[JONAT-chat] Arizona Sector Report - Days 3-6

[Jamie - JONAT]

Mark, terrific story telling effort!  And please thank Andrea for going
through all she did when we borrowed your enthusiasm to help make the Tour
what it's shaping up to be ... Greatly Memorable!

Jamie

Jamie & Dru - Tulalip, WA
88 Series III V12 VdP - Roxanne
89 XJS V12 Convertible - Butch
Jaguar Owner's North American Tour - http://jonat.org
April 14, 2004 - July 10, 2004
Executive Committee Member
Seattle ASC

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Stephenson" <marks@jaguarot.com>
To: <Jonat-chat@autox.team.net>
Sent: Saturday, May 01, 2004 9:15 PM
Subject: [JONAT-chat] Arizona Sector Report - Days 3-6


> My reports are later than planned. I'll have pictures to go along with all
of
> these, but in Page, not only didn't I have high-speed access, I didn't
even
> have a local number for NetZero.
>
> Day 3 Around Mesa Verde National Park
>
> Robert MacLeay and his friend Steven took the bus tour of the park, while
> Andrea, Dick and Nancy Hile, and I drove to various points in the park. We
got
> some great shots of ruins with the Jaguars and Jay, the Jaguar. We have
some
> beautiful vistas with four cats (three of them cars) from this day. Not
much
> driving so not much to talk about. Pictures will tell the story far better
> than I can.
>
> Robert and Steven decided to head to Cortez, CO and stay overnight there,
so
> we did the handoff Wednesday night.
>
> For Bob: We had 74 stickers and 10 plates + 1 plate still sealed in the
West
> Texas envelope. Both Robert and I forgot the official form, so Robert and
I
> signed Robert's envelope stating the contents we exchanged. I'll scan and
> e-mail a copy of that to you when I get back to Phoenix.
>
> Late in the day, we began to wonder about Gary Singer who was supposed to
join
> us somewhere - we thought Mesa Verde. As we and the Hile's were dining on
more
> fabulous food (I went for buffalo this time) one of the hotel staff
brought me
> a message. It had been delivered to the wrong room and the guest brought
it
> back to the front desk. The message I received about seven hours late was
that
> Gary was leaving Albuquerque. We determined that the drive was at most
five
> hours. We were no longer wondering if he was going to be there -- he
should
> have been there. Well, there wasn't much we could do about it. I had no
cell
> phone service, there were no phones in the rooms, we didn't even have TV.
>
> I woke up a couple times that night, listening for the unmistakable sound
of
> the straight six, but come morning, there was still no sign of Gary.
>
> Day 4 Mesa Verde, CO to Page, AZ - 300 miles - or
> the day starts out well, goes badly, but ends OK
>
> It could have been worse. The cars are all still running, but if we lost
one,
> it wouldn't have been much worse.
> We started down off the mesa and reached a point where we could see across
the
> valley floor a quarter-mile below. As we stopped for pictures, we realized
we
> had cell phone reception. I checked my messages and among the frantic
business
> calls was one from Gary. It was 8 p.m. and he still hadn't left
Albuquerque
> but a Jaguar was running. Rather than drive into the night with little
sleep,
> he was going to leave early the next morning and try to catch us as we
left.
> It would have been a great plan assuming we were on schedule, but with
> checking out and checking all the messages we were nearly an hour
behind --
> and no Gary. I tried calling the number Gary left and it was no good. I
> listened to the message again, and either I was suffering from stress
induced
> dyslexia, or Gary was, because I had two numbers reversed. We continued
down
> the side of the mesa hoping that we'd find him somewhere along the way. As
I
> rounded the final turn before the guard shack there was a BRG Series 1 E
on
> the opposite side of the road. I slowed down and out popped Gary. After
> exchanging pleasantries and hearing how Gary's 120 wasn't ready in time
and
> his E then blew a water pump and how FedEx stock is going through the roof

> solely from Gary's overnight shipping volume, we pressed on to Cortez
where we
> picked up Robert and Steven.
>
> We were now four, an XK120, a Series 1 E roadster, a V12 E with trailer,
and a
> XJ40 Majestic. We were now taking on the look of an entourage.
>
> Weather reports along the way indicated that even the worst days would
make it
> into the sixties (F). There was one day where isolated showers were
predicted.
> That was today. In Phoenix, "isolated showers" means plan a picnic because
the
> most you are going to see is clouds that are dark on the undersides. I
think
> it's the weather forcaster's way of covering his backside when there is an
> ever so slight chance that a drop of water might fall from the sky
somewhere.
> The other term is "breezy." Now this to me conjures up pictures of happy
> children with kites that have tails with a few knots in them being able to
> play out string and get the kite sailing with perhaps a few backward
steps.
> Just as "isolated showers" wouldn't make me think of alternating bands of
rain
> and sun cascading across the high desert, "breezy" doesn't make me think
of
> kite strings snapping or kite flyers being dragged across the ground on
their
> bellies. But that pretty much described the weather of the day. One Kodak
> moment, at the north edge of Monument Valley, the Marcel Marceau routine
of
> "Man walking against a strong wind" was a reality. The temperatures were
in
> the fifties at best and we estimated a sustained wind speed of 40 mph with
> gusts to 60. It was coming from the west and we were traveling south.
There is
> not much worse in a car with no top. Driving into the wind you have a wind
> break. Driving with the wind is deceptively fast. 70 mph with a 40 mph
> crosswind combines to create something like an oblique 95 mph fury that
blows
> past the windscreen and blasts you in the side of the head. Needless to
say it
> was my poor wife Andrea's head and by the time we reached Goulding Trading
> Post, she was madder than a cat getting a bath, except the cat can't
complain
> about someone leaving the top and side curtains under the bed at home to
make
> more space for clothing, tools, and spares.
>
> The only way it could get worse -- rain. We saw it, at first, mostly sunny
> with wisps of virga beneath a few thick clouds, then mostly cloudy where
you
> hoped the road took you under the wisps of virga rather than under a
> full-blown drenching. We skirted a few, but then our luck ran out. A light
> rain left me wishing my wipers worked. Fifteen minutes later we hit the
next
> band of rain, heavier. Following that, in the distance we saw the biggest,
> blackest cell of the day. We could not see through the downpour at the
base.
> The road weaved left and it looked like we'd pass it on the right; the
road
> weaved right and it was ahead on the left. We breathed a sigh of relief as
it
> became apparent that we would pass by on the north, but our relief was
> short-lived.
>
> Even though we were at least three miles away, the temperature dropped 20
> degrees (F). It was freezing, and I don't mean that subjectively. Even
though
> we had dropped to about 6000 ft. elevation, this was the coldest we had
> experienced. Gary, with the top up, windows up, and the heater running,
was
> chilly. The wind spreading out from the bottom of the storm cell was now
on my
> side and even the heat from the exhaust did little to cut the chill. I
> alternated driving with each hand to warm the other; I sat on my left and
laid
> my right on a warm spot on the transmission tunnel. Andrea, behind the
> windscreen in terms of relative wind angle, wearing a second jacket loaned
us
> by Dick and Kathy, and with both hands in her pockets, was faring much
better.
> It was twenty minutes or so before we broke that icy grip and an
occasional
> bit of warmth wafted up from the floorboards. Either that or frostbite was
> setting in. We discussed it briefly through cold-stiff faces and weren't
> certain which it was initially. Finally as we descended the final fifteen
> hundred feet into Page, AZ, warmth began creeping back into our bones.
> As we pulled into the Holiday Inn Express parking lot, Andrea staked her
claim
> to first shower and the friendly faces of Pete and Donna Hilgeman greeted
us
> from a second story window. Pete and Donna had stories of the drive
through
> the snow, about two inches, in Flagstaff, and getting their windscreen
> sandblasted by an ill-timed wind gust as they passed a gravel truck.
>
> We pigged out at a favorite Mexican restaurant of Dick and Kathy's in
their
> home town of Page. The staff came by, distributed sombreros to all the
men,
> including two giant ones for me and Dick, as el Jefe and el Segundo, and
> serenaded us with a rousing Spanish version of "Happy Jaguar to You." We
> finished off the evening snapping pictures of Jay in a sombrero.
>
> Day 5 - Page, AZ to Grand Canyon to Williams, AZ or,
> The best laid plans...
>
> The wind died down a bit and Page to Cameron was almost balmy by
comparison to
> the previous day. We were still bundled, as the high temp at the Grand
Canyon
> was in the low sixties. However, the sun at 6-7000 feet is hot this time
of
> year, even if the air is cold.
>
> Dick and Kathy did a great job of making all the arangements for the first
> half of the Arizona Sector. The food was excellent, the roads were
beautiful
> (for people in cars with tops), and the arrangements were flawless until
we
> got to the Grand Canyon. It wasn't Dick's fault, it was more a convergence
of
> small things that created a bump in the journey.
>
> Dick had the foresight to arrange a secure place for all the Jaguars to
park
> and a shuttle bus to take us to the South Rim. We got a late start from
Page,
> spent more time than we wanted to at Cameron, and were over an hour late
> leaving. My MapPoint timing was generally conservative, giving us a
cushion,
> but the road into the Grand Canyon was slower than MapPoint used as an
> average, so that put us even further behind.
>
> My MapPoint instructions to the meeting point at the Canyon were different
> from Dick's because I hadn't taken into account the meeting place. I
didn't
> have the foresight to bring a club roster with me, so I didn't have the
phone
> numbers for the people arriving from Phoenix, but I did have Dennis
Eynon's
> number. I got a hold of him Friday morning and he tried to could find the
guys
> at the meeting point, but had arrived a bit late. Thinking they had
already
> left, he took off like a bat out of hell up I-17 for the Grand Canyon.
They
> hadn't left and was just putting distance between him and them. He never
found
> them and waited at the South Entrance to the park, but somehow missed
them.
>
> So, the Phoenix/Grand Canyon group except for one, proceeded to the rim
and
> parked there, while the rest of us took the shuttle. Eventually we tracked
> everyone down for dinner at the scheduled time and place. It wasn't a big
> problem, just a bit frustrating, and took a bit of the lustre off what had
> been nearly flawless up to that point. Unfortunately, in the confusion, we
> left Jay in the car at the meeting point, so we have no shots of him at
the
> Grand Canyon.
>
> The Grand Canyon was, well, grand. It's indescribably beautiful and
immense.
> Pictures don't do it justice. Even if Jay isn't in them, we'll do our best
to
> give you a hint of what it was like. Andrea and I took a long walk before
> dinner, and it was exactly what we needed.
>
> What started as a entourage had now grown to a convoy of Jaguars. We added
the
> XJSes of Phil and Andy Eisenberg, Jim Baum, and Dick Hauger; and the XK8
of
> Dennis Eynon to our three E-types, one XK120, and XJ40, as we took our
> twilight drive to Williams. The temperature drops quickly in the high, dry
> country of northern Arizona. It was almost as bad as the day before, but I
> didn't have anyone to commiserate with, since Andrea hitched a ride with
> Dennis in his XK8.
>
> I was happy to unload into my caboose-suite at the Canyon Motel. It was a
> great experience sleeping in a converted caboose with the hushed sounds of
the
> night trains rolling along the BNSF main line a half mile to the south.
The
> only thing missing was the rhythmic clicking of the rails beneath the
floor.
>
> Day 6 - Williams to Kingman - The Rt. 66 Fun Run
>
> Saturday we awoke to frost covering the 120. We had arrived at 8:30 p.m.
and
> although I recognized some of the cars, I didn't have a chance to take
stock
> of who was there until the morning. Steve Guinn had his XJS and Greg Meyer
had
> his E. This represented the highwater mark of the Arizona Sector with ten
cars
> and fifteen participants. Steve just drove up to spend the night with us
and
> headed back to Phoenix so we were back to nine cars as we headed to
Seligman
> for the start of the Fun Run.
>
> Imagine a Cruise Night times ten and you have Rt. 66 in Seligman on
Saturday
> morning. There were close to 700 cars participating. We took our place in
line
> without Dennis, because he had to return to attend to some family events.
We
> made it through as a group to the Grand Canyon Caverns, where some of us
took
> the tour and others didn't, scattering us. It's a very interest cavern,
> different from most you may have seen, in that the humidity inside is
about
> 6%. A fossilized giant sloth and a mummified bobcat have been found
inside.
> Robert MacLeay should be uploading the picture of Jay being cradled in the
> stubby arms of the Tyrannosaurus Rex that stands guard out front. It is a
> fantastic shot guaranteed to bring a smile.
>
> We have a bunch of other great shots from along the way. I'll try to
upload
> mine when I return home.
>
> Remember we were freezing just a day ago? Well, by the end of the day we
were
> sweating. The high in Kingman today was in the upper eighties, and to my
now
> cold-acclimated body it felt much warmer. Tomorrow it will be much warmer,
> topping out at over 100F in Lake Havasu. I'm not thrilled at the prospect.

> Andrea and I will be making another twilight run back to Phoenix, not to
look
> at the stars, but for car- and self-preservation. Summer is here in
Arizona.
>
> My final report will be from the comfort of home sometime Monday. I don't
> think I'll have time to get through the pictures by then, but maybe.
>
> Mark - AZ SC
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