[Tony]

Threadhead and I met at the Mobil Station in Anthem. Of course we had to check out each others pilots, after introductions of our families and pets. I liked his cargo area setup, a separation net and liner, with a large Yellow Labrador Retriever named CC. He also showed me the infamous Whistling Honda Air Deflector. His Pilot also came with the RES. Neat!
I showed him the Highland Cargo tray and my home made separation net and 3-pocket cargo net. (I'll get a pict of these later this week )

We decided that I would take the lead to Sedona.
We drove on the I-17 freeway to Sedona. This freeway has many hills. Two of those hills are pretty steep. (One just north of Black Canyon City and the other at Verde Valley) The Pilot performed wonderfully. No bogging down, even with the front and rear A/C on high. I did not notice any problem with the transmission, very smooth up and down shifting. Just for curiosity I set the cruise control at 75 mph. to see if it would work on these hills. No problem what so ever. The few times I had to cancel the cruise control was when traffic was going too slow. I tested the Resume, Accelerate and Decelerate functions, preformed flawlessly. Just a tap to raise or lower speed by 1 mph. Too Cool!

This is the first view we had of Sedona.

 

[Tony]

We pulled off, time to change lead, but first a picture or two.

Threadhead's Pilot is the one in the front.

(For those of you in parts not Southwest, check out the Santa Fe styled buildings in the background)

 

[Tony]

So now Threadhead takes the lead. Here we are heading to Bell Rock.

 

[Tony]

We pulled over near bell rock for more picts.

My LX Pilot is in the foreground.

(BTW - Waxed my pilot the day before, used 1 coat # 26 and 2 coats S-100)

 

[Tony]

Red Rocks of Sedona

 

[Tony]

Another Photo Op.
(Got to get more photos of our Pilots

 

[Tony]

A couple of Mountain Bikers rest behind Bell Rock.
(Looks like something out of Close Encounters of the Third Kind )

 

[Tony]

CC Rider and Threadhead's cargo setup.
(I was amazed that CC stayed in the Pilot, My dog would have been out of there in 3 seconds flat. )

 

[Tony]

Traffic can get busy in a tourist town like Sedona, but today it wasn't bad.

At this point we were looking for somewhere to eat. I think the place we finally chose was the Highway Inn???

 

[Tony]

After Dining, we are on our way up Oak Creek Canyon. Threadhead finds a nice place for a photo shoot.

Here's a family enjoying the creek... carefully...

 

[Tony]

Parked next to the Red Rocks.

My Pilot in the foreground.

(S-100 wax job )

 

[Tony]

Another view of my LX Pilot

 

[Tony]

Further in, we start to pass the tallest pines I've seen here in Oak Creek.

 

[Tony]

The tallest one?

 

[Tony]

Now time for the climb out of the canyon.

 

[Tony]

A steep climb and a few hairpin turns later, we reach the top. Time for more Pictures.


(Threadhead's EX on Left )

 

[Tony]

Here's the view from the top.

If you look carefully at the picture you can see the road we were just cruising on. Just right and down a little from the middle of the photograph.

 

[Tony]

We decided to head all the way to Flagstaff for something cold and frosty. It took us a while to find the local Sonic, It's not on a main road.

 

[Tony]

And so concludes the First AZ Pilot Run 9/22/02.

Anyone wanna join us for the next one?

 

[havasu]

Great pics Tony! Beautiful scenery out there (Nice Pilots too!)