Year: 2025

Grand Canyon

Continuing with more pictures of the 1989 Arizona Road Trip, theses are of the Grand Canyon. I can’t really swear to this, but I think we stayed in the Grand Canyon Lodge in the park itself. I am basing it on the large paper napkin that was in the album with the photos. For all I know we could had lunch in the dining area of the Lodge and Donna slipped the napkin in her purse.

I want to say we did the trip in a counterclockwise direction, so if that is right, the posts are kind of out of order of them being taken. Then again I just tried to link the half dozen places I have pictures of I don’t see how there was anyway to do it in a tidy loop. There had to be a lot on backtracking.

Just When I Thought That I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In… Once Again

This is the third time I have used this title, or a variation of it, the first time was in January 2006 and the second time was in January 2016. Both of those posts pertained to Gillian Anderson, this does not. Come back next January for the next Gillian Anderson installment, I’m sure she’ll be starring in something or other then.

This is about Miata Clubs. Back in October of last year I looked up the local Miata Club and either they had nothing going on or I just got a weird feeling, so I forgot about them. Well, last night I thought I’d see if they an event or something coming up in the near future. They did, the near future was a mere 12 hours away, there was a drive and eat thing for tomorrow morning, AKA today.

My people. This club is probably about 7 or 8 times the size of the Masters Miata Club, this day’s group was small for them but would be a big turn out back there in the CSRA. There were a total of ten cars and about 15 people. There were 5 NDs, 3 NCs, 1 Fiata and one non Miata. I even spotted a lot of similarities between the two clubs, there is one guy who pops the hood as soon as he parks (Jim Creer), there was another who drove to the event on the chilly misty morning with the top down (Rudy Wilmoth) and another who showed up in their Corvette (Tom Varallo.)

It was a fun day, but I don’t know how many events I’ll do with them…

In reference to my remark yesterday about having to join Facebook to get any club information, I was wrong, there have a website with their own URL…

Brownsville

Brownsville – 97327: Just a quick tuck off I-5 to capture a Post Office on my way home from Eugene with the old tires and wheels off of Bucky. (2/21/25)

Today was the first time I drove to Eugene and FTW Tuning and turned right around and came home. I just went down to pick up Bucky’s wheels and tires. The tires looked good from a distance, but 25 years can take a toll. When I was lifting them into the back of the Mini I noticed every tire had a long crack in them, one or two of them were almost around the whole circumference.

I am going to mount some Ultra High Performance All-Season tires on the stock 2001 16″ wheels to put them on the New Miata (see this mock-up.)

Maybe I can sell the 17″ wheels and tires that came on the New Miata to somebody in the local Miata club. There is one wheel that has a bit of a curb scrape, but I think a little black paint will take care of that. Now I have to go join Facebook just so I can contact folks in the Mt Hood Miata Club.

Two Parks In One

We have been to this combo park several times since 1989. Partially because it is conveniently just off of I-40 in northeastern part of Arizona. And partially because the food is excellent and inexpensive at the Visitor Center.

Petrified Forest

Painted Desert

Just Another Rainy Post Office Day

On the way back from Eugene I thought I might catch a couple more Post Offices, but I got ambitious and took a half dozen. Stumbled on a covered bridge along the way. Of course it took 4-1/2 hours to get home instead of a little over 2 hours, but hey, got no reason to go in a straight line.

Bucky Update

Drove down to Eugene this afternoon to bring the folks at FTW Tuning the shock bushings. And as you can see from the above photo they were waiting on me. Right now it looks like they’ll be finished next week sometime. I’ll probably drive down on Friday in the Mini and pick up the OEM wheels with their 25-year old tires. Still not sure what I want to do with them, but I’m leaning towards mounting them on the New Miata.

I took this opportunity to snag three post office photos on the drive down. I might shoot for a couple three more on the way home.

The first post office was in Albany and the second was in the home town of Oregon State University, Corvallis, and the last was in Monroe. Tonight I’m staying Eugene which is the home of the University of Oregon. The town just over the Willamette River from Eugene is the home of the Simpsons, Springfield.

Las Vegas & Hoover Dam

Here are some more photos of that whirlwind driving tour of Arizona in 1989. The first 4 pictures are of Las Vegas. I know we spent the night there, but I couldn’t tell you which one it was. I might not even have been any of these for properties. The Flamingo is the only hotel of these four that still stands from 36 years ago. The Sands was torn down in 1996 and was replaced by The Venetian. The Dunes closed in early 1993 and one of the towers was imploded later that same year with the second tower coming down early in 1994. The Bellagio was built on the site and opened in 1996. The Frontier closed in July of 2007 and the 16-story tower was imploded in November of that year. The property it stood on has to this date not been built on.

Next four are of the Hoover Dam. Look at that water level! Pretty near full and right now the level is about 160 feet lower. We even took the tour. Even though 112 people died during its construction, none of them are entombed in the concrete despite that popular myth. When the bottom of the large concrete bucket opened up, pouring 8 cu yd out, a team of men worked it throughout the form. Each bucket deepened the concrete in a form by only 1 inch (25 mm), and Six Companies engineers would not have permitted a flaw caused by the presence of a human body.