Year: 2023

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Penultimate Edition of SORT
As of Monday, July 24, 2023 at 4:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2002 Toyota
MR2 Spyder		 1991 Land Rover
Defender 90		 1972 Citroen
ID21 Station Wagon
Very Miata-like, but with the engine in the middle. It has rear jump seats that are ideal for your squad. This will draw a curious crowd whenever you stop.

Here is what last week’s ago cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sports: 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 Sold for $124,567 on 7/19/23
Off-Road: 1994 AM General Hummer Sold for $72,000 on 7/22/23
Touring: 1995 Ferrari 456 GT Sold for $74,500 on 7/21/23

82,000 Points on a Chart

We are only a little over two weeks away from 7 years of ownership of the CTBNL and in that time frame we have driven it almost 35,700 miles. If you look at the chart above you will notice that there is a really noticeable change in the trajectory of the mileage numbers between the left side of the red line to the right side. During the first 38 months of ownership we put a good portion of 30,000 miles on the car, so that works out to an approximate average of 790 miles per month. That red line indicates when we moved from Aiken to Klamath Falls. Since then in 46 months we have added just under 6,000 making the average around 130 miles per month.

There are several reasons for the decline in miles for the Miata. First up is winter, in Aiken it got driven practically year round while here it is luck if it gets driven every 10 days or so and then for just a quick local spin. But probably the main reason is that we no longer take real road trips in it anymore. Since we have been here we took one 3 day trip to the coast in it. We’ve almost aged out of road tripping in entirely.

Now when we go somewhere we usually take the Mini. For comparison, during those same 46 months here in Klamath Falls the Minis have travel 19,000 miles or over 400 miles a month. That could have been higher too because we made three trips (2 to Santa Fe & 1 to Granite Falls) in rentals for various reasons.

Yesterday on a 30 mile morning drive, the CTBNL it rolled past the 82,000 mile mark.

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

Another Edition of SORT
As of Monday, July 17, 2023 at 4:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 1994 AM General Hummer 1995 Ferrari 456 GT
I just can’t help myself when it comes to this car, I am seduced by its looks. The perfect vehicle when you aren’t kidding around for off-roading. The GT on this stands for Grand Touring unlike the Porsche to the left.

Here is what last week’s ago cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sports: 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider 1600 Sold for $60,000 on 7/11/23
Off-Road: 1975 Ford Bronco Sold for $129,000 on 7/14/23
Touring: 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe Bid to $42,250 on 7/12/23

39,000 Little Dead Bugs

Since we returned from the Washington state trip a little over a week ago I have been meaning to wash the thousands of dead bugs off the front of the Mini. But because we have been pretty busy I’ve never gotten around to it. Add to that it has been, like most of the country, pretty dang hot and the only reasonable time to wash it is pretty early in the morning.

I am promising to get to it this weekend though. Either on Saturday if we get back from the downtown farmers market early enough, which is unlikely. Or Sunday after breakfast and the morning show, but then again Sunday is bike riding day and the best time to ride is also early in the morning…

Sometime yesterday, or maybe the day before, while running errands or shopping the Mini rolled through the thirty-nine thousand mile mark.

Sport, Off-Road, Touring

I Need A Mechanic Edition of SORT
As of Monday, July 10, 2023 at 1:00 PM pacific time:

Sport Off-Road Touring
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider 1600 1975 Ford Bronco 1967 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe
I would love to buy this, but there probably no 60’s Alfa mechanics anywhere near me. For this one there is probably going to be someone around here that could wrench on this. Just like the Giulia Spider I’d be wondering where to find a reliable M-B mechanic locally.

Here is what last week’s ago cars sold for, or bid to (if the reserve was not met):
Sports: 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Bid to $45,250 on 7/5/23
Off-Road: 2003 Chevrolet Silverado Sold for $24,702 on 7/9/23
Touring: 2001 Chevrolet Suburban Sold for $45,000 on 7/6/23

Home Again For A While

We took that 4 week road trip and stayed home for just a couple of weeks before spending another week away, so we will probably be chillin’ at home for awhile. Last year for this trip up to Washington and back for a family 4th of July picnic, we stopped at the same place in downtown Bend for lunch, but this time we chose two different locations for the midday meal.

On the way up we drove right through a busy Bend and stopped at the next town north, Redmond, where we ended up at an eclectic little place called One Street Down Café. The temperature was in the middle seventies and we sat outside to eat under the trees in the side yard. I had a Cuban that was made using a savory french toast and Donna had a half and half ham & cheese sandwich and chicken tortilla soup.

On the way back we drove right through a busy Bend and stopped at the next town south, La Pine, at a place called Cinco de Mayo Mexican Restaurant. We had a hard time finding a parking spot because there was a Porsche Club event that was having lunch here too. Fortunately we were seated and order taken before everyone that was there in a P Car hadn’t arrived yet. We split some chicken fajitas that were served with delicious, made fresh on site, tortillas.

Heading Home

Day one of our 2-day return trip back to Klamath Falls. On the way up to Granite Falls we took the shorter quicker route through Washington by taking I-90 West and WA203 north, but on the way home today we abandoned that short quick version because the surface of I-90 was awful. I swear the concrete contractor took a few shortcuts because it is deteriorating badly. Of course the amount of traffic it receives is probably a whole heck of a lot more than the further north US2 too. From Monroe we used US2 this morning heading east and it was a great little drive until it got a little later in the morning and we got to the fake Bavarian town of Leavenworth, WA. Even after getting past Leavenworth, the traffic was fairly steady.

After the drive up, and now halfway back, we both think that this will be the last time we come up to visit over the 4th of July. We are going back to visiting in May when there are a lot fewer folks on the roads and practically zero RVs.

On the way up 3 days ago we crossed the Columbia river via a different bridge. We usually cross on US197 right out of The Dalles where the Holiday Inn Express is, but this time we used US97, about 20 miles further east. On the way up the hill in Washington we noticed a sign for a Stonehenge memorial and thought that maybe we should stop in on the way back. So we did.

Here is the interesting origin story of the monument.