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Quick Overnight Utah Trip in the NSX, with Route 66 Stops

Posted in NSX, Road Trip, Utah on May 12, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (NSX): 104,315

Trip Distance: 400 Miles

I’m sitting at Gate C25 at the Las Vegas International Airport and I already somehow ate $17 worth (!) of spaghetti and meatballs from the restaurant down the hallway, so why not kill a few minutes on WordPress? I squeezed a little road trip out of this regular work week and it was a fun one.

I’ve been needing to get a few maintenance items addressed on my 1992 Acura NSX for some time now. The Anti-Lock-Braking (ABS) system has been on the fritz, the stereo emits a deafening static noise when you rotate the volume knob, and the small struts that hold up the rear trunk as well as the glass engine hatch have lost their holding power. I can’t complain too much – the car, for the 4.5 years and 24,000 miles I’ve owned it, has required very little in maintenance aside from oil changes. My detailed 100,000 mile rollover post is here.

At 24 years old, some maintenance needs are expected. I reflected on my 400-mile drive last night from Scottsdale, Arizona to St. George, Utah. It’s pretty remarkable I can hop into a car that old – the oldest I own, in fact – and spend the next 6.5 hours driving in complete confidence that it will get me reliably to my destination. And it did. Unlike most cars today, this one isn’t a rolling mega-computer. It doesn’t have GPS. It doesn’t have adaptive cruise control. Heck, it doesn’t even have power steering. But you know what? It’s fun to drive.

Along the way, I enjoyed some of the sights and sounds of northern Arizona: namely, some Route 66 hot spots. Kingman, Arizona is a halfway point on my Phoenix-to-Utah trip. I routinely stop there for fuel (so frequently, in fact, that I have the clerks at the Mobil gas station on a first name basis). But I rarely venture off the beaten path to take a look around at the sights on what used to be the “Mother Road.” Places like this Mr D’s restaurant pay homage to a simpler time, with lots of color and greasy food because fewer people worried about nutrition facts.

Kingman still embraces its Route 66 heritage strongly and cruising along old 66, you’ll see lots of neat architecture that’s probably changed very little in the last 50 or 60 years. An old power station has been converted into a Visitor Center, but sadly it had shut down for the day just prior to my arrival into town. I continued on to Las Vegas, Nevada, stopping just briefly near the shores of Lake Mead for a photo at sunset.

Today, I telecommuted from Utah while paying a few visits to family members. I caught a 5:00 p.m. shuttle bus to Vegas, and I’m about to get on my one-hour quick flight to Phoenix. Speaking of which, they’re about to call my boarding group so I’d better jet – literally. Big week ahead, as I’ll be departing Friday on a nearly 8,000-mile journey to Alaska and back. And I’m taking you with me. So, start packing.

Get your kicks on Route 66

Breakfast with mom

NSX keeping its new friends company: My brother’s 1968 Nova and BMW M3

Three nice looking two-doors in a row. NSX power is far less. But you know which one I’d take on a mountain drive.

Talk soon!

21 Comments »

Weekend Road Trip: St. George, Utah, Snow Canyon State Park, and Strawberry, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip, Utah on May 1, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,124

Odometer (ILX): 162,648

Trip Distance: 886 Miles

Sometimes the best part about planning a road trip is throwing the plan out the window and winging it entirely. What was intended to be a hiking weekend at Zion National Park with a dozen friends and family members ended up getting rained out and rescheduled. While I had been looking forward to checking out the 14-mile “West Rim Trail” hike, Mother Nature had other plans that included thunderstorms in Southern Utah.

Still, my friend Rob and I made the trip up to see what kind of fun we could dig up. And we found plenty. On Friday we worked from “home,” or in this case, from mom’s kitchen table and Wifi network while she served up waffles, “fruit pizza,” and other snacks to keep us fueled. I only wish my office had such amenities! That evening, we met up with an old friend Josh who I’d known since high school but hadn’t seen for over a decade.

Saturday morning started out with mountain of French Toast at Bear Paw Cafe on Main Street in downtown St. George, followed by a hike on the Red Hill (also called the “sugarloaf”) with Rob. The rain wasn’t yet coming down heavily so we scrambled up the rocks for a view overlooking the community.

sgu

Later that afternoon, we visited Snow Canyon State Park off State Route 18. Snow Canyon is a 7,400-acre park just outside St. George city limits that is part of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. It has nearly 40 miles of hiking trails and was set aside in 1959 as a state park. Snow Canyon is one of my favorite places for automotive photography and videos. Rob and I hiked around the sand dunes for a little while before heading to a family BBQ.

snow_canyon_2

Thumbs up!

For the return trip to Phoenix, I wanted to introduce Rob to some other parts of Utah & Arizona that he hadn’t yet seen, so we opted to circle back to Phoenix via Flagstaff as opposed to back-tracking to Las Vegas where we’d come from. About 90 minutes into our drive we’d reached the 7,900-foot-elevation Jacob Lake Inn, a historic lodge just north of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. There’s a small gas station, motel, restaurant, and gift shop on the site. I couldn’t resist the grilled cheese sandwich so we stayed for a bite to eat before continuing on our way. Spy the ILX in the window reflection here!

The Colorado River looked a lot like chocolate milk when we stopped briefly for a photo at the Navajo Bridge along Highway 89A about 40 miles later. The old 1928 bridge has long-since been bypassed by a newer one, but pedestrians are allowed to walk out across it so we did that to get a good view of the river below.

Further adding to the adventure of our return trip was a sign along Interstate 17 just south of Flagstaff that stated “Road Closed 89 Miles Ahead.” Rob took a peek at traffic on his phone and confirmed that things were at a standstill near the Bloody Basin Road exit just a little north of Phoenix. So, we did some quick calculations and decided to make a detour at Camp Verde to Payson, which would add about 30-40 minutes to our trip but most certainly avoid any sort of delay from the road closure issue. That seemed like the most logical plan of attack, so we went with it, and I’m glad we did! Highway 260 from I-17 to the Highway 87 junction was a gorgeous two-lane windy road with very little traffic.

Soon we found our way in a few small towns on the outskirts of Payson, including one called Strawberry. Most homes in that area have log cabin architecture which adds to a cozy feeling in the community. Strawberry is also home to the state’s oldest still-standing schoolhouse, built in 1885, so we had to make a stop there.

“Old school.” Get it? Never mind.

By the time we got back to my place in Scottsdale, it was nearly 6 p.m. and we felt like we’d spent the entire day in the car, but we covered some beautiful ground and enjoyed the road trip! Below are the rest of my photos.

Thanks to PAPA member Larry Edsall for giving me this awesome mousepad!

Dinner with my buddy Josh

This is how long I’ve known Josh: We took these photos of our Hondas together in January 2001. Over 15 years ago! Mine was the red Prelude of course.

Prepare for takeoff!

Breakfast with mom, sporting my NALM shirt of course

Check out that French toast from Bear Paw Cafe!

View of St. George from the Red Hill

tyson_rob

Old tunnel into St. George that has been bypassed by modern roads, and now serves as a storage area.

Picking up my 5-year-old niece Vivienne

Family BBQ with my brothers Payton and Bentley, and mom

Rob getting cozy at the Jacob Lake Inn

Leaving the Navajo Bridge

Check out this Acura brand video entitled “30 Years Young” – pretty cool stuff!

12 Comments »

Group Road Trip to Skull Valley, Arizona & Kyle’s Pontiac GTO 100,000 Milestone

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on April 16, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,032

Odometer (ILX): 160,566

Trip Distance: 253 Miles

One of these things is not like the others.

garage

No matter how hard James tried, he couldn’t get his weekly test vehicle, a 2016 Nissan Titan, to blend in with the rest of the participants on this weekend’s half-day jaunt to the Prescott National Forest in north-central Arizona. Maybe that’s because the Titan is a 3.5-ton, 20-foot-long behemoth compared to the cars it accompanied. No matter; we don’t discriminate. In fact, it was fun to get a look at Nissan’s fancy latest truck.

group

It was a perfect day to get out of town (when is it ever not?) so we rallied the troops around 10:00 in the morning and 7 of us headed north in search of cool weather, curvy roads, and tasty eats. Sounds like a winning formula for my kind of Saturday. Our hodge-podge of vehicles spanned a variety of types:

Brad: 2013 Audi RS5
Jack: 2006 Acura RSX 5-speed
James: 2016 Nissan Titan
Kyle: 2005 Pontiac GTO 6-speed
Tyson: 2013 Acura ILX 6-speed

Chandler and Rob also came along for the ride, and they swapped between the cars throughout the day.

i17

This was a special day for Kyle’s GTO as it surpassed the 100,000 mile mark not long after starting our drive. Since interstate traffic was moderately heavy and we had 4 other cars in tow, Kyle opted not to pull over to the shoulder but Rob as passenger was able to capture the odometer reading just in time. Kyle’s car was by far the loudest of our bunch with its roaring exhaust system that probably activates car alarms with just its burble.

kyle_100k

kyle_100k_odo

It wasn’t long after our fuel stop in Wickenburg on US Highway 93 that we veered eastward on Highway 89. Looming ahead of us was what we call the Yarnell Grade: a sharp-curved stretch of highway with two lanes in each direction that climbs from about 2,000 feet in elevation to about 4,700 feet.

yarnell_grade

Some of the turns are posted as low as 25 miles per hour so it’s quite a technical piece of road. Sadly, this is where James had a distinct disadvantage in his pickup truck. I was still impressed at how well he tossed it around given its heft.

winding_road

A Corvette club had parked its cars all the way down the main street in the tiny town of Yarnell, so we didn’t stop there but continued on to the junction about 8 miles down the road where we would head toward our destination of Skull Valley. Nestled in the mountains on Highway 10 lies a teeny little town of 743 people. While amenities are scarce – in fact, just one market – Skull Valley is only 20 miles from the larger town of Prescott so it’s not entirely isolated from civilization.

tyson_skull_valley

The town’s name comes from human remains that were found when the area was settled. Those remains were determined to have been the result of battles between the Native Americans and the early settlers in the 1860s.

gto_rsx

We snagged a few photographs and watched a freight train go clanking by, then changed things up a bit by swapping cars. I took the keys to Jack’s RSX, Kyle took my ILX, and Jack took Kyle’s GTO. Right off the bat I noticed a few things about the RSX that I fell in love with. The overall visibility is amazing thanks to thin A-pillars and a low hoodline. I love how the gauges are set up with zero mph / RPM in the 6:00 position on the dial.

skull_group

Since Jack’s car is not a Type-S, that means it only has 155 horsepower as opposed to the 201 that the S got. But you honestly can’t tell! The car revved excitedly and its light chassis felt nimble. The 5-speed gearbox has that perfect Honda seamlessness to it, and on some of the steeper grades I downshifted to 3rd or 4th gears to get the revs up. The steering wheel has a small diameter and good feel, and perhaps what surprised me most was just how tight and quiet the cabin was for being 10 years old. It made my 7-year-newer ILX seem so loud in comparison.

But, apparently Kyle liked my music selections while he was driving it…

prescott

Rosa’s Pizzeria in downtown Prescott was the next destination for our hungry bunch, so we stashed our vehicles in a 4-story parking garage a few blocks away and wandered over to grab a table. Our waiter had it pretty easy since 6 of the 7 of us ordered the exact same thing for lunch: The “Rosa’s Special” Chicken Martini. Chandler was the only one who had to go against the grain and make things difficult.

lunch

We made a quick visit to Lynx Lake on the way out of town and it was bustling with people out for Saturday recreation, then completed our loop on Highway 69 and I-17 back to the Phoenix area.

lynx_lake

Hope you enjoyed coming along for the drive! The rest of my photos are below.

Northbound on I-17

i17a

Chandler as passenger in the RSX

My ILX as seen from the sideview mirror of James’ Titan

Check that out! Look: a Sugar Daddy and a Big Hunk

Fuel stop at Mobil in Wickenburg

Heading up toward Yarnell on Highway 89

Next stop Kirkland, then Skull Valley, then Prescott. I covered Bagdad in another post.

These pumps in Skull Valley were out of order.

Lunch spot in Prescott

rosas

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Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Phoenix Ignition Car Show, & Mom’s New Infiniti G35

Posted in California, ILX, Legend, NSX, Road Trip on March 28, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,910

Odometer (ILX): 158,951

Trip Distance: 558 Miles

I attended a 60th birthday gathering for my friend Chuck last Wednesday. As I was just getting ready to head out for another commitment (my second of 3 appointments that evening), he made the comment, “One of these days I’m going to put Velcro on your chair so you’re forced to stick around longer than an hour.” Ha – sounds about right!

legend_desert_center_2

It was a double-duty mileage weekend out here in the American Southwest. My Legend coupe and my ILX both saw some highway use on a trip out to Southern California for sunshine and relaxation. Since the early 1900s, the desert city of Palm Springs has blossomed and grown as a destination for its hot springs, architecture, and tourism in the surrounding landscape. I’ve visited many times over the last few years and it’s an easy 4-hour drive door-to-door from my place in Scottsdale, Arizona.

legend_workstation

Ever the king of multi-tasking, I had to stop twice at gas stations and respond to some work emails. I was in my 1994 Legend LS since my friend, Justin, would be heading out later on in the evening in my 2013 ILX. The drive into the sunset was enjoyable and I made really good time. Even at over 540,000 miles, the Legend is still a great highway cruiser than revs at fewer than 2,500 RPM at 80 miles per hour.

tramway_sign

One of the attractions I’d been wanting to see in Palm Springs for a very long time is the “Aerial Tramway,” a 2.5 mile, 10-minute ride that climbs in a cable car from 2,600 feet to 8,500 feet in elevation. It opened in 1963 and climbs in elevation through a rugged canyon to the top of San Jacinto Peak. Justin and I headed to the tramway station on Friday morning and the wait time was about an hour until the next available departure at 12:40 p.m.

tram_car

The ascent wasn’t without some drama. I have both a moderate fear of heights and a slight degree of motion sickness, so after lift-off when the interior of the 80-passenger car started spinning around, it took me a minute before I could even feel comfortable opening my eyes to look outside. I remember being very grateful that there were a few windows open to let a breeze through so I could get some fresh mountain air.

view

For the $25/adult price of admission I felt like I got my money’s worth! The view from the Mountain Station at the top was spectacular (and weather quite a bit cooler than where we’d started). There are quite a few amenities including a restaurant and snack bar. We indulged in a $5 tray of nachos and some potato wedges before getting ready to hop on the next available car and make our descent.

tyson_in_tram_car

I got back from Palm Springs just in time for a car swap at home, then headed to the 2nd annual “Ignition” car show at the Arizona Fairgrounds in central Phoenix. There were probably 50 vehicles in attendance, spanning a wide range of types. The centerpiece was a 1960 Bentley, but at the other end of the spectrum was a $600 Chrysler LeBaron convertible (think “Planes, Trains, & Automobiles” movie car). I represented with the only Acura, displaying my 1992 NSX. Midway through the day, I was asked to say a few words about the car over the loudspeaker and the master of ceremonies commented on the signature on my glove compartment, which belongs to RealTime Racing driver Peter Cunningham.

Another highlight of the weekend was taking delivery of a new car for my mom. At the same birthday party referenced in my opening paragraph, I happened to be seated next to someone named John who I was meeting for the first time. John and I got engaged in “car talk” and I came to find out that he had just listed for sale his 2004 Infiniti G35 online. What blew me away was the odometer reading: 20,192 miles. On a 12-year-old car!

So my interest was piqued and I relayed the information to my mother who happened to be looking for a (larger, car-seat-friendly) replacement for her 2010 Volkswagen Eos convertible. Over the next 24 hours, she struck a deal with John and on Sunday, I showed up to take delivery of the vehicle on her behalf.

It was every bit as immaculate as described. It’s painted a brilliant Garnet Fire Metallic with Willow leather interior. Power comes from a 3.5-liter V6 engine with 260 horsepower and the transmission is a 5-speed automatic. Beyond the standard equipment, the car has the following:

Premium Package (Bose Audio, Glass Sunroof, Dual Zone Temp, and more): $3,200
Aero Package (Rear Spoiler, Diffusers): $550
Sport-Tuned Suspension Package (17″ Alloy Wheels, Sport-Tuned Springs): $425
Body-Color Splash Guards: $120
Price as Equipped: $35,045

When John drove the car off the lot with 36 miles on the odometer on March 20, 2004, it right away became his special occasion car. Neighbors would say, “You must have a date,” each time it would leave the garage. (His daily driver was a white Chevy S-10 pickup).

Over the last 12 years, he paid close attention to detail and maintenance, changing the oil and fluids himself. He has kept detailed notes on everything done to the car, and during our transaction he walked me through all the paperwork. Most used cars don’t even come with an original window sticker. This one not only came with that, but also with full books & records, a 4-page handwritten maintenance log, even a printed page from Infiniti.com from when John “built” his car online before taking delivery.

The car has found a good home and now resides in my garage for 2 weeks until mom flies down to get it.

Here are the rest of the pics from this action-packed last few days!

The Legend coupe in Desert Center, California

Morning view in Palm Springs

My friend Scott taking a spin in the ILX

Road ascending “Tram Way” to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Staging area for the tramway with a man-made waterfall

View toward San Jacinto Peak

With Justin at the summit

Headed back down toward civilization

Hanging with other friends that afternoon, Chris & Vince

Out and about on the town later in the evening

Scott’s 1965 Mustang interior

Photos from the Ignition Car Show: Tyson and a Titan

Grassy lawn on the west side of the Coliseum

Old Pontiac Bonneville with only 14,000 original miles

And a few more photos from the day I got the G35 for mom

From the driver’s seat

Back at the house with the ILX

Interior still smells new

Tucked away with the NSX until mom’s arrival

Window sticker at $35,045

Other records and paperwork

27 Comments »

Salton Sea, California Road Trip Part 2: Slab City, East Jesus, & Niland Mud Pots

Posted in Blog, California, ILX, Road Trip on March 21, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,248

Odometer (ILX): 158,038

Trip Distance: 266 Miles

“Uhh, guys. We have a problem,” said Jason with a look of despair as we were just getting ready to hop in the cars and continue our Southern California tour last Saturday. I couldn’t think of what could possibly be the problem. My eyes immediately went to the tires of his car thinking he might have a flat. “I locked my keys in the trunk,” he told us. My mind started rushing with the complexity of the situation. Here we were, 4 miles down a dirt road in a teeny town with only 1,000 people, standing in a field next to some geothermal mud pots.

If it had been 30 years ago, we might have had to go into town and summon help the old fashioned way. But the solution was pretty clear and pretty flawless: James hit the OnStar button on the overhead console of his 2016 Chevy Malibu and summoned help. The representative was able to patch us through to an available locksmith about 30 miles away in Brawley. Meanwhile, we had about an hour to kill, so I sat in the backseat of the Malibu and took advantage of its WiFi hotspot and air conditioning vents since it was 90 degrees outside. Technology has really made even an emergency situation feel pretty dang convenient. Help came to the rescue:

We pick up today’s story after our visit to Salvation Mountain near Niland and take it even deeper into the “weird category.” Imagine a place where you can take a vehicle, tent, trailer, or even corrugated tin and pop up a dwelling and just stay there as long as you want. It’s the “last free place in America,” say some.

Slab City, USA. If you want to live in the middle of the desert, the land is yours for the taking. Jason, James, and I headed eastward on a dirt road from Salvation Mountain and entered a wide expanse of land that was littered – literally – with peoples’ belongings and makeshift residences. A man playing guitar atop an entrance sign looked like he might have been a permanent resident.

I’d seen a hand-painted sign promoting a library of some sort, so I decided to head that direction and see what we could find. The washboard road was dusty and I lost sight of James in my rearview mirror as I left his white Malibu in a cloud. But soon I saw a big painted arrow which pointed me in the direction of the library’s parking lot. “24 hour Library,” it said.

Here we met some locals. While browsing the books in this open-air shack, I saw a couch and a couple of chairs set up around a chess set. An old man in a cowboy hat came up and greeted us, cigarette in hand. “John,” his name we later learned, proceeded to give us a warm welcome to Slab City and provide the run-down on everything we possibly wanted to know. “You guys skateboard?” he asked. “You guys want to float the canal?” His stories were endless. The library, as it turns out was operated by a one-legged woman and her boyfriend named Caveman, who weren’t there that day. (“But don’t ask about her leg,” he said. “She lost it train-track hopping and that’s about all she wants to say.”)

For being set up in a shack, this library was remarkably well organized by topic or theme. A “Google Tree” contained the encyclopedia / reference section. John, and another guy who surfaced who was also named John, extended an invitation to the upcoming Prom Night in Slab City where they’ll have live music and other entertainment along with a “formal” (tongue in cheek) dance. There was a table spray painted “Free” with all sorts of garbage up for grabs. I asked John & John if it ever rained in Slab City (wondering how all the books are so well-preserved). They said it only happens a couple of times a year. They both heartily recommended we take the time to visit a place called East Jesus, down the road, so we headed that direction after getting our fill of the library.

“EJ” the sign led us, so I stirred up another clout of dust in my ILX and my fellow road-trippers and I entered the next quirky phase of our day’s journey. There was a literal fork in the road. I hit the brakes so quickly out of excitement that I activated the ABS system and skidded to a stop on the dirt road.

In East Jesus, it’s art for days. People have taken garbage and made things out of it. An old Honda Civic sedan at the entrance was covered in circuit boards and bullet shells. There was a wall of television sets with messages painted on them.

This was perhaps the most oddball collection of “stuff” I think I’ve ever seen. I’ll let the pictures and video tell the story here.

Jason, James, and I had lunch back in Niland at the Buckshot Deli & Diner. The hamburger meat is homemade and delicious, and I chugged two huge glasses of their lemonade. A sign on the wall read: Food choices: 1) Take it. 2) Leave it.

The last place on my “to-see” list was something I’d read about online called the mud pots. Just 6 miles from where we had lunch, but about 4 of those miles were on a dirt road. That had never stopped us before, so we decided to check them out. Mud bubbles up from the ground and sometimes shoots into the air. Over time, it has formed little mounds of dirt. It reminded me a lot of the geothermal activity at Yellowstone National Park.

I got a little too close to a fresh mud stream and ended up ankle-deep in it. My shoe was so heavy afterward. The other guys had a good laugh about it. The good news was that I had a pair of flip-flops in my trunk ready for just such an emergency.

Mud pot video:

It was around this time when we were just getting ready to part ways and Jason had his keys-in-the-trunk incident. A nice man in a pickup truck gave us bottled waters while we waited. I was surprised it took the roadside assistance guy no more than 5 minutes to get access to Jason’s car and get us back on our way after he’d arrived. James and I headed east on Highway 78 while Jason made his way to Interstate 8 and we split up the threesome. Our route took us through the Imperial Sand Dunes – also called Algodones Dunes – which span 45 miles in length by 6 miles in width.

There were lots of people out in off-road vehicles enjoying them. The highway itself was a bit of a roller-coaster with lots of dips posted 55 miles per hour but a lot of fun when taken at about 10 mph over that.

We dined in Blythe, California – reunited with Interstate 10 and our favorite diner, the Courtesy Coffee Shop. The grilled cheese was just what I needed to fuel me sufficiently for the final 2 hours of the drive back into Arizona and home to Scottsdale.

Here are the rest of my pics from our adventurous day!

Inside the library at Slab City

Lounge area inside the libary

“Google Tree”

Bathroom break in the middle of nowhere along the dirt road

Not even sure what this thing is

Salton Sea, California Road Trip Part 1: Bombay Beach & Salvation Mountain

Posted in California, Ghost Town, ILX, Road Trip on March 20, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,210

Odometer (ILX): 157,959

Trip Distance: 315 Miles

I have a not-so-secret fascination with abandoned places. There’s something that pulls me in and makes me wonder, “Why’d everyone leave?” For that reason, the Salton Sea in Southern California made its way onto my must-see list a long time ago, and I just this weekend got around to finally checking it out. My friends Jason and James joined for the party.

Once a popular destination for tourists (“The Miracle in the Desert”), this is one lake that’s definitely not on anyone’s recreation radar anymore. It’s more salty than the Pacific Ocean, and getting 1% saltier in each passing year because it has no outlet. It’s still California’s largest lake and, a surprise to many, was actually created by accident.

For millions of years the Colorado River flowed through the Imperial Valley where the Salton Sea is located. It’s at a low point in the region and positioned right over the San Andreas Fault. Before 1905, the lake bed was mostly dry, but an engineering “accident” diverted gallon after gallon of irrigation water there for two full years before repairs were completed and the inflow stopped. In that time, the lake bed filled up and even overtook some small towns. The small influx of water that now makes its way into the sea is enough to keep its level current, though it’s anticipated the level will progressively get lower between now and 2021.

Today the Salton area has a certain allure to it for those of us who love off-beat destinations. Where else can you find a banana museum, remains of a mobile home park, mud pots, and a giant painted mountain all in a day’s drive? My road trip partners and I were determined to see what kind of stuff we could uncover. After a hearty breakfast at Denny’s on Saturday morning, we departed from our motel in Indio and headed along Highway 111 which hugs the eastern shores of the lake. We were in three vehicles: my 2013 Acura ILX, James’ 2016 Chevy Malibu (press / loaner car), and Jason’s 2004 Mazda 6.

Sadly, the International Banana Museum – which really appeared to be no more than a convenience store with a little building attached – was shut down when we pulled up. From the looks of the bars over the windows, it felt more like a prison of some sorts. A typewritten note was taped to the front window stating that the hours were 12:00 p.m. to dusk, so I guess we missed that opportunity since it was only about 9:00 a.m. At least it saved us the $1 admission fee.

We next visited the North Shore Beach & Yacht club, which sounds all sorts of classy, but it’s really not. Maybe at one time it was. Today it’s been restored – it’s a nice looking mid-century modern building designed by Albert Frey and originally built in 1959. It was abandoned by 1984 and left to vandals and pillagers until a 2009 grant allocated some money toward the rebuild. We peeked our heads in only long enough to see that were was a gymnasium and some sort of community center.

Random geography lesson: Calexico is a town on the border with Mexico. Its Mexican counterpart across the international line is Mexicali. I like how they’ve mixed “California” and “Mexico” in the naming of those cities. Another 25 or so miles down Highway 111, I hit the right blinker and led our threesome of cars onto “Avenue A” in Bombay Beach, California. In the 1950s and 1960s, Bombay Beach was a popular resort destination, even called a paradise.

But that all changed within the first couple of decades as the ecosystem changed and the quality of the water deteriorated. People departed en masse by the 1990s as dead fish washed up on the beaches. While pretty from afar, the beaches are no place for sunbathing. The water is dirty and it smells about like you’d expect it to. The few residents who remain live in trailers and must keep to themselves, since we didn’t see a single soul out and about in any yard. Our drive took us down to 5th Street where we proceeded to make a loop – or square, rather – around the entire town.

Our attention was quickly drawn to the ruins we were passing. There were abandoned homes lining the street with elaborate graffiti paintings all over them. I backed the ILX into one driveway of a home that looked almost move-in ready. NOT.

We drove up over a dike and to the beach which had a wooden boat on a stand. The water’s edge was littered with dead fish and the flies were abundant. Allow me to introduce my new boat: “Miss Take.”

I decided we should stop for a soda at the Bombay Market and that was a cultural experience in itself. Talk about a one-stop shop. I found the 7-Up I wanted, but what surprised me was the variety of other stuff available. “Step right in to the gift shop area,” said a sign. But there was no separate area. It was just a single shelf. There were T-shirts for sale with the logo “Living In Paradise.” Surely out of sarcasm, right? Maybe not! A woman in a straw hat behind us in the check out line had nothing but raves to say about the town. “I just came from Indian Wells and it’s the most stuck-up place I’ve ever been,” she said. “Bombay is at the complete other end of the scale.”

We made one more pass through the center of town, make sure to note that the bar there, “Ski Inn,” is the lowest bar in the western hemisphere. That must be due to the fact that Bombay Beach is America’s lowest elevation community, at 223 feet below sea level. (Reminded me of when I visited the lowest point in North America, Badwater Basin in Death Valley). I was ready to move on so we hit Highway 111 to our next wacky destination near Niland, California: “Salvation Mountain.”

So here’s the scoop on Salvation Mountain: A guy named Leonard Knight spent his lifetime dumping buckets of paint onto a hillside in the barren desert, creating both a living space for himself as well as a religious statement for all who pass by. The site is absolutely vibrant with colors and covered in Bible verses and Christian sayings. “God Is Love” is a recurring theme.

A yellow-brick (but not really brick) path leads up a stairway to the cross perched atop the tallest portion of the site. We took a walk through the area and noticed that people had been leaving keepsakes of all sorts in different rooms – driver licenses, student ID cards, photographs. The construction method for Leonard’s creation was similar to the way the Navajo Indians built their hogans – hay bales and straw were the main building materials. The place reminded me a little of Phoenix’s Mystery Castle.

Knight spent the last years of his life in a long-term care facility for dementia, and he died in 2014, but the site lives on thanks to volunteers who staff it daily. Oh, and they are taking donations of latex paint if anyone has a gallon or two to spare.

Thanks for joining for this first part of the trip. Come back for the second half next time!

More pics here. First, a pit stop in Quartzsite at the Tyson RV & Mobile Home Park, with my road trip snack essentials.

Dinner on Friday night at Mario’s Italian Cafe in Indio with James & Jason

Jason checking his oil in the 187,000 mile 2004 Mazda 6 on Saturday morning pre-departure.

Int’l Banana Museum sign

Your $1 entry fee is refundable if you make a “purchace.”

NSBYC: North Shore Beach & Yacht Club. A lot more exotic sounding than it really is.

Looking southbound on desolate Highway 111 along the eastern shores of the lake.

Graffiti in Bombay Beach: “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter.”

Needs a little TLC, but a great fixer-upper.

I hope this graffiti isn’t some sort of gang sign that could get me in trouble (Leif, if you’re reading this, I’m thinking of you!)

The ILX looking over Salton Sea.

Garbage and dead fish all over the place.

Jason and James

Perfect for a swim, no?

T-shirts in the market

Entrance sign to Salvation Mountain

Painted truck at Salvation Mountain

More very soon!

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Dad’s Visit, NSX Configurator Website, & Other Updates

Posted in Arizona, Hikes, ILX, Legend, Road Trip, Vigor on March 3, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,181

Odometer (ILX): 156,073

My mailbox was overflowing with Acura maintenance coupon postcards yesterday afternoon. Every time they have some sort of promotion I seem to get multiple notices – but hey, I’m not complaining. Especially when the main featured car is Ludacris‘ 1993 Legend sedan.

Clever stuff, people!

And I might be taking them up on this $28.95 oil change at Acura of Tempe the next time I get over there.

The one thing that does put the enthusiasts in a tizzy is the fact that the tagline for the promotion is “Keep the Acura you Love Maintained for Life.” And just exactly how are we supposed to do that when so many critical parts have been discontinued? Thus, us true ” Legend lifers” are left to dumpster dive and go junkyarding every so often to find the parts we’re looking for.

CHECK OUT THESE NEW PLATES! This’ll go on my Legend sedan to replace the existing set. I couldn’t believe the plate combo was available when I went to search for it a couple of months ago. Don’t mind if I do!

Perfect use for this emoji.

It would be selfish of me to keep all 300 days of Phoenix sunshine per year completely to myself, so once a year my dad & stepmom travel down from Utah to partake. I was happy to share some rays. Having lived in Arizona now for 10 years, I definitely have my favorite hot-spots that we try to visit each time I have friends or family in town, but every once in awhile I throw a new destination in the mix to spice things up a bit.

Over the weekend, I introduced them to Sedona on a short overnighter (2.5 hour drive each way in the ILX) to explore the red rocks landscape of that area. Aside from hiking Devil’s Bridge which I’ve blogged about a few times in the past, we also made a visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross – a church built in 1956 directly into a rock formation.

A definite highlight of their visit was our dining experience on Saturday night. I’d made reservations at Compass Arizona Grill, a revolving restaurant on the 24th floor of the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Phoenix.

My dad’s not big on heights (and for that matter, neither am I) so the ride up to the top in an exterior-facing elevator was just the start of a pretty exciting evening. The restaurant has fixed exterior windows in a circular form with a floor inside them that spins around, making one complete revolution every hour. I was slightly concerned about the implications of being prone to motion sickness and having to sit through a dinner while in motion, but it didn’t end up bothering me at all. Best of all, our 6:30 start time meant we hit the sunset lighting perfectly.

Our high-class ride of choice that evening was my green 1994 Vigor, shined up for the occasion. We also put a few miles on the ILX (Sedona trip) and the Legend coupe (airport run) over the course of dad & Tanya’s 4-day visit. Many thanks to them for taking the time to come see me. I’m extending an open invitation to anyone who reads this – if you’re a fan of road tripping and want to explore the southwest with me and my friends, come on down to visit!

Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend adventures.

Opening night dinner at Oregano’s – our favorite place for a Pizza Cookie.

Meeting up with Chandler and Jack for “Canal Convergence” festival at the Scottsdale Waterfront.

While rummaging through a few old photos, I dug up one taken in 2001 – when I was 20 years old – of me in my Mormon missionary garb standing next to my then-dream car, an Acura Vigor. I figured it would be fitting to take a picture of that picture, in front of my Vigor!

Putting dad to work on home improvements, including replacement of some trim in the garage.

Quick stop in New River at the abandoned gas station called Jack Ass Acres

Just about to enter Sedona, Arizona on Highway 179 – the Red Rock Scenic Byway

Checked in at the Sky Ranch Lodge in Sedona, near the airport

Doing some shopping in the Uptown district

The only McDonald’s in the world with turquoise arches

Midway through our Devil’s Bridge hike

Tanya and me on the bridge. Dad was a little nervous for us here.

With Tanya at the chapel

View from inside the chapel

ILX in Sedona

Dinner group at the restaurant

Great way to start a Sunday morning: Brunch at Cafe ZuZu inside the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale

Tyson, Linh, Tanya, Craig

Airport run in the Legend later in the afternoon

A few other bits of news to share with you:

Just days after I posted my recent “Magic Fives” blog entry highlighting my 155,555 milestone on the ILX, my mom upstaged me. Her 2010 Volkswagen EOS turned over 55,555 miles at 51 degrees at 55 miles per hour at 8:55 in the morning. Congrats, and nicely done!

Who has $1/4 million I can borrow? Now’s your chance to get online and configure your dream 2017 Acura NSX. Mine would be Nouvelle Blue Pearl and loaded to the max with just about every available accessory. Orders are now being taken! I’m told there are over 1 million possible combinations of specific configurations of Acura NSX. There’s a good chance yours will be one-of-a-kind.

http://nsx.acura.com/

And lastly: Check out this beautiful Legend coupe on Ebay being sold by a friend of mine! Just 35,000 miles on a 1993 6-speed.

Have a great rest of the week!

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Weekend Trip: Bisbee, Arizona & Colossal Cave Mountain Park

Posted in Arizona, ILX, NSX, Road Trip on February 16, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,115

Odometer (ILX): 155,200

Trip Distance: 446 Miles

ilx_in_bisbee_2

“We’ll leave the light on for you.” So says the famous Motel 6 slogan. And I love Motel 6 – for the most part. Accommodations are predictable, inexpensive, and (usually) liveable. But my friends and I showed up at a hotel last Sunday night that not only didn’t leave a light on for us, it left us out on the street with the front door locked.

The time was about 7:30 p.m. and we’d just pulled up – tired and ready to settle in – from a 3.5-hour drive from the Phoenix area. We were standing at the door to the historic 1902 Hotel San Ramon in teeny Bisbee, Arizona just 9 miles north of the Mexican international border. And there was nobody there to let us in.

san_ramon_santiagos

I dialed the phone number written on a piece of paper that was taped to the glass window in the door. “Welcome to Verizon Wireless. Your call cannot be completed at this time.” I tried again and got the same message. I looked at my road trip partners, Armando and Chris, with a bit of desperation. I already knew that vacancy was limited all over this teeny town of 5,000 people on a holiday weekend, and the chances of finding a back-up plan were slim. Would we end up driving 50 miles away to Benson to find a place to stay?

As a last ditch effort, I walked next door to the restaurant called Santiago’s. “By chance do you know the keypad code to get into the hotel next door?” I asked the hostess. The girl disappeared behind a dividing wall and then returned with a woman who was already on her cell phone trying to come to our rescue. Luckily, the two were able to get in touch with the hotel proprietor and find out our 4-digit entry code.

chris_armando

Moments later, we were lugging our bags up a flight of stairs to room #6. The hotel, as it turns out, only has 6 rooms in total. Aside from the check-in experience, everything else about San Ramon was positively charming. Our room was unlocked when we found it, with 2 keys on the dresser. Silk rose petals were scattered on the floor, and 2 small Valentine’s Day goody bags were on top with a few chocolates. Eat that, Motel 6!

It was just a little more than 3 years ago that I made a trip to Bisbee in my Legend. This latest experience was even more rich because I made it into an over-nighter as opposed to a rushed day-trip from the Phoenix area. After a delicious dinner at Santiago’s, Armando and I explored the night life for a little bit while Chris decided to hit the sack.

stock_board

Just steps away from the front door of San Ramon was the Stock Exchange Saloon. Its double doors and neon sign beckoned, so Armando and I went over to check it out. This building, dating back to 1905, once housed a stock brokerage firm called Duey and Overlock. According to the gal behind the counter who was born and raised in Bisbee, this was the only branch of the New York Stock Exchange outside of New York at the time. Today, the venue retains some of the original elements from those days including this board along the back wall under plexiglass. Armando and I cued up a few hits on the jukebox including “Walkin’ on Sunshine” before calling it a night.

tyson_armando_cadillac

lowell2

On Monday morning, I rolled open the wooden windows of the 2nd floor hotel room and admired the perfect weather outside. It was President’s Day, and we departed the San Ramon and took the ILX to have breakfast at “Bisbee Breakast Club” (BBC) a mile and a half away in historic Lowell. If the streets of Bisbee were a snapshot of the 1880s, then Lowell moved us forward about 80 years to the 1960s. The entire main street was lined with classic cars, varying in condition from scrap heap to show-ready. We stepped inside and feasted on chiles rellenos.

mexico

The rest of our morning was filled with sights & sounds of the American Wild West. We stopped just briefly in Naco, Arizona at the Mexican border – but not too close – as none of us had our passports handy and we didn’t want to chance an “accidental” international border crossing. We took a moment back in Bisbee to frame up the re-creation of a photo that I took 3 years ago with my Legend. (Thanks Chris & Armando for being my photographers!). Bisbee’s strong heritage as a copper and gold mining town lives on and I will surely be going back for a tour of the mine soon.

colossal_entrance

I knew we had a 1:00 p.m. cave tour to get to back in Tucson, so by about 11:00 we said our farewells to B-town and headed out. Out last stop on the trip was to a large underground cave about 20 miles east of Tucson that I last visited 100,000 miles ago in September 2013. Our talkative tour guide stretched a 45-minute walking tour (covering roughly 1/2 mile and almost 400 steps) into about an hour and 15 minutes. I learned a few new things this time around, but I was surely glad to surface for daylight at the conclusion.

cave_interior

Thanks for joining for this weekend’s adventure!

Other pics from this weekend follow.

With Chris at the 3rd annual “Concours in the Hills” car show in Fountain Hills, Arizona

The only Honda in attendance was a nicely-kept 1979 Civic

Wouldn’t be called Fountain Hills without an awesome fountain!

Loved this 1989 Porsche 911!

Hiking Papago Park with Chris

Paying a visit to friends on a Saturday NSX drive

Armando showed up in the SVX, so both 1992 Japanese sportscars became acquainted with one another

San Tan Valley, Arizona – on our way to Tucson, we stopped to visit some Legend friends

Gabe and Josh were working on a timing belt / water pump replacement on Gabe’s 1992 coupe

Valentine’s Day gifts waiting for us at the Hotel San Ramon in Bisbee

Bisbee is extremely hilly and the streets are narrow. It’s no wonder the town wasn’t built in squares.

Looking north toward the Stock Exchange Saloon on Brewery Avenue

Historic gas station in Lowell, just down the road

Bisbee Breakfast Club awaits us!

How about that Chile Relleno?

One of the many vintage cars parked along the main road in Lowell

This patrol car was apparently driven by Barney Fife

Looking out at the huge Queen Creek Mine

Last look at colorful Bisbee

Headstoned at Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone on the way through town

Tyson, Armando, Chris at Boothill Graveyard

Awaiting our tour time at Colossal Cave and enjoying the view

Departure from Colossal Cave

Fueling up halfway between Tucson and Phoenix at Picacho Peak

Make sure you stop by Josh Clymer’s blog, TSX Travels, where he’s now on the Final Fifteen countdown to 500,000 miles on his 2005 Acura TSX.

Also, I highly recommend “Lasting Legend” body wash from Old Spice. For obvious reasons!

Signing out for now!

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Southern Utah Trip for Grandpa’s 85th Birthday

Posted in Legend, Road Trip, Utah on February 7, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,050

Odometer (ILX): 154,338

Trip Distance: 900 Miles

“When will see see you next – Valentine’s Day?” asked my grandpa on Saturday night after we’d finished celebrating his 85th birthday. “That’s next weekend,” I replied. He laughed, “I know. You’ll look for an reason to get in that Acura and point it north!” It appears Gpa knows me well! As do all my other family members, who’ve grown accustomed to my frequent visits to my hometown in southwestern Utah – a solid 400+ mile drive away from my own place in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This past weekend I made that jaunt in my 1994 Legend. For the first couple hours of the drive, I had company. My friend Josh had flown in from Houston to pick up a new vehicle, so I shuttled him to Prescott where he picked it up at a dealership there.

He was satisfied with his new Mercury Milan, and I had a ways left to go, so I headed on out of town northbound on Highway 89. A few small towns crept up as I headed north but for the most part it was 55-65 miles per hour of traversing the pine-laden forests on a windy two-laner. At the “T” with Interstate 40, I headed west.

My next stop was a town of substantial Route 66 significance called Seligman. I last visited Seligman with my friend Jack and I took a tour of northern Arizona a couple of years ago. I can say with certainty that it hasn’t changed much since then, and I’m pretty sure it probably hasn’t changed much in the last half-century or so, either.

While the Snow Cap restaurant was shut down, I continued on the main road through town and saw that Roadkill Cafe was indeed open for business. And who could possibly drive past a dining establishment whose motto is “You Kill It, We Grill It”? Not me. I swung the Legend into the dirt parking lot east of the building and headed inside to check it out.

Business inside was slow – or so it seemed. Maybe I’ve just become too accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life to realize what it’s like to be in a place where restaurants aren’t crowded and there’s never a wait list. I must say, it was a welcome change. I seated myself as the only patron in the bar area and I was handed a menu by a friendly staff member.

The yellow glow of the “High Speed Special” drew my eye immediately so I ordered that — buffalo style, of course, for $0.50 extra — and got settled in. My pink lemonade was delivered to me in a giant mason jar. There was complimentary WiFi available so I checked work emails – I was on the clock this whole time, after all.

The rest of the trip to southwestern Utah was smooth sailing. In St. George, I met up with friends and family in enjoyment of the perfect outside weather.

Our Saturday travels took us to two state parks in Washington County not far from my mom’s place: Sand Hollow State Park, and Snow Canyon State Park. Both delivered stunning vistas in every direction with lots of vivid color: red rocks and blue skies being the most dominant of the color palette. I enjoyed visiting with friends and family throughout the visit, and among the highlights was meeting up with a fellow Acura fanatic for a special project he and I are working on. You’ll see more about that in the coming months. Mom fixed homemade soup which we ate in bread bowls for dinner. And this morning, I made the 6.5-hour return trip home!

Here are the rest of my trip pics:

540,000 miles and 40,000 miles, side by side

We kept tabs on each other for the day so he could keep me posted on his location. He was in San Antonio, Texas already by the following morning! I guess he pulled a crazy all-nighter out on I-10.

Main Street in Seligman, AZ was a quiet place at middway on Saturday.

Sand Hollow Reservoir in Washington County, southern Utah

Snow Canyon State Park, southern Utah

Rock formations in Snow Canyon

Birthday festivities for Grandpa

I liked this pic that my friend Brock captured of my ILX last Thursday at a light next to James‘ tester Lincoln MKX.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

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Quick Overnight Drive to Sedona, Arizona: Devil’s Bridge Hike

Posted in Arizona, Hikes, ILX, Road Trip on January 24, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend Sedan): 149,926

Trip Distance: 250 Miles

See my friend Ira perched there atop this natural sandstone arch? I had sweaty palms when taking this picture of him: Visions of a slab of rock fracturing from the arch and sending him down on a 100-foot drop to the earth below. Kids, don’t try this at home.

Ira paid me a visit from Portland, Oregon this weekend. While the PDX area in which he resides offers virtually any sort of outdoor creation within about an hour radius, what he doesn’t have – and what he came to Arizona to see – was some of the natural beauty of the southwest. We hit the road on Friday afternoon in the ILX and headed out on a 2-hour drive to quaint Sedona, Arizona. It’s home to about 10,000 residents and nestled in a landscape of vivid red rock formations. Sedona is popular destination for people who want to “get away from it all” – the whole vibe is one of relaxation, self-discovery, and detachment from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

By the time we checked into the Sky Ranch Lodge on Airport Road (located at a vantage point high above the town), nighttime had fallen. The keys to suite #280 were “real” keys: heavy, brass-colored, old-school things. I can’t remember the last time I stayed at a hotel or lodge that hadn’t gone the route of the credit card-style swiper. Though the city lights were nice, the real view that we wanted to see would welcome us the following morning. A light cloud cover kept the sun from highlighting the colors of the surrounding mountain range, but it was still a breathtaking sight to behold.

We picked up a few provisions from the local AM/PM – namely, in my case, 2 donuts and some chocolate milk. Ira made the better decision by getting a banana and bottled water. Just a 6 mile drive up Dry Creek Road, we found the turnoff for the hiking trail to Devil’s Bridge. By now it was only about 8:00 in the morning and we were only the second car in the parking lot. The first mile or so of the hike was on a rugged road – passable by most trucks, SUVs, and even a Subaru Outback we witnessed with a daring driver at the wheel.

Then, the trail split and headed east toward the hills. We were in shorts – ill-prepared for the 38-degree start temperature – but quickly forgot about the cold as we got our cardio workout in for the day. In all, our hike would take us up the equivalent of about 40 flights of stairs. The sandstone rocks at times were perfectly placed for hiker access. Along with the higher elevation came more snow and mud – leftovers from last week’s winter storms.

“Where the heck is it?” I caught my breath, and asked Ira as we kept trudging along. Then I glanced to my left. We had already arrived. The ice made for a slippery surface upon which to navigate, so I played it extra cautious while feeling my way out – sometimes crouched down and walking on hands and knees – to the arch itself. I took note of how quiet the surroundings were when we stood completely still. Coupled with the fact that no other hikers were in the immediate area, and that we had absolutely zero cell phone signal, it made for a great feeling of peace and quiet. Soon it was time to make the return trek which went by quickly.

Ira and I enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Creekside Restaurant along Highway 179 on the way out of town. It was just what the doctor ordered to satisfy those cravings we’d built up from burning a few calories along the trail. Enjoy the rest of the pictures from our quick overnight trip, and for anyone visiting Arizona who wants a great taste of nature without hiking the entire Grand Canyon, I highly recommend hitting up the Sedona area for a trip to Devil’s Bridge. Here are the rest of my photos from the trip!

ILX at the trailhead

My “Look ma, no hands!” pose atop Devil’s Bridge

Ira back in Scottsdale, driving the NSX on Portland Street – fitting because he’s from Portland

Congrats also to my friend Mirel who picked up a(nother) Legend LS coupe 6-speed!

And one last little blurb here: I was on the news on Friday morning with my car! Tomorrow, there’ll be a car show in the evening called “Future Classics.” It’s open to any vehicle from 1970 through 2005 model year. I am entering my 1994 Legend coupe.

A few of us were asked to report to the 3TV Studio on 7th Avenue for a 3-minute intro to the car show on Good Morning Arizona.

Here’s the video. My (quick!) moment in the spotlight comes around 2 minutes in. And watch for my wave at the very end!

Coming up this week: A visit from a special friend, and a trip to the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction, where the first 2017 Acura NSX will be auctioned to a lucky new owner this coming Friday night. I have my checkbook ready.

Signing out for now!

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