Warmer Climate

As winter sets in over much of our half of the planet, and I see the reports of nasty cold weather happening to many of my friends, family, and Twitter associates, I'm glad I live in a warmer climate. It makes it much easier to enjoy my cars all year around.
I spent most of my life living in colder areas, and dealing with snow, ice, and freezing weather.  It seems like the cold weather lasted almost half of the year, though in reality, it was probably more like four or five months. But, it was way to much time to put up with weather that hampered my enjoyment of my cars. Though I drove my performance cars year around, there were many days that they had to stay in the garage, because of snow and nasty roads.
We've had this home in Southern Utah for eight years now, though we have lived here full time for less than four years. Even when our primary home was up north, I kept my best performance car garaged down here, so I could enjoy it when I was down on weekends and holidays. I quickly grew to love this climate, and couldn't wait to live here full time.
As many of my Twitter friends and associates talk about putting their performance cars away for the winter, it makes me appreciate my warmer climate, because I remember vividly what it was like living in the snow. I'm very happy I live where I do.
For more of my automotive history, you can check out my book at; Grab Some Gears

My Mustang and our Southern Utah home town. Snow usually stays on those distant mountain tops.

Finding Solitude

The end of the year, the holidays, the colder weather, and all that come with it, has always been a hard time for me. I have never liked crowds, dealing with a lot of people at one time, even like parties or large family gatherings. "I am a loner" !
We always hear that many people experience depression around the holidays. I think most of them are probably people who would like to be around other people, but find themselves alone around this time of year. I used to work with a single guy, who's whole life centered around his work environment, and everyone he associated with were the people he worked with. When the holidays came around, and everyone had a lot of time off at work, he spent the days home alone, and I think it was very hard on him every year. I know he got very depressed.
That's not me. I like my time alone. That's when my batteries recharge. I love it especially when I have something to do that I enjoy, like keeping my cars clean, keeping my house and garage clean and neatly organized, or just out walking in a beautiful, quite place, on a nice day. These things I enjoy doing every chance I get.
This year, at the end of a very stressful last seven months, I've needed that solitude more than ever before. I especially enjoy my walks in the canyon. I find myself taking more notice of the beauty and quiet, more than I ever have before. I do enjoy that time, and cherish it, and thank God for it.

Me,  enjoying the beautiful Snow Canyon State Park, near my home in Southern Utah.

Drag Strip Days

Readers of this blog, and those familiar with my book, may know that I was a street racer for over 40 years. During those years, I also spent quite a bit of time on the "legal" drag strip, racing my cars in the "street legal" classes. This went on for about a ten year period, between 1987 and 1997, and I still have a lot of the time slips, and a trophy, from those days. During those years, I ran four different cars on the drag strip near my former home in Northern Utah.
In the last couple years, we had a drag strip here in Southern Utah. I went out and watched the racing a couple times, thinking about running on the strip again in my 2015 Mustang GT. About the time I was ready to try my luck again, they closed down the drag strip, and started construction of large industrial buildings on the site. That was the end of that, and for my return to drag racing.
A lot of thing changed in my time away from drag strip racing. Now days, you see a lot of different vehicles, other than the classic muscle cars that used to dominate the racing. You now find way more large, hopped-up, diesel pickup trucks, than the muscle cars of the old days.
Just like the move from muscle cars to hopped-up turbo imports among the street racing crowd, I guess everything changes, even if it's sad for some of us "old-timers", that's the way it goes.
Anyone interested can check out my book at: "Grab Some Gears"

Vintage photo of me on the drag strip in my 87 Mustang,  in the late 1980's.