Road Trip | drivetofive

Archive for the Road Trip Category

Acura ILX Route 66 Tour: Kingman to Seligman, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on May 5, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 522,026

Odometer (ILX): 36,879

Trip Distance: 480 miles

For this weekend’s ILXcapades, we find ourselves venturing back to the heyday of automobile travel as we know it. Route 66 – the “Mother Road” – has long been known as the most talked-about corridor in popular culture. Its entire length ran about 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles, but the road was decommissioned 28 years ago in the mid-1980s. This is a map of the original route.

Since then, it’s been bypassed, bulldozed, or otherwise forgotten except for in a few special sections where Route 66 heritage is embraced. I’ve driven a couple of those areas (Oatman in the Legend in 2007 and Flagstaff in the ILX last September). My friend Jack and I took my 2013 Acura ILX on a 9-hour adventure to explore some yet-unseen roads in northwestern Arizona. Our first stop was the Wikieup Trading Post off Highway 93.

Wikieup is known as the “rattler capital of the world” due to the number of rattlesnakes in the area.

And they aren’t kidding! This is one snake skin on display hanging on the wall above the door to the restrooms.

On the road again and playing one of my all-time favorite driving playlists: the Top Gun soundtrack. The ILX Premium Audio System definitely did the song “Danger Zone” justice when blasted at max volume of level 40.

Once we approached Kingman, it was clear we’d entered Route 66 territory.

We went to the historic part of town where a yearly classic car “fun run” was taking place. Streets were closed off and there were vendors, entertainers, and classic cars all over the place.

By now, we’d worked up an appetite and the sign for “Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner” was calling our names. Mr. D’z was once a small cafe & gas station in the 1950’s and 1960’s. It’s now the hub of several annual car shows.

I went with the “Route 66 Bacon Cheeseburger” and a frosty mug of homemade root beer. I do recommend it!

Out front, we saw a few eye catching rides, including this tow truck inspired by Tow Mater from the 2006 Disney / Pixar movie “Cars.” More about Cars later.

Let’s get this Route 66 party started!

Here I’m posing like Vanna White next to a destination marker showing where Jack and I would be headed in the ILX shortly.

Our friend Mike was in town as a judge for the classic car show so we met up with him briefly.

Then, Jack and I were on our way.

The 83-mile section of Route 66 between Kingman and Seligman is a well-preserved stretch of old 66 that’s stuck in a time warp, and that’s why I wanted to drive there so badly. Traveling the same point-to-point via the parallel Interstate 40 would shave off over 20 miles and probably 1/2 hour of drive time, but this drive wasn’t about speed, it was about taking time to experience the sights along the way.

The road heads northwest from the Kingman area and quickly slims down to 2 lanes from 4. Not far up Route 66, we saw the (now abandoned) Kozy Corner Trailer Park. There are a couple special things about this particular trailer park.

First of all, the trash can warns everyone nearby that it’s full of baby rattlesnakes. I didn’t peek inside to confirm that.

And secondly, you might have noticed that giant green head sitting out front. That is called “Giganticus Headicus.” It’s 14 feet tall and was created in 2003 by someone named G. Arnold.

Continuing on, our next pit stop was the general store in Hackberry, Arizona. Here we found all sorts of collector “stuff.”

Antique collectors: plan to spend awhile here.

75 degrees and sunny for our drive – couldn’t have asked for better weather! Speed limits varied from 35-65 and the ILX 6-speed made a great cruiser.

It only takes a blink to miss some of these small towns that we passed through. Truxton is one example. From the entrance of town limits to the exit took only a few seconds to drive.

But those few seconds were entertaining, nonetheless. I enjoyed seeing these old motels and there seemed to be a lot of classic cars parked alongside the road for sale in places like this.

About halfway to our destination of Seligman, we passed through a town called Peach Springs. Traffic through Peach Springs died down sharply after Interstate 40 was opened about 20 miles south in 1978. According to Wikipedia, Peach Springs “survived as the administrative base of the Hualapai Indian tribe but suffered irreparable economic damage.”

Just 55 miles northeast of Peach Springs, visitors will find the Hualapai Indian tribe town of Hualapai Hilltop. This place serves as the trailhead for an 8-mile hike that drops into the Grand Canyon and now-famous 120-foot-tall Havasu Falls, a place which has been on my to-see list for several years now.

The town itself is pretty run-down with the exception of the Indian-run visitor center.

I did find this photo-op worthwhile, though. This is an old service station dating back to the 1920’s.

A nearby informational sign reads as follows:

Historic John Osterman Gas Station: This property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 15, 2012. The John Osterman gas station was one of several privately owned and operated businesses in the town of Peach Springs during the 1920s through the 1950s. The building, constructed by Osterman in 1923, was a vernacular design of poured concrete block and built in the tradition of the “House with Bays” form. It featured an office resembling a small house and a series of attached garage bays. The design, in addition to allowing the sale of gasoline and other automotive products, is indicative of the large amount of repair work the station undertook over the years.

It looks like the pumps out front still read $2.99 / gallon which means it wasn’t closed that long ago.

For the next 37 miles, we dodged tumbleweeds and cruised alongside the train tracks as we continued eastbound. There were several “Burma Shave” roadside sign sequences that I enjoyed. These types of signs were a huge part of roadside America from 1925 until the 1960’s. They are small signs spaced at periodic distances alongside the road to advertise a brand of shaving cream. Here are a few of them that Jack and I took note of:

IF YOU DON’T KNOW
WHOSE SIGNS THESE ARE
YOU HAVEN’T DRIVEN
VERY FAR
Burma Shave

ANGELS WHO GUARD YOU
WHEN YOU DRIVE
USUALLY RETIRE
AT SIXTY-FIVE
Burma Shave

And finally, toward the end of the route:

JUST THIS ONCE
AND JUST FOR FUN
WE’LL LET YOU FINISH
WHAT WE’VE BEGUN
????

The last stop on this historic drive was in the small town of Seligman, home to fewer than 500 people. It’s the birthplace of Route 66 (at least they’d like to think so).

When Disney/Pixar was putting together the 2006 film “Cars,” director John Lasseter met with the business owners in Seligman to talk about the town’s history as a stopping point on the Mother Road. He ended up basing the fictional town of Radiator Springs loosely on Seligman. To jog your memory, here’s the cast of the film, including star Lightning McQueen.

The grammar Nazi in me wanted to step into this gift shop and tell them they’d spelled “memorabilia” wrong, but I guess a misspelled word here and there is what keeps a place like this even more interesting.

I’d heard of Roadkill Cafe but never knew it actually existed. Here Jack is standing with the ILX in front of such a place. The slogan here is “You Kill It, We Grill It.”

Some of Roadkill’s entrees are:

Splatter Platter
Swirl of Squirrel
Big Bagged Stag
Highway Hash

Main Street looks a lot like one would expect. It’s a tourist trap in every way, but I loved it.

For me, the most awaited point of interest had arrived: Snow Cap Drive-In, seen in the background here:

Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In has greeted motorists for 60 years. Its founder, Juan Delgadillo, died 9 years ago but the enterprise continues serving up great food AND a great cultural experience for those who make a stop there. Delgadillo’s son and daughter run the business today. A 1936 Chevrolet with a Christmas tree attached to the back of it is on permanent display out front (seen at left below).

Where else can you find menu selections like “dead chicken”….

And “cheeseburgers with cheese”? Truly this place is worth checking out if you’re looking for something offbeat.

Don’t get too comfortable, though, because sleeping in the restroom out back is prohibited.

Inside the Snow Cap, the walls are lined ceiling-to-floor with pictures and business cards from guests who have visited since this place opened in 1953. I added my business card to the mix.

The line was fairly long but I was determined to sample something off the menu. Meanwhile, we became acquainted to some of the other visitors. Most were from other countries! Snow Cap had a lot of entertaining pictures and signs, including this one about the company’s credit manager, Helen Waite, that took me a few attempts to understand. Say it out loud a time or two:

These ladies were hilarious. They have a plastic mustard bottle that they “squirt” at customers and a piece of yellow string comes out the tip. I thought for sure I’d have mustard all over my shirt when I looked down. I asked if I could have a small ice cream cone and she brought me a miniature one. Then I asked for a lemonade and she said, “Would you like ice with that?” I said, “Yes please,” and this is what she came out with:

The jokes kept rolling when she asked if I wanted a “straw” and she handed me a piece of hay instead. When it was time to get my change back from a $20 bill, she started passing out my change to OTHER CUSTOMERS. Ha! We got all that cleared up and headed outside… via the door with two different handles. Did I say this place is offbeat?

Jack and I wandered around the backyard of Snow Cap while we enjoyed our vanilla ice cream cones.

That pretty much wrapped up our Route 66 adventures as we soon got on Interstate 40 and took it to Highway 89. After heading south on Highway 89, we passed through the tiny communities of Paulden and Chino Hills in the 55 miles until we reached Prescott, then we headed over to Interstate 17 via Hwy 89A and then Hwy 69. I enjoyed rowing the 6-speed ILX through its gears on these back roads.

Later in the evening, I met up with my friends Kevin and Kelvin. Kevin is the proud new owner of Modern Steel Metallic 2013 Honda Accord EX. After having driven a Toyota Corolla for 12 years, I nudged Kevin into the Honda dealership and he was really impressed with what the Accord had to offer. He’s thrilled with his new ride!

We got a few pictures with Kelvin’s 1993 NSX, my 1994 Legend, and Kevin’s 2013 Accord at a parking garage in Scottsdale.

Congrats, Kevin, on joining the Honda family!

Until next time, enjoy!

6 Comments »

Acura ILX Trip to Utah: Silver Reef Mining Town

Posted in ILX, Road Trip, Utah on April 28, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,890

Odometer (ILX): 36,193

Here in Arizona, we’ve sprung past spring and already entered triple-digit-temperature range. These are the days when I’m glad I didn’t opt for that Crystal Black Pearl paint color on the ILX that I often lust after. Silver Moon exterior + tinted windows = a nice, cool interior.

I made my way to my hometown in southern Utah this weekend to spend some time with my family there. My first stop on this 6.5 hour one-way trip is Kingman, Arizona in the northwest corner of the state. Kingman’s claim to fame is that it’s a surviving city from the original Route 66.

There not a heck of a lot to see or do here, but the Budget Inn Motel’s rates are reasonable ($19.95) and they’ve even got color TV! I opted to not stay there but rather continue on the rest of my journey. Maybe some other time.

I reached cruising speed of 70 mph on Highway 93 leading up to Hoover Dam. The ILX revs quite a bit higher than my Legend did at this speed in 6th gear, but the fuel economy doesn’t suffer. I still pulled an average 32.6 miles per gallon this trip.

It was a moonroof-open afternoon — partially because someone had spilled gas at the Mobil station in Kingman and I had some on my shoes. I didn’t want to get high off fumes in the cabin of the ILX.

Arizona is chock full of mining history. One particular mining establishment that’s no longer in existence is called Cerbat. As the historical marker states, Cerbat thrived in the 1860’s but all the buildings are now gone.

Denim must be the thing to wear when you’re on a motorcycle ride these days!

Just a little farther north, the Uranus Gas Station came into view like an oasis in the desert. This place is nearly impossible to miss, in fact. The building itself was just recently repainted in crazy colors and they’ve got a fuel tank out front advertising the fact that you can shoot a machine gun here. I didn’t have time to do so, but thought it would make a fun photo-op.

I wasn’t kidding. These people actually named their gas station Uranus Gas. At least they’ve got a sense of humor. And both times I passed the station this weekend, it had several customers. Hey, the name got ME to stop, didn’t it?

Finally I arrived at my first destination: Las Vegas Motor Speedway off Interstate 15 just north of Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, I was going to be meeting up with my brothers Bentley and Payton of H&S Performance who had trailed their Dodge Ram race truck for some Friday night 1/4 mile dragstrip time trials.

The LVMS track first opened in 1971 but underwent a $72 million upgrade in 1996. Today it’s one of the finest racing facilities in the southwest. The H&S Performance race team was already at work when I arrived to greet everyone.

I’m pictured at left in the below picture. Payton (center), and Bentley (right) are my younger brothers. Payton drives the race truck. He said that unfortunately it makes all other vehicles else seem painfully slow, but he did borrow my ILX for a bit this weekend and enjoyed running an errand in it.

The cockpit retains few of its original appointments. This Cummins truck has been gutted, rollcaged, and built to be a screaming machine. When race time comes, it’s wearing 4 “slick” tires since he races in 4×4 mode. It launches hard!

As fate would have it, though, the night’s festivities were cut short when a transmission failure sidelined the truck fewer than a hundred yards after launching from the start line. H&S will go back to the drawing board this week and implement a fix.

Loading back up as the sun starts to set in the Nevada desert.

As nighttime descended, we rolled onward to St. George, Utah — another 100 miles up Interstate 15.

On Saturday morning, I had the great opportunity to chauffeur two special guests around in my Acura ILX. My grandpa and grandma have been among my most loyal blog followers over the years, so I thought it appropriate to invite them along on a short Drive to Five adventure. We departed St. George and made our way 15 miles north of town to the old mining establishment (and now ghost town) of Silver Reef, Utah.

Our total trip distance was fewer than 50 miles but gave us front-row seats to some of the most spectacular scenery in this part of the country.

We exited I-15 at Exit 22 (22 miles north of the Arizona state line).

We made our way through Leeds, Utah and headed west just one mile to get to the townsite of Silver Reef. New, large homes surround the site where a bustling town of silver miners thrived over 134 years ago. The red rock scenery of this area brings thousands of tourists per year to southern Utah for hiking opportunities. Grandma gave us a wave and we continued our tour.

Along the very narrow, winding road through Silver Reef, we saw a couple examples of old mining equipment.

Next, we took the opportunity to wander the site on foot and learn a little more about its history.

Silver Reef’s story mirrors that of many other boom towns of the same era. A rush of miners caused the area’s population to soar as high as 2,000 people, but only 15 years later, people had begun moving on. The first silver strike in Silver Reef happened in 1866 when a prospector from Nevada, John Kemple, discovered a vein of silver in the sandstone there. A total of 21 claims were staked over the next few years as prospectors came from Salt Lake City and beyond.

In its heyday, Silver Reef’s Main Street was a mile in length and was lined by many businesses (credit: Wikipedia):

By 1878, the town’s business district consisted of a hotel, boarding houses, nine stores, six saloons, five restaurants, a bank, two dance halls, a newspaper called The Silver Echo (which later became the Silver Reef Miner),and eight dry goods stores.

One of the few buildings still standing today is this Wells Fargo Express. In 1985, an organization was formed for the purpose of preserving the remaining structures as well as setting up a museum in the Wells Fargo building. The museum is still in operation today.

Silver Reef sits a bit higher in elevation than the surrounding landscape, so gorgeous views can be seen in virtually every direction.

Silver Reef, as a wooden sign (below) on the premises announces, is the only place in the U.S. where silver has been discovered in sandstone.

Next to the Wells Fargo museum, there are mining artifacts and other period items of interest.

This was a place definitely worthy of the name “wild” west. I learned that there are written records of at least 3 gunfights in this area and one murder. Gambling is a recurring theme in the accounts of these incidents.

Unlike most of the communities in southern Utah, this settlement never had a Mormon chapel. It did, however have a Catholic church and we learned a little bit about that on the informative placard where my grandpa is standing in the below picture.

Behind us here lies a wooden table.

Upon closer inspection, we found a metal plate at the end of it which read:

“DUNHAM” Economy Table
853 Mission Street
So. Pasadena Calif U.S.A.
RPM Instructions
Coarse Feed – Long Stroke – 245 RPM
Fine Feed – Short Stroke – 285 RPM
Slime Feed – Short Stroke – 325 RPM

Google has surprisingly revealed very little about this type of equipment and how it operates. I suspect that the wooden slats are designed to filter through the extracted ore but I’m not clear how it works. Anyone with information, fill us in!

A few of Silver Reef’s other buildings are now just freestanding walls.

This was a great step back in time. I wish I could have seen what Silver Reef looked like in its prime.

After exiting Silver Reef and making our way down Old Highway 91, we paused for a drive through some tunnels leading to the Red Cliffs Recreation Area. I couldn’t help but notice the clearance height was 11 foot 9 inches.

That reminded me of a railroad trestle in Durham, North Carolina with clearance of 11 foot 8 inches. That bridge catches the rooftops of so many trucks and motorhomes that a nearby resident set up 2 surveillance cameras. It’s been crashed into 61 times on camera – usually by people in rented trucks who probably aren’t pay attention. See for yourself!

Our last viewpoint was that of Quail Creek Reservoir (600 acres; established in 1985). It’s a popular destination for recreation.

Thanks, grandma and grandpa, for coming along for the ride!

I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with other members of my family, but since I come from a family of car-loving people, there was still plenty of time to enjoy our four-wheeled toys. My brother recently picked up a hot new ride: 1968 Chevy Nova SS.

This fully restored muscle car is finished immaculately in a color from the 2006 Corvette called “Monterey Mist Metallic.” The color is stunning in person.

Under the hood, the car’s original 350 cubic inch V8 was removed, balanced, bored, and stroked to 388 cubic inches. It develops 450 horsepower (more than double the power of that 2.4 liter ILX sitting in front of it — though, remember, my ILX has half as many cylinders, too!). Either way, we’re talking some serious power!

The reason why my brother sought after this car was because my dad’s first car was a Nova of the same year. He owned it during his teens and built quite a racer out of it. We dug up this picture of him dating back to the late 1970’s.

The “new” Nova has a T5 Borg Warner 5-speed manual transmission and a rebuilt 12-bold 3.73 Positraction rear end. Unfortunately, due to a radiator leak, I wasn’t able to take the Nova for a spin but I’ll definitely be taking it out on my next trip to Utah.

I think those 17″ American Racing Torq Thrust wheels look awesome on it. Best of all, the car came with all the build receipts and even the original 1968 “Chevy II” owner’s manual. I can’t wait to take the SS for a spin!

Nephew “Rex” (age 1 month) and me checking out the Nova powerplant.

My classic car encounters continued just an hour later when my friend Cody showed up in this 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle. Some of my readers may remember Cody (with a high degree of jealousy!) as the lucky guy who owns a 1993 Acura Legend 5-speed sedan with only 65,000 miles on the odometer. Well, Cody’s other ride is equally drool-worthy.

We’re looking at a truly unmolested example of a car that has some of the most documented history I’ve ever seen. Cody’s dad bought the car brand new in Salt Lake City, Utah and it’s been in the family ever since. In fact, this was Cody’s first car.

Check out all that original paperwork! The interior has been redone and is pretty much immaculate. Cody’s built a website dedicated to the “forgotten” 3rd generation Chevelle here.

He even let me take the old Chevelle for a spin. Here’s a video of my goofy self enjoying a drive in this 40-year-old classic.

As my trip neared a close, I said farewell to my niece and nephews.

And I headed out toward I-15 and Phoenix, by way of Las Vegas yet again.

Thanks for being a part of my travels this weekend!

10 Comments »

Arizona Acura Legend Meet: Space Age Restaurant

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on April 21, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,840

Odometer (ILX): 35,000

Here’s a family portrait if I’ve ever seen one! These people are as crazy about Acura as I am.

There aren’t quite enough Acura ILX owners to get a meet together in my area yet, but I’m still hanging out frequently with the old Legend crowd. I’ve been going to Legend meets for over 10 years. This weekend, I got together with a bunch of other Acura fans and we took a scenic drive to lunch. Final stats:

8 Legends
2 Miatas

Trip Distance: 192 Miles

This was our initial meet-up in Casa Grande, Arizona.

We made our way via Florence Boulevard to Interstate 8 which would’ve led us to San Diego, California if we stayed on it about another 5 hours. Exiting at Gila Bend, this sign gave an idea just how close to the Mexican border we were.

As the entrance sign at the west end of town announces, Gila Bend is home to fewer than 2,000 people. Or, more specifically, “1,700 friendly people, and 5 old crabs.” Thankfully, we didn’t meet any of those crabs during our short visit.

Gila Bend was founded in 1872 and named for a 90-degree bend in the Gila River near where the town is located. The Space Age Lodge and Restaurant opened in 1963 and has been a signature landmark on the main road through town ever since.

On Saturday, our group took over part of the dining room and enjoyed the space-themed decor as well as the cuisine. The chicken quesadilla was most excellent, and if my friend Ari’s chocolate milkshake tasted half as good as it looked, I bet that was tasty too. The restaurant itself is also known as “Outer Limits.”

If it’s offbeat, I’m probably going to want to eat there! The theme here reminded me a lot of the Red Planet Diner in Sedona, Arizona where I went with some friends back in January.

Joe, Michael, and Ari

Tyson, Robert, and Gabe

Kelvin and Ian

There was a special occasion for our Legend meet. Long-time Legend enthusiast Rosalinda chose to spend her 29th birthday with us. Mark and Rosalinda have shared many of their special days with their brothers and sisters from the Acura family. Even their wedding in 2009 had multiple individuals from the Legend forums invited.

Here’s a video of our group’s talent (or lack thereof) at singing happy birthday to her:

Back outside, it was time to line up the cars for a traditional photoshoot. This looks like we’re preparing for some type of group huddle but we were really just shooting the breeze and talking cars.

Here are the individual rides and a little bit of information on each. First is Austin’s 1987 Legend sedan. This car is was the oldest in the bunch but still ran amazingly. Austin swapped the transmission on this car from an automatic to a 5-speed several years ago. He also owns a Sherwood Green 1994 Legend GS. Legend owners, I’ve found, often prefer to own multiple versions of the car.

This is Gabe’s 1992 Legend LS coupe: yet another Legend that has at one point in its life undergone major surgery. This car is special because the motor itself is in fact out of a 1997 Acura 3.5 RL. Gabe’s car is equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission and he’s got a lot of nice upgrades both inside and out.

Here’s the newest member of our Arizona Legend owners club: Joe. Joe picked up this 1995 Legend LS coupe just a couple of weeks ago from a local craigslist listing. It’s a Cashmere Silver Metallic automatic with about 150,000 miles on it. Joe is glad to be onboard with the Legend family and aside from an intermittent ABS light illuminating on the dashboard, says that the car is running great.

Here’s Jordan’s 1991 Legend L coupe. Jordan’s done some motor work on this one. Instead of being equipped with a “Type I” 200-horsepower engine, it’s been swapped to a 230-horsepower “Type II.” Jordan has a full exhaust system and some other performance upgrades to keep himself ahead of the pack when it comes to acceleration.

And this is Rosalinda’s 1993 Legend sedan, with the appropriate license plate “93LEGND.” This is a custom two-tone paint job that is one of a kind. The car is running on 17″ wheels from a 2004 Acura TSX. This is actually a set of wheels that I used to own and I told to the Bandonis a few years back.

Here’s Michael’s 1994 Legend LS sedan. This car is painted pearl white but it used to be Desert Mist Metallic like mine. Michael’s got some suspension upgrades like Koni red struts and he does all the work himself.

This is my 1994 Legend GS sedan 6-speed. I’ve had it for 5 years but it usually gets driven fewer than 2,000 miles per year. When I picked this car up, the intent was to have a replacement for the Legend coupe, which at the time had over 300,000 miles on it and I thought might be nearing the end of its useful life. As we now know, that Legend coupe never ended up dying. The sedan turned over 144,000 miles on its way to the meet.

These are some rolling shots from our drive westbound on Interstate 8 from Casa Grande to Gila Bend.

The abandoned gas station where we took our pictures was a destination in itself. Anyone who follows my blog knows that I have a fascination with creeping around abandoned places, so I couldn’t resist taking a peek inside this one.

The roll-up door on the side of the building was already open, but inside it looked like just a bunch of junk.

Rosalinda’s 1993 Legend definitely won the award for the cleanest engine bay. Immaculate!

It seemed only fitting that Mark wore his “I void warranties” T-shirt, based on the Miata he was driving.

Here’s Mark (and his steering wheel) goofing off in the Space Age parking lot. Mark’s Miata packs quite a punch. It’s got over 270,000 miles on the body but the entire drivetrain has been enhanced.

Turbo! Mark’s 5-speed Miata would undoubtedly out-accelerate and out-handle any of the Legends at the meet. He’s also equipped it with a full rollcage. This is a race-ready ride if I’ve ever seen one.

And, it’s tradition for Mark to sprawl out across the hood of my car at meets so we carried on that legacy.

This is Ian’s 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer. Ian’s been a part of Drive to Five since I first met him over a year ago and he was driving a Civic Si at the time. The Lancer is a nice replacement!

A few other pictures from throughout the day.

Gabe captured this picture of me driving back to the Phoenix area via Highway 238.

It was great to once again reunite with old friends and share our love for these great cars.

Today, I did a little junkyarding in the 2013 ILX. There’s a local “pick & pull” yard in Chandler, Arizona where you can pay $2 (and bring your own tools) and help yourself to any parts you’re looking for.

Among the treasures I walked out with, I found a “Type II” badge from the intake manifold of this 1994 Legend GS sedan automatic.

It looks right at home placed on the 2.4 liter powerplant of the ILX, right? Ha!

I have always loved the bodystyle of the 1987-1990 Acura Legend coupe like this:

I found one of those cars in the junkyard, too. It was in pretty sorry shape.

However, the taillights looked good and they are particularly rare, so I grabbed them. The 1990 model year was the only year when the lenses were clear / red as opposed to amber / red. I’ll clean these up and re-sell them.

Gotta love scavenging. Hope everyone’s had a nice weekend!

16 Comments »

Acura ILX Drive: Gates Pass & Old Tucson Studios

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on April 14, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,637

Odometer (ILX): 34,590

Trip Distance: 241 Miles

The Phoenix-to-Tucson Interstate 10 corridor is already a familiar route for my Acura ILX 6-speed. I’ve driven those 120 miles many times — it’s nice to escape the big city (Phoenix metro area is home to 4 million) for a smaller town feel. Tucson has just over 500,000 residents and affords great attractions — and more importantly, great roads.

Many months ago, I learned about a must-see “driver’s road” called Gates Pass that existed in the mountains west of the Tucson valley. It wasn’t until today that I was able to actually experience it.

Making my way out of the Phoenix area, I veered east on Interstate 10 from Loop 202.

About 96 miles after hopping on the 10, I exited Speedway Boulevard in Tucson and noticed that there were signs guiding me to Old Tucson to the west.

Saguaro cacti thrive in this dry, desert environment. Speedway Boulevard soon slimmed down to 2 lanes from 4, and I started seeing warning signs for Gates Pass.

Gates Pass is a scenic stretch of road that was named after Thomas Gates. It originally dates back to 1883 when he wanted a shortcut through the mountains. The road officially starts 7 miles west of Tucson after exiting Interstate 10 at Speedway Boulevard. Though only a very short 6 miles in length, it’s notorious for being dangerous.

Gates Pass is one of the most dangerous areas to drive around Tucson. The road is narrow and winds around the edge of a large mountain with just a few feet space between the edge of the road and a deep drop off to the valley below. Because of this driving danger, Gates Pass is not open to commercial and large vehicles over 40-50 feet long.

Well, here we go!

Entering Tucson Mountain Park, which encompasses about 20,000 acres of land and established in 1929.

Getting creative with camera angles. I took it slow and enjoyed the scenery. Thankfully, there was very little traffic.

I pit stopped at a pullout to enjoy the view for a few minutes.

And soon thereafter, I descended the cut of road seen in the background here. No guardrail, just some 10 mph curves that have to be handled very carefully – especially when bicyclists are encountered (which is what happened to me!).

I met a very nice couple who took this picture for me. I asked, “Make sure the car’s in the picture too,” which of course led them to ask why. I ended up spending about 15 minutes telling them everything about the car and the blog. They loved it! And I did, too.

Continuing on Gates where the terrain leveled out a bit. There were a few more pullouts for photo-ops.

After my drive through Gates, I made a stop at Old Tucson. This is an old movie set dating back to 1938. It was first used as a backdrop in the movie “Arizona” (1940) but has since been used in over 400 movies, TV shows, or other features, most of them Westerns.

Entry is $17 for adults but Arizona residents get a $3 discount. I arrived just in time for the doors to open at 10:00 a.m.

When I set foot into Old Tucson, I truly felt like I was teleporting myself 150 years into the past. Dirt streets surround over 60 buildings that have been created as part of movie sets over the years. Even the employees wear period-correct clothing and ride around on horses. I had to be mindful to watch the ground for horse droppings!

Here’s a (poor quality) video that I shot with my iPhone while wandering around. The soundtrack that I added seemed very fitting.

I took a 30-minute walking tour with about 25 other people. Old Tucson gets its name because it’s actually modeled after the original Tucson, Arizona from the year 1863. When Old Tucson first opened, Gates Pass was only a 1.5-lane dirt road and was very treacherous. Still, 15,000 people attended opening day and paid 25 cents each for admission.

This original 1939 adobe building is modeled after the first school house in Tucson, built in 1868. In some films, though, this building was used as a bar instead.

John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Elizabeth Taylor, and Kurt Russell are just a few of the stars who have walked these streets. This taxidermy shop is one of the original 1939 adobe buildings as well.

Here I am standing in front of the Hotel Del Toro. This was used in the 1986 movie “Three Amigos.” That film was supposed to be set in Mexico — thus the reason for the Spanish looking architecture seen here.

I could almost feel the presence of Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short! The mountain behind them in this picture is clearly visible while standing on the main street in Old Tucson.

Here are a few other shots from around the town. There are various shops throughout the grounds.

The Saloon and Hotel below doubles as a 13,000-square-foot sound stage and it was built in 1968.

In the distance below, the Mission can be seen. Unlike most of the other buildings in Old Tucson, this is not a “four-sided” building – it’s only a facade. The original Mission burned down in a 1994 fire and the replica didn’t have an interior.

Stagecoach rides were available at the O.K. Corral for $3. I didn’t take the time to do this, nor the (free) 7-minute train tour, but the next time I go back I will definitely check them out!

Speaking of trains, on display at the north end of the facility is this 1872 steam locomotive. It was used in the film Union Pacific in the late 1930’s, as well as the Clint Eastwood film “Joe Kidd.” At one point during this locomotive’s life, it was even shipped to Switzerland to appear in a movie there.

Here’s a look inside the courthouse, furnished and ready for its next film debut.

No Acuras allowed. We travel by horse & carriage around here!

This was my favorite place in all of Old Tucson: Rx Elixir. It’s a sandwich shop and soda counter.

Peeking out from above that colorful Mexican blanket is Sharon, the operator of the Rx Elixir. I went with the Cold Turkey & Cheese Sandwich for $9. It was a huge sandwich! Sharon fixed it up with sourdough bread and some homemade pesto mayonnaise. I highly recommend it.

Here I am about to indulge in my delicious and wholesome lunch. That ice cold Sioux City Sasparilla root beer really hit the spot to wash it all down.

On my way out, I went inside another of the buildings and saw this prop cannon that was used in the John Wayne 1960 film “The Alamo.”

Last shot with the ILX next to an original lift on display out front.

From Old Tucson, I headed north on the curvy, two-lane Kinney Road. This was a great driving environment for the ILX with its tight suspension and 6-speed transmission. I drove past the western region of Saguaro National Park.

That’s a wide road!

This small wooden sign caught my eye in a tiny town called Picture Rocks (population: 8,139).

The Community Center, as it turns out, is that trailer in the background below. It’s no wonder the sign says “Donations Needed.” This place has seen better days!

Just a bit further up the road at the intersection of Sandario & Picture Rocks, I found a very special place.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I’ve found my next auto mechanic: Titan Tire & Wheel. Just to be sure you won’t miss it, it’s painted bright red and yellow.

But wait! There’s more. They also have and “sale” railroad ties, in case I’m ever looking for any! Talk about one-stop shopping.

Batteries too! Well, I’ll be darned.

Whoa! HELLO!! They do oil changes. Think they’ve got 0W20 oil in stock for my ILX scheduled maintenance?

Kidding aside, I love places like this. And I’d happily let them work on my ILX. Maybe just for a tire rotation.

🙂

The ILX flew past this lineup of mailboxes so quickly that I didn’t have time to count them, so I promptly pulled over and looped back. There were 37 of them in a row! Some in decent shape, others barely standing.

There was just one more place that I wanted to check out on today’s adventure: Nickerson Farms Restaurant in Picacho, Arizona off Interstate 10. After having inhaled that turkey sandwich at Old Tucson not long before, I was far from hungry. But Nickerson isn’t the place I’d go to satisfy my appetite anyway. You see, the restaurant’s been closed for over 30 years.

That old boot next to the sign presumably used to have another one next to it.

This particular Nickerson Farms is believed to be the best-preserved of of all the Nickerson “hulks” that are still standing today. It was in operation from the early 1960’s until 1979. Since then, it’s been completely abandoned.

In the below picture, see the vehicle parked in the shade underneath the arch that’s farthest away? That is a blue 1980’s Pontiac Sunbird. When I pulled up behind it in the ILX, a young man shot up lightning-fast in the driver seat. He’d been napping in there. I think I gave him the scare of his life this afternoon! After parking, I assured him that I was “nobody,” and that I didn’t care if he was catching some shuteye on the shade. It looked like he’d been living in his Pontiac for some time.

Since the building is clearly visible from Interstate 10, it’s become the victim of plenty of acts of vandalism over the years. Windows are boarded up. The brick facade on the exterior has crumbled entirely.

The dual glass doors at the entry way were broken out. I ducked underneath the handle and let myself inside the building to take a look around. I was glad to be wearing tennis shoes instead of flip flops due to all the glass on the floor.

The creepiest part about this place was that the original red Naugahyde diner booths are still there, covered in over 3 decades worth of dust. There were enough holes in the walls to allow a little bit of natural light inside the building, but I relied on my camera’s flash to capture the scene better than my eyes could.

Books and garbage littered the floor. I looked down and saw this little gem: A 1990 Buying Guide Issue from Consumer Reports. I couldn’t resist flipping to the section on Acura vehicles. Page 165 has the comments on the Acura Legend, which at the time was still in its first generation:

The Acura Legend felt sporty. Handling was precise and acceleration strong. Seating was roomy and very comfortable. The Legend has an excellent repair record. Bumper test damage: None.

Time to get out of there – this place was giving me the creeps. Back out the broken glass door I went.

And homeward bound with yet another fun Acura adventure under my belt. Thanks for coming along as always!

5 Comments »

Scorpion Gulch

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on April 10, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 34,184

Ham, sausage, bacon and sharp cheddar. Those fine ingredients are the makings of the Country Combo omelet at my favorite brunch place in Phoenix: The Good Egg on Central Avenue. On Sunday morning, the Acura ILX made its way there with its cousin, a 2006 TL owned by a friend of mine.

Jeremy’s TL has just 111,000 miles on it. The 2004-2008 TL bodystyle has been a longtime favorite of mine. This TL is powered by a 270-horsepower, 3.2 liter 24-valve V6 engine. Jeremy regularly gets 29 mpg on the highway.

After brunch I had a few minutes to kill so I continued down Central Avenue to the south.

At the entrance to 15,000-acre South Mountain Park lie the remains of a building that was once a candy store. The building was constructed in 1936. As of the 1960’s when the owner was in his 70’s, it was still in operation. It’s called Scorpion Gulch. Here’s a picture of the area from an undated historic archive:

Oddly enough, I’ve lived in Arizona for over 7 years and never even seen a scorpion, but apparently they’re out there. I’ve probably jinxed myself and will have one in my shoe tomorrow morning when I get dressed.

During late 2012 and early 2013, a “stabilization” effort took place at Scorpion Gulch wherein new window frames were outfitted for the building and the roof was removed (it was too dangerous before). Only the walls remain.

From a 1966 article about Scorpion Gulch:

In 1936, Lunsford purchased the 100 feet of frontage. He personally hauled the rock and built the store with living quarters attached where he and his wife lived and operated the business. His wife died several years ago and Bill now lives alone.

He doesn’t make much money, what with giving away bottles of pop, and he is one of the few remaining merchants who sells penny candy. He probably gives away more candy than he sells. He just can’t resist giving away candy and pop to his “grandchildren” who lack the necessary money.

It would’ve been great if Scorpion Gulch was still in business so I could buy a drink and a treat.

Does anyone else get nervous like me when they see these “SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE” devices that you can’t back over?

Fun with a mirror in a parking structure in central Phoenix.

And some raindrops later in the week that did little more than muddy up the car.

At the other end of the country, Alan in Florida is putting his 1992 Acura Legend sedan to the test. He recently pulled a boat with his car. Now there’s a fine looking tow rig if I’ve ever seen one. I’m sure he turned a few heads at the marina.

On Monday night, I had a visitor from out of town. Jake has a 1992 Acura Legend LS Sedan in Sirius White Pearl with 135,911 miles on the odometer. He’s had it since Fall 2011 and and it’s in excellent condition!

Keen-eyed Legend enthusiasts will notice that Jake ditched the factory 15″, 20-spoke from 1992 and replaced them with some really nice refinished 16″ GS wheels. His updates carried on to other parts of the car, too.

Up front, a body-color front grille graces the hood. And inside, Jake has incorporated a GS shift knob. He went to great lengths to track down some dual piston “Type II” brake calipers and installed those too.

Jake’s next plans for the Legend are some new leather and possibly some window tint.

Thanks for stopping by, Jake!

Finally, I recently came across a list of the 27 “official” Parkways, Historic Roads, and Scenic Roads in the state of Arizona. It’s time to start crossing these off. Here’s the list (website allows download of the 6-page PDF).

One in particular that caught my eye was Sky Island Parkway. So many nearby roads begging to be driven!

Let’s see where I end up next. Saddle up.

8 Comments »

Legend Trip: Easter Car Show in Hurricane, Utah

Posted in Car Show, Legend, Road Trip on March 31, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,467

Odometer (ILX): 32,675

Trip Distance: 947 Miles

In nearly 1,000 miles traveled over the course of 3 days in the 520,000 mile Legend, the only thing that I could even consider a “mishap” was when I hit a large tumbleweed dead-on, southbound on Hwy 93 near Wikieup, Arizona. No damage was noted, just a few stray twigs lodged in the grille that I picked out on my next pit stop. The joy of traveling through the desert!

One of the annual traditions that I most look forward to is that of traveling to my hometown each Easter to participate in a car show. This is a picture from the show in 2004. My friend Blair entered his 1992 Legend LS coupe automatic with Frost White exterior and black interior. He and I both ended up taking home trophies in the “Imports” class that day. Blair’s car had all kinds of upgrades, including a set of 18″ Giovanna wheels.

Nine years later, I entered the Legend in that same show this past weekend.

Here’s the play by play of the weekend. Heading out on Friday – my friend Matt took his 2013 370Z, and I took the 1994 Legend.

Along the way, our first pit stop was in Boulder City, Nevada (home of Hoover Dam!) to meet up with my friend Jessie. Jessie has a Rosewood Brown 1992 Legend L sedan automatic with 140,000 miles on it. He has taken great pride in restoring it mechanically and it runs great. Next on his list are some paint and body work.

Legend lovers. Jessie’s Legend is older than he is! If only I’d been so lucky to have such a ride at his age.

🙂

The OEM spoiler, tinted windows, and chrome wheels round out the package. Jessie says he’s on the lookout for some of the factory 16″ Legend GS wheels like my coupe has.

After having lunch, Jessie followed me on Hwy 93 toward Las Vegas and snapped this pic at a traffic light.

Matt and I leap-frogged each other a number of times throughout our 6 1/2 hour journey to southwest Utah. Here I let him take the lead in his Magma Red 370Z on Interstate 15 north of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Once in St. George, I met up with another guy who appreciates Acura as much as I do. This is Cody, and his car is a 1993 Legend L sedan in Cashmere Silver Metallic. His car isn’t just any Legend, though. It’s a rare 5-speed manual version and it has only 65,000 miles on it. That’s right, this car has averaged just 3,250 miles per year over its 20 years

Cody was lucky to pick this up just a couple of weeks ago in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s immaculate.

Low mileage, meet high mileage.

I peeked inside and this thing still smelled new. No cracks in the leather, no cracks on the dash — virtually zero detectable wear on this pristine example. Cody could sense my amazement (and probably my jealousy!).

The only update Cody has planned for this car is window tint. I agree with that decision – protect the interior and keep the car otherwise 100% stock. It’s a truly unique find in this kind of condition. Thanks, Cody, for meeting up! Next time I’m in St. George, let’s swap car keys so I can see how that thing drives.

Reunited at last with my niece and nephew. These kids are my pride and joy!

My friend Branson and his dad Don arrived in the evening. After some late-night car detailing, we all set out very early in the morning (6:45 Utah time; 5:45 Arizona time) on Saturday morning for the car show in Hurricane, Utah which was about 20 miles away. We got great parking spots on the grass lawn.

Pictured here are Don’s 1965 Ford Mustang 289 and Branson’s 1995 Acura Legend LS coupe.

We positioned the Legends so that they’d face one another. I had a couple of laminated signs on my windshield: One stating that the car had over 520,000 miles on the original drivetrain, and the other was a color copy of the window sticker showing its $41,885 price in 1994.

Out came the detailing supplies for some last-minute touch ups. This shine was achieved with Meguiar’s Gold Class wax, applied by hand and buffed off with microfiber towels. I used Meguiar’s Endurance tire gel on the Michelins.

Matt’s 370Z turned over 2,000 miles on its odometer on the way to Utah. It got a little bit of detailing too. Those 19″ Rays wheels came as part of the Sport package. You can also see the new-for-2013 LED lights in the front fascia.

While we waited for the show’s official 10 a.m. start time, we wandered down the street for a breakfast buffet. Branson couldn’t resist dumping $5 into this claw machine in search of a stuffed animal. He failed.

Back to business. Here, I’m teaching Dan about the difference between a Type I and a Type II Legend engine.

Dan, by the way, drives this right-hand-drive Nissan Skyline with a long list of modifications. He was also registered in the Imports category and he parked near us.

Video of some of the action.

Branson displayed his window sticker as well. His car’s MSRP was $44,270! The car’s color is Cayman White Pearl, which was offered for only the last year of Legend production — 1995.

Inside, Branson showed his factory literature including two brochures from 1995: a Legend-specific 12×12 brochure, and a smaller full-lineup brochure, both in mint condition. The trophy there is from a previous show that Branson won in.

Don’s here trying to point out a speck of dirt on the front end of the car.

Over the course of the day I was approached by at least a dozen people wanting to talk about the car. Usually the first question they’d ask is, “What kind of oil did you use to get it to last that long?” Many were surprised to learn that I’ve only used conventional 5W30 oil and never synthetic. I also had a print-out handy of all the car’s maintenance so that I could tell anyone if specific parts had ever been changed.

Many of my conversations with spectators also started out with them saying something like, “My so-and-so had one of these. It had XXX miles on it and they sold it so so-and-so, and it’s STILL going…” It seems nearly everyone has been personally involved in a high-mileage Honda or Acura success story at some point. I enjoyed chatting about them. And I especially loved it when people said things like, “That can’t be original,” or, “It still looks brand new.”

Here’s another look at the 1965 Mustang that Don and Branson restored from the ground up. It’s equipped with a “Pony Package” interior that included a wood steering wheel. The car drew a lot of attention.

Panorama of some of the other vehicles in the show.

There was a lot of nice stuff. I was impressed by this build – our friend Keith put an LS2 Corvette motor into an older bodystyle car.

It was interesting to observe the different types of people who were drawn to the cars. The Z was always popular with the younger generation, the Mustang with the older generation, and the Legends were a little of both.

Showing off some mirror shine here. Branson’s car in the background has a set of 17″ wheels off a 2003 Acura TL Type-S.

Here’s an Acura driver in training. This is my nephew Beckam sitting inside the Legend. The set of floor mats seen in use here are actually for show-only use. I swapped them out with my “daily” mats before driving away.

Another nephew: Rex. This little guy is only 3 weeks old. Such a cutie.

Visit from some friends. Here are Buck and Kyle. Buck is an Acura driver with a very clean 2002 RSX Type-S.

Gabbing it up.

Finally, here’s little Miss Vivienne. She’ll be 2 years old in a couple of weeks, and she’s the sweetest thing ever.

At 4:00 p.m., the awards ceremony kicked off. Matt end up placing 2nd in the Imports category.

Departure from the park. There you can see Matt leading the way in the Z, then Dan’s Skyline, then Branson.

Later that night, I got a driving experience unlike any other I’ve ever had: I got to drive a school bus. Last year, my brother picked up a retired bus because he needed to shuttle a bunch of people around at an event. Since then, the bus has mostly sat unused in his company’s back lot. Well, my friends and I decided it was time to give that bus a little exercise.

Matt was the first to get behind the wheel. It took us some time to figure out how to operate the controls. There is a push-button automatic transmission, and the switches for the overhead lights are on the panel to the left of the driver’s seat.

This is a 1996 Bluebird school bus. It’s got capacity for 84 passengers. We didn’t travel far but we did get the bus out on a deserted open road where we could practice maneuvering a vehicle of that size.

One of my favorite features was the “Body Fluid Cleanup Kit” (see below picture) hanging above the windshield. I wonder if that’s ever been used?

Branson took the wheel next. Believe it or not, the turning radius on this thing was actually pretty good! At one point Branson did have to three-point-turn in the middle of a road and I was amazed that he was able to do it.

Obligatory bus + Legend shot. The bus was spray-painted by an employee of my brother’s company for the event they used it in.

Big thumbs up for this fancy ride.

The bus had 205,343 miles on it. I was impressed that it fired up on the first try! We did have to wait a little while for the air brakes to pump up.

Finally, here I am settling into the driver’s seat, which is quite bouncy. The seat itself has an independent suspension unlike every other seat on the bus. I enjoyed taking this gigantic ride for a spin. It was gutless but fun.

Branson and I had Matt pick us up as if we were going to school – lights and everything! What a riot.

Who wants a ride? I should borrow this thing for a cross-country tour and pick a few of you up.

Have a great week!

6 Comments »

Acura ILX Trip: Bagdad, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on March 24, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 520,482

Odometer (ILX): 32,234

Trip Distance: 292 miles

The middle east would make a fun road trip destination, wouldn’t it? Too bad the logistics are a headache. I found a nearby substitute that will have to suffice for now. My friend Justin was raised in a remote town in east-central Arizona called Bagdad.

Similar to some other small towns in Arizona like Bisbee, Bagdad got its start as a copper mining town in 1882. Today, there are around 2,500 people living there. The town is actually owned by Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, the company that operates the mine. Justin told me that since the entire town is technically property of the mine, everyone rents their homes from Freeport.

For this trip, Justin and I took the 2013 Acura ILX 2.4 6-speed and my friend Matt took a “test vehicle” from his work at the Nissan proving grounds. This is a Medium Brown Metallic 2013 Pathfinder 2WD “Platinum” with leather and a huge sunroof.

Our first stop was for fuel & drinks in Wickenburg, Arizona at the Shell station.

I saw this sign posted on the window of the convenience store and it reminded me of a similar anti-litter campaign from the days when I grew up in Utah called “Don’t Waste Utah.”

Located in the hills about 100 miles northwest of the Phoenix metro area, I’ve often seen this sign on Highway 93 northbound and been intrigued about Bagdad.

Heading eastbound on Highway 97, the roller-coaster ride began. This two-laner is posted at anywhere from 15-35 mph on most of the corners — and for good reason. Most of those corners are “blind,” and the road is not banked in such a way that aggressive driving can be done safely. Justin had lots of stories about folks who have lost control of vehicles out there.

The ILX handled the terrain with ease and it was a nice workout for the 6-speed gearbox to slide through its gears.

Soon we reached an intersection and headed left another 4 miles to the town entrance.

Entering Bagdad: “The Best Copper Town Anywhere.”

Here is a story about how the town allegedly got its name:

“Please don’t associate our town’s name with that of Baghdad, Iraq. Please note the “h”. Bagdad has always been a mining town. As legend has it, the first miners were a father and son team. The ore was hauled out on mule teams in bags. (see the “Historical Photos” link) The son would be mining, filling the bags with ore. The father would be getting the things the son needed to mine. When the son needed another bag to fill, he would yell, “bag Dad”. Consequently the name Bagdad was derived. It had nothing to do with Iraq.”

It was about that this time when we realized just how fitting it was that Matt ended up bringing this particular Nissan Pathfinder on our trip. It’s equipped for the Middle East markets! Notice that the “OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR” on the passenger sideview mirror is in Arabic.

The air bag warning on the passenger sunvisor is also in Arabic. Matt’s gauge cluster was in kilometers per hour. How fitting that he brought a Middle East spec Nissan to a town called Bagdad, right?

First order of business was to refuel our bodies with some delicious hometown grub. Bagdad has 2 restaurants and 1 grocery store. Only 1 of the restaurants was open on Saturday when we arrived. It was called “The Diner.”

Fast, friendly service in here! A group of people who’d just toured the Bagdad mine were seated near us.

I opted for the classic “Main Street” burger. It rivaled the green chile burger from Sparky’s in Hatch, New Mexico but wasn’t quite as delicious. Still, the curly fries were to die for.

Happy to be experiencing some of the local sights and sounds of Bagdad. That’s Justin seated next to me.

I’m serious – those curly fries were amazing.

The Diner’s operating hours are a bit funky, so I thought I’d share. It’s open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. only. It’s closed every Monday. And it’s closed from March 24th through April 1st for Spring Break, so don’t try and go this week!

Next we took a short driving tour of the “hot spots” in town, including the high school. Justin graduated in 2010 and he says his class had 23 people in it. The mascot, appropriately for a town called Bagdad, is the “Sultan” (see the painting on the side of the school in the below picture).

The ILX took a rest while the 3 of us saddled up in the Pathfinder for some off-road adventures. It was a good thing, too, because the terrain that Justin directed us to required some high ground clearance.

Along this one-lane stretch, we dropped down into a canyon that was full of sandstone rock formations that made great hiking potential. This particular pullout had a fire pit and a bench – it’d be a great place to have a bonfire and camp out.

Enjoying our perfect weather and sunshine. It’s too bad that some of these rocks have been been tagged with graffiti.

This one looked like it’d be fun to rappel from – if I knew how to do that sort of thing.

Making our ascent back up the mountainside with Matt at the helm of the front-wheel-drive Pathfinder.

Justin led us on a short hike to a site where we were able to get up close to some rusty, abandoned mining equipment. We only had to cross over one barbed wire fence (Shh! Don’t tell anyone!) to get to it.

I have honestly no idea what this type of equipment was used for but perhaps some of my readers will enlighten me.

Glistening in the distance, I spotted something that looked like chrome. I had to investigate further. What we ended up finding was an abandoned 2-door car with its leaf springs raised up!

Matt and Justin, climbing on/around the overturned vehicle trying to identify it. I’m guessing it’s from the 1960s.

There were no badges left, and there were only a couple of part numbers identifiable. It would be fun to find out what kind of car this was / is. This is taken from the front.

View toward the back, taken from the driver’s side. Notice one of the yellow gas shocks still attached there.

Close up of the back bumper and a slight look at the muffler. I couldn’t believe how immaculate the chrome looked, while everything else had completely rotted away.

View from the rear end. Somebody help us out. What in the world is this car?

It was only about a mile up the road where the entrance to the mine was found. I hadn’t thought to make a tour reservation beforehand, so we didn’t go on-site, but we were able to view some of the tailings from the visitor parking lot.

Some information about the mine can be found here, on the Freeport McMoRan website.

Bagdad is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex.

Bagdad is home to the world’s first commercial-scale concentrate leach processing facility (2003) and one of the longest continuously operating solution extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) plant in the world (1970). An unincorporated community, Bagdad is one of two FCX “company towns;” the other is Morenci, Arizona.

The Bagdad operation includes a 75,000 metric ton-per-day concentrator that produces copper and molybdenum concentrates, an SX/EW plant that can produce up to 25 million pounds of copper per year from solution generated by low grade stockpile leaching and a pressure leach plant to process molybdenum concentrates.

Fun with a convex mirror just outside the mine’s main entrance.

And just up the road – the Bagdad Airport with a few tiny planes stored there.

Back in the ILX, we looped around Highway 97 toward Kirkland, Peeples Valley, Yarnell, and Congress, and then reconnected with Highway 93 after a dramatic drop in elevation on Highway 89. A few stretches of this road were just one-lane.

Rolling through Morristown, Arizona, home to 227 people as of the last census in 2009. This is also home to now world-famous internet sensation, Tardar Sauce — otherwise known as “grumpy cat.”

For those who haven’t yet met Tardar:

And finally the last stretch of our drive was via a brand new stretch of freeway called Loop 303 which took us to reconnect with I-17 southbound just north of Phoenix, Arizona.

Bagdad – check! I’m systematically crossing off a bunch of to-see destinations in and around Arizona this year.

Classic Car Ad

In the year of my birth, Cadillac launched a new feature in its 6.0 liter V8 engine that powered its mammoth cars: An 8 cylinder that was able to cut fuel to “unnecessary” cylinders under certain driving conditions, thereby increasing fuel economy. Similar systems are common today, but in 1981 this was pretty revolutionary.

There’s more detail on Cadillac’s “8-6-4” engine in the below scan:

My favorite paragraph was this:

“How reliable is it? The system has been proven in over a half-million miles of testing. It’s that reliable. All electronic components are solid-state, including the digital computer itself.”

Yeah, because who could ever conceive a car going beyond 500,000 miles back then? Cadillac’s V8-6-4 system, I’ve learned, only lasted a year before it was discontinued due to issues. I guess they should’ve pushed for a million miles of testing.

Hope the weekend treated everyone well!

12 Comments »

ILX Drive: Old US Hwy 80 & the Gillespie Dam Bridge

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on March 16, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 31,733

Trip distance: 168 Miles

Sometimes I take the long way. Just because. My attitude is something like this Acura ad from 1994:

For this weekend’s short & sweet drive, my friend Jack and I took the 2013 ILX to explore a 37-mile stretch of highway that’s a “road less traveled.” Dating back to 1926, US 80 was once an Atlantic-to-Pacific highway. Everything west of Dallas, however, has since been decommissioned.

The stretch of Old US 80 that we drove was bypassed in 1956 when a larger, more direct Highway 85 was opened just east of the old highway. It’s the rounded left side of this box that illustrates today’s journey:

I first learned of this road thanks to a post by member “jdmrex1” on the AZHT forum which is a gathering place for Arizona import car enthusiasts. He took pictures of his CRX on a bridge and they caught my eye, so I decided to check it out for myself.

Setting out from Phoenix, we made our way eastbound on Buckeye Road toward where Old US 80 starts.

We blew right past the post office in Arlington, Arizona without even realizing it, but I looped back for a picture. As of the 2010 census, there were just 194 people living here. It’s remote to say the least.

Here’s where we took a step back in time to the 1950’s and enjoyed the route that people back then would have seen as they traveled from the Phoenix area to San Diego or vice versa.

Desert Rose Bar, Cafe, & Arena. Talk about an all-in-one. Believe it or not, I think this place is still in business because there’s a review posted as recently as 2 years ago on Yelp.

Shortly down the road, I pulled the ILX off Hwy 80 into a gravel parking lot on the east side of the road. Here we were faced with the machinery of the Arlington Cattle Company. This is a 170-acre facility with quite a bit to offer:

In addition to three tailored feeding programs, we offer a 24 hour receiving & processing crew, truck & cattle scales as well as an on call veterinarian. We work around the clock to maintain the clean & safe environment necessary for cattle to reach their optimal gain per day.

Just a few more miles down the road, we rounded a corner and saw the long-awaited 1,662-foot-long bridge that I’d viewed in pictures a few days before.

I learned that this location is the Gillespie Dam Bridge which crosses the Salt River. It’s a steel truss bridge that was commissioned in 1926 by the Highway Department. It was completed August 1, 1927 at a cost of $320,000. At the time, it was the longest highway bridge in the state of Arizona.

The was part of US 80 until 1956 when it was decommissioned. The bridge itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places on the year I was born, in 1981.

When looking to the north from the bridge, the old Gillespie Dam (1921) can be seen. Fishermen were out in full force enjoying the weather like Jack and I were. This dam was breached in 1993 and has never since been rebuilt. You can clearly see the broken area here.

In 2011-2012, the bridge underwent a $7.9 million rehabilitation project which included construction of an “Interpretive Plaza” where we were able to walk up to an elevated platform for a nice vantage point of the entire bridge.

Here’s the parking area of the Interpretive Plaza.

The platform is pictured at left here.

Jack and I hopped back into the ILX and continued south toward the end of this stretch of our journey, in the tiny town of Gila Bend, Arizona. A metal cobra and dinosaur greeted us at the Shell station.

We enjoyed some lunch before departing from this fine town. (A little sarcasm there – Gila Bend really doesn’t offer a whole lot to see or do!)

From there we took Hwy 238 about 40 miles to Maricopa, Arizona and then down Hwy 347 north toward the Phoenix area.

We approached the south end of town and met up with a couple friends at Firebird Raceway. There were some import car race events going on, sponsored by NASA (National Auto Sport Association – Arizona Region).

Nick, Matt, and Jack

This is the motor to Nick’s 1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo. It’s a beast. This entire powerplant is fresh – while his car’s chassis has around 170,000 miles on it, the motor itself is only a few thousand miles old. Nick says he spent twice as much on the engine build as he spent on the car itself. This sucker is fast — and loud.

The color is called Aztec Red. I still think the 300ZX design has aged very well, much like Acura’s original NSX of the same era.

A few other events were going on around there, including a drifting competition, so we headed over there.

We watched our friend Brandon put this Subaru through its paces on the track. His AWD capability gave him a distinct handling advantage.

And back at my house, we had a bit of a car detailing party. My friends call my home the “Hugie Autospa” because it’s the go-to place for anyone who needs to shine up their ride. Here is Jack with his obnoxiously-colorful (but awesome!) 2001 BMW M3 6-speed.

The 300ZX even got a little bit of love.

First time this garage has seen two non-Acura products at the same time!

I had a great time today driving and working on my cars and spending time with friends.

“Follow Me” on Instagram

I bit the bullet and signed up for Instagram this week. I don’t know a thing about it, but it was the best way for me to see the latest pics of my niece and nephews that are getting uploaded daily. If you want to follow me, look me up! @tysonhugie

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

5 Comments »

New Mexico: White Sands National Monument in the ILX

Posted in ILX, National Parks, New Mexico, Road Trip on March 9, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 520,154

Odometer (ILX): 31,237

Trip Distance: 906 Miles

Road trip time!

Ever since my friend Jason and I met up in Bisbee a couple of months ago, we’ve been wanting to coordinate another drive together. This time, I put the planning responsibility on Jason and traveled to his hometown in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I grabbed my friend Chris and we hit the road around 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon to head eastbound on Interstate 10 from the Phoenix, Arizona area.

This rainbow sighting happened just north of Tucson.

For dinner, we pit stopped at one of my favorite restaurants: Texas Roadhouse. I love this place so much that I downloaded their app to my iPhone. For any who are seeking recommendations, I like the 6 ounce sirloin (medium), with sides of steamed veggies and mashed potatoes. Best $9.99 I’ve ever spent for a steak dinner!

I had to capture the above picture inside the restaurant since the “Be Legendary” sign was calling my name.

Our drive that night was 394 miles of all-interstate driving until we got to my Jason’s house right off I-25 in Las Cruces. The ILX achieved 32.4 miles per gallon even though for a good part of the drive I had the cruise control set at 80 miles per hour. The rest of the time, speeds varied since we went through pockets of heavy rain.

Jason and I didn’t waste any time before pulling out my huge atlas and laying the ground work for our travels the following day. He’s done quite a few travels in his Honda Accord coupe which are being captured on his blog, Driven for Drives.

I got the chance to learn quite a bit about Jason. He and I actually met “electronically” via this blog, but in-person this was only the second time we’d met.

Jason and his friend Jouhl are entrepreneurs. They operate a business called Wisebliss which specializes in bonsai trees. But these aren’t just any bonsai trees, these are hand-crafted “biobonsai” miniature trees made from a plant material that needs absolutely no care. Finally a plant that even I could keep alive.

Check out Jason and Jouhl’s website here. They’ve got some really neat stuff.

I also browsed through Jason’s extensive collection of car magazines. The first one that I grabbed was a 1993 Motor Trend “New Car Issue” that had a write-up on the Legend.

Saturday morning was a sunny day in Las Cruces, with an expected high temperature in the 60’s.

Jason, Tyson, Chris

First order of business was a photo-op at none other than the World’s Largest Chile! I’ve been known to seek out lots of “largest” things, including the largest firecracker, which is located in Nevada.

From there we headed eastward on US-70 toward Organ Mountain. A sign on the roadside told us we were fewer than 40 miles away from our destination.

Along the way, we took a twisty one-lane side-road toward Aguirre Spring.

Following Jason

This warning sign means business!

After we made our way back to US-70, weather ahead looked good but there were clouds looming in the distance. Or were they not clouds after all?

Jason in hot pursuit this time (well, not really, since we were both going only 70 mph) as I took the lead for a little while.

It was around this time that Chris spotted a Silver Moon Acura ILX going the opposite direction as we were. Looked great going down the road. I think that was the first Silver Moon I’ve seen in “real life” outside those sitting on a dealership’s lot. Finally, we made it to White Sands and pulled off toward the visitor center at our left.

White Sands is a field of white sand dunes in the southwestern part of New Mexico. It covers over 143,000 acres and was designated a national monument by President Herbert Hoover in 1933. The “sand” actually consists of gypsum crystals, and this site is the largest gypsum dune field in the world.

Entry was $3 per person, but Jason picked up the tab for all 3 of us. Thanks, Jason! I owe you.

The two-lane highway headed north into the monument area. Heavy winds had pushed sand across the roadways. Chris told me that they actually use sand plows to move it out of the way as necessary. It looks a lot like snow!

Some parts of the road were quickly getting drifted as the sand got kicked up by the wind. What I’d thought were clouds earlier in the afternoon were in fact caused by sand in the air. *cough, cough*

We made it to a parking area and took a break to soak in the surroundings.

Much like the scenic Monument Valley drive that I did a few weeks ago, White Sands also offers an un-paved loop for people who want to get a little more up close and personal with these sand dunes.

It truly felt like we were in another world!

The area is extremely remote. There is a missile testing facility just north of the monument called the Trinity site. This is where the first atom bomb was detonated in 1945.

Here you can start to appreciate how windy it was. Even with sunglasses on and my hoodie pulled over my head, I got sand all over the place. In my hair, eyes, mouth, and nose. All part of the experience!

And it wouldn’t feel right to have a world of sand at my disposal without kicking off my tennis shoes and digging in my bare feet.

It was around this time that I gave Jason the opportunity to take the ILX for a spin. He commented on how “solid” the drivetrain felt. Clutch effort, he noted, was significantly lower than in his Accord. He liked the width and diameter of the steering wheel and he commented that he exhaust note made the car sound aggressive.

Back on Hwy 70, we were cautioned about the traffic coming toward us from either direction at 70-80 miles per hour.

It was only about 45 minutes until we arrived back in Las Cruces and veered north on Interstate 25.

Exit 241 was for Hatch, New Mexico. A sign indicated that “Truth or Consequences” was north of us. I’ve always thought that was a funny name for a town. The town was originally called Hot Springs, but it was changed in March 1950 to be named after a game show on TV! More about that here.

The exit for Hatch was about 30 miles north of the Hwy 70 interchange on I-25. Shortly off the freeway, we drove past “Hot Damm Chile” and the opportunity for a picture was too much to resist.

Hatch, New Mexico is the Chile Capital of the World. There is even a Chile Festival held each Labor Day which can attract up to 30,000 people to the small town of fewer than 2,000 residents. We had to give the famous “Sparky’s” Restaurant a whirl, so we followed Jason there.

I opted for the Green Chile Cheeseburger pictured here, coupled with steak fries and followed by a root beer float. They’re serious about this burger being “world famous.” In fact, each time a customer ordered this burger, the clerk would exclaim, “World Famous!” as she rang up the total. The burger & fries only came to $5.99.

Odd decor was the name of the game around here.

We all ordered the same delicious thing.

This was the juiciest burger I’ve ever eaten. Absolutely melted in my mouth. So good!

The last picture I got as we started our 377-mile return trip to the Phoenix area was this shot of an Adopt-A-Highway sign on Hwy 26 just south of Hatch.

The misplaced apostrophe drove me nuts. When I shared this with a friend of mine via text, he said, “Lol, maybe they should try cleaning their stores before committing to a highway.” I got a good laugh out of that.

11 Comments »

Arches National Park: Southeastern Utah in the ILX

Posted in ILX, Road Trip, Utah on February 26, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 519,826

Odometer (ILX): 29,917

Over a 3-day weekend, I drove nearly 1,500 miles in the ILX through some of the most scenic (and remote) roads in the country. I’m going to break this trip write-up into the 7 destinations that I visited.

(1) Cisco, Utah Ghost Town

Back in December, I first learned of a town called Cisco when I was riding Amtrak’s “California Zephyr” train line from Denver to Salt Lake City and we railed past it. The image stuck with me and when it came time to do my 2013 annual trip planning, Cisco made the list. I’ve always had a fascination with ghost towns and one of my favorite ILX road trips was to Modena, Utah a couple months ago.

This time, I had a friend driving along. Ryan from Logan, Utah has a black 1996 Audi A6 Quattro with 225,000 miles on it. Ryan and I have known each other since his Acura Legend-owning days. Our meeting point on Saturday morning was Salina, Utah, a tiny town just north of Interstate 70 on Highway 89 in the central part of the state. I made my way northbound from St. George on Interstate 15 first. When I took the ramp for eastbound I-70, this was one of the first distance markers that I saw:

Traffic? No such thing out here on an early Saturday morning in February.

Pulling off at Richfield for 91-octane fuel at Flying J.

When was the last time you saw — or used — a payphone? You’ll be humming the tune to Maroon 5’s song “Payphone” for awhile now.

Only about 15 miles further east down the road, I met up with Ryan in Salina at the Burger King there. While I waited, I had some Cinnabon rolls – my diet was horrible that day. But that was a tasty breakfast!

We made our way eastbound on the 70 to Green River – no services for 110 miles! Again, this is some remote back-country.

The scenery is great. We went up through a mountain pass and then had many many miles of 6%+ downgrades as we made our way toward the 191 interchange.

Green River was kind of run-down and the cold wind was unpleasant. Chilly enough, in fact, that I didn’t even stop for a picture of this building on Main Street, but rather took it on the fly.

Our next stop after that was Cisco. This town was once a water-refilling station for locomotives but it has been abandoned for decades. The movie “Vanishing Point” was filmed there in 1971. The town was a little – well, a lot – off the beaten path. I led Ryan and we went on Hwy 128 after exiting I-70 at mile marker 204.

There’s a point at which a sign denotes that the road is no longer state-maintained. We kept going beyond that. Several miles, in fact. Soon I could see the decrepit buildings of Cisco on the horizon and I pulled over when we got there.

Time to take a peek inside some of these run-down relics.

This place is so remote and eery. As we walked around in mud that nearly sank us to our ankles, the door to an open motorhome blew back and forth in the breeze and squeaked like something from a horror movie.

I hopped up inside the motorhome pictured at left in the above and saw that there was an unopened packet of Ramen Noodles on the kitchen counter.

Some vinyl records were scattered across the floor, along with a bunch of trash. We looked inside a number of the other abandoned vehicles around the area. There isn’t a single home that appears to be inhabited at this time.

Even the “best-kept” ones are boarded up with No Trespassing signs.

Anybody looking for a clean one-owner 1980’s Camaro?

Ryan and I found the post office. It was a tiny one-room shack that reeked horribly of cigarette smoke, even with the windows broken out. A leather chair and a desk still sat behind the counter.

That picket fence out front could use a fresh coat of paint.

A sign about postage rates hung on the wall above the desk, dated 1995 (see in the picture below). I don’t think this place has seen much activity in at least the last 18 years. This article, which features an interview with Cisco’s last “postmistress” herself (Sharon Dalgleish), discusses what it’s been like for Cisco over the years.

Notice the mud caked onto my shoes! It’s a good thing my ILX has all-weather floor mats.

Here is what the post office once looked like. I would have loved to visit Cisco during the town’s boom.

After a few pics, it was time to get the heck out of there. Here we’re parked in front of the Cisco Landing Store. I imagine it’s been closed for quite some time. The restrooms are outhouses.

(2) Highway 128 & Dewey Bridge

Next we turned toward Moab on two-lane Highway 128 where a sign told us it’d be 42 miles away.

My Garmin GPS absolutely refused to let me go that way – it told me for the next 10 miles or so to “turn back!” but I was determined to scout out this road. As it turns out, the scenery was well worth any additional mileage! Rolling hills, transitioning from snow-frosted rocks to giant red-rock walls alongside us. We crept along parallel to the Colorado River.

I passed a sign for the historic Dewey Bridge and immediately hit the brakes in the ILX (luckily Ryan wasn’t following too closely in his Audi). This landmark bridge has some fun history. Here’s a quick run-down:

Constructed in 1916 by Midland Bridge Company of Kansas City, Missouri
Bypassed in 1988 by a new bridge for automobile traffic to the west
Restored in 2000 as a pedestrian and bicycle path
Burned down in 2008 by a 7-year old playing with matches!

Before:

During the 2008 fire:

And this past Saturday. All the remains from the bridge are the cables!

Charred stump:

When it was constructed, Dewey Bridge was the second longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi. From Wiki:

In 1916, the bridge was dedicated with a strength test by having approximately 70 attendees attempt to cross the bridge at once. The total was seven wagons, two people on horseback and several on foot. The bridge was designed to support the weight of six horses, three wagons, and 9,000 pounds (4,100 kg) of freight.

Then I had Ryan drive through a huge mud puddle and took some pictures. What’s Audi “Quattro” AWD for, anyway?

We continued the remaining 30 or so miles to Moab via scenic byway 128.

High canyon walls prevented my satellite radio from getting any signal.

(3) Arches National Park

In 1996, the state of Utah launched a new style of license plate to celebrate the its centennial. The main feature on the plate was Delicate Arch, a massive sandstone formation in Arches National Park in the southeastern part of the state. Ever since then (I was 15 at the time), I’ve wanted to see the arch in person.

While the northern part of the state is home to what’s become known as the “Greatest Snow on Earth,” the southern part of the state has a vastly different (desert) landscape. Utah is home to FIVE national parks, including:

Arches
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Zion

Each one is unique in its own way. I’ve not yet had the chance to travel to Capitol Reef or Canyonlands. This past weekend, I crossed Arches off my to-see list. Arches is home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches. It covers over 76,000 acres and was designated as a national park in November 1971.

Ryan and I made it to the junction of 191 near Moab and headed north. Ryan parked his car in a lot and hopped in the ILX with me so we could drive on into Arches just a couple miles up the road. Entry was $10 for our car. The road climbs sharply and winds along though some of the most spectacular rock formations I’ve ever seen.

We found our way to the Delicate Arch trailhead and parked. At this time it was chilly and overcast, but no moisture. There’s an old log cabin at the trailhead too — the original home of the Wolfe family, settled in 1888.

The hike was only 1.5 miles each way but quite steep as we scaled the sandstone rocks. Though at times we were scaling the surface of rocks, our pathway was still well marked thanks to stacked rocks that would guide us.

Soon we got to a point where the trail was hugging the side of a cliff and it was COVERED IN ICE!

I couldn’t even go a step further until I got on my hands and knees and crawled. I never fell but I slipped a number of times. We encountered a really friendly girl who told us we were close to the finish so we pressed onward.

Suddenly, we did arrive! Pictures do not to the arch justice. The arch is absolutely huge, at 65 feet tall.

Climbing it is not allowed. Right in front of it there’s a HUGE sandstone bowl that you could fall into.

And a drop-off on the other side of it, along with various formation around the rim of the bowl.

To put things into perspective size-wise, look at us standing below the arch here:

The downhill hike went faster but was treacherous with the ice. The snow started picking up heavily as we got to the lower elevations and approached the parking lot. We opted to head down the hill toward the visitor’s center. Ryan and I made our way through Moab and then headed southbound on Highway 191 in the snow.

Snow was accumulating pretty quickly at this rate. Of all the beautiful days in the forecast, we had to pick the one that had inclement weather!

(4) Hole In The Rock

Can you imagine carving an entire home out of the inside of a sandstone rock? That’s exactly what a man named Albert Christensen did. It took him 12 years to carve a 5,000-square-foot home into the red sandstone just south of Moab. The home, called Hole N” The Rock, is open for tours for $6 but the gates were closed when we drove past. I visited this place in my Legend in June 2005 when it had 176,000 miles on it:

Because of how well the rock insulates the home, there is no A/C required during the summertime!

Cozy little interior:

And a picture from Saturday with the ILX:

(5) Monticello, Utah

On the road again – southbound on Highway 191.

As my friend Kristy was telling me directions to her family-owned pizza business, she told me “Go past the light 2 blocks.” THE light. As in, there’s only one in town. We’re talking about a very small place here (1,958 people to be exact). I liked this run-down service station.

Kristy and her sister were the only ones working at Thatzza Pizza at 201 South Main Street.

Fast, friendly service – right here!

Ryan and I made chit chat – I hadn’t seen Kristy for a couple of years since she lived in Phoenix. It was good to catch up. We ordered a ton of food – meat lover’s pizza and some cheese bread for me. Ryan got some special ‘jalapeño bacon’ on his. Kristy set us up a table to eat in the back room while she visited with us. She told us about her 3.5 year old daughter and how her home is a converted movie theater. Thanks, Kristy!

Ryan and I wanted to head southbound on 191 before it got too dark. It was only 20 more miles to our nightly destination in Blanding, Utah but the snow was blizzard blowing and there were probably at least a dozen or more deer warnings in that 20-mile stretch of road! I was ultra paranoid since I’ve been known to have deer encounters before. It was a white knuckler at 45-55 mph the entire time, but we made it.

(Flashback) Four Corners

Here’s a place I’d wanted to revisit this weekend but didn’t. Four Corners is famous because it’s the only spot in the country where visitors can simultaneously stand (on all fours, anyway) in four different states — Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. This spot was first marked in 1875, with the first permanent marker being placed there in 1912. Despite its remote location, Four Corners is visited by thousands of people each year. Here is a picture from a visit to Four Corners in the Legend in 2005:

(6) Highway 261 & the Moki Dugway

On Sunday morning, Ryan and I were the only ones at the Blue Mountain Inn in Blanding. We had the entire continental breakfast to ourselves – it was eerily quiet at the hotel (probably because it was 1 degree outside and tourist season has not nearly begun). It was a gorgeous blue sky morning with fresh snowfall outside. I randomly discovered a new road that I thought would be fun to try. It was Hwy 95 west to Hwy 261 (“Trail of the Ancients”) south. It all started when I saw on Google Maps what looked like a teeny little “knot” in the road, circled in green here:

A closer look:

Hmm. Let’s zoom that once more:

Whoa – sign me up for that curve action! When I went to satellite view, I was a bit discouraged to see that the road is unpaved, but after a little bit of internet research I was assured that conditions were acceptable for passenger car travel and only 3 miles of it are unpaved/gravel. Highway 261 is a favorite among many. In fact, I learned about one particular lady who’s been going there every year since 2002.

I was nervous about road conditions due to the snowy weather the night before, but at the same time I was somewhat excited about the idea of trying an all-new route. This would also allow us to go right past Monument Valley on Hwy 163. Plus, I’d already seen Four Corners so it didn’t have as much appeal. Ryan was totally amped about trying the new proposed route because of a 3-mile dirt section called Moki Dugway.

There was snow accumulation on the road as we made our way southbound on 261. Based on the fact that there were zero car tracks, we must’ve been the first ones out there that morning. I was nervous but I kept both hands on the wheel and a moderate speed. Ryan tailed me in the Audi which is equipped with AWD and snow tires. The ILX was sure-footed and confident with its Michelin Pilot tires. We passed only 2 vehicles in the 30 or so miles until the Moki Dugway section started.

Warning!

5 mph corners!

Then the adventures began. The switchbacks on this road are awesome! I had Ryan snag some pictures from a high vantage point as I snaked around the bends.

No guard rails here. We were about to experience an 1,100-foot drop in only a 3 mile distance. Hold your breath.

Remember that twisty road I’d seen on Google Maps? Feast your eyes:

Look very closely at this next picture. There’s a tiny silver speck toward the right hand side of the frame. There’s my car.

These Utah grades were no match for the ILX’s 201-horsepower engine and exceptional braking. Ryan’s Audi has a 12-valve V6 engine. He says the car’s not overly powerful but the transmission is geared smartly – the car uses its power (172 horses) well.

I will definitely be going to back to revisit that section of Highway 261 in the near future.

(7) Monument Valley

Our last destination was on Navajo land where we would see sandstone rock formations up to 1,500 feet tall. This map shows (location “A” – the red flag) where Monument Valley is located, at the Utah / Arizona state line.

About 10 miles after the Moki Grade we joined with Highway 163 and headed through the town of Mexican Hat, named for a rock formation that looks like a sombrero. I had stopped here in 2005 on a “Utah Tour” in the Legend.

June 2005 in the 1994 Legend LS Coupe

February 2013 in the 2013 Acura ILX

Not a lot has changed in 8 years!

Ryan took this picture while he was following me down this forever-long straightaway on Highway 163. They call this the “classic road shot.”

As I shared in a prior Drive to Five post, Monument Valley is my favorite place to drive. I took the Legend there in 2008. It was only $5 to enter the Monument Valley park – the rate hasn’t changed in the last 5 years! Monument Valley was established in 1958 as a preserved environment under the Division of Natural Resources.

Ryan opted to park the Audi and we took the ILX on the 17-mile dirt road which starts right off the Visitor Center parking lot. Road conditions were unfavorable thanks to some rocks and ruts, blowing sand and snowflakes at times, and temperatures in the high 20’s and low 30’s. But I carefully got the ILX through it. We got some funny looks from people in 4×4 trucks. But the scenery was unmatched! We saw these 11 landmarks and many others.

Another size comparison. Can you see me standing there in my blue hoodie? These sandstone cliffs make you feel absolutely tiny.

We saw a few rental cars out and about – Chevy Cruze, Ford Mustang, Dodge Avenger. But nobody else was crazy enough to take an Acura on a road like this, except for me.

We enjoyed the scenery from the comfort of our heated leather seats.

Ryan taking pictures from the passenger seat:

Here’s a video of the ILX coming up the last stretch on our return to the Visitor’s Center.

Thank goodness the ILX has over 6 inches of ground clearance, because I used up each and every one of them!

Homeward Bound

The remaining 320 miles home to Phoenix were nice and relaxing. Our next stop was in Kayenta – tiny little town with stray dogs running all over the place. Interestingly enough, the Burger King there was the nicest BK I’ve ever been to. We topped off our tanks at Chevron and then headed on Highway 160 westbound toward Hwy 89. There was not any noticeable “extra traffic” due to the detour of 89 from further north (cracked highway near Page) that was sending people our way.

We had snow flurries off and on until the junction past Tuba City where 160 meets 89. Then Ryan followed me the remaining 14 miles to the Cameron Trading Post next to the bridge. He took Hwy 64 to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I was on my own after that – only a short stop in Flagstaff to top off my tank, then homeward bound. The storm clouds at 7,200 feet in Flagstaff weren’t dropping much snow, thankfully. I’ve never been so glad to see 50 degrees on the external temp readout before – that happened in about Camp Verde, Arizona on I-17. It was great to be home!

Coming Attractions

I’ve got a trip planned to New Mexico in 10 days, and I received approval for some time off in August to go to the National Acura Legend Meet (NALM) in Asheville, North Carolina. This’ll be a fun 3,960-mile trip!

16 Comments »

Archive for the Road Trip Category

Pages