I try and avoid ABQ and all large cities whenever possible, In the 80's and 90's ABQ was a decent place by today's standards, it is a shame really, it is positioned geographically to be an awesome place, and once was Long ago when NM was in my sales territory I didn't mind going there, the food and the people were great, I think it has been about 20 years since i have done more than drive through it. I am so bad about avoiding cities it has been well over a decade since I went to downtown Austin, and I live about an hour NW of it. Same gors for Houston and DFW, If I can avoid them, I do.

 

I managed to get everything packed back into the car the same as when I packed it, no small feat. No issues with the car, the AC worked perfectly and it started right up each morning.

A few random shots of Inks Lake State Park, it was nearly perfect weather. These are two of the fishing piers. The park was about a third to a half full, getting my reservation was easy, in a month or so it will not be easy, it is one of the busiest State Parks in Tx.





















One of the reasons I will have to wash the car, they were everywhere.



This is the time of year for bird watching, though it is not an interest of mine, lots of migratory birds Winter here, the number of Geese was astounding but lots of songbirds as well.

 

Gracias, amigo. Here are some pix:


^ Rental cabin.




These three pix are from Palo Duro SP. The two young lads were from England. I had gone around some "road closed" barricades in the park (the road ahead was closed due to flooding from recent rains), and these kids drove their rental car around the barricades because they were so excited to get up close and personal with a biker and his Harley. They were very well spoken and polite (loved their accents) and asked if they could sit on my bike and pose for pix, a request I happily obliged. Great visit. Random encounters like this are often the best.






Mrs. Joe photographing the sunrise (and me!) at Santa Rosa Lake SP. This spectacular canyon view was only about a five-minute hike from our campsite, and we had it all to ourselves.




Standing on a corner...



I'm a sucker for trains. Can't tell you much about 'em, just dig all the noise and mechanical mayhem going on. Williams, AZ is a train-rich environment:

The Grand Canyon Railway has their own RV park in Williams, where we stayed for a week. Every day I'd chase their sightseeing trains running up to the Grand Canyon and back. Simple pleasures.




^ Five power units!




These three pix are several miles down a natural gas line right-of-way that runs along the mainline about ten minutes north of Williams. Man, what a delicious racket these things make going by. I'm pretty sure the engineers have never seen a Harley out here before. I would always get a friendly blast from their air horns as they hammered past.




Photo stop on my way up to the Arizona Snowbowl north of Flagstaff. The Snowbowl is a must-see.


Extra credit:





These three pix are from the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. While I was stopped enjoying the view (and the incredible lighting), this flock of cows moseyed over to check me out. It was a pretty mooving experience.

Thanks for letting me post up some pix on your thread.

RPO Joe

 

Awesome Pics! I enjoy seeing other's adventures almost as much as I like my own. It is usually a pleasant experience meeting people from other countries visiting ours. A lesson from my Dad that has proven to be mostly true in my own life, the average person all around the world is very much the same. My travels around the country have been mostly pleasant, even when just for work. The cow pic is great, we have one ready for the freezer and my wife is waffling on having one processed, go figure. I told her to not give them cute names, no one wants to eat Button the pet but 2-sides is a less endearing name.

I forgot to mention the car got a lot of attention on this short trip. Gas station, grocery store parking lot and stop lights had many admirers. In the park itself numerous people came up to chat about the car and how I managed to be actually camping from one. Two Park Rangers chatted a while, lots of thumbs up driving around the camp grounds and one camper is also a member here that lives maybe 10 miles or so from me, also a C4 owner and has another generation Corvette I don't remember. I had a good time, overall, and now have a plan on what I need, don't need and how to adjust what I pack for these adventures.

 

Reminded me that, several years ago, I was speaking with a very British lady and I said that I loved her accent. Her response? "I beg your pardon, I don't have an accent...you do."

 

I have a hard time with British TV shows, I can't understand a lot of them and I wonder if they have the same issue with our dialect?

I was raised in and have lived much of my life in Texas though I have had people tell me they don't believe that. I have no real accent, my Mom was from Illinois and my Father from Washington State. I have a fake one I sometimes let slip out when socially acceptable, to blend in with what is expected.

 

Standin on the corner in Winslow Arizona,
such a fine site to see
Its a girl my lord, in a flat bed Ford
Slowin down to take a look at me

Cool shot man.

 

Thanks! I've been a photography buff since I was a kid and am always on the lookout for a good photo.

I agree. One of the most common comments I've heard in my travels is, "Your country is HUGE!"

I think "Medium Rare" would be a great name for one of your cows!

I was still over an hour from home when I took those pix (we lived right off the Parkway up in SW Virginia). One does not willingly ride a motorcycle on the Parkway at dusk or after dark - the deer are thick as thieves out there. But, the view (and the lighting) was so incredible I just had to stop and try to capture it all in photos, even though I was burning precious daylight. The cows were curious and comical, and I enjoyed our brief encounter.

Sounds like a great time, thanks for sharing!



Mrs. Joe and I got that a lot when we moved to Virginia from California in 2007. I got corrected many times when I'd comment on someone's southern accent.



Thanks! It's nothing but a tourist trap, but we - and a zillion other tourists - had fun standing on the corner that day.

While we were walking back to our truck we were approached by a disheveled Native American man who asked if we could spare $20 so he could get a new radiator hose for his car. He wasn't scary or intimidating or anything, he looked more sad than anything else. I asked him, "Do you really have a car?" He was honest and said no. I appreciated his honesty and stroked him a $20. Maybe not the right thing to do, I dunno. I'm guessing he works "The Corner" full-time and probably grosses more in a year than I do.


@SirReal63 FYI, we sold our C4 back in December and picked up a low-mile (I *think*) '77 in Classic White. This pic is from this afternoon, after spending a week and a half restoring the wheels and having a new set of BFG Radial T/A's spooned on:


My lower back is crap (has been ever since I was in my teens). I had surgery on it about ten years ago and the surgeon told me at the time that if I was lucky I'd get another ten or so good years out of it. He was spot on the money. It was getting increasingly difficult to climb out of our C4 (to the point I had AAA on speed dial - "Hello? I need help getting out of my Corvette!"), so I offed it and rescued this pretty little C3 that was languishing in a garage up in South Dakota.

My back will never get any better (and I'm through with surgeries, thank you very much), and climbing out of this thing is only marginally better than the C4, but I'm hoping that it buys me several more years of being active in the Corvette hobby.

RPO Joe

 

Great looking 77. I traded my uncle a beautiful 82 that I had for a 2011 SS/RS Camaro This is it at 36k miles

 

While I'm sorry you sold the C4 you worked so hard on, I completely understand, these cars are brutal to get out of, getting in is easy, getting out is rough. I had considered a C5 for a while because it is more friendly to ageing bodies and while I am still somewhat flexible, my wife is not, she has a whole hardware store in her ankles and one knee. It became less of an issue as she has no real interest in my traveling adventures any more, which I also understand. That sealed the deal on a C4 as to her no Corvette is special, it is just another pretty car.

That is a great looking 77! It is one of my favorite body styles and to me white is a winner, I like white vehicles. I hope there is a coming thread documenting your work and adventures in it.

 

Simply beautiful! I know the Camaro is better in almost every way but it doesn't have the same aesthetic appeal as that 82.

 

@SirReal63 and @RPO Joe I completely understand where the both of you are coming from. After my kidney transplant last year, I had some difficulty getting in and out of my C4's. I pushed through because I needed those cars last year. They got me through recovery. I will be 45 this year and I can feel that the in and out motion of these cars isn't what it used to be 15 years ago. I can only imagine what the next 15 yesr will bring. My father in law, who will be 67 in April doesn't drive his 93 Polo Green car much at all. He loves the car but has trouble getting in and out of it. He has bad knees (had a double knee replacement last September and the other in December) and has for some time and prefers the automatic transmission. Unfortunately his car sees less than 300 miles per year. Sometimes not even that many miles. My 17 year old son was getting out of the driver's seat in my 93 last weekend and he told me its the most difficult car he has ever gotten out of. He is 6'3" and about 230 lbs. He's a big boy. He doesn't have any trouble getting in and out of my 84. The sport seats in the 93 are awful for ingress and egress. I have considered buying the standard seat foam and leather and putting them on the seat frames and shelving the sport seats sections. They are beautiful to look at and mostly comfortable to sit in. They hold you tightly in your seat around corners, but they make things more difficult overall. I don't race the car, I just cruise around in it and run errands and take it to work now and again. I do get on it and run it here and there. I love the roar kf the engine and the feel of the acceleration. But for me, the sport seats are unnecessary. My 84 is MUCH more comfortable to drive and MUCH easier to get in and out of. If I were to pick one to take on a long trip, it would be the 84, simply because the base leather seats are VERY comfortable to me.

Joe, that's is a beautiful C3!! I will look to see if you have a thread on the car, much like you did with your C4. I'm glad you are still here in the C4 section as well. I really enjoy your posts!

 

My first vette was a '64 convertible back in 1966. During the next 20 years I had several C1s and C2s. During the last 30 years I had several C4s, C5s, and C6s, each generation easier to get out of than the prior. Five years ago I sold my C6 and bought a '66 convertible. It is much easier to get in & out of than previous generations. Certainly, it lacks creature comforts for long distance trips...

 

Where abouts? I was born in Olympia and have lived in Tacoma my entire life...

 

Yakima and the surrounding area.

 

It was time to let it go:

Re: ingressing/egressing the dang thing, I called it the FICO method: FALL IN, CLIMB OUT!



Thanks. It was a couple C3's that got me hooked on Corvettes when I was in my early 20's (it's been a minute...) and I decided I wanted another one while I'm still functional. I know very little actual history on the car (it's a long short story). I found a broadcast sheet under the carpeting under the passenger seat several weeks ago and know that the car was sold new at Beaupre and Sons, Inc in St. Anne, IL, but I think it spent much of its life in SD.



The odo shows 52k milles. Original? Who knows. If it's 152k miles, it was pretty well taken care of.

I've always liked white vehicles. Looks sanitary, easy to take care of. When this one popped up on my radar, at a price I could afford, I drove up to SD and checked it out.

Remember the old (OLD!) TV show, "77 Sunset Strip"? Well, this photo was taken during my test drive, so hence the car's new nickname, "The Sunset Stripper":


Here's a thread I just finished re: restoring and polishing my RPO YJ8 wheels: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-my-yj8-s.html



Thanks. Your '82 is/was gorgeous! Dig the Cragars.



Dave! Great to see your name pop up, kind sir! I still remember that photo you posted up from your hospital room of you with your kids at your side after your surgery. I hope you're doing well!

Gracias, amigo!



My son was born at Tacoma General Hospital (in 1984; dang, where does the time go?). Pretty country up that way. Sure does rain a lot, tho......

RPO Joe

 

The build sheet was a nice find!

The rain is why we winter in AZ...

 

Thanks, I was pretty stoked when I found it. There's another one waiting to be retrieved on top of the gas tank:



The rain is why I originally moved to California 25 years ago.

RPO Joe

 

@RPO Joe I am doing well, thank you. Its been a journey over the last year. I am very greatful to still be here and to feel mostly normal again. I thank God for the second chance at life. I get a few reminders that even though I have one functioning kidney and feel pretty good, I am not 100%. Whatever I am, I'll take it, because I feel leaps and bounds better that I did before my transplant. I had taken a little break from my 95 flood car restoration last fall. I was upset with how a deal went down between myself and another forum member over a steering column they sold me. I needed a good column to finish the interior and was sold a bad column and the seller vanished. A shame because I was out of extra money needed to buy another column and knew I wasn't going any further without one. So instead of getting even more upset, I took a break from the car for a bit. New year, newfound motivation. My 14 year old son is aggressively asking me to teach him how to diagnose issues and fix cars. I bought him his own toolbox. Its an older two box Matco toolbox and we have been hitting the Snap-On truck and putting some tools in it. He buys tools from other places as well. He cleaned Tractor Supply out of some really nice tool sets. Extension set, socket set, adjustable wrench set. All come in a really nice foam tray that fits perfectly in a toolbox drawer. I'll have to post a picture of them.

Here's me and Max after some snowblowing this year. We were fully frozen:



His tool addiction began this day:







Got him a couple ratchets and a couple pocket pry bars. His favorite color is orange:



This is his special drawer in his toolbox. He is very proud of his special tools:



At this point, I'm supporting his desire to spend his money of tools and his want to learn to fix cars. He could be spending his money on worse things and could be a kid that sits on the video games all day. He would rather go to my wife's parent's farm and clean stalls and run the tractor and make a few bucks over gaming. He saves his money and he uses it for tools. I'm proud of him. Poor kid is just like his dad.

 

Sounds like he is doing just fine...and has a great role model! I'm sure you are very proud of him.