Pikes Peak On A Budget? The Apexocet!

Welcome And What’s Ahead

Don Armstrong 0:04

Welcome to the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Coming up, Richard Tomlin. What? Yeah, he's back. He's anxious. He's sweaty, and he's down in Alvin, and we're gonna talk to him. Uh plus, Jeff has a story about a possible four-door Camaro from GM. And Mars has the last blast before the bell in this week's driving destinations. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, Mars. We always need more Jeff Zeken. Chief Engineer David Ainsley, he's sleeping in. I've not heard from him or talked to him all week long. I'm kind of worried, but whatever. That's those are those deep worry wrinkles up here.

Mike Marrs 0:46

I don't think he should be.

Don Armstrong 0:47

You don't need to worry about that.

Mike Marrs 0:48

He's getting over his vacation. He's playing ketchup.

Don Armstrong 0:51

No, he's angry because it's over. Yeah, that's what that's all about.

Richard Tomlin’s Pikes Peak Recap

Don Armstrong 0:55

Ladies and gentlemen, let's shift our attention down south. Down south. A lot closer to the coast of the state of Texas. Here he is, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Richard Tomlin. Good morning.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Good morning. Good morning. Is the mic working today?

Don Armstrong 1:11

It's working, but you know, we can hear me flopping back at me here. So your volume is maybe a little loud.

Mike Marrs 1:24

Well, you got rid of us. Did we get rid of you though?

Don Armstrong 1:28

I think we I think we got rid of him. No, because he yeah. I don't know. Uh well, we can't hear ourselves coming back, but there's uh we'll see yeah, you're a little you're a little jumpy. Oh yes, we can hear you.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Awesome. Carry on.

Don Armstrong 1:48

Mars, carry on. Mars, is this gonna work for you? It's a little jumpy.

Mike Marrs 1:52

A little jumpy. We uh I think the audio, if I if it gets too jumpy, we'll we'll just shut the video off and just keep talking to you for a moment.

Don Armstrong 2:01

Okay, so Richard, uh, I see that you made it off the mountain and you're back in your uh comfort zone down there. And uh what an amazing year. Yeah. Well, uh yeah, and congratulations on your successes. Uh, you know, uh it don't have to be first, but as long as you keep climbing the ladder, you're gonna get there eventually.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

That's true. We uh had the pleasure of qualifying top 15 this year and what they call the Hella Fast 15. So lots of additional recognition and sponsorship opportunities show up with that. And race day we ran up there and had a little issue with a throw out bearing. Um still managed to pull out 16th overall at uh, you know, international invitational race only. So it was a really good year, and Big Bird came up behind that, uh 52nd overall out of 74, and NASCAR motor made noises and slid around corners, and the fans loved it.

Don Armstrong 2:57

Did you say something about a throw out bearing? That would mean that it's got a clutch in it.

SPEAKER_02 3:02

Oh, correct.

Jeff Dziekan 3:03

All of our cars have clutches. Yeah, not Big Bird. He's talking about the one that ran in front of it.

Don Armstrong 3:07

Yeah, I understand, but it's still a throut bearing that he had an issue with, and I didn't think that you had issues with throut bearings anymore with sealed bearings.

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Yeah, and not usually when you're Richard, though, you have a lot of problems.

Don Armstrong 3:17

So there is that.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

We had put a new monster clutch in from Dallas. Uh we always love our Texas sponsors, but they had suggested putting a new throut bearing in, and I said, Well, I'd rather not what I have in there works fine. We wore the clutch out, not the throut bearing. No, no, no, you need to put a new one in. So we put a new one in, and sure enough, what failed during the race, the new part. Um, and that's just how it goes. And sometimes parts work, sometimes they don't. They're only as good as our last test, is what we always say. But you know, we were able to we managed to finish the race. We probably lost 30 seconds overall time, and that was all just in the upper sector of the event. So we smiled about it and uh came home and lick our wounds and getting ready for 2027 already.

Don Armstrong 3:58

Are you really so speak I'm sorry, go ahead, Mike.

Mike Marrs 4:02

I was gonna say you were competing against cars, single cars that had multimillion dollar budgets, and that's what fascinates me that you're coming out of Alvin out of your own personal shop with some sponsors, I understand. And and you're competing with these guys.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Yeah, it's uh it's mind-blowing when you walk beside crews that you know and they brag about breaking a million-dollar budget annually for a race, and it's like we don't have that in our entire program, and probably all the years of us competing since 2010, we don't have that. But um, we have a good time with friends and family, and uh get to go race up a mountain once a year and smile about it and come back home. And to brush elbows with those people, I mean, we're talking about Ford and their EV vehicle. Well, Ford's got the EV they run on the mountain, which is you know currently the fastest king of the mountain. I don't want to take anything away from them. But that team runs on an $11 million budget, drags massive generators up the mountain every day to charge their EV vehicle to beat us. So smile about it. That's all you can do. Yeah, it sounds like you got to do. I think it's wonderful. No, it's life is life is amazing. A lot of challenges.

Inside The Shop Project Lineup

Don Armstrong 5:03

Uh speaking of challenges, what do you got in the shop uh today? What do you what are you working on? What's what's what what's uh making money for the shop?

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Uh this morning was uh 73 Dodge Demon, three pedal, 340 car. Awesome car, did a lot of paint work on it. Uh we'll deliver that here this afternoon after lunch. Pick up his 69 Roadrunner, bringing it back for complete paint as well. Um we just got a subframe in from Ride Tech for the 69 Firebird, uh getting an LSA motor put in that. So B 850, 900 horse Firebird when it's all done. Um of course we've got the Trans Am beside me. 240Z, uh Austin Healy for Satterfield will be revealed at Wheels, Watches, and Whiskey up at the Stella Hotel. Um that happens end of September. Um so 62. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Don Armstrong 5:52

Wait, wait a minute. Are we are we invited to Wheels, Whiskey, and whatever?

SPEAKER_02 5:57

Always. Wheels, watches, and whiskey. Yeah, absolutely. Well have a couple cars there and we'll be there. Come on.

Don Armstrong 6:03

Well, okay. Mr. Mars, there you go. You gotta wear your roly. You gotta wear your roly because it's watches. Oh, it's watch. Is that is that the kind of watches it is, Rolex's?

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Yeah, a lot of a lot of the higher end watches for sure. Gotta wear your role. Um, they're actually there doing sampling and whiskey sampling watches, buttons of cigars, some high-end stuff that Richard doesn't usually buy. But uh other people like it. McLaren. I bring the cars, you know?

Don Armstrong 6:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Yeah.

Don Armstrong 6:30

What did you say, Mars? McLaren's?

Mike Marrs 6:32

Yeah, they have some McLaren's there. McLaren, good McLaren one.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

McLaren's title sponsor of the event again this year. So there'll be plenty of new McLaren's to come look at.

Don Armstrong 6:40

Where where is this event? It's downtown.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

So you know Traditions Golf Course there in Bryan?

Don Armstrong 6:47

Oh, but Brian.

SPEAKER_02 6:52

And we park all the cars on the courtyard at the Stella Hotel, and then some around the front side as well.

Mike Marrs 6:57

And does the cruise or something one morning?

SPEAKER_02 7:00

Yeah, it does. A round top rally the next day. Um, so it's about a three-hour rally they do the next day with a bunch of the cars. For the people that are local, they usually do the rally the next day. Everybody else recovers from the whiskey portion of the event and then uh heads home afterwards.

Mike Marrs 7:14

And you look at your role. I'll take care of that part, Don. You take the cruise and your Corvette.

Jeff Dziekan 7:19

And then you ask yourself, where where did this Rolex watch come from? Yeah, we have to look at the watch to find out how late you are getting back to work.

SPEAKER_04 7:26

That's what

Picking Drivers For Next Run

SPEAKER_04 7:27

it is.

Jeff Dziekan 7:27

I want to get back to the I want to get back to the mountain again. Do you are you thinking or is it too early to think about what you're gonna do next year so far as uh getting cars up there? You have anything picked out? How about a C5 Corvette that'll be available soon?

SPEAKER_02 7:41

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, one driver returning. Ben will be back in Big Bird. Um, we're looking at upgrading that to an actual automatic transmission, the new Dodge transmission everybody's using.

Jeff Dziekan 7:53

Throw out, Baring. Throw out, Bearing. Is that why?

SPEAKER_02 7:55

And uh then the Apexo set, Yuri, uh who's been a driver for us for multiple years, taking a year off. He's got two kiddos, and it's time to spend some time with the kiddos and spend some of the race car money on the kids. So he's gonna take a year off, but we've got uh four applicants for the car already, uh, three prior Pikes Peak runners and one new person from Houston. So they'll all come down, we'll do a test once we get our throw out bearing fixed, and we'll make a selection.

Don Armstrong 8:21

So uh did you get these did you get these drivers out of the insane asylum or what uh what all no, it's uh it's an interesting group.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Um it's kind of like you watch the Isle of Man and you think, how can people go there knowing that you know two to three people die every year? Exactly, you know, and go enter a race. Well, Pike's Peak, people don't die. Um, you know, it's 20 2017, 2018 was our last death of Carlin Dunn um on a motorcycle, but car-wise, it takes a lot of a mistake um to actually end somebody's life on. It really does.

Don Armstrong 8:52

You're still not gonna convince me, but it's okay. You don't need to convince me.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

Uh I gotta say five's available. We'll put you in one of our cage cars and send you up there and you can smile and you know a good 14-minute run.

Don Armstrong 9:04

Do you see, do you see the still leftover white knuckles that I have right now from the last time I went up there two years ago? No.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

Yeah, you should be in the passenger seat. It's better than that. No, no, no, no, no.

Don Armstrong 9:18

I would be the the lump on the floor shaking all the way up there, knowing that I was going next to God and the sun. No, I'm good. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

It is it is very interesting driving up that mountain at you know, 2:30, 3 o'clock in the morning with a trailer and a truck, and you can only see what your headlights see, and then you turn around to come back down from Devil's Playground in the morning, you're like, what in the world was I driving? Crazy, crazy with truck and trailers. It's very different.

Don Armstrong 9:47

One of the other things that we wanted to talk to you about, besides all of the toys that you're playing with there in the in the garage this week. I I don't know how you handle the heat, Richard. I mean, I know that you got some big cooling fans in there, but man, 100 degree heat in the garage, I don't care where you are, it's hot.

SPEAKER_02 10:04

Well, we've modified our work schedule, so we're actually working 5 a.m. to 1, so shorter days, um, hours shorter, but we start early in the morning and it's like 76 degrees then, so it's quite good. And one o'clock, you just go home. Um, and then September we'll go back to regular hours, so kind of like a summer break.

Don Armstrong 10:21

And the next door neighbors don't complain.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

Um, my neighbors aren't that close. I know, yes, I have.

Don Armstrong 10:28

I've never been to a shop. You know, when you have an open exhaust guy going off at five o'clock in the morning, that could be a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:33

Uh, we're we're pretty courteous about that, though. We don't have to charge stuff like that. Yeah, that's that's race cars are usually Saturdays,

Summer Heat Car Care Checklist

SPEAKER_02 10:41

Sundays.

Don Armstrong 10:41

Uh, let's talk a little bit more about the summer heat and what uh what a uh enthusiast or semi-enthusiast can do to help combat the summer heat. Uh, you know, one of the things in the Corvette is the radiator is kind of sloped underneath the hood and it gets all of its air from underneath and it collects all sorts of plastic shopping bags and everything else. And that's something that I think most people would need to check every once in a while.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Yeah, I think I would expand on what you said there though. The other thing I will tell you is your AC on your radiator and all of our production cars, and it gets super, super heated, and it will actually cause your radiator to actually heat up as well. But where I'm going with this is next time you actually go to a car wash, maybe you wash your own car, if not, um find a shop that can do it for you. But we'll actually take a pressure washer to the back of the condenser and wash out all the grass and debris and plastic bags from driving for 10, 15, 20 years on some of these older vehicles, and it's amazing what we've got. We've got some core vests that have literally been overheating, changing a condenser to fix it. So clean those things out.

Don Armstrong 11:47

It's the simple things, and you that most of the time you don't even think about because you're not under the hood all the time and you're driving the car.

Mike Marrs 11:56

Or you don't want to go get under the hood.

Don Armstrong 11:59

Obviously, the the cooling system in the car is probably the biggest thing. And so I would imagine that while you're doing that, it wouldn't be a bad idea to change the coolant and maybe look at the hoses.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Oh no, it's always an issue with hoses and plan Houston V very hot here. I would view the old man trick that's been around forever, that of us on this call knows. Um, but somebody listening young may not know that as your vehicle is starting to overheat and get a little warm, roll your windows down and turn that AC off and turn it to heater full blast, and you thereby use another heat exchanger, which is how you create heat in a vehicle, and it will drop the temperature in a vehicle 15 to 20, 25 degrees um almost immediately and help you get it to a service center or get it to your house.

Don Armstrong 12:42

Exactly. Yep. Um that's what's one thing. What about brakes? Do you do ever do you ever do you ever see where you know the brakes have gotten overheated and have rope uh warped the rotors and and and basically failed?

SPEAKER_02 12:58

We see a lot of that at the track. Um, not so much on the street anymore, just brake systems have advanced quite a bit. Um I would say early 90s, you know, early 2000s, we had a lot of that where manufacturers were making rotors thinner than I feel they should have. Um and it's usually OEM stuff that we see failures on more than the aftermarket stuff that we buy to replace and put on vehicles. But it does happen to warp the rotor, come up to a brake light, and you're standing on the brakes and the whole front end of the car shimming like it's gonna fall apart. 90% of the time that is gonna be your front rotors have been overheated at some point, maybe coming down Pike's Peak, riding the brake like Don.

Jeff Dziekan 13:32

Or if the brakes are heated up and you go through a puddle or a flood or go through a high high water area. That helps that happens too. Yep, it will enhance it.

Don Armstrong 13:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Um welcome to Houston.

Don Armstrong 13:42

Yep. No, yes, no doubt. Um, so um, I'm I'm thinking uh is there anything else that uh are really summer-related things? You know, we get these downpours in the afternoon, those windshield wipers have been out there cooking on your window, and you and you all of a sudden get into a rainstorm and the wipers that's like there are none.

SPEAKER_02 14:05

Well, the theory is uh June bug season is when you're supposed to change out your wipers once a year. So every every spring when you start killing June bugs, go ahead and change those wiper blades. Yeah, and that usually is not an option, or have a service at a shop that actually keeps records of what you've had done, but annually you should be changing blades here in Houston at a minimum. Um people are much more often than that.

Jeff Dziekan 14:26

And to that point, Richard, uh wiper blade technology has has increased too because there's different uh uh styles, there's different manufacturers. Obviously, you got Michelin and you got all these others that make them, uh the rubber companies. But there there are so many double blades, single blade, uh sweepers, whatever you want to call them, and then there's so many for different cars.

SPEAKER_02 14:47

Yeah, you have to specify what you want because you can go from a $25 blade to a $75 blade.

Jeff Dziekan 14:52

Yes, exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Yep, and they are nice, but I think what we found is that no matter what, the rubber on a windshield in Houston is pushing its luck at a year. Um change that stuff often and frequently, and you'll be happier. Yeah, twice a year is proof. Once a year, yeah.

Jeff Dziekan 15:08

Exactly. And then you right when you need it, it's got that streak right in your view.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

Yep, and nobody's supposed to be using your flashers if your car is moving. So hazard lights on when it's raining is dumb, and you should be parked on the side of the road, not driving.

Jeff Dziekan 15:22

Well, uh, a lot of states have that you have to have your headlights on, period, during rain. Uh and of course the ones that the cars that are automatic headlights are exactly.

Don Armstrong 15:33

Well, Richard, it's always great to talk to you, my friend. Um, we uh we wish you the are you good. Are you gonna take a vacation this year?

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Uh we went to Pikes Peak, we're going to Wheels, Watches, and Whiskey. We'll be back in Mexico in October. So, yeah, I mean, those are all vacations. Your vacations are working vacations.

Don Armstrong 15:52

Yeah, your vacations are certainly a little bit different than most of ours.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

That just doesn't but how many other people get to do this kind of stuff? It's like you just take your choice, what you want to do, and go do it. And I enjoy traveling to some of these remote races and uh places that other people will never see in our lifetime. Um, so it's awesome. I've now had four sunrises at 14,000 feet of elevation sitting at the top of Pike's Peak. And I mean, America the Beautiful was written there for a reason. That place is uh amazing. If you are a spiritual person, make your time to be there. Right.

Jeff Dziekan 16:22

And then through through New Mexico and things, the Purple Mountains Majesty at sunset is exactly what it means.

Don Armstrong 16:28

Richard, thanks so much for joining us today. We really appreciate it. And uh, as always, best of luck to you for the rest of the summer. We'll catch up with you hopefully again next month.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

Be great. We'll see you.

Don Armstrong 16:38

Thank you, sir.

Mike Marrs 16:39

Thank you, sir.

Don Armstrong 16:40

Just ahead. Jeff's car culture. Is there a four-door Camaro coming to showroom? Oh, Lord help us all. And Mars has the last blast before back to school bell. And that's all coming up here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. We'll be back right after this quick break.

Sponsor Break And Show Plug

Don Armstrong 16:58

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Four-Door Camaro Rumor Breakdown

Don Armstrong 18:43

always. Time now for Jeff's car culture. Four-door Camaros. Well, you know what? Guess what? I read a story that Ford is gonna build a four-door Mustang. So imagine that. Well, let's just hold on to the end of the story, will we?

Jeff Dziekan 18:59

Okay, well, General Motors has confirmed an ambitious five-year product offensive with dozens of new updated models in the works. And while the finer points are still locked away for now, reports suggest that Chevrolet could re-enter the performance sedance segment with an all-new flagship wearing the Camaro name. Again, uh for a badge that has always meant two doors and a back seat nobody really wanted to sit in, unless your biology class, uh, that would make a massive departure. A four-door fastback brakes with everything in a nameplate has stood for, yet it could also give Chevrolet the Halo car it lacks once you climb down the Corvette lineup. These images, what we'll see here in this uh the segment here, uh show everything that could make the case work from sheet metal right down to the what might sit under the hood. Rather than mimicking a previous Camaro, the exclusive design study adapts cleaner, more sophisticated aesthetics up front with a razor thin, full LED light bar, stretches across the nose, and a bold hexagonal grill, while sculptured lower sections exude an aggressive stance. In profile, a sweeping fastback roof line flows seamless into a short deck, creating elegant proportions despite its four-door layout. The front fender sport uh an arrow blade and emphasizes a strong axle to dash ratio, while deep scalloped doors pronounce rear haunches and muscular surfacing. Those riders at Chevrolet. I know this AI stuff is crazy. Uh at the end, uh I'm sorry, at the rear, Ovid triplet element LED taillights are joined by a glass, gloss black panel that highlights his broad shoulders, a sizable diffuser, quad exhaust outlets, and the LFA inspired vertical air vents complete the bold look. Chevrolet's Corvette, Equinox, Blazor EV provide plenty of clues what you're looking at. Performance flagship interior could head. Uh the expected curved digital instrument cluster and expansive central infotainment display running GM's latest Google-based software. AI-powered voice control and integrated navigation will be integrated. The automaker's stubborn approach to be omitting the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto needs a little bit of rethinking. Bringing the Camaro nameplate to a four-door layout would deliver a genuine rear seat accommodation in a sizable liftback cargo area. Look for heavily bolstered sports seats, premium materials, and performance-focused driving modes. GM has yet to reveal any mechanical information, but a possibility that it could use an evolution of the rear drive alpha platform underpinning the current Cadillac C T five. It could adopt a 270 horsepower, two liter turbocharged four cylinder or a 350 horsepower three liter twin turbo V6 and a mild hybrid assist. VA powered an SS should be the uh I'm sorry, I take that back. The VA power in SS and Z L1 could feature the C T five. Blackwing Supercharger, 6.2 liter LT4, producing 668 horsepower and 659 foot pounds torque. All versions would receive a 10-speed auto with a line lock and launch control and a six-speed manual for eight-cylinder models only. Should Chevrolet Greenlight a four-door Camaro? That's up to you. It would compete with an in-house Cadillac CT5, the Mustang's long-rumored Mustang Mach 4 sedan. There you go, Don. Others' rivals would include an uh upper echelon offerings such as a BMW 5 Series and an Audi 6 four-door. Pie in the sky thinking, well, could be realistic hope. That's my story.

Don Armstrong 22:43

I don't know. Here's my thought. So what about Cadillac? Now they're supposed to be the performance. Now that granted, they've got all of the performance in a four-door sedan, correct? In the CTS. Yep. Yeah. Big motor, big stuff. So the only company within the General Motors umbrella would be Chevrolet that doesn't have a performance vehicle and a four-door because they've got a two-door in the Corvette. Right. So I could see, I hate to say, I could see the Camaro going to a four-door.

Jeff Dziekan 23:20

Yeah, and in the story, it says that you look down the Corvette line and the Cadillac line, and then boom, there's that four-door Chevrolet. And looking at these photos that are produced for this, they're all renderings. There's not a production car, there's nothing built. These are renderings of your Equinox and your this vehicle and that vehicle. And they're taking the back end of this and they're putting it in a uh a design to make it look a rendering to make it look. What does this look like? How could we make this work? I particularly don't like it. Uh but we're old. Yeah, well, I'm just saying this I every six years we're going to re-introduce the Camaro. I was on the reintroduction when they did the uh the latest model because Perelli, I was with Perelli and we did the 21-inch tires. We were exclusivity for that. So all of the SS had the 21-inch, they're staggered fit. We had a big production, big meeting, blah, blah, blah. And then six years later it's gone and back again.

Don Armstrong 24:10

So well, because they weren't selling. Right. Uh the Mustang was killing them, and uh it was time to pull the plug on it. Because you know, you can only keep the Camaro name, I guess, in General Motors mind, anyway, is the fact that they all look the same from year to year to year to year to year. In in the in the past, I don't know, eight years or so?

Jeff Dziekan 24:31

Yeah, it's been six years since they introduced it. It went away and now it's back again. So right.

Don Armstrong 24:35

Well, we'll see. All right. Uh, time now for driving destinations.

Five Camping Trips Near Houston

Don Armstrong 24:40

Last blast before the bell, please explain, Mr. Mars.

Mike Marrs 24:44

So, you know, it's almost time for everybody to go back to school. So before all the beach towels get replaced with backpacks and your homework instead of campfires, you know, there's time for one more adventure the next couple of three weekends. So today we're gonna talk about hitting the road for five camping destinations, all within two hours of Houston. You can swim, you can paddle, you can fish, all the things that wrap up your summer memories that you can do in one weekend. So, first up is Brazos Bend State Park. Now, this is 45 to 60 minutes from Houston, depending on where you're at. But this is where you're gonna go get more of the Texas adventure if you really want to go that far. You know, the family can set up camp below giant oak trees. There's 20 miles of biking trails, got plenty of little lakes that you can fish along the banks and and still catch some fish. You gotta watch out for alligators when you go through the boardwalks, and there are some observation areas specifically so you can see some of the wildlife. Now, there's also the George Observatory here, which I did not even know existed. Now, this is weekend visitors can go here and look through the telescopes that are after dark and and see some of the skies and stuff. So the kids love the wildlife, the parents love the easy access to Houston, so it's a great place to go for a weekend before school starts again. The next one is Lake Livingston State Park. Now, when I think of Lake Livingston, uh it's about 90 miles away from Houston. I go there, I used to go there to go fishing. Never thought much about going there to camp or hang out, but there's plenty of water, there's a lot of water, and then there's even more water. It's one of the largest lakes in Texas to where you can go camping, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, and they also have boat rentals if you don't want to haul your own boat up there. Shaded campsires, nature trails, a lot of shorelines. The kids can throw rocks to go swimming, lots of stuff to do when you're out, including a Friday night campfire, goes paddle boating Saturday morning, lots to do again for a Texas summer vacation before school starts. Then the next one, the third one, is down at Galveston Island State Park. Now, this is a little further, 75 miles from Houston, and it gives you a couple of different ways to go about it because part of the park is on the beach. So you can go out on the beach, you can build sand castles, swim, uh, and then go to the bay side of the park. They've got marshes over there where you can get some kayaking, go do some bird watching, and watch some other wildlife. And they've added some new camping areas in the last couple of years. It makes it even easier for first-time campers to go and uh see some of the areas, take your bikes and hit some of the biking trails. Then we're gonna go off to Stephen F. Austin State Park, and this is about an hour from Houston. A lot of people don't look at it because it's not as big, but it's one of the easiest family camping trips to get to from Houston. It's on the Brazos River, Brazos River, and offers shaded campsides, hiking trails, fishing, bird watching. A lot of things you want to do when you go camping. It's just you need to be close to something so you make it easier to get there. And the nearby town of San Felipe adds a bonus dose of Texas history. So you got a little things you can do if you don't want to stay in the campgrounds all day. When it gets hot, you want to go to town, you want to do a little run around, you got time to do all that, and it's close. The last one we're gonna look at is the Double Lake Recreation Area. Now, this is in the Sam Houston National Forest area, about 90 miles from Houston, and it's kind of tucked inside the Sam Houston National Forest. Again, camping, swimming, canoeing, fishing, got lots of shaded hiking trails that take you off through the East Texas prime pine trees. Now it's small enough to be a small lake. It's not like Toleda Bend where you've got boats doing 80 miles an hour across the lake, and you've got plenty of shade for cool and the water, the shade runs all the way down to the water's edge in a lot of places, so you can kind of stay in the shade while you're doing your fishing. So it's a lot of places that you can go, do a little bit of camping, get the family out and about before they go back to school.

Don Armstrong 28:46

Sounds good. Let's go. Perfect.

Final Break And Sign-Off

Don Armstrong 28:48

All right. Hey, the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show will continue right after this quick break. Stay with us. The Tex Max dining experience is defined by Lupi Tortilla, your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas. Since 1983, Lupi Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients. Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience of Lupi Tortilla, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in Houston. Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail at each and every location. Start your loopy experience with queso flamingato and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margaritas. Dine on famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp crochets, or a finished or vegetarian entree and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert. Find loopy tortilla in Houston, College Station, Beaumont, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, Fort Worth. There's a Texas location near you. The recipes are authentic and time-tested. The ingredients always fresh. Loopy tortilla. Eat pretty good. It's always great to see you in our remote broadcast, too, and we hope you'll continue to stop by and say hello. It's been a great ride, and we hope to bring you more fun and adventure right here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show. I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheelTime.com website. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.