“I popped my toolkit cherry under the hood of a Ferrari”
The plan every morning has been to start an hour earlier than everyone else, just to ensure that I have some feeling of distance (if not accomplishment) by the time the pack starts hurtling past. Although I’m driving a 356 Porsche with the larger 1600cc engine; in the company of the other 74 entrants I’m in the automotive equivalent of a lawnmower! However, please don’t think this is a complaint, because there really is a perverse kind of pleasure when a 911S, any number of Ferrari’s, Shelby Cobra…..and the list goes on…..roars past. The sound of engines against the relative silence of our surroundings is a automotive audiophile’s dream!
So, Tuesday’s driving consisted of a 300 mile loop from Tucson, south towards the Mexico border and then back again. Within 15 minutes of leaving our hotel, the roads were taking us through national parkland. The only proof of local residence was occasional lines of mailboxes in line on the roadside, and the terrain was a collection of mesquite trees and high desert scrub. I had assumed, wrongly, that Arizona would resemble California, so the varieties of different plants and colours have been a continued surprise throughout this trip.
Heading through a corner, we came to a sadly familiar sight; one vintage car, mechanics truck and collection of heads in a downward direction around an open bonnet (hood). This particular entrant was a 330 Ferrari…that was usually only spotted in the car park at either end of the day. Mark, the driver, waved us down; and in my typical English fashion I politely asked if there was anything we could do to help. With the collection brain trust around the car already, and my technical knowledge limited to being able to recognize the difference between a spark-plug and a distributor cap, this was probably a stretch…but the Copperstate engenders a sense of camaraderie and support that’s as much a part of the event as the road under rubber. Mark nodded, and then announced loudly, “we need your toolkit!!”
The remaining brain trust looked a little mystified, until I produced my treasure. Nods of appreciation, followed by assurances that “this will do” confirmed the words of wisdom I’d been given by the boys at TRE…I may not have the remotest idea what’s in my bag of tricks, but the professionals will, and we just received two thumbs up!
The car was soon running again, and so we all headed on together towards our lunch break at Sonita. Heading towards Nogales, the presence of Border Patrol started in to noticeably increase. Initially there would be the occasional van parked on the side of the road, but as the ranch country expanded into even greater swathes of nothingness, we suddenly found ourselves being required to stop for a full scale border patrol check. Serious looking men with guns and dogs watched as we slowly crept through their checkpoint; and I had to hold back the overwhelming desire to confess to something, anything; simply because they were SO scary!
Unfortunately the dulcet tones of the Egg started to take on a slightly more “too much curry last night” tone as we drove towards Patagonia. Backfiring and burping, and then finally just gliding to an elegant stop. By this time Mark and the Ferrari had become Mark and the Lexus, as his car had also stopped again not to be easily revived; so he kindly collected us and the Egg continued the rest of her journey on the back of a tow truck.
Our afternoon took us through the barren wasteland that is Fort Huachuca. A fully functional fort, its also some of the most desolate scenery we had for the entire trip. The Fort’s history is varied, as it was the headquarters for the famed Buffalo Soldiers as well as the training base for U-2 pilots. For us it took a slightly more entertaining turn, when coming down a particularly windy road, we found the real-life equivalent of the wacky races. At the bottom of a t-junction we found the D-Type, GTO, one of the 911’s and Shelby GT350 all parked in different directions. Some were holding maps, the others waving smart phones helplessly begging the Googlemap gods to answer…everyone was lost! The fort seems to take stealth training very seriously as road signs are virtually non-existent, so in the end we opted for the low tech version of GPS – coin flip and people’s vote. Not technical, but eventually successful!
My day ended with a mechanical conflab. Again, these guys are all volunteers, and they are total rock stars. A combination of experience from Hot Rods to high end restoration, which ensures no car is too complicated to be dealt with. Chad assured me that they’d look over the Egg and do everything possible to have her ready to drive the next morning. Unfortunately the late night update wasn’t so good. A combination of aluminium (AL–OOO-MIN-EE-UM) on one of the plugs and arcing ignition wires suggested something a little more serious than the blocked oil filter or carb gasket problem I’d been wishing for. Once again, Copperstate to the rescue. Although it wasn’t part of my plan, they had a number of loaner cars that are available for participants; so we’d have a Lexus available to complete the last day and reach our return destination of Phoenix. My trusty Triple A card ensured that the Egg had a flatbed trip all the way back to our final location, which she shared with a rather handsome Italian, so she couldn’t really complain either!
The sign says “Mammoth”, but I don’t see a ski lift……..
As the route book points out, Arizona is a state full of contradictions….and today certainly proved that.
The morning started with our drivers meeting to discuss possible black ice and low temperatures in the morning, before heading off to the mountains and cactus before we finished the day in Tucson. Fortunately the sun decided to shine enough to chase away the worst of the ice, leaving just enough chill in the air for the Egg’s temperature to maintain happily at the halfway mark. She’s a trooper, and smiled sweetly as we were passed almost immediately by the big Bentley, D-Type and Pantera when we reached the open roads….but at least they all waved encouragingly as they left us in their rear-view mirrors!!
From Flagstaff we headed out to National Forest, and within ten miles found ourselves on a fabulous stretch known as Lake Mary Road. Snaking through the forest surrounded by pine trees and enjoying big sweeping curves, it was almost automotive heaven. Despite her 1600cc engine, the Egg isn’t fast like her 911 cousins, but she still loves this kind of driving, as every change down to third sticks her to the ground like glue. All weather tyres have certainly added an additional sense of security, and I’m happy to report that we more than held our own amongst the fir cones.
However, there was a slight blip on the horizon, when we found ourselves stuck behind a Camry. The combination of limited passing options, and the car travelling just those couple of miles fast enough to limit any slick maneuvering resulted in us staring at the back end for slightly longer than appreciated. When the opportunity finally presented itself, we were able to slide past and glance across at our conquest. A rather grumpy looking individual, who clearly didn’t appreciate the moves quite as much as us….but then, they were in a Camry whilst we were in the Egg; so no matter which side of their car we sat, they were going to be miserable!
The temperature continued to rise gradually through the morning to more comfortable mid to upper 70’s as we followed the trail through Devils Canyon and it’s “hoodoos”. According to the route master, they are the result of freezing and thawing of water, with differential resistance to erosion. At this point I have to confess that I’m not completely sure what that really means; but they are big, red, odd shaped rocks that resemble a kid’s idea of the terrain on Mars; and shouldn’t be missed!!!
The afternoon took us on towards Tucson through ranch country, copper mines and endless cactus (or would they be Cacti?). At this point I have to divert slightly and mention that Copperstate is a well oiled machine, and part of its success comes from the 100 plus volunteers supporting the entire event. This includes 8 motorcycle highway patrol officers, who come with their badges and bikes, and are only interested in ensuring that everyone is having a good time! Throughout the event they’ll ride past, or be positioned at various junctions to ensure our navigator isn’t holding the map upside down.
For safety, the local constabulary are also notified of our whereabouts; and the combination of fast cars, open roads and opportunity to enjoy both could easily become the speeding ticket equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. So, every morning our trusty Captain (or maybe he’s a Sergeant), would also remind us of the varying speed limits throughout the route, to ensure our pocket money wasn’t unavoidably diverted to the local police collection bucket.
Back to the driving……………and as the terrain became more desolate, the sizes of towns diminished. With each new location I was expecting to see a sign informing us that population was no more than one person. Ironically, the names started to also become more familiar as we passed signs for Mammoth, Miami and Sherwood Forest (that scored a ten on the bizarre scale)!!
Although Miami has a sister in Arizona, they clearly weren’t twins. Other than a faded sign pointing to a downtown arts district, there was nothing else in common. Beaches have been replaced by desert sand, art deco replaced by stucco….you get the picture. However, no matter how small the location, there was always a gas station, and it clearly is a worthwhile business, because everyone is trying it. Proven absolutely as we tore through one particular almost ghost town when I spotted a bright red sign proclaiming “God’s Filling Station”.
Outskirts of Tucson, and the sun is starting to set. Almost three hundred miles under our belt today and the Egg seems to be stable. Will be checking the oil before we set out tomorrow, but for now it’s cocktail time!
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