Not only will the ride be an adventure

but he'll be riding with a hard headed heavy slang NY'er and a sophisticated engineer who sounds and dresses like he just left his still in the Smokys. We haven't decided who'll keep his trap shut and who will talk to strangers.

other than looking for a 911 guy that speaks English we'll be hitting forests and National Parks searching for wildlife etc.

hitting the roads and scenes before tourist season opens is key.

Well both Charles' and Chris are engineers,, ( and way underemployed right now!!!)..
They just called me asking permission to swap cars with the AZ guys.. so I guess they are having a riot !!

doh! or should i say..doe's! then why did i split a 40-ounce steak with chris and go home hungry??! :eek:

keep up the fun, guys and stay careful! SmileWavy
ryan

Well, yes they are having fun! We met them with 4 Pelicans (and one very understanding wife) in Flagstaff this afternoon.

They are now driving down 89a to Jerome with the other Pelican members, then to the Canyon where we have one of them convinced that they will have to take the mule train down to the hotel in the canyon.

The hotel is actually on the upper rim of the Grand Canyon but why confuse fact with fiction!?

The dirty half dozen

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176077878.jpg

All the cars lined up


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176077927.jpg

Our trying to find out what we could "liberate" from the car before the guys got back from their potty break. Damm they are fast!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176077952.jpg

Repairs on the road to a leaky window seal
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176078012.jpg

We remarked about the color of the tape used. One of them grumbled "we should have used black electrical tape so it would have matched the rest of the car" then the other mumbled "but Todd used all the electrical tape wrapping up all the fuel injection harness and 14 pin connector, so we are out of black tape".... we stopped asking questions at this point!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176078186.jpg

Had a nice lunch with them, even if one of them does not understand that red meat is what you are supposed to eat for food in this neck of the woods. The other one kept mumbling something about "row faster, they have seen us" so we were not sure what was going on. Could have been that they have been on the road (and I hope not sharing hotel rooms) a bit too long? Also could have been that "you get to be the wife tonight and do the laundry" comment one of them made earlier but we had asked enough questions!!?? :)

Enjoyed it guys, and hope you have a great trip exploring out here in the West!

Joe

lol..joe. that same remark was actually heard back in arkansas. ;) although, i can attest that at least in my stable they bunked separately. charles had a penchant for the living room floor once the sandman had kicked in full gear..chris partook of a bedroom......and one of them snores! but no one was saying who.. :D
ryan

Ryan,

They said that they had an excellent time when getting together with you and the wife. As well good comments about the food and really appreciated the place to stay.

Will be holding the thought for you the next couple of days!

Joe

haha! thanks, joe...they're a great couple of guys. would have been nice to have hung out with 'em a little longer (hour or two, tops).. ;)

:D

Pelicans in AZ
 

All,
We got a little group together, met up with Joe and drove up to Flagstaff today to met the boys. After lunch we took them on a run down through beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome and finally to Prescott. Three Porsches and a Lotus Elise. Donny, Art, Tom & Tiffany and Joe.
The guys had a problem just 2 miles outside Jerome that put a kink in the day and added a few hours to the trip. After several "educated" guesses one of our guys (Tom) went and got a small can of gas.... it started right up! DUH! Anyway we had a great time with them too. They're on their way to the Grand Canyon as I write this. They did score a room at the famous El Tovar on the canyon rim.
Here's the pictures I got...
Flagstaff
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176094274.jpg
Jerome ghost town stop
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176094313.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176094372.jpg
Red Canyon drumer (it was a sign!)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176094415.jpg
It sputtered and quit! "I'm sure we have enough gas!"
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176094474.jpg
All we did was add fuel and the darned thing started right up? Go figure.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176094610.jpg
FUN-FUN-FUN

Did they use the old "we get better gas mileage in NH" line??
Thanks for helping them out guys!!!

yep.. if roads are open it's safe for a 911.

i find that the first week after Park roads open has the best wildlife along still snowy trails. If you're ever to come across a big rack laying around it's then. The sun keeps you warm when temps are 40F. If it's dark and misty bundle up. No matter it's some of the most beautiful areas of the country seen at the finest time. If you can still follow new buds up the mountain side you just scored. The high country animals come into the valleys to get fresh buds. At no other time of the year do you stand a chance of spotting a ram.


aside from the Parks being great i once hung around a week waiting for 11k' Bear Tooth Pass to open at the Montana/Wyoming border. Yellowstone is the backdrop and tons of beavers running around some still frozen lakes like it's a shopping center. Snow walls sometimes 10+' along some of the pass.

In Calif bears w/cubs can either be an issue or entertainment. Bears can be spotted from cars but make sure there's plenty of others in front of you if you see cars stopping to watch cubs play. The Rangers do a great job but spring time must be hectic for them. I once unknowingly camped in an area with the highest bear attacks in the country. I was the only one there.

Hmmm, the boys must not have internet access at the Grand Canyon hotel, or they are sleeping very soundly!

Hey, great to meet you "Mountain Pelicans" and we need to get together more often!

Joe

Anytime Joe. We all enjoyed meeting the guys and you too!

The guys didn’t get to the hotel until 11 last night so there was some sleep in this morning.


The guys don’t have internet access at he hotel. They are off in the Canyon today. No decision yet as to when they are going to drive to Las Vegas – tonight or tomorrow. I suspect it will be tomorrow.

I’ll post an update about suppertime.

Best,
Grady

Grady,

Even without running out of fuel I was worried about their timing yesterday. Glad that they made it to the hotel ok and would love to be there today and see the look on their faces when they see what its like around there in daylight.

Joe

Joe,

I suspect they will be very cautious to not run the fuel down to even half. There aren’t an abundance of gas stations out there, marginal cell connections and I don’t know if AAA services on the reservations.


Ron, can you post a map of a proposed route along the west side of the Sierra?

Best,
Grady

I just spoke with Charles... They are planning on hanging around the Canyon today and overnighting in Williams?? Then heading to Vegas tomorrow .. So anyone planning on getting together with them today in Vegas you can scratch that. they will have internet tonight apparently ( or hopefully)

http://www.williamschamber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home

Hotels Williams, AZ 86046

www.hotelsvalued.com
2600 W Route 66 - (928) 635-4400

www.hojo.com
511 N. Grand Canyon Blvd. - (928) 635-9561

www.marriott.com
1029 N Grand Canyon Blvd - (928) 635-9888

Holiday Inn WILLIAMS
950 N. GRAND CANYON BLVD
WILLIAMS, AZ 86046 UNITED STATES
Hotel Front Desk: 1-928-635-4114 | Hotel Fax: 1-928-6352700

Williams to Kingman to Las Vegas 218 miles, 3h30m (not including running out of gas). :D


LV is known for good deals for food and lodging (to get your gambling business). The best deals are usually NOT when you just drive in. Who has some experience in Vegas?

Best,
Grady

Thanks Grady, I'm sure Charles will be calling me later as I'm tied to my computer today.. Yeah the out of gas thing is a classic..
On an even lighter note,, Chris proceeded to tell me last night that he was really thinking he was going to take a mule ride down to the hotel last night!!!

There is a steam train running out of Williams to the canyon. Not sure if its going year round or not but its a hoot. Hope they see it.

http://www.thetrain.com/


Best,
Grady