Bolt for the Meadow . . .

Ok, tis' the season, the weather is hot in Tucson and the time is right for a trip to the high country. Juanis and HotFlash are going to bolt out of town for a trip up the AZ Hwy 191 to Hannagan Meadow for lunch. You can join us with your gleaming roadster; however, you have to be quick about this.

Meet us on Saturday morning, May 10th, at South Houghton Road and East I-10, exit #275, about 7:30 AM. Our first stop will be breakfast at the Horse Shoe Cafe in Benson. Then on to Safford, through Morenci, past Greaterville and arriving at Hannagan Meadow lodge for an afternoon lunch. Maybe catch a nap, catch a fish, catch a "whatever" and then return the same route the same day.

Want to be part of the trip? Send Juanis an email, now. Get your chariot ready and let's go.

Driving Route on Google/Maps . . .

Rockets and Roadsters
Saturday, March 1st, 2008, 8:30AM

The Titan Missile Museum, 1580 W. Duval Mine Rd., Sahuarita, AZ 85629

The Skys and Sols of the TucsonRoadsters Club will drive over to the Green Valley and Sahuarita area to visit the Titan Missile Museum. Typical walking tours of the Museum begin hourly through the day. The special reservation, extended tour of the Titan II Missile Silo, Beyond the Blast Door, will begin at 9:30AM.

On the Beyond the Blast Door Tour, visitors will explore areas of the missile site normally closed to the public. Visit the crews quarters. Then descend more than 100 feet underground and enter the launch areas.  Experience an unforgettable view as one stands directly beneath an actual Titan II missile!

Museum Brochure in PDF 

This will be a wonderful opportunity for photos of our Skys and Solstice before the sunny spring weather becomes too hot.

Driving route on Google/Maps. 

The Roadsters will motor to lunch at the Agave Restaurantabout 1:00PM. This fine dining venue is located within the Desert Diamond Casino at I-19 Exit 80 and 1100 W Pima Mine Road, Sahuarita, AZ 85629.

Your may indicate your attendance with your RSVP here.

Please remark your preference for the Museum's Hourly Tours or
the Special Reservation, Beyond the Blast Door Tour. 

Classic Roadsters Show - 2008 

Well, lucky number seven was the count of Roadsters that crawled out of the woodwork to show at the Saturn of Tucson's Classic Roadsters Show. The weather was great; however, flu seemed to keep many drivers at bay. Eye some of views in our Car Show Gallery.

Photos in the Car Show Gallery. Here is the original Show invitation of Feb 23, 2008

Lil' Anthony Diner Car Show Report - 02/16/2008

So Juanis went to the soaking wet car show at Lil' Anthony's Diner this Saturday.  With the cold and bleak weather, he really needed the strong encouragement from 1SinSol to "get your be*ind down there." The lady staffing the the outdoor registration table at the show parking lot was bundled in a thick red ski jacket and purple mittens that she borrowed from her daughter for this occasion. She had an electric heat pad on the seat of her chair. Two show registrations were secured with an appropriate donation to the Community Food Bank.

Only two seconds were required for Juanis to note his wing-man's insistence to appear at the Lil' Anthony Diner's Car Show in such distressing weather. 1SinSol, a great guy, exchanges his monster tuned, 2.4L normal aspirated Solstice for a brand spanking new Pontiac Solstice GXP clad in Sly, steel grey color.  Then he drives this gleaming machine straight to the show and surprises all lookers within sight.

The diner Lunch was super and the sun appeared at noon. Two shiny roadsters among all the gorgeous Classics; What a sight. The attending show judge exercised his discretion and created a special class, "Compact Sports Car." The two roadsters placed 1st and 2nd in the class. Congrats guys!

Photos in the Car Show Gallery. Here is the original Show invitation of Feb 16, 2008

Roadster-Be-Mine, Valentine Picnic - 2008
Picacho Peak State Park, Picacho, AZ

The weather in Arizona has been a little iffy this last week or so. Snow for the ski runs up high. Rain for the  wild flowers down low. Clouds and gray days for the visitors in between.

However, Mother Nature provided a gorgeous sunny day for the Roadster-Be-Mine picnic in the Picacho Peak State Park. Seven Skys, six Solstice and sweethearts appeared from lots of places all over Arizona. In addition to the locals birds from New York and Alberta took leave from their winter travels to join the TucsonRoadsters and Phoenix Sky-Sol Clubs for a picnic.

While the warm, sunny day was a hit in this lovely state park, games of frisbee, jig saw puzzles, cards and catch were favorites, too. The table settings were complete with many covered dishes to surprise the palate. Marion's three bean salad so good that all servings just simply disappeared in the picnic frenzy.

Picacho Peak State Park is one of the best kept secrets in Arizona. Located on the I-10 highway in Picacho, the facilities are wonderful for hiking, birding, photography relaxing and picnicking, of course. One of our members reminisced of his  summer time as an Eagle Scout constructing one of the hiking paths and walking bridge crossings in this park. Another recited a day spent one April watching the Civil War Re-en-actors portray the 1862 battle of Picacho Peak. Others remarked at the early appearance of desert marigolds and yellow poppies that were beginning to bloom on this gorgeous day. The picnic entertainment was supported by two well behaved canine friends. The storytellings were classic tales befitting of the occasion. This was so much fun the parting words were "same time next year."

As Juanis returned the keys and support materials to the Park Ranger, she commented "You folks are just NUTS about your beautiful cars!  I enjoyed looking at every one."

View the original picnic invitation and enjoy some of the photos from the Roadster-Be-Mine, Valentine Picnic in our Picnic Gallery.

With all the excitement of the new year, a quintette of roadsters appeared for the monthly social. Geister appeared with his midnight blue Solstice GXP and his fancy 2008 Calendar. Juanis demonstrated a digital picture frame and portable battery pack with bunches of roadster pictures from this website. The best of the night was a visit by MarkE and his Silver Mallet V8 Sky with an LS2 Motor. This roadster was so beautiful that it seemed to glow in the dark.

Juanis appeared at the Evolution School in December. His report card appears in this site. Kitt Peak was a lovely place to spend Boxing Day and a great way to close the year. The Tubac Car Show was really a top drawer affare. 1SinSol, Elad, Rando67, AZWildcatSol, and Juanis made the appearance that day. The show goers just mobbed the roadsters with questions and compliments. Registration for the 2009 Show will begin in the Fall and the TucsonRoadsters will appear again.

January brought an opportunity to meet HotFlash at the Horse Shoe Cafe in Benson, AZ. A revisit to Callaghan's Vineyard in Elgin topped off that day of luxury touring.

In other business, a date of March 1st was identified to visit the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley and lunch at the Agave Restaurant at the Desert Diamond Casino on Pima Mine Road. Also, the registration information for the national Sky and Solstice meeting in Las Vegas, April 25-27, is on our TucsonRoadsters website.

See our Club Calendar and mark your calendar for the picnic, shows, and drives in February.

Now, DO NOT FORGET THIS: our February Roadster Social is the evening of the 20th, 6:30 PM. That is the same evening as the Total Lunar Eclipse. You can watch the moon from the Social with your Roadster Friends.

Respectfully submitted,

Juanis

Breakfast at the Horse Shoe Cafe, Benson, AZ

The art deco mural on the west facing wall of the cafe captured the roadsters imagination this morning. The depiction of old west Benson on the wall of the Horse Shoe Cafe has been a hallmark for as long as one can remember.

The unique, homey atmosphere of this cafe lends itself well to tales of the past. The roadsters enjoyed the daily special of ham and eggs, home fries, real sour dough toast and hot beverage. All the while, each was eager to share a story of venues they had seen with their shiny roadsters.

The morning warmed to the perfect day for top down driving. The breakfast trio, 1SinSol, HotFlash and Juanis, made their way past a funeral party on AZ Hwy 80 to enjoy the sights of the town of St. David. At the Franklin Historic Townsite, AZ, the roadsters discovered some original residents and roadsters at the post office.

The return to Tucson included a stop in Elgin to visit Callaghan's Vineyard, once more. This January day was magnificent as one can see in the our gallery photos.

Original Breakfast Invitation and Trip Itinerary - Horse Shoe Cafe, Benson, AZ

More views in our Photo Gallery's -- Drive Out Breakfasts -- folder.

14th Annual Collector Car Show
Presented by:
The Santa Cruz Valley Car Nuts Club
Jan 12, 2008

On cold, clear Saturday morning at the cross roads of Old Nogales Hiway and Sahuarita Road. Juanis waits for 1SinSol, Rando67, AzWildcatSol and Elad. The sun rises enough to light the southbound hiway to the Tubac Golf and Resort, site of the 14th annual Collector Car Show, presented by the Santa Cruz Valley Car Nuts Club. The TucsonRoadsters view a parade of colorful Minis, MGs, Austin-Healeys, Corvettes, PT Crusers, T-Bucket Fords, Porches, T-Birds, Jags, Ferraris, Trikes, Woodys, Mercedes, Fiats, Bugs,  and a Porche Diesel farm tractor on a flatbed as they transit the frosty morning roads.

Kitt Peak National Observatory Picnic Drive, December 26, 2007

As Boxing Day dawned, Juanis finds himself at Todd's Cafe in an empty parking lot. Cold, sunny and the wind sock at Ryan Air Field on the west side of Tucson indicates a 15 knot wind from the southeast. A note in the door says the staff at the restaurant wish all a joyous holiday vacation and they will return next year.

Now joined by Mark and Alise the picnickers set out on an adventure to Kitt Peak National Observatory. The desert flies by on ol' hiway 86. As the morning wares on, the temperature rises to permit the retraction of convertible tops. The views from the twisted Kitt Peak hiway are sharp and clear.

Arrival at the top finds several visitors enjoying the sights and sounds. The Sun Clock registers the day's zenith hour. The McMath Telescopeis impressive with the blue winter sky as a backdrop. The trio join two couples at one of the only sunny picnic tables near the visitor center. Lunch was a collections of cookies, ham and turkey sandwiches, bean and green salads, intrinsic ice cold beverages. A special entry on the picnic menu was four fist-sized, tree-ripened, navel oranges from Juanis' personal tree. Among the conversation and chattering of teeth, the seven picnickers discover that each is from Tucson and escaped to Kitt Peak today to dodge the crowds.

Juanis and friends return to town by way of Kinney and Gates Pass roads. Bidding each a happy season and new year.

Additional reading about Roadsters on Kitt Peak:

• Roadsters Star on Kitt Peak - 2007
• KPNO - 12 miles of Twisties just outside Tucson driving map.
• PASM, Tucson, AZ to KPNO Trip Guide

Evolution Performance Driving School
Phase I and II
December 15, 2007

Well, here I am. The tech inspection is complete. The driver's briefing is concluded. The course walk has become familiar. My earplugs are in and my helmet is on. The top is down and secure. The cabin heat is on full. Juanis is fired up and I am number one out of the box on the Phase I class of the Evolution Performance Driving School.