Sunday, June 28, 2009

Iosepa to near-death experience.

Ok, so one of the nice things about the wet weather is this rainbow over my garage.
I decided to get out of the house today, 3 days of going nowhere other than the Home Depot gets a little old.  So, I gassed up the BattleCruiser and headed out west.  First thought was Stansbury Island.  Been there, done that, wanted something different.  So drove past it, all the way to Delle (one gas station and closed motel).  Nothing there to see so I headed back towards SLC and when I came upon the Dugway* exit decided to see what was up that road.  The first town on the sign was Iosepa, so I decided that was where I'd go and then head on back.
There I am on the old I-80 headed out towards the Great Salt Lake.  It runs parallel to the new I-80, but is a hell of a lot more fun to drive in these big old cars.  Makes me feel like I'm in an episode of "Route 66"
The back side of the Iosepa sign.  Very, very Native American, which begs to ask......
Why "Aloha"?  Whatever, Iosepa was was even smaller than Delle.  Clump of trees, house and a barn.
The picture says it all.  that's the fire station on the right hand side.
Ok, so I did get a little dirt-roadin' in on this trip.  Went to what is called "Lone Rock", because it's, well, a lone rock out in the middle of the valley. 
Utah, famous for a whole lot of nuttin'.  This is what surrounds Lone Rock.
BattleCruiser on the hill in front of Lone Rock.  It looks a lot steeper when you're in the driver seat trying to get the thing down the hill.
Lone Rock, all alone.
And, of course, there were mud puddles left over from the recent rains, and I had to have a little bit of fun with them.  Car got a bit dirty, but it's not like it's the first time I've run a '72 Country Squire through huge mud puddles, right Gearheads?
And finally - the near death experience. 
Q - You're driving along a section of the freeway that is under construction.  You get to an exit that is closed, without any previous warning.  You:
.......... a) continue on your way to the next exit.
.......... b) ram the barriers and exit anyways, or
......... c) come to a complete stop in the middle of the freeway while you figure out what to do.
A - if you are a taxi cab in Salt Lake City, you choose "c".  Which means the car behind you has to side swipe the barriers to keep from being slammed into from the back end by a huge '72 Ford wagon, and said wagon, as the driver's (me) bladder is letting go**, swerves half way into the middle lane, praying no one is there, to avoid slamming either of the previously mentioned vehicles into next week.  Thank God, no one was there and an accident (vehicular, that is) was avoided. 
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*as in the Dugway proving grounds, where they test bombs and the latest bombers.  Not as exciting as Area 51, but a laugh nonetheless.
** of course the wagon is the only LTD I have with cloth seats.  It couldn't have been the convertible, which has naugahyde seats - they're impervious to everything, even baby vomit.

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5 comments:

A Paperback Writer said...

So, you're stir-crazy too, aren't you?
I'm jealous. I wanna go out adventuring, too.
Heck yeah I wanna come with you to Promontory Point. Call me.

Max Sartin said...

Yeah, everybody thinks it's great having two and a half months off in the summer. Would be if we got paid a hell of a lot more. But having all the time in the world is only so much fun on $0 a day.
Promontory Point - Wednesday or Thursday. Let me know which day is best for you.

A Paperback Writer said...

I'll check with the flooring people and then call you. (Full answer over on my blog.)

The Gearheads said...

Hmmm... to my recollection the last battlecruiser you had on the dirt the near miss wasn't a miss, it turned into a hit. Seems you're luck with battlecruisers is improving. Actually as the years go by it seems battlecruiser luck is improving altogether, remember the first incident was BBS Flashback's Ice Machine Drive Through.
So did you get the seat out of your bum before you got home, or were you still clamping?

Max Sartin said...

Ice machines and trees, good stuff. Good memories. I had to get off at 2300 East and drive side streets home (13th East exit is closed from both sides now), so the muscles relaxed and let go. There is a nice ridge still in the seat though...