsoever are allowed.  No cameras and no phones.  Into a locker those items went.  We put disposable booties over our tennis shoes and took a step outside on the 4-pane glass with our eyes affixed on the canyon floor some 4,000 feet beneath us.  It was unreal.

There were actually gaps between the panes in the glass floor wide enough to stick a finger through.  I knelt down to show that to Brad and to poke my finger through the opening, and the lady standing next to me nearly passed out while watching me.  She was clutching onto the hand railing so hard her knuckles were white.  Ha!  An employed photographer was on-site to take our pictures – for a fee, of course.

The final stop of the Skywalk shuttle bus was to Guano Point, so named for a mining operation that took place there in the 1930’s where bat guano (dung) was extracted from the area.  The view surrounded us as we made our way to the end of the point.  Brad and I met people from all over the world as we offered to take pictures for others.

Fulfilled in our mission, we headed back toward the Phoenix area via Stockton Hill Road to Kingman.  A Las Vegas tour bus stirred up a huge cloud of dust ahead of me on the 9-mile dirt road that surely left my ILX needing its nostrils (air filter) needing to be cleaned or replaced once more, but it was well worth it.  Drive to Five attraction rating:  5 stars.

Here are a few of the pics from our trip, as well as a very short video.

Pierce Ferry Road, eastbound from US 93.

About 21 miles from the West Rim, we confronted this sign.

Made it!  Parking lot was paved despite the road being unpaved.

Lunch at Hualapai Ranch, after being greeted by these two cowboys.

Not bad!

The gift shop also had homemade fudge.  We tried a few samples.  Okay, a bunch of samples.

Eagle Point – a windy day but with great visibility.

Magnificent views all around.

Skywalk pictured here at left.  Future plans for the area are a high-end restaurant, a museum, and other amenities.

The Skywalk gets two thumbs up from Brad.  Check out those stylish booties.

This was my favorite perspective – just sitting down and looking through the glass.

Our photographer encouraged us to take this one.

More admiring the views from Eagle Point.

Warning sign from the mining equipment at Guano Point.

Back on the road again, stirring up a cloud of dust.  I had to laugh at the people who were taking their convertible Mustangs on the road with the tops down.  Hope they hit the car wash before returning those rentals.

Quick roadside photo op on the unpaved portion of Diamond Bar Road.

Who needs asphalt anyway?

Brad and I pit stopped for a few minutes to admire the Joshua Tree forest.

The colors of the desert were so vivid.

Dirty dirty.

Finally back at the house, and taking the old NSX out for a bite to eat.  Nice GQ pose, Brad.  Hey, follow this guy under “@bm89” on Instagram.  He’s meant to be famous! 

🙂

Love this sexy ride.

Hope you enjoyed the trip!

Sometime this weekend I get to install a $120 replacement foglamp assembly and a burned out bulb on the ILX.  My driver’s side foglight bulb lasted 71,400 miles before burning out, and the passenger side has had a crack in it for several thousand miles.  Time to get that front end fixed back up.

Odometer (Legend):  529,074

Odometer (ILX):  72,728

Trip Distance:  306 Miles

How would you like to walk out on a glass platform and look at the ground nearly 4,000 feet below?  Would that give you a little bit of vertigo?  (photo credit:  Hualapai Indian Reservation)

This weekend’s adventure was a visit to a hole in the ground that’s neither the deepest nor the widest in the world, but is nevertheless famous due to its size and colorful landscape:  The Grand Canyon.  My friend Brad flew in from New York to enjoy the view at one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Despite the fact that I live in the Grand Canyon state, I sure haven’t spent much time there lately.  I’ve only been a few times that I recall.  One was was eight years ago, in March 2006 when my Legend had 211,000 miles on it.

Keen Acura fans’ eyeballs will notice those 2004-2006 Acura TL 17″ wheels I was sporting at the time.

Another trip to the Grand Canyon was a railroad trip to the south rim in May 2011.  To a lot of people (both Arizonans and otherwise), the G.C. is a “see it once, never go back” type destination.  What they don’t realize is that the canyon offers a vastly different perspective depending on each of the various viewpoints available.

After enjoying brunch on Saturday morning in Tempe, Brad and I quickly hiked to the summit of Arizona State University’s “A” Mountain.  A gigantic yellow A, there since 1955, proudly communicates Tempe’s school spirit.

Later that afternoon, we headed northbound on Interstate 17 in the ILX toward Flagstaff, Arizona.  Along with the elevation gain from 1,100 feet to 7,000 feet, the temperature dipped accordingly.  87 degrees became 67 degrees by the time we arrived at historic San Francisco Street in Flagstaff.

We wandered around for a few minutes and stumbled across the community’s oldest pizza place – Alpine Pizzeria which first opened 41 years ago.  Dessert was served up at the Galaxy Diner, a Route 66 relic that I visited on my Twin Arrows drive back in September 2012.  The hot fudge sundae was every bit as tasty as I remembered it being.  After indulging, we hit the road once more and tuned in to XM channel 74 – we’d had enough pop music for the day.  Instead, our playlist was opera.  Brad’s a big-time opera fan and a frequent flyer of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.   I’m making an effort to diversify my musical interests, so I enjoyed a sampling of some of his favorite pieces.

It took us about two hours of driving westbound on I-40 across the pitch black night to arrive at our nightly destination in Kingman, exhausted but satisfied from a successful day.  The next morning, we would be wowed by one of Mother Nature’s most amazing features in scenic panorama view.

For that, check in tomorrow.  It’ll be worth your while.

Here are a few pictures from Saturday’s fun.

Brunch at NCOUNTER in Tempe.  I recommend the “loaded” omelet.

The 1918 Hayden flour Mill has served as an area landmark for nearly a century.  Tempe’s main street is named “Mill Avenue” for it.

Admiring the view of Tempe from the hike on “A” Mountain.

At the summit – only around 1,400 feet but it was a stair-stepping experience and still left me a bit winded!

Flagstaff, Arizona.  Home of the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks.

So, Brad accidentally dumped an entire shaker of peppers onto his slice of cheese pizza at Alpine.  And then he STILL ATE IT.

Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church on Cherry Street – love the architecture here.

Galaxy Diner, a great spot for food since the 1950’s.

Our waittress’ response when I ordered a hot fudge sundae:  “We’re out of ice cream.”  My disappointment reached epic levels.  She must’ve seen it in my face, because soon she cracked a grin and said she was kidding.  Sundaes for all!

Giving this XM channel a whirl for a change.  I didn’t even know it existed.  Look at me being all cultured.

Come back tomorrow!  The fun’s just getting started.

Odometer (Legend):  528,752

Odometer (ILX):  68,931

Trip Distance:  242 Miles

Would you get claustrophobic like me if you had to live inside an enclosed greenhouse for 2 years?

Imagine a self-contained world: a giant bubble that’s capable of supporting life as we know it.  Welcome to Biosphere 2.  Surprisingly few people have heard of a place in southern Arizona that 20 years ago was home to such an experiment.  Now owned by the University of Arizona Science Department, Biosphere 2 is a research facility that was built as a closed ecological system – the largest of its kind.  Biosphere 1, for those who are probably wondering like I was, is our own earth.

Yesterday’s outing may have been the largest I’ve organized to date.  It was attended by 15 of my friends in 8 separate (and very diverse!) vehicles.  After assembling at my place in Scottsdale, Arizona, we set out in the following caravan of vehicles.  It made for a nice parade.

• 2013 Acura ILX
• 1995 Acura Legend
• 2013 Audi RS5
• 2013 Audi S5
• 1997 BMW 740 iL
• 2013 Cadillac SRX
• 2000 Honda Accord
• 2013 Nissan 370Z

Kevin, Edward, and Cole rode along with me in the ILX.  I felt like the car actually handled better with the additional weight in there!  Despite the rain and wet roads, we made pretty good time in getting to Oracle, Arizona via historic Highway 79 which led us to the southeast from the Phoenix Valley.  After checking in, we were assigned to the 1:30 p.m. tour group and took a few minutes to visit the on-site cafe.

Constructed from 1987 to 1991, Biosphere 2 covers 3.14 acres.  Two missions were conducted in Biosphere 2 in the 1990s.  The first, from 1991 to 1993, and the second from March 1994 through September 1994.  Biosphere contains 5 different indoor biomes:  Desert, Savanna, Rainforest, Ocean, and Marsh.  During our 90-minute tour, we were shown through each of these by our guide, Ren.

Ren told us there there was a division among the 8 “Biospherians” who participated in the first mission which lasted two years.  Four of them wanted to allow the import of outside food & materials so that they could focus more on conducting science experiments and less on just trying to survive.  The other four wanted to stay true to the design of the experiment and be entirely self-sufficient.  The rift escalated.  Along with that, heightened levels of CO2 were taking their toll on everyone’s critical thinking skills, and a change in climate in some of the biomes (increasing moisture in the desert, for example), caused an overrun of insects.  Finally, the caloric intake was low so the diet wasn’t very good.  Some of these challenges are what drove that mission to its end.

Today, Biosphere 2 is a research facility used to study ecosystem processes under controlled conditions.  The University of Arizona operates it with the intent of better understanding how natural environments generate conditions that are suitable for life.  The overall goal is to improve the quality of life for us.  I found the tour educational and interesting.  After filling our brains with science, we hopped into our cars and traveled 9 miles to the Oracle Inn Steakhouse to fill our stomachs with some of the best grub in central Arizona.  Our last stretch of road took us up Highway 77 to Highway 177 to the old mining town of Superior.

Cole took DJ duties for most of our two-hour trip back to the Phoenix area, and we rocked out to slow jams like the classic 1997 K-Ci & JoJo hit, “All My Life.”  The ILX 7-speaker Premium Audio System was put to its limit while we sang along.  Many thanks to all my friends who joined on this adventure, in person or through the blog!

Below are all the pictures and a short video that I hope you’ll enjoy.

Pre-departure and my driveway/street started looking like a used car lot with more than a dozen cars parked all over the place.

Eastbound US 60, in hot pursuit of Aaron in the S5.

My crew in the ILX:  Kevin, Cole, Edward

Upon arrival in Oracle, the rains held up long enough for us to enjoy our tour without getting too wet.

Oddball fleet of cars.  Michael’s BMW, at over 280,000 miles, was the mileage king.  Also, apparently Joe didn’t get the memo about needing to back his Legend in for the photoshoot.

Sexy hind ends.

ILX, Z, and a couple of Audis that have way more horsepower than they know what to do with.

Checking into the Visitor Center.  Student tickets were $15 ea.

I think we may have overwhelmed the staff with our large group.

We were shown a 12-minute video before being introduced to our tour guide and heading into the facility.

Ren, our guide, used a portable mic and told us all the details about the facility and its operations.

The ocean, pictured far in the distance below, is 26 feet deep and holds 670,000 gallons of water.

Adjacent to that, we walked through a plastic curtain and into the biome known as the rainforest.

The rainforest has a waterfall and over 90 different plant species.  We could readily feel the difference in humidity as we entered this area.

Next we went through a mangrove forest and down into the desert.  Ren told us about the large “air handlers” that regulate the flow of air into this part of the Biosphere.  They are disguised to look like caves.

Our next stop was the basement.

My favorite part was when we walked through this tunnel that seemed to get smaller and smaller as we walked onward.  Someone commented that it felt like a scene from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Soon, we had to duck and watch our heads as we went through a triangle shaped opening.

Here we are arriving inside one of two “lungs” in the facility.  These are air-volume control devices.  There is a 20+ ton metal saucer in the middle of the room, connected to the surrounding walls by a rubber curved ceiling.  The entire ceiling can move up and down to regulate the volume of air within Biosphere.

It felt like a scene from outer space.

To get to the outside world from there, we had to pass through two “air lock” doors.  Each time, a huge gust of wind would hit us in the face as the pressure inside the Biosphere started regulating with the pressure from outside.

A few more instructions and then we continued back inside.

Here is the kitchen where the Biospherians prepared their meals.  Ren told us they would only eat meat once a week.

This is a look inside one of the bedrooms.

Next up: Lunch in Oracle

Michael’s 740 was looking great.

Joe’s Cashmere Silver Metallic Legend Type II has over 160,000 miles on it.

Woody made a friend at the Oracle Inn.

Lunch is served.

Group photo-op at the Oracle Inn before heading out again.

• Tyson, Paul, Michael, Woody
• Joe, Cole, Aaron, Kevin
• Jim, Edward, Kelvin, Chad, Kevin
• Alan, Matt, Brad

Let’s roll!

Everyone taking their seats in the ILX for the drive to Winkelman on Highway 77.

This was my favorite stretch of the day’s drive by far.

Sunset made for some nice lighting as we headed up the two-laner.

Rest area in Superior, Arizona with the Z, the RS5, and the ILX

In we went for the final stretch.