coast to coast
06-17-2007, 09:35 PM
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
coast to coast
I'm on my way from San Francisco to Maryland in my newly purchased 86.5 928. This trip having begun by purchasing the white 86.5 from an enthusiast in Northern Cal, having it PPI'd, stored and finally prep'd by Devek in Hayward.
This is the first entry...I wish that I had a means of posting photos, as there have been quite a number so far, more than a few taken at spectacular locations. But...my means of posting while on this trip is ad-hoc ad best and postings will likely come in batches. I am accompanied by my 16 year old son, for whom this is his first trip out of the mid-Atlantic. So, here goes.....
Mike Pate
This is the first entry...I wish that I had a means of posting photos, as there have been quite a number so far, more than a few taken at spectacular locations. But...my means of posting while on this trip is ad-hoc ad best and postings will likely come in batches. I am accompanied by my 16 year old son, for whom this is his first trip out of the mid-Atlantic. So, here goes.....
Mike Pate
06-17-2007, 09:46 PM
#4
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Days 1 and 2:
This time is spent first working with Devek to do some final tweaking, installing the XM radio antenna and touring the SF Bay Area. Initial impressions: The paint is MUCH better than the P.O. advertised. Seat leather and all leather other than dash in very good condition. These are without a doubt the best grand touring vehicle seats that I have ever wrapped myself in. A good thing considering the 7 hour drive days ahead of us. Suspension and high speed (100+ mph) is very reassuring. We pack the car to the gills; the original rear muffler, original steering wheel, suit cases, food, bedding (we'll be campling some), tools, and ourselves. Seven o'clock Saturday morning we prepare to cross the Yosimite and Sequoia Parks for Independence, Ca. Independence will be a staging point for crossing Death Valley.
This time is spent first working with Devek to do some final tweaking, installing the XM radio antenna and touring the SF Bay Area. Initial impressions: The paint is MUCH better than the P.O. advertised. Seat leather and all leather other than dash in very good condition. These are without a doubt the best grand touring vehicle seats that I have ever wrapped myself in. A good thing considering the 7 hour drive days ahead of us. Suspension and high speed (100+ mph) is very reassuring. We pack the car to the gills; the original rear muffler, original steering wheel, suit cases, food, bedding (we'll be campling some), tools, and ourselves. Seven o'clock Saturday morning we prepare to cross the Yosimite and Sequoia Parks for Independence, Ca. Independence will be a staging point for crossing Death Valley.
06-17-2007, 10:07 PM
#5
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Day 3:
We begin our crossing of the Yosemite and Sequoia Parks. For the duration of the trip we have no air conditioning. P.O. was very dilligent in maintaining systems necessary for living in the SF Bay area. A/C is a nicety for that environment, but a going concern when crossing a dessert. Non-the-less, the crossing of the parks presents little discomfort until after the crossover between 120 and 395. As 395 descended towards Bishop, stopping for refreshments extinguished the breeze and only source of ambient cooling (the car would heat up). We arrive in Independence at about 4:30 pm. I beguin to receive a regular stream of compliments and "I once owned one of those" comments with obvious nostalgia.
Much contrast exists within this little 3 horse town of Independence. We stayed in the 50's era Mt Wiliamson motel. This establishment is run by a kindly elderly lady and the rooms are small, "cooled" by a wall mount swamp cooler. Be patient getting comfortable...you'll get used to it. I must say though that upon arriving, stepping from my car, and turning around I was presented with a view no less stunning than a lunar landscape. Looming over the little town is 14k foot Mt Whitney, flanked by a panoramic view of the Sierra Mountains. Talking about contracts: We walked the length of the town in 15 minutes. Up the street is a (very) authentic French restaurant that serves 2 people for $100+ . The little motel by the way was booked solid. I made reservatuions early, I suggest you do the same. After this leg of the journey, we vowed to leave each day at 5 am.
We begin our crossing of the Yosemite and Sequoia Parks. For the duration of the trip we have no air conditioning. P.O. was very dilligent in maintaining systems necessary for living in the SF Bay area. A/C is a nicety for that environment, but a going concern when crossing a dessert. Non-the-less, the crossing of the parks presents little discomfort until after the crossover between 120 and 395. As 395 descended towards Bishop, stopping for refreshments extinguished the breeze and only source of ambient cooling (the car would heat up). We arrive in Independence at about 4:30 pm. I beguin to receive a regular stream of compliments and "I once owned one of those" comments with obvious nostalgia.
Much contrast exists within this little 3 horse town of Independence. We stayed in the 50's era Mt Wiliamson motel. This establishment is run by a kindly elderly lady and the rooms are small, "cooled" by a wall mount swamp cooler. Be patient getting comfortable...you'll get used to it. I must say though that upon arriving, stepping from my car, and turning around I was presented with a view no less stunning than a lunar landscape. Looming over the little town is 14k foot Mt Whitney, flanked by a panoramic view of the Sierra Mountains. Talking about contracts: We walked the length of the town in 15 minutes. Up the street is a (very) authentic French restaurant that serves 2 people for $100+ . The little motel by the way was booked solid. I made reservatuions early, I suggest you do the same. After this leg of the journey, we vowed to leave each day at 5 am.
06-17-2007, 10:16 PM
#6
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Day 4:
We are good to our pledge and embark for Death Valley at 5 am. For the first 2.5 hours of driving, up until we are at Stovepipe Wells (middle for nowhere, Death Valley), the windows are up and we are cool. The little tourist lodge and general store at Stovepipe serve the handful of brave souls that can't get enough heat. the staff are residents of the salt-of-and down-to-earth variety...good people. But they must have been there forever and I doubt can understand why we don't stick around for say, 50 years or so. I stifle the impulse to ask if there have been any "Tremor" sitings. They probably wouldn't get it. Leaving Stovepipe, I begin to get concerned about when I will next see premium unleaded again. The rest of the drive down 190 towards Shoshone is centered around conserving fuel. The windows also go down....more later
We are good to our pledge and embark for Death Valley at 5 am. For the first 2.5 hours of driving, up until we are at Stovepipe Wells (middle for nowhere, Death Valley), the windows are up and we are cool. The little tourist lodge and general store at Stovepipe serve the handful of brave souls that can't get enough heat. the staff are residents of the salt-of-and down-to-earth variety...good people. But they must have been there forever and I doubt can understand why we don't stick around for say, 50 years or so. I stifle the impulse to ask if there have been any "Tremor" sitings. They probably wouldn't get it. Leaving Stovepipe, I begin to get concerned about when I will next see premium unleaded again. The rest of the drive down 190 towards Shoshone is centered around conserving fuel. The windows also go down....more later
06-17-2007, 10:34 PM
#7
Race Director
Mike
Sounds like you and your son are in for a memorable trip....
As for "conserving fuel"....that is not a 928 strong suit...BUT with nearly 23 gallons of fuel....you can find premium somewhere.....for example I can make it from Orange County to home (370 miles) on 1 tank...with plenty to spare....and thats not driving the speed limit! 400 miles per tank is quite do-able
Sounds like you and your son are in for a memorable trip....
As for "conserving fuel"....that is not a 928 strong suit...BUT with nearly 23 gallons of fuel....you can find premium somewhere.....for example I can make it from Orange County to home (370 miles) on 1 tank...with plenty to spare....and thats not driving the speed limit! 400 miles per tank is quite do-able
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06-17-2007, 10:37 PM
#8
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
day 4 cont....
Internet Kiosk timed me out.....
back again.
We leave Death Valley and have not yet experienced discomfort...without A/C. The early departure time paid off in good measure. The descent from Death Valley Junction to Shoshone illustrated that Death Valley and the outlying is teaming with life...the small, flying, buzzing kind. The mirrors, front fascia and windshield are absolutely covered with squashed bugs. I take the opportunity to wash them off with a free hose at a Chevron station across the street from the Crowbar cafe in Shoshone. We fill up with Premium too. We grab a late breakfast at the "Crowbar" cafe....a mainly biker cafe, with plenty of jealous flies buzzing around, but the patrons are friendly, flies patient and the food,...damned good. We make the rest of the trip into Vegas and I'll tell you without any discomfort until.....we are on the Las Vegas blvd and 2 miles from the Sahara casino/hotel and are stuck in gridlock and a suddenly sweltering sun. This is so bad that for the first time, I see the temp guage budge from the first mark above cold. I have to resort to placing my son and I on the sacrificial alter and turn on the heater for 20 excrutiating minutes. We have arrived in the hotel.....tomorrow we set out (at 5 am) for the Grand Canyon.....more to come.
back again.
We leave Death Valley and have not yet experienced discomfort...without A/C. The early departure time paid off in good measure. The descent from Death Valley Junction to Shoshone illustrated that Death Valley and the outlying is teaming with life...the small, flying, buzzing kind. The mirrors, front fascia and windshield are absolutely covered with squashed bugs. I take the opportunity to wash them off with a free hose at a Chevron station across the street from the Crowbar cafe in Shoshone. We fill up with Premium too. We grab a late breakfast at the "Crowbar" cafe....a mainly biker cafe, with plenty of jealous flies buzzing around, but the patrons are friendly, flies patient and the food,...damned good. We make the rest of the trip into Vegas and I'll tell you without any discomfort until.....we are on the Las Vegas blvd and 2 miles from the Sahara casino/hotel and are stuck in gridlock and a suddenly sweltering sun. This is so bad that for the first time, I see the temp guage budge from the first mark above cold. I have to resort to placing my son and I on the sacrificial alter and turn on the heater for 20 excrutiating minutes. We have arrived in the hotel.....tomorrow we set out (at 5 am) for the Grand Canyon.....more to come.
06-17-2007, 10:37 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Great stuff Mike - keep the posts comming!
06-18-2007, 02:09 AM
#10
Under the Lift
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Originally Posted by mj1pate
This is so bad that for the first time, I see the temp guage budge from the first mark above cold. I have to resort to placing my son and I on the sacrificial alter and turn on the heater for 20 excrutiating minutes.
06-18-2007, 09:58 PM
#11
Burning Brakes
Great day by day experience tracking.
Seems that the shark is behaving well, which is a blessing, short of the A/C concern. From Las Vegas to the east would normally be a great ride but this time of year it can clearly be a crap shoot.
Please keep us posted on you venture. Sounds like a great bonding experience for father and son (and of course Shark).
Seems that the shark is behaving well, which is a blessing, short of the A/C concern. From Las Vegas to the east would normally be a great ride but this time of year it can clearly be a crap shoot.
Please keep us posted on you venture. Sounds like a great bonding experience for father and son (and of course Shark).
06-19-2007, 11:02 PM
#12
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Day 5
Curse of Vegas
Sin City excites the gremlins. They're very at home and empowered there. Just when I thought that the ride down Las Vegas Blvd into Vegas was going to be the low point....well, read on.
My son and I set out walking and found a gym in the afternoon, and supplies later on in prep for the next day's journey. That evening I decided to set out driving back down LV Blvd in search of gas. I set my son up with a movie and drove out of the hotel garage. This was a huge mistake; the best way to describe LV Blvd is a traffic jam. The 4 mile round trip quickly became 8:00 Pm grid lock, with unending creeping and no less than 3 emergency vehicles and one middle lane stalled car. Not yet having Bill B's advise, I used the heater to keep the heat down. The outside ambient must have been over 100. When I returned to the hotel, the movie was almost over. We're tired and collapse.
Sin City excites the gremlins. They're very at home and empowered there. Just when I thought that the ride down Las Vegas Blvd into Vegas was going to be the low point....well, read on.
My son and I set out walking and found a gym in the afternoon, and supplies later on in prep for the next day's journey. That evening I decided to set out driving back down LV Blvd in search of gas. I set my son up with a movie and drove out of the hotel garage. This was a huge mistake; the best way to describe LV Blvd is a traffic jam. The 4 mile round trip quickly became 8:00 Pm grid lock, with unending creeping and no less than 3 emergency vehicles and one middle lane stalled car. Not yet having Bill B's advise, I used the heater to keep the heat down. The outside ambient must have been over 100. When I returned to the hotel, the movie was almost over. We're tired and collapse.
06-19-2007, 11:09 PM
#13
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Day 5 (apologies: "Curse of Vegas" was remainder of day 4)
Exit Vegas, enter the Canyon
We set out Monday morning at 5:00 am and the gremlins were aroused and busy. I sensed that for the first time, heat was coming from the vents, with the heater control fully off. Great, and as hot as S. Nevada is. After just turning off of LV Blvd, a beater truck piloted by an aged gent with Noah's beard pulled up besides. Holding up his index finger, he said "you have one tail light and no stop lights". "Great", I thought, "I wonder if all but one light is out". Once into Kingman Az, a quick check illustrated that the turn signals at least were operational. I removed the unfunctional left stop light and examined it as a good bulb. Reinserting it suggested that the fit was less than tight. I secured it as best as I could and Voila! Three working stop lights!
We continue on to Williams, south of the Grand Canyon and I pulled into a Chevron station. Pulling the gas cap off produced a spume of gasoline that projected two feet from the car. After 1.5 seconds of shock; I jam the gas cap back on. The gas cap and filler gurgle and hiss furiously for 2 more minutes. I now know where the gremlins live. They're where we can't get at them, lousy little bastards. I fill up and we procede to the Grand canyon, much deflated.
I am probably the only person on the list who had not yet been to the Canyon. The experience defies description. Suffice to say that you walk the path from the visitors station with other tourists, through trees and then...there it is. Just like that. All of a sudden you feel its totallty OK to be a tourist and you take 100 pictures. This ended the day on a VERY positive note. I take the time to buff up the leather with McGuires and it shines nicely and feels resilient, projecting better times ahead.
Exit Vegas, enter the Canyon
We set out Monday morning at 5:00 am and the gremlins were aroused and busy. I sensed that for the first time, heat was coming from the vents, with the heater control fully off. Great, and as hot as S. Nevada is. After just turning off of LV Blvd, a beater truck piloted by an aged gent with Noah's beard pulled up besides. Holding up his index finger, he said "you have one tail light and no stop lights". "Great", I thought, "I wonder if all but one light is out". Once into Kingman Az, a quick check illustrated that the turn signals at least were operational. I removed the unfunctional left stop light and examined it as a good bulb. Reinserting it suggested that the fit was less than tight. I secured it as best as I could and Voila! Three working stop lights!
We continue on to Williams, south of the Grand Canyon and I pulled into a Chevron station. Pulling the gas cap off produced a spume of gasoline that projected two feet from the car. After 1.5 seconds of shock; I jam the gas cap back on. The gas cap and filler gurgle and hiss furiously for 2 more minutes. I now know where the gremlins live. They're where we can't get at them, lousy little bastards. I fill up and we procede to the Grand canyon, much deflated.
I am probably the only person on the list who had not yet been to the Canyon. The experience defies description. Suffice to say that you walk the path from the visitors station with other tourists, through trees and then...there it is. Just like that. All of a sudden you feel its totallty OK to be a tourist and you take 100 pictures. This ended the day on a VERY positive note. I take the time to buff up the leather with McGuires and it shines nicely and feels resilient, projecting better times ahead.
06-19-2007, 11:17 PM
#14
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Day 6:
"Cratered and Petrified"
This day starts out right. Its less than 60 degrees south of the Canyon. We proceded towards Dennison to the meteor crater, with windows up and needing a bit of heat, and listening to XM in quiet. I've learned something about desert driving: its cool before 10:00 am and downright pleasurable. Something about the canyon chased the gremlins. The heater works as desired, and I don't have hot air when I don't want it. The Crater tour is pleasant and we drive on to the petrified forest (and painted desert). The air heats up in the afternoon, but its a good day. I'm careful removing the gas cap. There is pressure, but not as much as the day before. We wash the car, more treatments of MqGuires and Armorall and the little "S" is looking proud. We are staying in a KOA. This works pretty well, if you havent tried it. Tomorrow is Amarillo.
"Cratered and Petrified"
This day starts out right. Its less than 60 degrees south of the Canyon. We proceded towards Dennison to the meteor crater, with windows up and needing a bit of heat, and listening to XM in quiet. I've learned something about desert driving: its cool before 10:00 am and downright pleasurable. Something about the canyon chased the gremlins. The heater works as desired, and I don't have hot air when I don't want it. The Crater tour is pleasant and we drive on to the petrified forest (and painted desert). The air heats up in the afternoon, but its a good day. I'm careful removing the gas cap. There is pressure, but not as much as the day before. We wash the car, more treatments of MqGuires and Armorall and the little "S" is looking proud. We are staying in a KOA. This works pretty well, if you havent tried it. Tomorrow is Amarillo.
