Now THIS Is A Tragedy

Pic from Fox News

A stinkin' sinkhole opened up inside the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky.

Let me repeat that - a sinkhole opened up inside a building at the National Corvette Museum, and as you can see, it swallowed some of the cars.

The museum said the cars are a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil" on loan from General Motors; a 1962 Black Corvette; 1984 PPG Pace Car; 1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette; 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette; 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette and a 2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette. 

Strode told the Courier-Journal that emergency personnel allowed museum staff to remove the only surviving 1983 Corvette, which was at risk of joining the other cars in the sinkhole.

Just so you know, 1983 was a transition year with no new car sales - the 1984 Vette was the first of the new design. So the"1983" models were essentially mules, and there were 43 of them originally. At the end of the model year and when production started on the '84 modes, GM decided that they all should be destroyed. However, some dedicated employees "hid" one, painted it several times to disguise it and finally GM said they wouldn't destroy the car.Thus it's inclusion into the Museum.

I'm sure they can all be repaired, but still. As a dyed in the wool Corvette nut, this is quite upsetting.

If I Were In This Commercial

link

Yeah, yeah, yeah. A fine set of wheels should be kept clean.

Just not with Armor All's crap.

If this a$$shole came to my garage and tried to run off with my pickup because I hadn't kept it clean enough to suit him, he'd be staring down the barrel of a caliber that starts with four and ends with five. Then, I'd tell him to clean it up using the crap that his company sells as car cleaners and protectants. Stuff I have already.

For instance, the disposable interior cleaning sheets. Are you kidding me? All you get done is to clean some of it off, then smear the rest of the dirt around. When it dries, it looks like crap. So, lather, rinse and repeat until it becomes obvious that it will never get clean - those little white sheets are gonna come up dirty each and every time you wipe it across that door panel you've already wiped off about thirty seven times.

You think that crap is hot $hit? And you're willing to steal my wheels to prove your point? Prove it, mother&*%^)#.

And the scantily clad girlfriend?

If she's so willing to drop me for some role playing nitwit, she too can get to cleaning, and when they're done, just go ahead and run off with him. I don't need you, either. Might miss your assumed mad skilz in the bedroom, but as for the rest? Loyalty means nothing to you?

Eff you and the horse you rode in on too.

"Think Out of the Box" They Said

Don't ever let anyone tell you that it's never been tried before in automotive design.

H/T Larry

Cowboy Up!

Y'all may have surmised that I'm back home from my trip. If not, welp, I got back Friday afternoon. I needed a couple days rest just to recover. I also ran out of steam as far as making it to all the places I'd liked to have gone to as well.

There weren't enough hours in two weeks to go to points east of Indianapolis nor west to Denver, much less the West Coast. I'd pretty well figured that out already, but after about seven or eight days on the road, I was pretty well fried. For sure I was tired of biscuits and gravy, hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, nuked sausage and egg patties I can buy at Wally World, and so on and so forth. Never did get tired of bacon, which was available exactly twice.

I stayed in Holiday Inn Expresses, Comfort Inns, and AmericInns. I wish more king bed rooms had recliners. The sofa beds and the average chair are really not made for sitting.

I put on over three K miles, which is not that big of a deal. The new truck got as high as 17.5 or so mgp - I need to bring in my little black book and get all the figures - haven't even gotten to that yet. I was hoping for better, but it hasn't even gotten close to it's first oil change.

I also have a drain pipe (four inch diameter) to put on for a cat back exhaust system (as well as a grill guard), but didn't have time before I left. Not gonna mess with the chip or the intake - I'd prefer Ford pay for any screwups they installed rather than moi during the warranty period.

 Kitsey was pretty tickled to see me when I appeared at the door. She now likes sitting in my lap and being petted endlessly, but she hasn't figured out that she can actually come to me and I'll pick her up to do that. Her standard practice is to flop on her back in my path so I'll stop and rub her belly.

And I have more pics. Sorry about the quality - it's kinda hard to tell in the dark just how crummy they are when you're taking them. I hadn't been to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in OKC, OK since I was a teenager.

Things have changed.

For one thing, I've changed. Old me: Paintings? Bah. Boring. Current me: Surprised at how art can move me.

I got in trouble for taking some of these pics in a restricted area. The guard was really nice about it - he said the flashes can break down the pigments, and that there might be copyright issues were I to publish them. Of course, they're gonna end up on this blog. However, after looking at the pamphlet handed out, those areas were limited to no flash photography, not no pics at all.

Oh well. I can tell you there is one painting ten or so feet tall and fifteen or more feet wide of the Grand Canyon that was simply breathless. It showed a sliver of sunlight highlighting a canyon wall into a golden display of visual riches, a small rain squall below the rim covering part of the view behind it, several huge craggy and incredibly detailed bluffs - man, the colors and sense of depth just blew me away. There were paintings of cowboys in action - men who look identical to many I've known over the years, Native Americans, various wildlife, and just about any thing associated with the West.

The gun pictures I took were not in the main gun room, which I could have shot some no flash pics. I'd have probably ruined my phone from the drool anyhow. Some of the guns John Wayne donated were definitely highly desirable.

Of course Fredric Remington's and C.M. Russell's works were represented. Awesome, to over work a word. Of course, James Earle Fraser's plaster cast of End of the Trail sculpture is featured.

There is a pretty comprehensive rodeo section as well. I'm not much of a rodeo fan, but I did recognize a few names. Lots of prize saddles over the years on display.

I was there for four or five hours, and being on my feet that long just wiped my fat butt out. Totally worth it. I also went on a Wednesday, which happens to be free admission day for a limited time. I got there about a half hour after it opened, and it was definitely getting crowded with families by the time I left. Any wonder? Free vs thirty or forty bucks?

I hope those kids were entertained - the kid in me sure as hell was!

Here is a slideshow of the pics I took:

Update to "Last Marble"

Apparently when Google took over Picasa and melded it into Google+, they borked up some of the features. If I log into their url with a no redirect on the end, I get the layout that the instructions reference. Thus, the slideshow. That is all.

Goofin' Off

Been kinda busy these past few days - screwing around that is. Sis came up for a concert by Jury - a local rock cover band whose lead singer we've known since we were little kids. Mostly because we played together all the time. Sis wanted to hear her sing, and they were performing at Wright Park as part of the Dodge City Days festivities.

What was even more fun was watching the kids:

Of course one petered out temporarily while I caught this. Those two and a revolving cast were really really getting into it!

Oh, and Tosha can sing.

So, Sis left yesterday, and I'm in Albert Lea, MN tonight, on the way to Grand Rapids MN. Two nights there, then off to Niles, MI.

That is about as far forward as I have planned so far.

I've Got Yer Ghost Town Right Here

I was on my way to Ravanna, which is one of the closer ghost towns around here and I saw these bulls talking to each other, and this meme popped up in the ol' noggin. The one closest to me on the right was kicking dirt while I was digging the camera out, and after I put it back up.

I guarantee you that conversation wasn't particularly friendly. They like to "fight" a lot at times, which is mostly just pushing and shoving, snorting, tossing of heads, and dirt kicking. Yet somehow things get bent, fences are torn down and other maintenance headaches happen during these events.

Both pastures had plenty of cows and calves further away from the road, and I guarantee you they noticed me with the loud pipes. But, they all just watched me drive by. Ravanna is straight ahead.

One of the very few buildings left - and it's built from limestone rock. Same stuff they used for fenceposts.

There are a lot of these remains of buildings - just a mound littered with limestone chunks.

I think this is the graveyard. 

A big mound across the road from the courthouse.

The courthouse sat well off the main road, with building remains in the foreground.

Better shot of the courthouse.

The last time I was here was back when I was a teenager. Dad and I drove by while he was scouting out some spots to hunt deer. In my mind's eye, the graveyard was a lot further south, but where I thought it was - well, it was just pasture there and not a clue. I also thought the old Finney County State Lake was due west, but I went that way and it is not - I'm thinking it is to the east. The lake dried out years ago, and is just a large flat depression full of prairie grass and other growth. That was what Dad was scouting, as I recall.

That courthouse hasn't really changed in the forty odd years since last I saw it. I can remember more substantial walls, and I remember Dad saying people had been carrying it off as souvenirs. I think some people were caught and prosecuted, and that crap stopped. Plus, some high school pranksters (seven or eight years older than me) got caught digging up some Civil War veteran in the graveyard. They had taken some of the stuff found inside the coffin - medals and such.

I also broke out my way better point and shoot camera, so the pics are much bigger and better if ya click on 'em. After seeing all this, I headed west to another local landmark - White Mound.

This is just a big bluff/plateau east of White Mound. I had forgotten it was here. That is a pretty poor stand of dryland milo in the foreground. If it rains, the strips of green plants will take off, but the dried up areas are forever gone.

White Mound! This place has some emotional weight for moi because there were several little ponds in the pastures to the west, most of which had fish, and Dad had permission from the owner to fish there. He, Cuzzin Tom and I all spent some time there - I was totally bored after a while. I'd hook up a Rapala just for something to do, on the very off chance there might be a bass in there. Alas, it was just catfish. Which didn't bother Dad in the least - we'd go up there with stinkbaits, worms, liver and such and Dad just sat at the pond's edge, smoking cigarettes and enjoying the peace and quiet. We might have sandwiches and ice water or a pop or three along as well, but it was mostly a chance for Dad to relax away from it all. I'd get chastised were I too noisy because Dad didn't want me scaring the fish, he said. Now that I'm older, I think it was just to get me to shut up and be quiet and not ruin his afternoon off.

I should also mention that the owner at the time had a passel of sons, most of whom were schoolmates. A couple of them became musicians and started a band called - wait for it - White Mound. I had one of their t-shirts, but it turned into a rag many many moons ago.

Plus, on a different sort of adventure, my buddy Road Pig climbed up that thing in his 4wd Blazer. I think it was the Blazer - he got sorta serious with an IH Scout later because the Blazer couldn't take it.

And this milo looks better - kinda thin, but if it rains, it'll be worth cutting.

Plus, the trip on the scoot was pretty uneventful. It has been overcast all day, and it was spitting a tiny amount of moisture as I headed north from town. I'm not gonna be ripping down those gravel roads very fast real soon. I used to just run 45mph on the ol' Virago, but that was mostly when the weeds in the ditches were higher than me. I hit a pheasant once that about knocked me off the bike, and that was how fast I was going at the time. Plus, I wasn't real wild about suddenly sharing the road with deer I couldn't see coming. The weeds aren't doing as well these days, since they seem to require at least a tiny bit of rain, so the approaches to the roads were pretty visible,and the deer were playing well away from me today.

Also got 34.4mpg on that little excursion as well, so I couldn't have even come close with the FX4.

I will be doing this again - I had a lot of fun. It was my way of getting away from it all for a short time.

Just A Toy

2005 Suzuki C90 Boulevard. Actually, I think it's a C90T (touring) with the factory bags and windscreen. I wouldn't have bought it without those. It's got 26k miles on it, so it's been ridden.

It also has some extra goodies - the chrome fender lips have been added, the seat is not factory (it actually has another backrest - I like the extra room more than the extra back support), and it has a pair of slash cut pipes that are considerably louder than stock. It doesn't sound like a Harley - unless you think all loud V-twins sound alike. Of course it's got a throttle lock.

It's been a long, long time since I've ridden, and it shows. Mostly I have problems timing my stops so I don't drag my feet, and starting up again, as well as putting around in first gear going really slowly. With practice, I'll be "back."

I didn't want to spend big bucks on a Harley and then find out I don't wanna ride the dern thing. Not a whole lot of money in this sweetheart.

I was given an older size 2X Harley helmet with this, but it doesn't fit. Ordered a 3X Friday - I wanted a half helmet, but the dealer didn't have any half helmets in his catalog larger than 2X, which they had in stock anyway, and didn't fit. I'm pretty big on riding with a helmet, but it's hard not to do so when there is no helmet for Jeffro. So, I got some goggles that fit over my glasses (meeting semis about takes 'em off) so I can at least see safely.

I've just taken one short trip - went to Garden City. I took the long way - K23 north of Cimarron, then K156 on into Garden. I wasn't real confident in my abilities on US50/US400, so I kinda took the road less traveled. After I got done in Garden, I ran 'er back on 50 no problem. Other than having to duck behind the windscreen every time I met a semi.

I've really been wanting to get out on weekends and go see the local historical sites - old schoolhouses, ghost towns, museums, Indian battle sites, geological oddities and such. There are a lot of things to see within about 150-200 miles around here and all trip my trigger. I figure I can do all that a lot cheaper on this puppy than in the new truck. Not that I don't like the new truck anymore - that thing is slicker than snot on a doorknob, to rob one of Dad's old sayings. But the bike has it's charms as well, even if it isn't as comfortable.

So that's the evil plan.

My Obsession

As I said in the last post, I bought a pickup. I have been driving a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado Z71 LT extended cab, and it had 185k on it when it puttered off into the sunset. I loved that truck - it was classy, it rode nice, and it ran like a scalded dog, Pass everything but the fuel pumps, because it had the tow/haul package with the tranny cooler and 4.10 limited slip rears. When I bought it, gas was $1.39/gal. Yes, I'm obsessive and kept track of every expense, repair and so on. I also had it chipped, a lower temp thermostat, cat back duals, and a K&N intake setup to let 'er breath a bit better. Before I loaded it down with a ton of crap in the toolbox and in the extended cab, it would fry the tires.

So I was all set to buy another Chevy. But, as I got to looking around, I got the impression that the new ones were not as well done as my older version. The interiors seemed more cheaply made, and finding out they didn't even have a change holder in the console anymore only heightened that impression. Plus, I got to seeing how ALL the other manufacturers offered a console shifter with their bucket seats, but not GM. Column shifter all the way, baybee. Even their new revamped 2014 doesn't have that available. I noticed on a USA Today article that there were a bunch of commenters that were looking for just that option in the all new and improved model only to find out there would not be one. I'm not the only one that figured they'd buy something else.

Plus there was the whole Government Motors thing, along with Ram trucks. Sorry, but I'm of the opinion that I should get a taxpayer's discount when purchasing one of their products. I'll always feel that way. And frankly, from what I've seen, the Ram's have one of the better powertrains, but after that not so much. Their cabs just can't handle being rode hard and put away wet - the doors rattle and have to be slammed, stuff is always falling off, and so on. The heavier ones with Cummins diesels can't be beat for towing, but the cabs are still junk. My neighbor has also broken his frame a couple times. The truck is falling apart, but that Cummins keeps right on pluggin' away.

I don't need a heavy pickup.

Toyota and Nissan don't make very good mileage, and their designs are dated. I was wanting a certain set of options, and they both seemed to think the luxury stuff I was looking at required DVD players for the back seat.Yeah, like I need that.

You can probably imagine how obsessive I was looking at trucks online and trying to find what I wanted. Cars.com and AutoTrader kinda suck, because not all dealers pay to be on their sites. Plus it's hard to fine tune searches there - yeah, you can weed F150s out of the others, but finding extended cab FX4s with the luxury package not so much. Edmunds.com is where it's at to find a specific vehicle. Much better.

I was also looking for an extended cab, but in these days of crew cabs, they are kinda hard to find. So, what I was looking for was a four wheel drive crew cab pickup with the luxury seats. I was pretty well spoiled by the power leather seats in the ol' Z71, and my butt wanted the same thing. Ford has ten way power heated/cooled leather seats with power foot pedals. Check!

I was also pretty well impressed with the looks of the FX4 - comparable to the Z71. It has skid plates standard. The real off road Ford is the Raptor, but it comes with the 6.2 L V8. I like power, but I'm more into better fuel economy. The Lariats, Platinums and Limiteds all have skid plates as an option, but most do not have them installed. Another thing is that all those other trims have is fake wood interiors. I'm not into the tons of plastic chrome slathered all over the outside, nor am I into fake wood. The FX4 has none of that.

I was also really wanting a tail gate step. Ford offers a step that pulls out of the tailgate when it's dropped, then it angles downward with a flap that flips over giving your foot some purchase. A fairly tall rod handle is folded into the tailgate, and flipping it up gives you something to grab to climb into the bed. The dealer I went to had a Platinum equipped just like the FX4 but with the tailgate step, 3.23 locking rears instead of 3.55s, the power retracting running boards (which I think is a bit much). No skid plates. I was really into the idea of the lower gears, but not so much having a four wheel drive pickup w/o skid plates.

So I went with the FX4.

That is ruby red metallic clearcoat - it's an extra cost option. I also was considering black or gray like the ol' Z71, but this is the color I really wanted. FX4s have an option called the FX Appearance Package, which is flat black painted 20"wheels (the same ones as these but different paint), red piping trim on the seats, red trimmed FX4 badging, and some hockey stick shaped stripes on the side plus a big patch on the hood. I was all for everything but the stupid decals. Were I to find one of those, the decals were gonna be history. But I like the low key low gloss silver/gray these wheels have.

Just about everything has a backup camera these days - that is what the eye is for on the tailgate badge.

The view from the cab.

Free Sirius for a few months.

The home screen. The little bucket seats are for heating and cooling. There is an electric trailer brake controller built in, and the knob controls the four wheel drive and locking rear. The two buttons at the top are for a hill descent program and for turning the traction control off.

Not even 500 miles yet, and I'm averaging 14.2mpg. I did fill it up in Dodge after coming back from Wichita, and it was windier than you know what. It said 13.8mpg, but actual was 14.0. Of course there are several other screens for different stuff there as well.

This thing has the Ecoboost 3.5 L V6 with twin turbos and a six speed auto. This setup has more torque and hp than their 5.0 V8 that is offered, and has much better mileage than the 6.2. I can tell you there is some turbo lag, but not much. I took it out to the old back road today, and ran it through were I thought our old quarter mile marks were. Probably over eighty five through the quarter, and it is electronically governed at 100mph. Runs good! I think the Z71 would take it at first, but on down the quarter the Ford would suck it's doors.

I sure thought about changing out the air intake, adding a low restriction exhaust, and chipping this puppy. "They" say it really unlocks a bunch more power and torque, but I've got a warranty to consider. Ford isn't gonna stand behind their turbos if I put something upstream from them that ain't factory. And used to be, you could tweak the chip, and if you had some trouble, change it back before taking it to the dealer. Not anymore - they have telltales that let 'em know if it's been messed with. I may have been a fool, but I purchased an extended warranty, just because I'm pretty sure all this electronic crap isn't gonna make it for six years trouble free. After all, this thing is using Microsoft Sync, so there ya go.

For sure I'm getting some brush guards - the plastic crap on the Chevy up front looks stouter than this thing. I don't think it will take a pheasant hit very well. And I still may get a cat back exhaust - the service manager I talked to said they didn't have any conflicts with the warranty if I did that because I would be replacing all the parts that the warranty would cover, plus they didn't affect the other factory parts.So I got an unofficial go ahead there, more or less.

So, I'm hoping this thing lasts as long as I tend to keep vehicles. I really don't want to get something else for a long, long, time.