Grand Canyon Caverns

[luvrbus]

Mike was a little shady but you have to give him credit for what he done for the DIY crowd lol and he made a few bucks too

[Ed Hackenbruch]

We went to one of the rallies there, the last one?  Had to have been the spring of 05. The elevator seemed to be fine then.

[bobofthenorth]

LOL Mike wasn't going to jail Bob back then it was illegal to bring fireworks into AZ

Oh fergawdsake.  Are you serious?

We had a hell of a good fireworks show that night. 

I wonder what that SOB is up to now.

[Busted Knuckle]

Oh fergawdsake.  Are you serious?

We had a hell of a good fireworks show that night. 

I wonder what that SOB is up to now.

Ain't NO TELL'N! But rest assured Mike has an angle and might even be shaking babies and kissing hands! (maybe even backing Ol' Joe!)

I picked up and delivered some buses for him back in the day and let me tell you, the buses he bought (or was given) weren't in any condition to drive cross country! But I did it more than once! yeah, I was a sucker for quick cash and a challenge back then. One bus I took from FL to CA was buckling in the rear so bad it started throwing the blower belt off every 30-50 miles by the time I got it to CA! It did fine from FL to AZ, but then it got bad.
Another one got me pulled over outside San Antonio, and TX Department of Safety threatened to impound it and put it out of service. I told him hang on a minute, went inside grabbed my duffel bag, came out walked to the rear door of his car and stood there. He asked me what I was doing and I told him "DO what you want with that POS, but give me a ride to the nearest airport or bus station first!"
He stuttered a second and said "Hold on here let's not get all upset! I told him "I ain't upset, but I ain't getting paid enough to be getting a bunch of tickets and stranded in BFE! You can have that POS!"
He told me "Hey look it ain't that far to the truck stops coming in to San Antonio, go on to them and stop and get these things fixed (handing me a list) and continue on!"
I got back in the bus and took off. Next stop was Phoenix, for fuel and to have a front wheel bearing and seal replaced on Mike's dime at a shop that would except his Shell credit card. I slept in the bus while they fixed it and the next stop was his place! I got my $ and a plane ticket home!
  BK 

[chessie4905]

i wonder if they just decide not to repair elevator, and shut it down.

[luvrbus]

i wonder if they just decide not to repair elevator, and shut it down.

Who knows the Indians in AZ are exempt from most laws requiring safety inspections on anything,State health inspector cannot just walk in their restaurants unannounced like they can others     

[Coach_and_Crown_Guy]

Ain't NO TELL'N! But rest assured Mike has an angle and might even be shaking babies and kissing hands! (maybe even backing Ol' Joe!)

I picked up and delivered some buses for him back in the day and let me tell you, the buses he bought (or was given) weren't in any condition to drive cross country! But I did it more than once! yeah, I was a sucker for quick cash and a challenge back then. One bus I took from FL to CA was buckling in the rear so bad it started throwing the blower belt off every 30-50 miles by the time I got it to CA! It did fine from FL to AZ, but then it got bad.
Another one got me pulled over outside San Antonio, and TX Department of Safety threatened to impound it and put it out of service. I told him hang on a minute, went inside grabbed my duffel bag, came out walked to the rear door of his car and stood there. He asked me what I was doing and I told him "DO what you want with that POS, but give me a ride to the nearest airport or bus station first!"
He stuttered a second and said "Hold on here let's not get all upset! I told him "I ain't upset, but I ain't getting paid enough to be getting a bunch of tickets and stranded in BFE! You can have that POS!"
He told me "Hey look it ain't that far to the truck stops coming in to San Antonio, go on to them and stop and get these things fixed (handing me a list) and continue on!"
I got back in the bus and took off. Next stop was Phoenix, for fuel and to have a front wheel bearing and seal replaced on Mike's dime at a shop that would except his Shell credit card. I slept in the bus while they fixed it and the next stop was his place! I got my $ and a plane ticket home!
  BK 

I did that too for Mike exactly ONE time. That's all it took for me to see that getting stranded at the Utah POE and impounded was not in my best interests, and driving totally junk buses was unsafe for me and the driving public. I swapped MCI's in Provo with a couple guys who sat in the truck stop running on high idle till the bus ran dry.... trying to stay warm. I told them you won't get any heat until you drove it. They called a mechanic to re-prime the 6V-92, ended up going through 3 mechanics till they found an experienced grey hair to show up the next day to do the job in 15 minutes.

A major snow storm was blowing in and it was 15 degrees. No heat in the bus, no defrosters, no chains, My life was flashing before me, figuring they'd find my body in the Spring. I hit the road and drove as fast as I could ahead of the front and kept the right lane slushed up with the other 18 wheelers till I hit St. George and it turned to rain. Dodged some major bullets with that for sure. The bus did his part and kept on running and got me through the worst of it.

Leaked oil and trans fluid and had to add gallons of both in Las Vegas to get it home on hopes and prayers. Funny thing though, that old, beat to death, 102a3 was a retired Greyhound line bus, could still see the outline on the side and on the back cap.

He hadn't had any decent drivers for years, having been owned by a church in Montana and, driven is to kind, lets say kinda pointed down the road, by any and all manner of amateurs. That goes for the total lack of mechanical work done on it. That wonderful old Grey Dog Line bus seemed to sense he had a REAL Driver in the seat and gave me his last full measure of effort to get me home safe and sound, I really did feel something special. Sounds silly, but I really sensed the spirit of that magnificent old, been through the wars, MCI.

I nursed him home and just as I got off the freeway about a mile from the yard the transmission started to slip and fail. He limped me into the yard and I parked it right in the driveway and left it there, for Mike of course. Before I left I took some pics of the ice still caked on the front from Utah, and said a fond and heartfelt farewell, and a loving pat or two, to that old Grey Dog. I'm a little sentimental sometimes, but I swear I could feel it's spirit helping me to get us both home. 

This is quite similar to Crowns in how they will almost always find a way to get you home. I intend to find and acquire a good MCI when the time comes since I only trust MCI and Crown to be as reliable as I need them to be. Both are designed and built for the Ages and deliver on that.

I took the replacement MCI to make the swap and the one I took was in worse shape than the one I brought back. Typical transaction for Mike, he sold them both junker buses. Like I said all it took was one time for me to leave him in the dust. I hope the Karma he gets is equal to the pain and suffering he's spread to so many innocent and gullible folks through the years. Bless his heart....