The Road is Calling

Over the last few years, I have spent a lot of time on the road, attending to various matters in our families lives. I was making almost weekly trips between Northern and Southern Utah, from the time we bought our southern house until we moved down here as our primary home. I got to know that portion of I-15 by heart.
 About the the time that happened, family issues had us making the 930 mile road trip to Washington State on a pretty regular basis. Over the next four years, I got to know those roads, through those four states ( Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington ), like the back of my hand. And, I made that trip more times than I can remember, in every kind of weather you can imagine.
All that driving was no problem, I have always loved to drive. It didn't take long before I had a picture in my mind, of every hill and valley, and each country side vista, of the entire trip.  It's always been that way with me, for every road I have traveled more than a couple of times, since I was a teenager.
Now that various situations in our lives have kept us home more over the last couple years, I miss the road. Every once in awhile, something will remind me, and I see those pictures in my mind, of a portion of a road I haven't traveled in awhile. It's like the road is calling me. I'm looking forward to the day that I will get back out there again.

A portion of highway 59,  here in Southern Utah,  that I have traveled many times.

We Would Never Have Believed

If somebody from the future would have visited us 30 or 40 years ago, and tried to explain the technology we use today, we would never have believed it.  We may not even have understood what they were talking about, even when they tried to explain it.
I sometimes wonder, if I could talk to my Dad, or Grandfather, who were car guys to some degree, and have been gone for many years, could I even explain our cars of today. And, the cars are only a small part of it. We live with technology, playing a big part of every aspect of our lives today.
Knowing what we live with today, think of what might be 10 or 20 years into the future. Now I can't even believe myself, the stuff we still have coming will amaze us, no doubt.
Anyone interested can check out my book by following this link; Grab Some Gears

Me at age 16, checking out my Mom's new 66 Mustang.

Followers

Last week I went over 5000 on the number of followers on my Twitter page. That's not a big deal for a lot of people, especially famous people. But, for an average car guy from down the block, it seems like quite a few.
That got me wondering who all these people are, and why are they following me? I guess it's for the same reason I follow the people I do, they must have some of the same interests, and enjoy seeing the photos I post. That's the reason I follow the people I do. I don't really know much about most of these people, but, the few that I am more acquainted with, I feel we could be friends in "real life".
Over the years I have been posting on social media, I have been making an effort to improve the quality of the media I post. That's what I enjoy about the pictures I see that others have put out there, and I try to constantly improve the quality of the photos I post on my page.
Anyone familiar with my work knows that I am a "car guy", so that's mostly what I post. Very seldom you will see other subject matter appearing on my pages, but, I will try to keep any of that high photographic quality as well.

(Random photo from unknown Twitter source).

Time Machine

Does anyone know how many books and movies have been produced that have included the subject of time travel?  There have been many, and the "Back to the Future" stories are some of the most popular in recent years.
The idea of a time machine has been around for hundreds of years, but especially in the 20th. century. We all may wonder what we would go back and change, or travel to the future to see, if we had such a machine. In the books and movies, something usually goes wrong in those adventures, and if we could actually time travel in real life, I'm sure we would mess things up somehow.
The closest thing I have to a time machine is my modern muscle car. In this world of millions of mass produced transportation appliances clogging our streets, my car at least reminds me of times gone by. Driving it makes me remember why I fell in love with muscle cars over 50 years ago. And, if only for a few moments at a time, I'm a teenager again.
Anyone who wants to know where my story began, follow this link and check out my book; Grab Some Gears

My time machine,  just making the leap,  into the future.

Stress Relief

In this modern life, all the day-to-day problems, unexpected changes, and world-wide craziness we see on the news every time we turn it on, is it any surprise that we have a lot of stress in our lives? I'm one of those people that stresses about anything going wrong, so I always have to deal with plenty of stress in my life. And, yes, it sometimes keeps me up at night.
I do a lot of things to try to keep it all under control. I get plenty of exercise, walk a couple of miles almost every day, do indoor exercises almost every day, and try to eat the right stuff, most of the time. Since my heart surgery last summer, I consider staying healthy my number one job. I want to be around for many more years to take care of my wife and family the best I can.
A lot of things go into reducing the stress in our lives. I have wrote in past blog posts that I love spending time doing things with my cars. Keeping them clean and detailed, keeping my garage nice, and as always, going for a cruise in my favorite performance car. All these things help reduce the stress in my life.
Things would run a lot smoother if we remember these stress reducing activities at those times when the stressful situations pop up and take over our lives. I think I'm mostly talking to myself on this point, but I needed to hear it.
Car people new to this blog may want to check out my book. Just follow this link to see it on amazon and read sample pages: Grab Some Gears

My favorite mode of stress release - my 2015 Mustang GT.

Mustang Day

April 17th. is known by enthusiasts around the world as “Mustang Day”. The iconic car we all love was introduced to the public 55 years ago today. They made an everlasting impression on a young South Dakota farm boy, and made me a life-long fan.
At the time, I would never have guessed how that car model would affect my life, or how many Mustangs I would come to own over the years.
My first experience with a Mustang was when a friend was lucky enough to get one for his 16th. birthday. Then, a few months later, my mom got a new 66 Mustang. I was lucky enough to get to drive it, once in awhile. (I have shared a few stories about those times in my book).
It would be a few years later when I would own my first Mustang, a yellow 66 coupe, with 289 V8, and 3-speed on the floor. That was the first of many I have owned in the years since. Everything from pretty basic models, to a couple Cobras, and even a Shelby GT 500. I have loved every one.
For more of this story, check out my book at; Grab Some Gears

Happy Birthday to the Ford Mustang.

Spring Cleaning

Here we are again, it's finally spring, and something we have been waiting for. This time of year usually signals the start of a lot of changes in our daily routines, and some of the things we have been waiting all winter to accomplish. For me, it always means some sort of "spring cleaning".
My cars, garage, and the rest of the house always need their share of cleaning and organizing. This year, we just finished moving into this home a couple of months ago. You wouldn't think there would be much spring cleaning needed, but there still is. Maybe mostly organizing our stuff.
Sometimes I think this job is never done. We all tend to keep stuff that we really just can't decide what to do with. When we move, we get rid of some of it, but there always seems to be more that we just can't make up our mind about. So, this will always be one of those never ending tasks that we have to face over and over again. That's where I am now, maybe I should get started.

Spring should be a great time for some sight-seeing trips, instead of spring cleaning.