Prius v5 - The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

"If you're going to spend money frivolously, spend it on experiences, not possessions."

I've always liked that bit of wisdom. Generalizations like that provide motivation but not any specific direction. Isn't that the very essence of adventure? To just take off and deal with the risks and uncertainties as they occur? That statement speaks to us and encourages us to finally take a leap and spend some of the money we carefully earned and saved over the course of many years. "It's money and adventure and fame. It's the thrill of a lifetime and a long sea voyage that starts at six o'clock tomorrow morning." (It's not every day you get to quote a line from King Kong.)

But how does that equate to our latest acquisiton? A Prius v5 is definately a possession - just ask the taxing authorities.

It's because of all the possibilities it holds. Last summer we wanted to take a trip from our home in Colorado to Glacier National Park. But then we started thinkng. If we were going to go all that way, shouldn't we also see all the interesting sights along the way? And why not take a completely different route back and see more sights? While we're at it, let's squeeze in a few rounds of golf in Jackson, WY, Lake Coeur d'Alene, ID and Sun Valley, ID. Before you know it, we've got a 3,000 mile jaunt on our hands.

As you can see, we have this problem. Our grand imaginations. We don't so much "do" as "overdo." And there's no way we could fit all the luggage and laptop and golf gear and ice chest and souveniers into our 2009 Prius. Not comfortably, anyway.

So now comes the Prius v. It is the perfect cross-pollination of our beloved 1998 Sienna (long gone) and our 2009 Prii. Big and roomy, yet compact and nimble. Somehow, it's much larger inside than outside. There's plenty of built-in technology to keep you engaged, entertained and informed while rapidly travelling through space. Reliable as a stone ax. All coupled with wonderful, enviable fuel economy. We can bomb around the countryside like it's 1979 and gas is a buck a gallon. And that's just what we plan to do.

Yep, for us, the Prius v has the right stuff. The stuff that dreams are made of (. . . and never end a sentence with a preposition).

 

LOL, I just sprayed iced tea on my keyboard.

 

Posts like this put a big smile to my face. Keep sharing your enthusiasm - I'm sure other people appreciate it just as much as I do.

 

Re: Prius v5 - Southern AZ Loop

We bought our v5 to do road trips. Our first overnighter was a loop of SE AZ, to the fabled (and remote) towns of Bisbee and Tombstone. On the way we stopped and toured the Casa Grande ruins.

Built by the Hohokam prior to 1350, it consists of a large structure (shown) surrounded by the remnants of many smaller dwellings and a curious, oval "ball court."

Next, we headed down to Oracle to tour Biosphere 2.

This structure cost $150 millions and, after a one-year experiment in which 8 "Biosphereians" confined themselves here, was turned over to the U of A for scientific research and caretaking. The "caretaking" is spotty, at best. Sure is in a nice setting, though.


It is constructed entirely of relatively short steel tubes enclosed by stainless steel panels and glass.

 

Re: Prius v5 - Southern AZ Loop

Later that day we visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. I'm not sure why they call it a "Museum." It's better described as a botanical garden and zoo, with beautiful outdoor exhibits of plants and animals native to Arizona, including Coati, Wolves, Puma, Bobcats, birds, butterflys and every kind of desert plant imaginable.

Next day we headed South, passing through Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca, then into a high mountainous region to reach Bisbee.


Established in 1880 following discovery of the Copper Queen Lode, by 1900 Bisbee grew to be the largest cosmopolitan area between St. Louis and San Francisco. The mines in this area produced more than $2 Billions (in todays dollars) in copper, gold, lead, silver and zinc. Main Street in Bisbee is not such a busy place these days, though.


It is fun to walk around and see how people lived in the glory days. There are more long stairways to precipitous dwellings here than anywhere else I've been (and I've been to plenty of mountain/mining towns). Notice the "box of rocks" construction of the foundation.


Stairways like these are everywhere you look in Bisbee.


You needn't drive much in Bisbee but it is remote. It makes sense to have a fuel efficient vehicle to get those things Bisbee just doesn't offer. Like this, f'rinstance.

 

Re: Prius v5 - Southern AZ Loop

The drive to Tombstone was very scenic, in a wide-open spaces surrounded by mountains way. Most of Old Town Tombstone, OTOH, was a major disappointment. I found it to have a fake and gimmicky "feel," for the most part.


The first place we entered was the best. A former bar and dance hall called "The Birdcage," it still had old posters on the wall for the dancer who would go on to be known as "Little Egypt" as well as a very odd poster for "The Human Fly" and a number of bullet holes.


The very narrow stairway to the rooms reserved for "ladies of the night" showed serious signs of use, judging by how thin the top stairs had become.


Boot Hill was perched on a hilltop at the edge of town and had many graves (perhaps 70%) dating from 1882. Here's the mass grave of the Clantons and compatriots from the famous shootout at the OK Corral.


Our trip extended 550 miles over a variety of roads and landscapes, but was perhaps 85% divided highway and the balance 2-lane highways. Our fuel consumption works out to an average 40.4 mpg but I'm sure it would have been better had we not had high winds to deal with 90% of the time.