Day 1, Saturday, June 28

The first casualty for our Conclave trip was Bill H's Healey 3000. Bill had installed a new engine several weeks ago, but several nagging problems with the engine kept him from feeling comfortable with the car. So out comes the rental car, a very nice and new Nissan Sentra. Considering the hot weather ahead, having a modern car along is a pretty good thing.

We got an early start, Bill S's Healey 100 arrived in Belen about 7:30 AM. We continued south on I-25 to Socorro. From there we headed west on US 60. Out goal was Casa Grande, AZ, about 400 miles from Albuquerque.

This was a very lovely day on an outstanding route. US 60 is rural but wide enough to make reasonable time. Most of the speed limits were 65 mph, traffic was always light. This road goes through the antelope laden plains of San Agustin, home of the Very Large Array radio telescope.

We had a great brunch at the Safire Cafe in Springerville, AZ. Temps were mostly in the mid 80's. Bill and John hardly had to tweek up their air conditioning.

US 60 runs through the spectacular Salt River Canyon. This is a pure sports car road, lots of up and down and left and right.

After Globe, a working mining town, we descended into the plains between Phoenix and Tucson. The temperature went over 100 here, but not all that much. The Internet said it was 107, but I'm not sure. The Healey handled the heat well, but it was getting uncomfortable for me with the sun coming through the windshield. I had enough and we stopped at a comfortable Holiday Inn in Casa Grande. Total distance traveled, about 420 miles.

News: We heard by phone that Bill H's wife Joyce broke her arm in California. She was packing to meet us in San Diego. She had surgery today, and we heard she is fine. Bummer!, more on this later.

Bill