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“Santa Claus” Arizona & Payton’s Lexus IS300

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip, Utah on February 22, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 28,895

“On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again.” Willie Nelson said it right! Tonight I’m in my hometown in St. George, Utah. About 215 miles into my 422-mile drive from the Phoenix area, I pulled off Highway 93 just north of Kingman, Arizona for a few pictures in the town of Santa Claus. Well, ghost town, I should say.

Starting in the late 1930’s, Santa Claus was a popular tourist destination along the highway. There was an inn and a restaurant, featuring such dishes as “Chicken A La North Pole,” and “Rum Pie A La Kris Kringle.” The business owners even offered a remailing service whereby people could direct letters to have them postmarked as “Santa Claus.” This is similar to what happens in North Pole, Alaska, where I drove the Legend in 2006.

There isn’t much that remains today of this place. Popularity declined in the 1970s. By the 1980s, it had been removed from maps, and in 1983, the entire town was put up for sale for $95,000. Nobody bought it.

However, it’s still up for grabs if anyone’s in the market for some prime commercial acreage:

A few years ago I stopped here in the Legend. At the time, the wire fence hadn’t yet been installed and I wandered through the buildings. It was quite the eery feeling, since the buildings have been abandoned since the mid 1990s. I will update this post when I get home to Arizona on my laptop computer and dig those pictures up.

Christmas Tree Inn, 1940s

Christmas Tree Inn, 2013

An old wishing well is about all that remains of the landscaping. When I stopped here the last time, there was still a miniature train called “Old 1225” out front on a small section of track. It has since been removed.

Here’s the Santa Claus gas station in 1940:

And below in the background, you can see what it looks like today:

The “Entrance” sign, and all wood trim, is very weathered and worn.

Next up, after rolling through Las Vegas, I pulled off for a restroom break in Glendale, Nevada. There wasn’t much to see:

A sign on I-15 northbound announced “Winter Driving Conditions,” but to me it looked like “ideal” driving conditions.

Finally I arrived in St. George after exactly 6.5 hours of travel time. First stop was to check in at my brother’s business, called H&S Performance. They specialize in diesel performance parts, but they’ve got a few other toys sitting around, like this 1997 Lincoln Towncar stretch limousine. I’ve driven it a few times and it’s a riot. Anyone who drives it is required to wear a chauffeur cap that stays with the car at all times.

My younger brother Payton (25) picked up a new ride a couple of weeks ago that he’s wasted no time in modifying. This is his “Intensa Blue Pearl” 2002 Lexus IS300. The metallic blue color is stunning in person. Payton’s first car was a 1986 Acura Legend base model sedan that we’d picked up for $300 and he drove for a year. He’s come a long way! This Lexus has just under 123,000 miles on it.

This car is powered by a 3.0 liter 6-cylinder Toyota 2JZ-GE motor that pushes 215 horsepower stock.

It looks like the first generation IS (model years 2001-2005) and the ILX are pretty similarly proportioned from this angle.

Payton’s windows are tinted at 20% all the way around — the same level of tint that I have in my car. The wheels are called Work Emotion CR Kai. They’re 18 x 8.5 front, 18 x 9.5 rear, and +38 offset all around. He had to roll the fenders just slightly to keep them from rubbing under load.

The suspension setup is an adjustable BC Racing BR Series coilover suspension. Payton took me for a ride in the IS and for being aggressive visually, it still rides really nice.

Since these pictures were taken, Payton tonight wrapped the roof in black vinyl. It looks extra sporty.

One of my favorite interior features of these Lexus IS300s is the “cue ball” shift knob.

This IS is highly optioned, with the rare factory flip-up navigation unit. Controls are located near the center console and are really intuitive to operate.

Engine is totally stock now.

I’ve had a great evening spending time with my family here. My grandma “Doce” is one of my blog’s most loyal followers. Tonight we had dinner at her place. Our fingers in this picture are pointing to a spot on the Utah page where we’re currently standing – in the city of St. George which lies in the southwestern corner of the state. Thanks gma for coming along with me as my permanent passenger on these drives!

And this here’s my pride and joy – my niece Vivienne. She’ll be 2 years old in April.

The Legend is doing well. I noticed that my passenger side bumper turn signal lens is cracked and filled with condensation, but when I went to order a new one I learned that it’s been discontinued. This is becoming more and more common as time goes on. First, the accessories were discontinued. Now, the impact is even hitting “real” parts. I ended up finding a used one on Ebay and it’s being shipped currently.

Here’s a fun Legend that popped up this week in Tucson. 347,000 miles. And somehow it ended up with “pie plate” OEM 16″ wheels off the 1996-1997 Acura 3.5RL (refinished in black). It looks decent for the mileage!

And a quick note of congratulations to Francesco from Italy! Drive to Five has been following his mileage accumulation since May 2012 when he had 240,000 miles on his 2005 Fiat. Last Thursday, he rolled the 270,000 mark. That comes out to 167,813 miles.

His car continues to look great both inside and out.

Can’t wait to see that 300,000 mark!

One final story to close with: I was fueling up with some 91 octane at a station off the Brigham Road exit in St. George. A long-haired young guy, probably in his 20’s, started approaching me and I thought for sure he was going to ask me for money. Well, he did, but he did it cleverly:

Him: “Hey man, if I play you a couple of songs with my guitar, would you be willing to spare a gallon or two of gas?”
Me: “Don’t worry about the songs, but here’s $5.”
Him: “Cool, thanks man! What’s your name?”
Me: “Tyson (and we shook hands). Good luck with the guitar. And thanks for the offer!”

As I was getting back into the ILX, he said, “Thanks Tyson!” I noticed he was driving a gigantic 1980’s GMC conversion van. My $5 is probably only going to get him 15 miles in that thing.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

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Trip to San Diego, California in the ILX

Posted in California, ILX, Road Trip on February 17, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 28,229

I love southern California. From 2001-2003, I lived in north San Diego County. Over the last 10 years, I’ve traveled back frequently. This time, I decided to take my friend Jack along for the ride. Here’s what our route looked like:

Trip distance: 882 Miles
Observed fuel economy: 32.0 MPG
Other Acura ILXs seen on the road: 0

6:30 a.m. came bright and early on Saturday morning. I watched the sun rise in my sideview mirror as we made our way westbound on Interstate 10.

Treat stop in Tonopah, Arizona at 339th Avenue. Dawn in the desert is a beautiful time of day with its soft light.

Shortly after the crossing the California state line, we had to stop for a mandatory California Agriculture Station inspection. Though, it was hardly an “inspection,” since the representative merely waved me onward and we rolled past.

Jack’s favorite song came on my Sirius XM radio so we had to sing along. I think I had it stuck in my head for the entire rest of the day.

Once again I’ve maxed out the timer on my ILX’s information display in the gauge cluster.

This fuel stop at Chevron near Indio, California looked a bit like a Honda meet, with a silver Accord and an Acura RSX joining the party. Premium (91 octane) fuel ran $4.59 per gallon. I topped off the ILX’s 13-gallon tank and we were on our way.

Jack and I soon passed the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, home to over 3,000 windmills. The blades on each one of these windmills are 116 feet long and when they’re spinning, they sweep an airspace of just under an acre!

From I-10, connected with US-60 west and then I-215 south, which turned into I-15 south. Soon we arrived at our first destination.

One of the towns that I lived in was Fallbrook, located in northern San Diego County. At the time, I was volunteering as a representative of my church and Fallbrook was my assigned area. The town’s claim to fame is that it is the “Avocado Capital of the World.” There’s an avocado festival held each year in the spring. Southern California is home to 59,000 acres of avocado groves, accounting for 95% of the United States’ avocado production. I’m getting hungry!

August 13, 2001

I was 19 years old and driving a church-issued Chevy Prism.

February 16, 2013

Age 31 and driving a 2013 Acura ILX.

Notice that the sign has changed slightly over the last decade. The font and image are different, the population has gone from 38,000 to 44,000 and somehow the city’s elevation has mysteriously “sunk” from 900 feet to 685 feet!

Highway 76 took us toward the Pacific Ocean. Soon we were breathing that fresh humid air and the water was in sight!

The “Strand” is a stretch of road that winds along the beach in Oceanside.

The ILX found its way to some convenient hourly parking while we wandered to lunch and soaked up some sunshine in 79 degrees.

This is the view on the Oceanside Pier. It was first built in 1888 (but has been rebuilt several times since then). It’s 1,954 feet long, making it the longest wooden pier on the west coast.

At the end of the pier is a restaurant called Ruby’s. I had a mushroom, Swiss, avocado burger and it was excellent! Here are a few other sights from around the area.

I paid a visit to a couple of great families in the area, including the Cordadas:

And the Linvilles, Veronica and Renzo. The picture I was holding here is a shot from 2001 when I used to visit them regularly.

These cookies are called “alfajores.” They’re Peruvian and have dulce de leche filling. Veronica knows how to spoil me!

Our next journey would take us through Escondido (Spanish for “hidden”) on California State Route 78, also known as the San Pasqual Rd. We climbed from Escondido’s 600-foot elevation through a series of tight, banked curves up the hillside. Soon we arrived on Main Street in Ramona, at 1,400 feet.

I lived in Ramona for about six months in late 2001. The below is a picture that was taken of me back then. While the town is only about an hour or less from downtown San Diego, it definitely feels quite remote and is a taste of the “countryside” for those in San Diego who wish to retreat from the hustle and bustle.

Ramona, interestingly enough, is referred to as the Valley of the Sun — as is my hometown, Phoenix, Arizona. Jack and I grabbed drinks at a gas station where the 78 highway arrives into town. We’d soon be traveling those remaining 23 miles (see the sign in the background) of country roads to Julian.

Heading eastbound from central Ramona.

We made a quick side-trip to see the home that I lived in during my time in Ramona. It was actually a converted horse stable – a two-room tiny dwelling. It didn’t have (or need) air conditioning but we used a space heater during winter months. Why I was standing on the rooftop when this was taken in 2001, I have no idea.

Yesterday, this was as close as we could get, due to a posted “No Trespassing” sign. The property may have changed owners.

The view, however, was every bit as great as I remembered it being.

We began to climb even further in elevation as we approached Julian. This tiny town owes its heritage to the mining industry and it experienced a gold rush after ore was discovered there in 1869.

Main Street in Julian was bustling with tourist activity. This guy was offering carriage rides with his miniature horse.

We parked and took a walk around.

Here’s a look at Main Street in Julian. This place is most famous for its apple pies. Still full from lunch at Ruby’s, we didn’t partake this time, but I’ve had the pies before and they’re amazing.

The town sits at over 4,200 feet – high enough that snow storms are common during the wintertime. Weather was amazing during our visit, but there were piles of melting snow scattered in various locations along Main Street.

I took a peek inside the Chamber of Commerce.

When I saw the below picture hanging inside a Julian coffee shop, it caught me by surprise. It’s a sketch of an old Ford pickup parked in front of a place called Shady Dell. Shady Dell is located in Bisbee, Arizona, 478 miles away from this location! I was just there a few weeks ago in the Legend.

ILX Drive: Montezuma’s Castle & Tonto Natural Bridge

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on February 3, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 519,285

Odometer (ILX): 26,491

It was time to head for the hills in my freshly-washed Acura ILX 2.4. Beckoning mountain roads, a full tank of gas, and a weather forecast of sunshine with 75-degree temperatures are all the motivation that I needed. This weekend’s trip looked something like this. Google told us to expect a 249-mile round trip of just under 5 hours drive time:

On Friday night, Alex the ILX got a much-needed bath. I’ve always used Meguiar’s car care products, and my preferred product for cutting the grime is called Deep Crystal Car Wash. Just a little bit in a bucket is all it takes!

These 10-spoke 17″ accessory wheels can be a chore to clean, but the results are always worth it.

Saturday morning, I revved up that 2.4 liter engine and joined a few friends for the drive.

Aaron: 2013 Audi S5; Turbocharged 3.0 liter V6. 333 horsepower through a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission
Matt: 2012 Nissan 370Z; 3.7 liter V6. 332 horsepower through a 6-speed manual transmission
Tyson: 2013 Acura ILX; 2.4 liter inline-4. 201 horsepower through a 6-speed manual transmission

It was a perfect day for moonroof-open cruising as we made our way up Interstate 17 from my home in Scottsdale.

Aaron’s S5 was clearly the glamour girl of the group. Those LED headlights looked extremely sexy coming up in my rearview mirrors.

Our first stop was a place called Montezuma’s Castle National Monument. These ruins are located just off Interstate 17 in north-central Arizona.

That car wash on Friday night really paid off. This ILX’s Silver Moon Metallic paint was gleaming in the sunlight!

I enjoyed seeing some of the featured displays, including some historic pictures like this 1933 traffic sign that once led travelers to the site.

According to Wikipedia, the dwellings were built around 700 AD and had a maximum population around 1300 AD. This is around the same time that the Casa Grande Ruins that a visited a couple of weeks ago in the Legend were also thriving. The ruins are in fact not a castle, but rather a form of apartment housing. It is estimated that they were abandoned by around 1425. There are 20 rooms.

We were able to walk a 1/4 mile paved trail from the visitor’s center to get a closer look at the ruins, but we were not able to go inside them. Prior to 1950, tourists could scale a series of ladders to get up and inside the ruins, but there was too much damage to the area (and too much looting) so that level of access was discontinued. Today about 350,000 people still go see the monument each year.

Here, our tour guide Ruth talks to Aaron about some of the history here.

Matt and Beau take a look at the remains of one of the castles. The monument’s cliff dwellings are well preserved due to their location in the hillside.

There’s a whole lotta silver paint going on here. Technically, though, Aaron’s color is called “Monsoon Gray Metallic.”

After our visit to the castle, we headed to lunch at the (Urbanspoon-recommended!) Verde Cafe on at 368 South Main Street off Hwy 260.

Breakfast is served until 3:00 p.m.! Three of us ordered the breakfast burrito, and we highly recommend it!

Another group of satisfied customers.

Next door was the Thanks a Latte coffee shop – I thought it was quite a clever name. Camp Verde is home to about 10,000 people. Since the town is at 3,100 feet in elevation, it’s more likely to get winter weather than the Phoenix area at 1,900 feet.

A few photos of the Audi before starting off to our next destination.

For about the next 40 miles, we climbed on 2-lane Highway 260 toward Payson, Arizona. These mountain roads are where the 6-speed manual ILX and 6-speed manual 370Z really required some driver input.

There were lots of nice curves including some hairpins posted at 20 miles per hour.

We rolled through the tiny towns of Strawberry and Pine, where’d I’d last been in September 2011 with my Legend. Once we’d taken the turnoff from Hwy 87 toward Tonto Natural Bridge, the two-lane highway quickly got more technical in nature. There’s a particular 1-mile stretch with sharp curves and grades up to 14% – this is where the ILX demonstrated its tight handling.

The Tonto Natural Bridge Lodge is where we each paid our $5 entry for admission into the park. The lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic places, having been built between 1925 and 1927.

Inside the lobby:

The lodge had some unique artifacts from the area, including some chairs from 1900 and an organ from around the same timeframe. It had been transported to the lodge via wagon around 1903.

The Gowan Trail is the hiking route that leads to the overlooks of the natural bridge. It’s short, at only 1/2 mile in distance each way, but it’s very steep.

Here’s the view as we got started – standing on TOP of the natural bridge and looking down.

Beginning our descent down the trail.

According to the Arizona State Park website, Tonto Natural Bridge is believed to be the largest natural travertine bridge in the world. It’s 183 feet high and stands over a 400-foot-long tunnel. It was discovered by a prospector in 1877.

Here is what the bridge looks like from the ground level.

Blue shirt twins posing for a pic. Josh copied me, I swear.

Yikes – bees!

Back up at the top (and panting from the steep climb!) we enjoyed the view for a few more minutes.

We practically took over this Giant gas station in Payson, Arizona when we stopped in for drinks.

Once again, just like with the Sedona group drive from a few weeks ago, my ILX was the high miler of the bunch.

Aaron’s S5 turned over 5,000 miles this trip
Matt’s 370Z has just under 19,000

I was very impressed with how well the 4-cylinder ILX held its own with two V6 cars (of over 100 additional horsepower) during some high-RPM sprints. Plus, I don’t think either the Z or the S5 are getting 32 mpg like I am!

Dale’s Legend

My friend Dale stopped by this morning in his 1993 Legend L Sedan 5-speed. I’ve known Dale since I first moved to Arizona seven years ago. Our first meet-up was in October, 2006. His car had 140,000 miles on it and mine had 255,000 miles on it. These are pictures from back then.

We also attended a Legend meet together in March 2008. By that time, he’d installed a set of 17″ wheels off a 2002 Acura CL Type-S:

His car today is largely unchanged, except that it has 80,000 more miles on it. Mine has 264,000 more miles on it.

One of the first things you’ll notice about Dale’s car is that he’s completed a headlight retrofit project. His headlight housings have projectors inside them.

Notice the difference between Dale’s modified headlights and my stock ones. The beams on his are much more precise.

Just 220,617 miles on his Cashmere Silver Metallic beauty.

Rare cloth interior! It’s held up really well after 20 years.

I had Dale take the ILX for a spin and he commented about how well it handled and how smooth it shifted.

Thanks, Dale, for stopping by!

Final parting shot taken this afternoon with the ILX near historic Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona. I haven’t been able to dig up much information about the “A.H. & V. Co” but the building is currently occupied by a beauty salon. Quite a transition from a place that once apparently specialized in “hardware & vehicles.”

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Driving in China

Posted in Road Trip on January 31, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 519,285

Odometer (ILX): 26,034

No, I haven’t shipped my cars overseas for a lap around Asia (yet!).

Can you imagine having to apply for a lottery to be able to get a license plate for your vehicle? How different things would be for me if I lived in another country.

In an effort to curb traffic congestion, the largest city in China (Shanghai, at 23 million people), is looking into ways to limit access to plates. In Beijing, the capital city, such a system is already in place. Only 240,000 plates are issued per year. This works out to one driver out of every 75 applicants being successful in getting a license plate! See this article for more information.

My friend Ben lives in Shanghai. He shared this picture with me with a “then and now” look at the city. The top picture here was presumably taken in the 1980’s. Ben says that old parts of town are being demolished and new luxury apartments and retail stores constructed at breakneck speed.

Shanghai has 12 metro train lines and 273 stations. The “Maglev” train that runs from the airport has a top speed of 268 miles per hour. Acura models are sold in China. Ben reported seeing this Chinese ILX advertisement in the airport:

The “Urban Spirit, Urban Force” is loosely translated to “The city: My main stomping grounds.” Per Ben:

So, for example, if I wanted an ILX in Shanghai, a hybrid (from what I can tell from the website, it’s the only one available in China) costs US$52729, once you add in the cost of the license plate, by the time it’s registered and on the road, it will have cost you over US$70000. Now that you’ve spent $70K, you still don’t have a place to park. Parking spaces run up to US$300 a month, or if you want to buy one, US$100K. Gas costs upwards of US$5 a gallon. This is in a city where the average salary is US$8500 a year.

This is what Ben’s morning commute bus ride looks like around 10 a.m. in Shanghai. Still very heavy traffic nearing city center.

Here are 2 pictures that Ben recently took of a Honda Legend in China. The city truly takes its toll on vehicles, so this car looks like it’s seen better days.

I definitely take my freedoms as a driver for granted. I have the ability to freely register as many vehicles as I wish, to hop in the car and travel on “non-toll” roads, and spend only a fraction of the fuel cost that someone in Europe might be paying. We have it really good here. And for that I am grateful.

New Innovation for the ILX

Acura continues to be at the forefront of innovation when it comes to driver safety and convenience. This week, it was announced that the ILX is one of Honda/Acura vehicles that will offer integrated support for the iPhone’s “Siri.” With just the activation of the hands-free link and Bluetooth, drivers may now keep their eyes on the road and utilize Siri functionality. From a press release dated 1/30/13:

Later this year, owners with a compatible iPhone¹ running iOS 6can direct Siri to perform a number of specific tasks while they safely keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. Using Eyes Free mode, Siri takes hands-free functionality even further and minimizes distractions even more by keeping your iOS device’s screen from lighting up.

Something to look forward to when I upgrade from my “regular” iPhone 4!

Legend Lovers Unite – Michael’s 1994 Legend LS Sedan

On Wednesday night, a new Legend friend came over to my home. Michael happens to live just a few blocks from my house, and he’s as much of an Acura fan as I am. Having owned a 1991 sedan previously, he’s currently in a 1994 LS Automatic with 191,030 miles on the odometer.

Barely broken in! This car is equipped with Koni red struts, an aftermarket sound system, and other goodies.

The interior is in fantastic shape. According to AutoCheck, this car lived in California until 2007 when it moved to the Phoenix area, and it’s been here ever since. There’s not an ounce of rust on the body.

Interestingly enough, Michael’s car used to be Desert Mist Metallic – the same color as my coupe. At some point before his ownership, it was repainted pearl white.

He took me for a spin and it drove as solidly as a Legend should!

Thanks Michael for stopping by!

Quarter Million Mile…Lambo?

I saw this article today on Jalopnik about a 2004 Murcielago with 258,098 miles on the odometer that was just recently wrecked. Days before the accident, it had undergone a $47,000 service. To put that into perspective: This Lamborghini required more maintenance dollars on a SINGLE service than my 1994 Legend cost to maintain over its lifetime, with double the number of miles. That number, by the way, is $34,148.54 that the Legend’s had spent on it.

Back in the “real world” of cars:

The ILX looked cozy today tucked into my corner parking space at the office.

Someone got creative with exterior decor on his or her Honda CR-V. Those are Post-It notes!

I fueled up on the way home with 91 octane Shell gasoline at $3.40 / gallon.

The ILX is returning 32.0 mpg currently. I can’t remember when I last reset it, but the EPA estimate according to the factory window sticker is 31 mpg highway, so I’m beating that (and with mixed driving, too).

New ILX Owner Brent

Tonight I witnessed a friend of mine taking delivery of a brand new Acura ILX 2.0 automatic in Polished Metal Metallic with Parchment interior.

Brent traded his 2010 Acura TL in his new car at Acura of Tempe. Here are his new and old cars, side by side. His TL had only 34,000 miles on it.

Customary key handoff photograph! I wish I would’ve had my better camera on-hand:

And a quick shot of me, Brent, and our ILXs.

Congratulations Brent! Hope you have fun with the new ride.

How is winter treating everyone? The next time I get into the Acura ILX for my morning commute (at a chilly-for-Scottsdale 55 degrees) and quickly switch the seat heaters to “HI” for maximum heat, I’m going to think of this guy in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

He’s in a Subaru WRX STi that doesn’t feel like starting at -44 degrees Celsius (which converts to -47 degrees Fahrenheit):

The closest I’ve driven to the Northwest Territories was a neighboring province called the Yukon, back in 2006 during my Alaska trip with my dad.

Thanks to my friend Tony in Toronto for sharing the video link.

Stay warm everyone! Happy Friday.

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Bisbee, Arizona: Legend of the Old West

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on January 27, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 519,137

Odometer (ILX): 25,854

Fire up the DeLorean, Doc Brown. We’re going back to 1885. Rain or shine, for this weekend’s roadtrip I decided to take the Legend out of town. Bisbee is about 210 miles away from my home in Scottsdale. It was founded as a mining town in the 1880’s and today is home to about 6,000 people (the population has remained constant since about 1950). Check out the route that my friend Josh and I took yesterday (“A” to “B”):

The Phoenix area gets an average of over 300 days of sunshine per year, yet we picked a day when it was absolutely dumping rain. I was more paranoid about getting my car dirty than anything else. The Legend is as sure-footed as ever thanks to a fresh set of Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires that were installed only 7,000 miles ago.

First stop was just north of Tucson, Arizona for some fuel and snacks.

The rain really decided to let loose right around this time. Back on Interstate 10, traffic was at a 35 mph crawl for much of the drive through metro Tucson.

Slowly the clouds parted as we made our way to Benson, Arizona where we pulled off I-10 and took Highway 80 through the towns of St. David and Tombstone. Here is a picture at the Boothill Graveyard near the entrance to Tombstone.

This was the third time my Legend has been to Tombstone – the first was back in February 2006 when I went with my friend Chris. My car had 2004 Acura TL 17″ wheels on it at the time (and only around 209,000 miles).

At that time, Chris and I parked our cars in front of the “legendary” Boothill Graveyard. Chris’ car was a 1994 L sedan automatic in Sherwood Green Metallic.

There are many more pictures from our adventure that day in the Legend forums thread here.

Continuing on Hwy 80, Josh and I made our way toward Bisbee.

Just before arriving in Bisbee on Hwy 80 from the west, we went through the Mule Pass Tunnel which was completed in 1958.

Finally, a one-lane curvy road called Tombstone Canyon Road takes us through what is now known as “Old Bisbee.”

Josh and I wandered around this area and peeked inside some of these shops, including the Bisbee Olive Oil Company that was giving out free samples.

Soon, our new friend Jason arrived. He’s the man behind the blog “Driven for Drives” which captures his ownership experience with his gorgeous silver 2004 Honda Accord V6 6-speed coupe. It has about 109,000 miles on it.

Bisbee lies only about 10 miles from the Mexican border, so we saw a lot of Border Patrol vehicles out and about. I also spotted several vehicles with Mexican license plates, including a van from the state of Sonora and another van from the state of Jalisco.

Following a coworker’s recommendation, we had lunch at a place called Santiago’s, located on the ground floor of the 1902 San Ramon Hotel. The tacos are highly recommended!

Jason, Tyson, Josh – at Santiago’s

Photo Re-Creation Experiment

The November 2012 issue of Arizona Highways Magazine had a special section with “then and now” photos from various locations in the state. The opening picture in the article was Main Street in Bisbee. This picture was taken in 1940.

The opposite page, pictured below, contained a picture from the same angle taken in 2012.

I was determined to re-create the image, so Jason and I sought out the location where it was taken.

We found it. Here again for comparison are the picture from 1940, and our picture from 2013.

And finally, a side-by-side. Thanks Aunt Jodi for putting these images together!

Spot on! It’s been 73 years. The buildings look the same, but the cars have changed.

A couple more shots that Josh took while Jason and I did a drive-by.

Next up, we took a little driving tour of town. Given Bisbee’s notoriety as a ghost town destination, tourists can even take a tour in a hearse! We opted instead to take the Legend and the Accord. Because of the steep terrain, many of these roads are one-laners (but still allowing traffic to go both directions). I feared that we might meet another vehicle head-on and have to back down this road, but traffic worked in our favor and we didn’t.

Homes and shops are built into the side of the side of the Mule Mountains.

Because of the terrain, many homes can only be reached by steps. There’s a 5-kilometer race event called the Bisbee 1,000 Stair Climb that goes up and down 1,034 stairs. The 2013 event will be held on October 19th. I might have to give this one some consideration!

A look at the Copper Queen Mine in the background of the cars here. This huge mine hasn’t produced any ore since 1975, but tours are still offered.

Copper, gold, and silver were the main ores extracted from the hills during the mining frenzy of Bisbee’s birth. One reference that I saw indicated that at one time, Bisbee had the highest population of any town located between St. Louis and San Francisco.

One of the sights I wanted to see was the Shady Dell RV Park which is located just a few miles south of Bisbee. This quaint place right off Highway 80 is a place where people can take a step back in time to the 1950’s and 1960’s and spend a night in one of 10 historic travel trailers. The “feel” here is so authentic because the owners have gone to great lengths to make it seem like a time warp. They don’t even offer wireless Internet – because “It hasn’t been invented yet.”

Thanks to Jason for this great picture of my Legend’s interior.

After parting ways, Josh and I headed back on I-10 to the Phoenix area and chased a freight train near Picacho Peak.

Hope you enjoyed the drive to Bisbee!

The March 2013 issue of Motor Trend magazine is already out, and it looks like their long-term test subject, the ILX 2.4, is doing well. Editor Mike Floyd reports that at just under 10,000 miles, the only maintenance item has been an oil change and the ILX is delivering great gas mileage.

Last night, after dinner with a few friends, as I was approaching the ILX I played around with the key fob and held the “unlock” button for more than a couple of seconds. To my surprise, all four windows and the moonroof slid open! This is a feature I definitely did not know existed before. I continue discovering things like this about my 2013 ILX. Josh spent some time behind the wheel today as we took an airport run.

We picked up a friend and his dog – “Ike” – a French bulldog. First time I’ve hauled a pet in the ILX!

Hope everyone else had a fun and adventurous weekend, too.

8 Comments »

Legend Drive: Casa Grande Ruins in Coolidge, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on January 18, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,624

Odometer (ILX): 25,497

What started as just a little Sunday drive to get the 5W30 blood flowing through the old Legend’s heart ended up being a 105-mile, 2 hour drive. I visited some 700-year-old ruins from an ancient civilization that once bustled in the middle of the desert between (the areas now known as) Phoenix and Tucson. Yes, 700 years! The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is a 472-acre site that is home to ruins dating back to the 1300’s.

Sunny skies, open roads, and 50 degree temperatures had me itching to spend a few minutes behind the wheel, even though I’d just driven to Sedona and back in ILX the day prior. So, the old Legend cranked into action and we rolled eastbound on I-10 toward the exit for Arizona Highway 387 north.

The ruins are just outside the town of Coolidge. It was $5 to enter the site.

Pictured behind the leftmost Saguaro cactus (and just below that sun flare) is the biggest structure on the site — a once 4-story building known as Casa Grande (Spanish for “big house”).

I didn’t check out the 20-minute video in the visitor center but instead made my way directly to the ruins themselves.

A model inside the museum shows what the Casa Grande looked like when it was built around 1350 A.D.

This is what it looked like in 1880.

According to one of the interpretive signs, in 1892, this area was designated as a federal preserve and a custodian was hired to safeguard the ruins. In order to slow the inevitable erosion and decay of the ruins, in 1932 a massive roof was constructed over the ruins.

This location is the site of the first known civilization in Arizona. Multiple buildings once stood here surrounding an oval court which is believed to have been a place for community activities for the Hohogam people. Hohogam translates to “those who have gone.”

Certain features of the Casa Grande ruins align with the belief that this was a prehistoric observatory. Certain openings/windows in the structure align with various notable times of the year, like a window at the upper left corner of the west wall that aligns with the setting sun on the summer solstice (June 21).

“If these walls could talk,” what would they tell us?

I peeked inside the gated-off entrance and snapped a picture looking upward.

“Compound A” is captured below with a small house in the foreground and the big house in the background. From one of the signs:

Imagine the scene in the early 1300s: People are working; grinding corn, cooking meals, weaving baskets, making clothing and pottery, and going to and from the fields outside the compound.

It’s not clear why the Hohogam people departed from this community in the 1400s.

From the Casa Grande monument, I went down the street to grab some fuel and a beverage at Circle K. Premium ran $3.33 / gallon (mom – this one’s for you – I know that’s your favorite number!).

The surprise was inside the store, where I learned that this my friend Rosalinda works there! She was on the clock. I’ve known Rosalinda and her husband Mark for many years now because of their Acura ownership — I met them at a Legend meet locally. In fact, their wedding day itself was a meet. Here’s the happy couple pictured in front of the 1989 sedan and my 1994 coupe back in May, 2009.

Awhile back, Rosalinda sold her 1989 Legend L sedan and picked up a 1995 Miata Special Edition instead. It’s a whole different driving feel!

Rosalinda gave me the keys to her Miata and I took it around the block. I didn’t want to give those keys back. It sure made my Legend feel like a yacht.

Thanks for the test drive!

Here are some of the pictures that my friend Beau took on last weekend’s Sedona drive:

My friends and I checked out the Barrett-Jackson auto auction this week. Each January, this auction brings around 1,400 high-end and classic cars to Scottsdale to be auctioned off (list here). Among some of the notable rides, I saw the Batmobile (learned that it was actually built on the frame of a 1955 Lincoln Futura).

They also had one of two 1968 Dodge Chargers that were used in the movie The Fast And The Furious, and a truly immaculate YUGO. I never thought it would be possible to see a vehicle with both the motor and the spare tire sandwiched inside the front engine compartment until I saw that beauty. Sadly, I didn’t see anything from Honda or Acura.

Here I am with a 1956 Buick that had fewer than 6,000 original miles on it. That paint is factory original!

Here’s the F&F car:

And a 1981 Zimmer.

Doesn’t it make you think of Cruella DeVille?

My mom’s in town for this weekend’s Rock & Roll Arizona Half-Marathon. While it’s 1 degree Fahrenheit in her hometown, she’s been sitting by the pool and soaking in 72 degree rays here in Scottsdale. The ILX made a great loaner car for her. “That shifter is fun!” she said.

Looking for a used Legend? For $2,200, buy a $43,000 car! This is one example of a Legend for sale in Missouri that’s outfitted with just about every factory accessory that was available in 1994:

I spy:

Cornering lights (rare!)
Fog lights
Gold accent grille
Gold emblems
Moonroof visor
Mud guards
Rear wing spoiler
Factory cell phone (rear window-mounted antenna)
Floor mats

Fully loaded. I like!

For the latest in ILX reviews, check this latest by Autoblog.

Sounds like overall they’ve got a lot of positive feedback on the car.

Acura’s reboot of the near-premium compact car might not be as enthusiast-oriented as the old Integra, but rather than attempting to recreate what has become an iconic model, Acura has focused on offering a broader range of model choices, which ought to help attract more new buyers to the brand whether they are stepping up from a Honda or trading in another luxury make. With its limited scope (one powertrain and no options), we’re not sure what chords the ILX 2.4 will strike with consumers, but we just can’t knock a car that brings a luxuriously appointed sporty sedan to the sub-$30,000 price bracket.

Have a great weekend!

5 Comments »

Sedona, Arizona: Red Rocks & 25,000 Miles

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Milestones, Road Trip on January 13, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,436

Odometer (ILX): 25,101

As a southern Utah native, I’ve grown up around red sandstone rock formations. The 10,000-resident town of Sedona, Arizona feels a lot like my hometown in terms of the landscape that surrounds it. Saturday’s drive was a 312-mile out-and-back trip in the 2013 Acura ILX, with a slight detour from Sedona to Flagstaff on curvy Highway 89A.

Unlike last weekend’s solo trip to Hope, Arizona, this time I dragged 10 friends along for the ride! We were in 5 vehicles:

Woody and Lucas rode in the 2012 Honda Civic Si
Josh brought his 2012 Lexus IS350
Matt brought a 2012 Infiniti G37 IPL Convertible
We met up with Ryan in his 2006 Acura TL
And Beau rode with me in the 2013 Acura ILX

All 3 of the Japanese “premium” brands were well represented.

Here’s our pre-trip staging at the Circle K gas station in north Phoenix off the 101 freeway and 7th Avenue at about 11:00 in the morning.

These sporty rides look like they’re ready to conquer the hills.

Our first pit stop was the Sunset Point rest area off I-17 after we climbed a couple thousand feet and weather got a little cloudy.

From an online write-up about Sunset Point:

The Sunset Point Rest Area is a large rest area with different things to look at while you stretch your legs. There are:

Vendor Machines
Rest Rooms
Pet Exercise Area
Signs with Interesting Words
Poisonous Snakes and Insects
A Sundial memorial to Transporation Workers
Picnic Benches
… And more!

Thankfully we didn’t encounter any of those poisonous snakes or insects.

Siblings. Woody’s Civic Si and my ILX share the same 201-horsepower 2.4 liter motor and 6-speed manual drivetrain.

There were scattered snow flurries on the 17 as we made our way northbound. Soon we arrived at our turnoff for Highway 179 north which would get us to Sedona in fewer than 10 miles.

Highway 179 curves around various roundabouts, and we started seeing some of the area’s characteristic rock formations right away.

Arriving in Sedona. According to the city’s website, this place receives between 2 to 4 million visitors per year. Those who live there year-round have an average age of 50.

First order of business was to put our hunger to rest, and what better place than an alien-themed restaurant? The Red Planet Diner is another Roadside America hotspot, having attracted guests for decades to its extraterrestrial atmosphere.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve traveled to places of interplanetary nature. In 2005, I took my Acura Legend to Nevada’s state highway 375, also known as the Extraterrestrial Highway, just outside Area 51.

The Red Planet Diner was filled with odd decor.

Sorry aliens; find an ATM!

Most of our 11-person party went with the “signature” Red Planet Burger for $9.49. I enhanced mine with mushroom & avocado for $2 extra.

There were plenty of odd sights to keep us entertained. The food came out surprisingly quick and it was tasty.

This countertop was covered in images that had been taken of UFO or alien sightings over the years.

The exit door has a sign on it that announces our return to Planet Earth.

Outside, our cars lined for a quick photo-op. Combined mileage on these 5 cars is only about 140,000 miles (and over half of those are on Ryan’s TL alone). These are some new rides.

Three of the five cars were not wearing Arizona license plates:

My ILX: Registered to Acura headquarters in California
Matt’s G37 IPL: Registered to Nissan headquarters in Michigan
Ryan’s TL: Registered in his hometown of Yankton, South Dakota

The Infiniti was the most expensive car there, doubling my ILX’s pricetag at $62,000. It’s equipped with the “Infiniti Performance Line” package including a red leather interior. It was also the most powerful car in our lineup at 348 horsepower. The Lexus followed with 306 horsepower and an MSRP just over $40k.

Here’s the gang at Red Planet prior to our departure. Cheesy group pics are my specialty.

Woody’s Civic, named “Rosie Oprah Ling,” stands out in a crowd thanks to her red paint.

Next stop was Mickey-D’s for a hot cocoa.

This McDonald’s on Highway 89A is the only one in the world with its arches painted torquoise instead of yellow. In Sedona, great lengths are taken to preserve the natural appearance of the community. Residents are emphatic about minimizing the “noise” created by urban development, so they’ve enacted strict building requirements. In this case, reportedly the only way the city would allow McDonald’s to build there was if they ditched the yellow M.

Many communities like Sedona are characterized by a lack of street lights. The goal here, of course, is to minimize light pollution at nighttime and allow the stars to more readily be seen.

Next up we visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross was built at a cost of $300,000 in 1956. It rises 250 feet out of a red rock cliff. Upon closer inspection, the chapel is pictured here. It truly does blend in with the surroundings.

Tour admission was free so we took a gander inside.

I spy the ILX in the parking lot below.

A look inside. There was a gift shop in the lower level.

In the distance, “Cathedral Rock” can be seen. I’ve heard this presents a great hiking opportunity but with temps in the 30’s Fahrenheit, we decided to pass for now.

Back to the cars for the final leg of our journey.

This last shot of the chapel was taken out the moonroof of the ILX.

My intent after visiting the chapel had been to hike Devil’s Bridge, the largest sandstone arch in the area. It’s only a 2-mile round-trip hike, but those chilly temperatures (for us Arizonans, anyway) caused us to rethink that idea. I’ll go back when it’s 50 or so degrees warmer and hike Devil’s Bridge. Instead of hiking, we started our ascent to Flagstaff via Highway 89A.

Hwy 89A climbs from Sedona at 4,326 feet in elevation to Flagstaff at elevation 6,910 feet over the course of 25 miles. The views along the highway are especially stunning when fall colors are at their peak.

This road was a playground for my 6-speed equipped ILX. The car is so fun to shift through the gears that I find myself oftentimes downshifting unnecessarily. On these mountain grades, third and fourth gears were just the right match for giving me the power I needed to climb in elevation. Turns are tight and suspension tuning is key. Here’s where I think Acura engineers did a great job at achieving optimal ride & cornering balance for the 2,978-pound ILX.

This is the Google Map view of the twisties.

For a good chunk of this road, my XM radio was not picking up stations due to the canyon walls blocking the signal. I haven’t had that happen very often! Finally we made it to Interstate 17 and regrouped briefly at a scenic overlook.

Interesting to note here that my ILX happened to be the highest-mileage vehicle in our photoshoot, yet was the newest model year! Left to right:

2012 Civic: 18,000 miles
2012 G37 IPL: 11,000 miles
2013 ILX: 25,000 miles
2012 IS350: 8,000 miles

On the way back to Scottsdale, my ILX completed its 25,000 mile mark.

This milestone means that the Acura ILX is now 5% of the way to 500,000! That doesn’t even seem close, but hey it’s worth celebrating!

Thanks for coming along on the latest drive to five.

Update on Gunther Holtorf’s 1988 Mercedes

Readers who’ve been with me awhile will remember when I introduced them last July to Gunther Holtorf, a 75-year-old man who since 1988 has been traveling the world in his Mercedes SUV, having driven in over 170 countries and traversed over 800,000 kilometers. His inspirational world tour has been without fanfare or sponsors. He expects to visit the last 10 countries by August 2013. Following is a quote by Gunther that I found meaningful:

The world is overpopulated and the tourist industry has sent too many people to too many places. We go to the famous places—Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal—but exploring the globe means you have to look behind the curtain. You have to visit the small villages. Big cities all over the Third World are very much alike. But in the countryside, it’s a different world.

I also especially liked this quote about how Gunther’s travels are a personal undertaking and for no other reason.

I travel for myself, nothing else. I don’t care about communicating with the world and I don’t do anything to please the world. It’s a private undertaking and that’s it. Many travelers, backpackers especially, they undergo all this stress and strain to find an Internet connection. And they sit there for hours typing stories about what they ate for breakfast or whether the customs officer smiled at them or not. Who cares about reading things like that? That’s their world, but it’s not mine.

And then I reflected on how in my last post, I talked about what I had for breakfast in Wickenburg, Arizona. Ha! See the article here from Outside Magazine for more pictures and a detailed update. Be sure to scroll through each of the 12 pages.

Honda History Lesson

Long before Acura came around in 1986, Honda’s been building quality automobiles. The first one dates back to 1963. There’s something endearing about the Hondas of yesteryear – they’re so gosh-darn cute. Ever laid eyes on an N600?

As we’ve advanced so far into the world of bluetooth, iPhone connectivity, and even cars that basically drive themselves (look at the new Lincoln MKZ with its “Lane Keeper” system and adaptive cruise control), we seem to have forgotten the simplicity that could once be enjoyed on the road. Honda’s early cars were innovative for their time. Take a peek at some vintage Honda ads on the Production Cars literature website. Following are some things I learned:

A 1986 Civic “Wagovan” with Real-Time 4-Wheel-Drive. Did you know that this car had a 6-speed transmission with ultra-low first gear?
A 1977 Civic 5-speed got 54 miles per gallon highway, 41 miles per gallon city – an industry first to exceed 50 mpg!
The ad copy on some of these treasures is quality. I especially love the final line on the ad for this 1981 Civic GL. “Is the Civic GL a sports car? There’s only one way to settle this. And it isn’t here.”

My friend Tyler knows that I lust after a 1979 Honda Prelude, the first model year of the Prelude. The gauge cluster on this car actually had the tachometer inside the speedometer and running on the same axis. Little known fact: every Prelude from 1979 to its final year in 2001 was equipped with a moonroof.

Til Next Time

Safe travels to all! Elsewhere in the country, winter storms are making a mess of the roadways. This particular 1994-1995 Acura Legend sedan (photo sent to me by a friend in Salt Lake City, Utah this week) looks to be a victim of said storms.

Meanwhile in Arizona, my neighbors are putting blankets over their landscaping when it threatens to freeze.

Tune in next time!

20 Comments »

Hope, Arizona: Passmore Gas Company

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on January 8, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,436

Odometer (ILX): 24,589

Someone with a sense of humor decided to have fun naming his or her propane business. Thanks again to Roadside America, this past weekend I decided to take my Acura ILX and seek out one of the most random destinations I’ve ever heard of: a propane tank with this odd company name painted on the side of it. My route was about 260 miles round-trip and took around 4 1/2 hours.

The first leg of the trip was on Interstate 10 west which crosses the barren desert toward the California state line. At exit 45, I headed north on Avenue 51E (also known as Vicksburg Road) and made my way to US 60.

Highway 60 at one time was the main thoroughfare that got Phoenix people to LA and vice versa. It parallels the railroad tracks. The road was made obsolete when Interstate 10 was constructed in the late 1950’s. I-10 is a much more straight/direct line to the California state line from Phoenix, but sometimes it’s fun to forget about being in a hurry and just take the back roads for no reason. Shortly I arrived at my destination, just outside Hope, Arizona:

Yes, the name on this propane tank is for real. See the background here:

Unfortunately, conditions for photography (thanks to the sun’s placement) were less than optimal.

There wasn’t much to see in Hope — just a few buildings, really.

But as I whizzed out of town, my eye caught something to my left and I did a double-take. “Wait,” I thought. “Did I just see a blatant typo on that sign?” I quickly came to a stop and pulled the ILX to the side of the road, then made a U-turn. Grammar police were in hot pursuit! Yes, indeed. The people of Hope have improperly used “YOUR” (as opposed to “you’re”) on their sign announcing departure from city limits. Ha!

Continuing east on US 60, I rolled through Salome, Arizona (established 1904). There’s not much to see there aside from RV parks, but I did capture images of a few of the hot spots. It’s a shame the Desert Oasis “Bargain Center & RV Park” was closed. I wonder what kind of bargains they had! A savvy shopper’s paradise it must have been.

I thought this little roadside historical marker was entertaining. It talks about the “Laughing Gas Station” that once operated in Salome. If I ever open up a gas station, that is what I’m calling it. Bonus points if you can spot my shadow waving in the background.

That’s it, folks. The entire town captured in the background here. I wonder if this town had ever seen a 2013 model year vehicle until my ILX rolled through.

Got $99,900 and interested in some real estate? Big Mama’s Country Kitchen is up for grabs!

Speaking of real estate, it looks like this agent has picked a winning name for her business. Anything “Legend” is good, right?

Aguila, Arizona (Aguila means “eagle” in Spanish): The Burro Jim Motel. Vacancy! But I didn’t intend on sticking around.

This wooden wagon’s for sale. Any takers for $500? Let me know – I’ve got a picture of the sign with the phone number on it!

25 miles of straight, flat pavement later, I arrived on the outskirts of Wickenburg, Arizona. This town feels like it’s stuck in time, 100 years ago. And I think the residents there like to keep it that way on purpose.

The AT&SF locomotive #761 is on display near the railroad depot. This locomotive is a “2-8-0” arrangement (refers to the layout of the wheels — 2 leading wheels, 8 driving wheels on 4 axles, and 0 trailing wheels). It was built in the 1890’s and was decommissioned in the 1950’s when it was donated to the city, but it wasn’t until 10 years ago, in June 2003, that was moved to its current location next to the old depot.

Considering that my last blog entry was all about the Saguaro cactus, I found it fitting that I park the ILX in front of the Saguaro Theater. It opened in 1948 and was restored in 2006 and is still open today (looks like I could’ve stuck around for a matinee of The Hobbit at 2:30 p.m.).

Next door, I saw a saw a couple satisfied customers come out of the Twin Wheels Cafe, so I decided to give it a whirl for breakfast since it was only 9:30 a.m. and I hadn’t yet eaten anything except a Pop Tart.

Cowboy atmosphere abounds here.

Coming back from a restroom break, I got sidetracked reading all of these printed-out jokes / quotes on the wall.

My server “Methanie” was extremely friendly. I opted for the meat lover’s omelet – highly recommended.

Twin Wheels is open daily at 7 a.m., but closed on Wednesdays.

I thought I was seeing double when I spotted these stop signs while leaving town. They really mean business!

It reminded me of these duplicate signs I saw last week on Interstate 19 (likely part of a sign replacement project that’s underway). My tax dollars at work!

Hope you enjoyed the drive to Hope!

Have any of my readers heard of the Endurance Rally Association? A coworker taught me about it this week. This is an organization that organizes road rally events worldwide. They’ve even got one that runs from New York to Seattle. It looks like 51 vehicles participated in 2011. The next will be in May 2015. I’ll be there.

I met a new Drive to Five follower this week named Ryan who’s as big of an Acura fan as I am. He’s owned a 2002 CL Type-S and is currently driving an Anthracite 2006 TL. His car has only 78,000 miles on it and drives like new. It’s fully equipped with navigation.

Ryan’s an architecture major at Arizona State but his car is proudly wearing South Dakota tags from his hometown. Ryan says the drive to & from SD each year (about 1,400 miles each way from here) are a definite highlight of his year. I can’t say I blame him!

Ryan and I may be meeting up for some Acura drives in the near future, so stay tuned! Thanks for chauffeuring me to lunch!

It’s tradition to drive the Legend to work once a week, and today was the day. It was glistening in the afternoon sunlight thanks to a one-step Meguiar’s cleaner/wax that I applied to the body over the weekend.

About 8 miles of my drive home were eastbound on Shea Boulevard with the sunset in my rearview mirrors.

Since I had my SLR camera in the car, I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures.

The next two were taken at a place called “Lyle Fish Point.”

Signing out until next time!

15 Comments »

Saguaro National Park & San Xavier Mission

Posted in Arizona, ILX, National Parks, Road Trip on January 4, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,342

Odometer (ILX): 24,218

Over the last few weeks, I’ve made a list of 20 “bucket list” destinations I’d like to visit in 2013. As of January 1st, I’d already crossed one of those off the list. On Tuesday’s road trip, I went to a national park dedicated solely to cacti, traveled the only interstate in the country that’s marked with metric signposts, and stepped inside a historic church that was over 215 years old. Quite the successful day!

Saguaro National Park is so-named for the Saguaro cactus. These cacti can grow as high as 70 feet and live 175 years or more. They dot the landscape in many parts of Arizona, but they are most concentrated in the area which in 1994 was designated as a national park. Saguaro NP is unique in that its total 91,000 acres are split up in two separate “districts” – one which lies east of Tucson, and one to the west. For my New Year’s Day visit, I traveled to the east district, also known as the Rincon Mountain District. It was about a 300-mile round trip drive in the ILX.

Departing Scottsdale on a chilly morning. It’s a rare sight to see frost on the cars around here!

When I arrived in Tucson and fought construction on Houghton Road, I was perplexed by the wording on these signs. Could the placement have been done differently to make the message more clear? As it’s currently written, I feel like I’m being asked to share “The Road Drive” with care.

Saguaro’s east district welcomed me and my friend Josh. He’s lived in the Tucson area for 10 years and this was his first time entering the park.

The entrance station was busy with holiday visitors like ourselves. The only day of the year that this park closes is Christmas Day. The fee was $10 and is good for a week in case I decide to go back for a closer look.

There’s an 8-mile one-way scenic loop that Josh and I took. It’s a curvy one-lane road that would be a ton of fun to drive if the speed limits weren’t so crazily low.

That’s right. FIVE miles per hour. They really want you crawling around these corners! We did see quite a few walkers and bicyclists for safety’s sake, the speed limit is probably a good idea.

A few pictures were taken as photo opportunities presented themselves.

This saguaro in particular is probably pushing 200 years old. They’re a highly protected species. In other parts of the state, I’ve seen these cacti “braced” / propped up by wooden boards if the land / root system is disrupted.

This picture of me standing next to that same cactus gives a sense of the size of these monsters.

Josh and I took the opportunity to park the ILX in one of the scenic turnouts and do a little bit of hiking. The weather was great and the air very clear.

Josh and I stopped by his friend Fred’s house to see an immaculate 2000 Honda Civic coupe with the cleanest (wire-tucked) engine bay I’ve ever laid eyes on.

I headed toward Tucson again but this time veered south from I-10 west onto I-19 south. This interstate is the 4th shortest freeway in the country, at only 63 miles in length. Better said, it’s 101 kilometers in length. And motorists better familiarize themselves with kilometer calculations because this is the only freeway in the country that’s currently signed in metric units of measurement.

This notice at the north end of I-19 advises drivers that they’ll need to pay attention to the distances in kilometers, not miles.

Shortly thereafter, Irvington Road comes up 1 kilometer away. Interestingly enough, the speed limits on I-19 are still in miles per hour, not kilometers per hour.

The reason why this interstate was set up with metric signs is that at the time of construction in 1972, it was thought that this effort would push toward the metric system and that perhaps this would be the first of many freeways in the U.S. to begin using metric distances. Such did not end up being the case, yet I-19 retains its existing signs. Talks have taken place regarding changing the entire freeway to “miles” but business owners have pushed back (they’d have to update their directions) so there has been little traction with that initiative.

Here we go – arriving at the San Xavier Mission for my next destination.

What lies ahead of my Acura ILX in this picture is a 216-year-old “White Dove of the Desert,” also known as Mission San Xavier del Bac.

This is a Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles south of Tucson. Though the site was founded in 1692, the building seen here was constructed over the 14-year span of time from 1783 to 1797. Considering its age, I’m surprised just how few restoration efforts have taken place!

Entrance was free of charge. I would have liked to visit the gift shop, but it was closed for the holiday.

Exterior is covered in a traditional mud plaster that was refinished within the last couple of decades. The artwork is pretty ornate as seen here.

The grounds are surrounded by cactus gardens.

Inside, there are multiple chapels. The decoration here is supposedly very similar to what it would have looked like when the mission was new.

View of the ceiling.

Looks like they’ve still got quite a bit of Christmas decor up.

It was a humbling experience to be in this place that is sacred to so many. I saw people paying their religious respects quietly.

To the east, there was a hill with a cross on top that people were climbing up.

Some background on the site, from a placard near the south (main) entrance.

I wonder if these wooden doors are original?

The mission was designated a historic landmark 50 years ago in 1963 by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

Hope you enjoyed the drive!

For any who might find it of interest: Acura ILX sales performance reached an all-time high, with 2485 units selling in December 2012. It’s awesome to see the momentum picking up as we go into 2013. Lastly, did anyone else see this immaculate 1994 Legend L Sedan 5-speed on craigslist in Oregon? It’s rare to see a Legend in this kind of condition nowadays. Somebody scoop this baby up, please! $3,200 for 175k miles.

It inspired me to make vacuum tracks in the carpet of my own Legend:

Happy Friday!

19 Comments »

Utah Holiday Travels

Posted in Ghost Town, ILX, Road Trip, Utah on December 24, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 23,385

Dashing through the desert in a 201-horse, front-wheel-drive sleigh. That’s how I kicked off my weekend on Friday after work. When I wasn’t spending time with family or friends, I was behind the wheel of the Acura ILX over the last few days. Here are the details of my travels!

About 3 hours (200 miles) into my drive, I stopped for a little Route 66 side-trip in Kingman, Arizona. The original highway, now bypassed by Interstate 40, is called Andy Devine Road. Even though it was after-hours, I made my way to the Visitor’s Center (which used to be the city’s power plant, thus is now named Powerhouse Museum). There’s a marker here that denotes the site’s elevation: 3,333.3 feet above sea level. A spike in the building denotes the exact location.

I circled the location of the sign in red here, on the building behind the ILX. Photoshop skills at their finest.

When was the last time you saw a pay phone? Better yet, when was the last time you USED one?

Across the street, a 1928 steam locomotive was on display. This one was Santa Fe #3759 – a “4-8-4” style that was built in 1928 and ran until 1957 when it was donated to the city of Kingman. It’s sat in its current location for 55 years! The locomotive reportedly ran 2.5 million miles of service before its retirement. Now that’s something a half-million miler like me can appreciate! Each year during this season the train is decorated with Christmas lights so I got a few pictures before continuing on my way.

In Las Vegas I met up with Drive to Five fan Jessie, who is a proud Legend owner. His Rosewood Brown 1992 L Sedan automatic has only 134,000 miles on the odometer. Jessie strives to keep his car running in tip-top shape. I was privileged to take it for a drive around the parking lot.

Saturday in St. George

Hike time! On a cool (30-degree), crisp Saturday morning I picked up my mom, my stepdad, and our friend Holly for a trip up to Snow Canyon State Park by following State Route 18 which leads north from the St. George area.

About 10 miles up the road, we arrived at the trailhead for the Cinder Cone hike. The hike itself was only 3/4 of a mile long each way, but it traverses some rocky / jagged terrain and ascends about 500 feet in elevation.

Reassurance marker along the way, though trail was clearly visible.

Last stretch before reaching the summit.

Freezing but still celebrating our arrival at the top.

The views from the top are spectacular.

Since Cinder Cone is an ancient (and now extinct) volcano, from the summit, the crater is still visible.

Our descent went much more quickly and we soon enjoyed the comfort of the ILX and its heated seats to take us back to St. George.

Sunday’s Ghost Town Road Trip

Modena, Utah. It’s a town that I visited 7 1/2 years ago in my then-175,000 mile Acura Legend. I felt like giving it another look to see what’s changed. As it turns out, aside from a few more years of aging, it sits largely the same as it did in 2005. On a crisp Sunday morning I headed out from St. George Utah via State Route 18 to explore some of southwest Utah’s backroads in the ILX. Total distance was about 170 miles round-trip.

As I began my climb to the higher elevations, I started seeing white-capped mountains in the distance.

Soon I was passing through Veyo, Utah (population of 483 people as of the 2010 census). This giant red sign advertising Veyo’s famous pies caught my eye on the roadside. More on that later!

I decided to take an 8-mile detour to the east to visit a tiny town called Pine Valley. This place is a popular cabin destination for folks in St. George who want to escape the triple-digit temperatures during the summer months.

This was the first time my ILX had seen snow, so I pulled off for a quick picture.

Arriving in Pine Valley via Grass Valley Road. It was a crisp 27 degrees Fahrenheit according to the ILX’s exterior temperature readout.

I got a picture of the Pine Valley Mormon chapel, which was just starting to welcome its guests for the 10:00 a.m. Sunday service. This chapel was built in 1868 by Ebenezer Bryce, who used the scheme of an upside-down boat. Today, it’s the oldest continuously-used Mormon meetinghouse.

Next it was time to loop back to SR-18 and continue northward. The summit on this road is elevation 6,150 feet.

At Enterprise, Utah, I veered right to stay on SR-18 for another 15 miles or so.

Closing in on my destination! From the intersection of SR-18 at Beryl Junction, Modena lies another 16 miles west. During this 16-mile stretch, I counted only two other vehicles that I encountered. This is an extremely remote location! Speed limits are 60 mph which seems agonizingly slow for the wide open stretches.

Arrival!

Unfortunately, the Last Chance Saloon is no longer open for business. I would have loved a bite to eat.

The 1936 schoolhouse is probably the best-preserved building in town. From the “360 Cities” website regarding Modena:

“With the advent of the railroad in Iron County and its arrival in the Modena area in December 1899, Brigham J. Lund, along with two partners, E. M. Brown and Jose Price, started a small business venture here. In time they were freighting to St. George, Utah; Pioche, Nevada and Delamar. Lund soon bought out his partners and in 1903 incorporated under the name of B. J. Lund & Company. The name “Lund” is still found on several buildings in town including the General Merchandise & Hotel building. By 1903, a U.S. Weather Bureau office had also been established in Modena. The Last Chance Saloon now closed and boarded up is a reminder of a distant era.

The change from steam to diesel by the railroad brought about the demise of Modena which today is almost a ghost town. Only five families remain. There is a small convenience store/post office and a gas pump (no services available as of this writing) in town which served locals and others working the silver, iron ore, and beryl rock mines around the area. A stone school building is one of the more imposing solid structures in town. Edna Thorley 91, taught elementary school children in the building. She still lives in town and keeps up scrapbooks filled with memories of the past and present. Just north of town is the Modena cemetery.

B.J. Lund & Co: General Merchandise & Hotel. This place has been around for over 112 years.

I left the ILX parked for a time and wandered around on foot to explore some of Modena’s streets. It was eerily quiet aside from the crunch of my shoes on the snow. I intentionally kept quiet because I didn’t want to awaken any dogs that might be in the neighborhood.

I was able to boost myself up and peek inside the hotel’s main floor. When I visited Modena in 2005, I actually went inside, but given the latest “No Trespassing” signs, I decided to play it safe this time.

Back side of the hotel.

And a few other buildings within walking distance.

Here’s a shot looking inside the General Store area of the Lund Hotel. I wonder what this place would have looked like in its heyday – bustling with people and commerce as the steam locomotives brought people from near and far.

Here’s a fun “then and now” look.

June, 2005:

December, 2012:

This building was at one time the post office. When I visited in 2005, it had a (dry) gas pump out front which has since been removed.

Some background information here. Can you believe this place didn’t have electricity until the 1940’s?

I was intrigued by this little 2-room wooden home. Let’s take a look inside, shall we?

Someone left a pair of boots in there.

Quaint little bedroom!

And a stack of newspapers dated 1985. The one on top was dated January 21, 1985. I wonder if someone was still living in this little home 28 years ago.

Another home.

Beryl Junction fire truck.

It was last registered in 1998.

There’s a cool, serene feeling about being the first person to walk or drive on freshly-fallen snow.

I’m as intrigued by abandoned cars as I am about abandoned buildings. This Buick Regal 2-door caught my eye.

The driver’s side door was ajar, so I went ahead and took a look inside.

This interior is in pretty remarkable condition aside from the dust. Throw a little vinyl conditioner on those seats and you’d be set!

Is that a CB radio I spy?

According to the license plate sticker, this car was last registered in 1989. The odometer shows only 75,000 miles.

Calling all Drive to Five car geeks. Can anyone identify the year of this Buick?

Now’s when I really started getting a sense of adventure. I drove past a road called “Old Modena” road. I thought I’d give it a quick drive to see what was down there. Except, this road quickly turned to dirt. Well — make that mud. So much for my clean ILX.

Just a couple of miles down the road, conditions got quite a bit worse or I would have continued. The last thing I needed in this remote area was to get my car stuck.

I took the 9-mile drive to the Nevada state line.

Looks like I’m due for a car wash.

Looping back, I’d been thinking about those famous Veyo pies the whole time, so I grabbed a peach pie.

From there I took a new route home by heading west on Center Street. The 2-lane highway curved through some 15-25 mph turns which were fun in the ILX.

Since this was a new stretch of road for me, it seemed fitting that this song came on my iPod. I really enjoy this one from Linkin Park and I played it 3 times back-to-back.

Soon I was rolling through Gunlock, Utah.

Gunlock’s fire engine looked to be in only slightly better condition than the one in Modena. Gunlock is home to fewer than 300 people.

Gunlock Reservoir State Park.

And now at the lower elevations, the beautiful red rocks of southern Utah lined the road.

That peach pie was amazing, by the way!

Christmas Eve – Return drive to Phoenix from southern Utah

Today’s final trip of the weekend was 453 miles. Instead of taking the same ol’ route past Hoover Dam and down Hwy 93, I instead cut south at Boulder City on Hwy 95. This is an arrow-straight multi-lane highway named Veterans’ Memorial Highway. A series of signs along the roadside at certain intervals denote which veterans are to be remembered (there’s a sign for WWII, Vietnam, and others. I remember noticing that the last sign said something to the effect of, “Veterans of the continual war on terror”).

But first, I had something to see in Las Vegas. Some of my readers may remember a cartoon called The Simpsons. Well, thanks to Roadside America, I learned that there is in fact a home in the Henderson suburbs that was built after the design of the cartoon home in 1997. It’s in the South Valley Ranch community off Boulder Highway.

Check it out! And disregard the filthy car, please!

Compare to the cartoon version:

Pretty fun. I wonder how many people drive by it each day for a picture.

Here’s where I veered off US93 and took the 95 southbound. “Cal Nev Ari” (noted on the sign) is a 400-person community at an intersection of California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Lots of vast open land out here! The speed limit dipped quickly to 25 mph as I rolled through Searchlight, Nevada. This town is so teeny I couldn’t even find anything worthy of a photo-op. Amazingly, at one time this was a boom town that had a population greater than Las Vegas. Today, there are fewer than 600 residents.

When I approached Hwy 163, I headed toward Laughlin Nevada. The road drops sharply in elevation toward the Colorado River in the valley below. Laughlin is the third most visited casino and resort destination, after Las Vegas and Reno. I did not pit stop here but did snag a picture of the Riverview Casino out my passenger window.

The road climbs from the riverbed up to another pass and then on through Kingman.

And 3 hours later I was home sweet home in Scottsdale.

I’m exhausted from these travels and looking forward to spending the evening relaxing with friends. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas tomorrow.

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