thewheelman Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Just got home from vacation and boy, did I miss my GT 500. Flew to Albuquerque (from Nashville, TN), picked up Dodge Charger rental (I think they're the new Taurus of the fleet world) and drove to Sedona, AZ. Got to drive cousin's SN95 Bullitt while in Abq. Nice car, very nice balance. Good power, good brakes, cool sound, very nice package. He was amazed that my car has 500 horses and he thinks the Bullitt (at what? 270something) is a kicker. Sedona would have been so much nicer with a convertible. Oak Creek Canyon is incredible, as is the landscape surrounding Sedona. The big red rock formations are awe inspiring every time you see them....can't say enough about the beauty of that place. Drove up to Jerome, AZ, an old mining town on Sunday. If you're in the area and you haven't been, go! Drive is incredible, the village is cool, lots of sights to ooooh and aaaaah over! Weekends appear to be the time to be there. Lots of folks walking the streets, bikes a-plenty, lots of cool shops. At the city parking lot there were 11 Acura NXS's parked together, a couple of RX-7"s and a Vette. I bet they had fun up and down those winding roads! One of the best "off the beaten path" experiences we've had. Did a week in Sedona (including a trip to the Grand Canyon) and then on to Vegas. We made several stop along Historic Route 66 on our way.....the first was "standing on a corner in Winslow, AZ" from the Eagle's hit. They have it all fixed up, including an old Ford flatbed truck (you have to supply you own girl!) Then we took it from Seligman in to Kingman....again, would have been much more fun in the GT 500! Cool experience. Glad I did it 'cause I probably won't ever travel that way again. If you've never done this and you're anywhere near the route, you owe it to yourself and your car to hit the Mother Road, at least for a short jaunt. Finally to Vegas to do the wandering the casino's thing, but the real reason was to visit SAI. What a trip! Steve was a fantastic tour guide! We signed the wall, drooled all over the cars in the museum and bought lots of CS stuff! I'm so sorry the Shelby Corner Cafe shut down (especially the week before my visit!). I hope they can recover and get going again, soon! It's a perfect compliment to the museum and nearby speedway. The folks at SAI are super nice and everyone seemed intent on pleasing the customer (us) and future customers! Car sightings note: I drove 1348 miles over 11 days. Saw several 2010 Mustang convertibles--all V6 fleet stuff. Saw dozens of Vettes, the NSX group as noted above, a couple of Lotus (Loti?) in Vegas, a couple of very nice AMG Mercedes, but NOT ONE GT 500 in the whole trip! There was a very nice SGT vert downtown Sedona, but I couldn't convince the trolly driver to let me off immediately! By the time we got back, it was gone. So, how exclusive is our car? Of the 60 or so folks on the SAI tour on Monday, there was 1 other owner in the group. I really expected some Shelby sightings in Vegas. I really, really missed my car! Now that we're home, it's so stinking hot and humid, it'll be a week or two until I can drive with the top down again, but I would have loved to cruised Route 66 in it...... Thanks for letting me ramble..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_GT350 Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Sounds like a great vacation! I know I spent sometime driving the little womans Cobalt (her choice not mine) through the mountains of Colorado all the time wishing I could be in my SGT! Maybe I van do Vegas next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabo Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Sounds like a great trip! I like the way you did your road trip with SAI as part of the experience. We just got back from dropping off the car for a 40th conversion and had a great time at SAI and Vegas. Bummer about missing the Cafe, perhaps it will open again someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
500forme Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Wheelman, thanks for the story! I drive to Phoenix every other week from Albuquerque, and have yet to deviate from the normal route. Now I know I should make a few turns away from the interstate and take the scenic route every now and then. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh8SnakeDriver Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 thewheelman, Thanks for the great story, sounds like you had a great road trip. Back in 2006 my wife and I did pretty much the same trip as you did, only we went east on Rt 66 from Flagstaff to Albuquerque and we did it in a 06 Shelby GT-H (had it for 7 days). Man what a fun time we had, now I want to do it in our GT500 from Chicago to LA. Thanks for bringing back some great memories!! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewheelman Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the car collection at the Imperial Palace is very cool. Some really cool and unusual cars there....3 of the Alfa Romeo "BAT" cars, a RR convertible that's as big as a tour bus and some very nice Astons, Ferraris, even a GT 40 & a few Shelby Mustangs......and about 80% of the collection is for sale on the spot. Give it a whirl when in Vegas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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