Bye Bye Outback

I had to trade in my 2010 Outback 2.5i because of head gasket leakage. The dealer said that the engine will need to be replaced. I got multiple quotes but the cost was too high. Moreover, the ten year warranty on the transmission had also expired. It was mostly serviced by the dealer. The head gasket leak caused coolant loss and engine overheating. I could not drive for more than a mile or two without stopping to cool down the engine.

The Outback served as well in the three states we lived in- freezing cold WY and UT to hot TX. My favorite part was that it was very roomy for passengers as well as cargo. I also liked the large windows and good visibility. I did not have to think twice about loading it up. The least favorite part was the CVT drone and the barely enough acceleration.

Carrying a bicycle

I use a compact bike carrier to haul my bicycle around. It has three fixtures to attach the carrier to the car. Two of the them can be attached in the seam between the roof and the hatch, while one of them is attached to the bottom of the car. The bike carrier is fairly stable unto 50 mph. I haven't driven the car at higher speeds with the bike in the back.

Steering responsive headlights - Win!

I would like to share a video of driving the Impreza on a curvy road at night. Good to have the steering responsive headlights. Note that it didn't prevent me from driving over the manhole.

A new addition - 2017 Impreza

Its fully loaded - package #35, unlike the Outback which is the base model. Its based on the new Subaru Global Architecture. I like the smooth acceleration due to the new CVT transmission, which has a linear response. I haven't used the paddle shifters much because the car is still in the break-in period. More driving impressions to follow...stay tuned.

Suby can haul a lot of furniture!

The Outback makes the long drive to the Ikea store worthwhile!

Silver Lake in the Wasatch National Forest

This summer we were able to explore some of the fishing spots around Salt Lake City, UT. The first place we visited, Silver Lake, is only 30 miles/45 minutes southeast of the City. It is a beautiful lake situated in the Wasatch National Forest accessible by Highway 190 from the City. Situated at an elevation of 8730 feet above sea level, the lake is popular with out-of-state tourists as well as local visitors and the drive is fairly easy. Beautiful mountains surround Silver Lake providing a great locale for panorama-style photographs.

The most common trees are Aspen and Subalpine Fir. The Aspens make their food and energy in the winter by photosynthesis in their bark! The Fir trees have needle like leaves like most evergreens, to conserve their energy. If you look around you may catch a short-tailed weasel  and snowshoe hare. The weasels are small animals that hunt primarily for mice.The snowshoe hare change their color from brown in summer to white in winter and have snowshoe-like feet. There is  a boardwalk around the lake for easy walking and docks for fishing. We were at this place from late morning to evening and did some fishing and hiking.

Red Butte Garden

We made a short fun trip to Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City, UT. We were planning to go there for a coupe of weeks and found time on July 24 because it is celebrated as Pioneer's Day in Utah. This turned out to be a mixed blessing because the Garden had free entry but we had to deal with greater traffic as well as more people.

We mistakenly tried parking in the nearby Museum parking lot but because it was full we parked on the road. As soon as we parked, we had lunch on the tailgate because we reached their around noon driving through th Pioneer's Day traffic. After lunch it started to rain, so waited in the car for about 10 mins. As I saw people leave, I decided to drive up to the parking lot again and found a nice spot to park. Here I got a great view of the Salt Lake City and the mountains in the Wasatch range and clean fresh air!

Even though the entrance to the Garden was crowded, as we started the tour of the garden it thinned out. We followed the route suggested by the guide and it was a good mix of sightseeing and light hiking. We enjoyed the Rose garden, Herb garden and the Children's garden. There were some cool sculptures and statues on the way.

Overall, it was a fun and relaxing trip. Usually, it is only $8 per person for entry to the Red Butte Garden. It is kid friendly and close to Salt Lake City. I would highly recommend this place to both singles and families!