Mustang! Fifty-years Young!

3-1992 My 78 Mustang

Proudly considered an "All-American" Car - I grew up admiring the Mustang!  When I started commuting to work & had to shop for a car - the Mustang above caught my eye!  After the test drive - it was a done deal :-)  We purchased this bright orange beauty in the early 80's used - with a 302-cubic inch 4.94L German made port & polished engine.  Before long it became obvious that the engine needed work.  After discussing options with my Dad - we decided to have the heads bored - replace the cylinders & increase the power.  With the removable t-tops - it was a blast to drive!

1990 Badlands

 We made several long distance trips in "Sunny".  But one of my favorites was when Jentry was on summer break.  We drove to Iowa to visit my Grandparents.  On the way there & back we stopped at every interesting site we could find.  Devils Tower, Custer's Battlefield, The Badlands, Corn Palace, etc. :-)

"Sunny" was famous too!  Appearing in the 1984 movie Starman with Jeff Bridges at the wheel!   I drove Sunny many miles through the 80's - but by 1992 - it was time for a change!  We'd moved to the Homestead - I was working in Bellevue & on the road constantly visiting my portfolio of Condominium properties & attending board meetings.

I tried several different cars - but Finally one day a friend who'd noticed that I was driving a different car almost every day asked;  "Why don't you just try another Mustang?"  Before Butch knew it - we were not just car shopping - but shopping for another Mustang! 

2-1992 Smokey & Sunny - rear view

When we found the 86 GT with the 5.0 engine & I took it for a spin - literally - almost doing a full circle when I hit the gas... in the middle of Harbor Point Blvd.   Love at first drive! (Sunny was sold to a guy I'd worked with - who'd long admired her.)

From the front~

"Smokey" was FAST!  I just love fast...  I would race my drive-time on some of my trips home.  My favorite long-haul was from Mercer Is. to the gate at home - my record was 42-min.flat.  Leaving Mercer Is. about 9 p.m., it was back in the day, when you could actually drive on I-5.  I was usually one of the only cars out there - especially in the express lanes.

2-1992 Bought Smokey  86 Ford Mustang GT

There was the day I was coming up out of the south - turning onto the newly re-built I-90 bridge.  I was late getting to the office & cruising...  I caught the blink of bright red flashing lights behind me!  I pulled over.  The biggest, meanest looking real "Smokey" I could have imagined got out & approached my window.   I gave him my best, but sorriest smile ever & apologized for letting my foot get ahead of my brain.  He cited some sobering statistics about how speed kills & let me off.  By doing that - he's forever reminding me to slow down!  Way more effective than a ticket would have been!

Totally worthless on snow or ice, especially on Bellevue's hills...  The day came, I was working closer to home & actually had time to ride my horse.  Butch wasn't there to take us out with the horse trailer.  I didn't like driving the full size truck - so - I made the tough decision to trade Smokey in on a 4-wheel drive Jeep that would pull the trailer & get me somewhere in the winter.  I knew it was a Big mistake when I heard the squeal of tires as the lot guy drove it off. :-(  The Jeep's transmission soon went out.  I decided that I wanted a Ford back!  We bought the full-size Bronco December of 1999.   It's Not the same - but it does haul my mare to the trailheads easily.

One day in Snohomish - I saw a black Mustang - with a leather interior the exact color of my saddle.  So - you never know - one day...  one day... :-)  In the meantime - I can dream about getting one of these!  50th Anniversary Edition.

The Long Winding Road~

July 26, 2012 - The Chugwater area of Wyoming

I feel like a Road Warrior!  Ten days on-the-road so far & another to get back home.  The final mileage will be interesting.  The landscape is something out of one of the old Westerns.  As I sped along about 75 mph - watching the scene roll by - how I wished I was in Farah's saddle, feeling her big walk & hearing the quiet of the country.  Maybe back about one-hundred years in the timeline.  When I dared to pull off to the side of the Super-slab - noise was the biggest onslaught to my senses.  Even so - just taking in the scope of the country is such an amazing experience.  It had been years since I'd taken a drive of this magnitude by myself.  The last time was about 1995 - driving a black Ford Mustang 5.0 that the truckers nicknamed;  "That little muscle car!"  :-)  This time, it's still a Ford, but a full-size Bronco - with four-wheel drive, not smart to go over 80.  With the Mustang?  Safe to say that the upper limit was over three figures :-)

July 27, 2012 - Just after 10 a.m. West of Billings

Butch & I had taken the trip in 2008, but the changes are startling.  Almost every town along the major interstate highways has grown even more.  So many new interchanges, each with the mandatory gas stations & fast food.  Gone are the days of the small unique restaurants where you took your chances of getting a great meal, or not!  Getting gas is a challenge too, with all the large motor homes - especially the ones towing jeeps or other vehicles behind.  When they pull into the pumps - they take them ALL!  Lines were common, even during the week days.

July 27th,11 a.m. - Grizzly Mountains, near Big Timber, MT

The majesty of the views become almost overwhelming & certainly awe inspiring.  I wished that grandson Ben had been able to come with me for the trip.  His mother & I had taken my orange 78 Mustang with T-tops (The Starman Mustang) all the way to Iowa in the summer of 1990, to visit my grandparents - when she was about the age he is now. That time we took in the Corn Palace of Mitchell, SD & Devils Tower, WY.  Travel Gods willing, one more long driving day & I hope to see the green, green grass of Home!