– You all know what this is, but how many of you know what that red thing is? They both have the same name and flying through corners in the red one feels like you’ve been shot out of the wooden one!!
– After many years of riding a motorcycle, my father decided to trade in his two wheeled adventure machine for a little more stability. This thing is FUN on steroids. It sticks to the road like nothing I’ve ever driven and has so much power that it takes practice to keep from spinning the rear tire when pulling away from a stop.
– Imagine my excitement when I asked my dad if I could take it up to Sedona for my October 2015 ride and he said, “Sure.”
I really should have done some homework on this machine before I started my little adventure. Every time I stopped, there were several people gathered round with cameras, cell phones, and questions, “Um, it’s my dad’s, and I’m just taking it for a ride,” was often the best I could come up with. Here are some tech specs from Car & Driver Magazine:
The long hood conceals a longitudinally mounted GM Ecotec 2.4-liter four-cylinder that makes 173 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque. From the front seats forward, it’s kind of as if you’re driving Mad Max’s Saturn Ion. At 149.6 inches long and 77.2 inches wide at the front, the Slingshot is nearly eight inches shorter than a Mazda MX-5 Miata and a couple of inches wider than a Lamborghini Huracán.
This is my co-pilot – Gus. He loves being “in the wind” so I could hardly leave him behind for this trip. He was thrilled to go and people were amazed at how good a dog he is. He’s ten years old but still has plenty of spring in his step. I used to laugh at old people that took their little dog with them everywhere they went. Now – that’s me…..
Having grown up here, the Arizona desert will always seem like home to me. I’m no fan of the heat that goes with it but when it’s not scorching hot, it’s one of my favorite places. These pictures were taken just a few miles from my parent’s house near Lake Pleasant.
The climb from Wickenburg (just over 2,000 ft) to Yarnell (amost 5,000 ft) happens on a road that I was really looking forward to. The turns run from long sweepers to tight radius 10 mph head snappers. I had planned to do my best Rodney Road Racer and put this thing to the test; then I got “the look” from the passenger seat. That look said, “You know I’ve puked before when you’ve been playing Indy car – remember…” So, I backed off a little – still plenty of fun and no clean-up required. No pictures either. I took my GoPro and was trying to shoot a video but the lighting was mostly into the sun so it didn’t really work.
Just north of Prescott (rhymes with biscuit), this is the road over Mingus Mountain; another fun road if you like twists and turns. I had the road mostly to myself this particular morning and the dog wasn’t looking too green so I stepped things up a little. The view of the Verde Valley below is something I always look forward to when I’m on this road.
Sedona – lies just across the Verde Valley. Sedona’s main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. Sedona has got to be the second most photographed place in Arizona – Grand Canyon being #1. Founded in 1902, it was named after the wife of the city’s first postmaster, you ever know anyone named Sedona?
The first documented human presence in Sedona area dates to between 11,500 to 9000 B.C. – that’s back in the Stone Age, LITERALLY. In 1995, a Clovis point was discovered which revealed the presence of the Paleo-Indians. Since then, there have been several different settlements in the area, many of the inhabitants making their homes in the holes on the vertical faces of the rocks. These cliff dwellings are mostly protected sites now but you can visit many of them. Montezuma Castle is one of the most famous.
The deep red color for which Sedona is famous is due to the presence of hematite (iron oxide, otherwise known as rust) that stains the sandstone. The steepness of the terrain is due to the fact that the top layers of the strata are basalt and limestone, which are harder than the underlying sandstone. Water running off the edge of the escarpment eats away at the lower layers. Eventually enough soft material is weathered away that it undercuts the cap layer making voids in the face of the cliff providing a very nice place for you to build your cliff dwelling – if you were looking for a build site 10,000 years ago.
Back when I was a child, my first experience with a slingshot was exhilarating. I’m sure I had a huge smile on my face the whole time. My latest Slingshot experience was at least as fun and exciting. It was unlike any you can have in a modern car or, on any bike. Looking forward to my next chance to take it for a ride. Thanks Dad!!
I will leave you with this image taken near Sedona. If you would like to see more of the state of Arizona and enjoy breath taking photography, you’ll love Arizona Highways.