5000 Mile Trip, Porsche Parade or Bust!
07-02-2012, 01:35 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
FINAL UPDATE: 5000 Mile Trip, Porsche Parade or Bust!
See below for our first update
Tomorrow my wife and I will be hitting the road for a 5000+ mile round trip adventure to the Porsche Parade in Salt Lake City, UT. We will be taking the northern route (I-80 mostly) through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and finally into Utah for our trip there. On the way back, we'll be heading down through Moab, UT and along I-40 (New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia) and the Blue Ridge Parkway back to the Washington, DC area.
We're taking both of our Porsches, the 1986 951 and the 1992 968 Cabriolet.
My intent is to use this thread to document our trip across country and while at Parade.
Also, I'd like to solicit the support of fellow Rennlisters in case of a mechanical breakdown. If you live near I-80 or I-40 and wouldn't mind assisting a fellow Rennlister in a time of trouble, PM me your info and I would be forever grateful.
We're going to have our Rennlist information on our cars, so if we see you at Parade make sure to say hi here!
This is going to be easily the longest journey either of our cars have ever taken and we're really excited about the drive, the people and seeing parts of the country we've never seen before.
Looking forward to seeing some of you out there on the roads, if you'll be heading the same ways, send me a PM and let's see if we can set up a caravan.
-Aaron/Ramius665
UPDATE
Well, we woke up at 0400 to depart no later than 0500 and as you can see by the picture we were pretty tired to start. We were incredibly lucky and the nasty weather in the DC area kept quite a bit of the traffic off of I-495. We managed to drive 30 miles around I-495 in about 30 minutes which might have been a personal best.
Once we got onto I-270, we saw a few Porsches heading West but none of them kept up with us. Apparently Jerome was one of them. Small world!!
We turned a ton of heads, especially once we got onto I-70 and I-76 in Pennsylvania. I would routinely check my side view mirror and see someone screaming up in the left lane, watch them slow to look at my wife in her 968, accelerate to catch up with me, shoot me a glance and then keep going. While it was mostly guys in big sedans, we did see a couple in a Bentley Continental GT.
Pennsylvania's Turnpike was pretty uneventful, nice roads, nice rest stops and generally nice people. Haven't had a bad experience in PA yet. Got some interesting pictures from the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel too.
Ohio was another story entirely. Driving across I-80, we started to see storm clouds on the horizon past Cleveland. My wife was getting a bit warm with the top down so at our next bathroom break we put the top up. Thank God we did. I took a few pictures while driving that don't even come close to showing the carnage that we were driving through. I'm originally from Oregon, I've driven in some nasty storms with driving rain but this took the cake. We were able to do 40-45 mph safely but even then seriously considered pulling over and waiting the storm out. I stole a glance at the doppler radar on my phone and it looked like things would clear up if we could just get to Toledo. I think it took longer to get to Toledo than it did to get across Pennsylvania. It definitely felt like it.
After a solid 11 hours of driving (and mostly at/around the speed limit) and an hour or so worth of bathroom breaks we finally arrived in South Bend, IN. I'm not a huge Notre Dame fan but finding a hotel right next to the campus seemed like good enough reason to stay there.
So, to recap. Maryland cooperated, Pennsylvania was nice and Ohio's weather sucks.
Tomorrow my wife and I will be hitting the road for a 5000+ mile round trip adventure to the Porsche Parade in Salt Lake City, UT. We will be taking the northern route (I-80 mostly) through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and finally into Utah for our trip there. On the way back, we'll be heading down through Moab, UT and along I-40 (New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia) and the Blue Ridge Parkway back to the Washington, DC area.
We're taking both of our Porsches, the 1986 951 and the 1992 968 Cabriolet.
My intent is to use this thread to document our trip across country and while at Parade.
Also, I'd like to solicit the support of fellow Rennlisters in case of a mechanical breakdown. If you live near I-80 or I-40 and wouldn't mind assisting a fellow Rennlister in a time of trouble, PM me your info and I would be forever grateful.
We're going to have our Rennlist information on our cars, so if we see you at Parade make sure to say hi here!
This is going to be easily the longest journey either of our cars have ever taken and we're really excited about the drive, the people and seeing parts of the country we've never seen before.
Looking forward to seeing some of you out there on the roads, if you'll be heading the same ways, send me a PM and let's see if we can set up a caravan.
-Aaron/Ramius665
UPDATE
Well, we woke up at 0400 to depart no later than 0500 and as you can see by the picture we were pretty tired to start. We were incredibly lucky and the nasty weather in the DC area kept quite a bit of the traffic off of I-495. We managed to drive 30 miles around I-495 in about 30 minutes which might have been a personal best.
Once we got onto I-270, we saw a few Porsches heading West but none of them kept up with us. Apparently Jerome was one of them. Small world!!
We turned a ton of heads, especially once we got onto I-70 and I-76 in Pennsylvania. I would routinely check my side view mirror and see someone screaming up in the left lane, watch them slow to look at my wife in her 968, accelerate to catch up with me, shoot me a glance and then keep going. While it was mostly guys in big sedans, we did see a couple in a Bentley Continental GT.
Pennsylvania's Turnpike was pretty uneventful, nice roads, nice rest stops and generally nice people. Haven't had a bad experience in PA yet. Got some interesting pictures from the Allegheny Mountain Tunnel too.
Ohio was another story entirely. Driving across I-80, we started to see storm clouds on the horizon past Cleveland. My wife was getting a bit warm with the top down so at our next bathroom break we put the top up. Thank God we did. I took a few pictures while driving that don't even come close to showing the carnage that we were driving through. I'm originally from Oregon, I've driven in some nasty storms with driving rain but this took the cake. We were able to do 40-45 mph safely but even then seriously considered pulling over and waiting the storm out. I stole a glance at the doppler radar on my phone and it looked like things would clear up if we could just get to Toledo. I think it took longer to get to Toledo than it did to get across Pennsylvania. It definitely felt like it.
After a solid 11 hours of driving (and mostly at/around the speed limit) and an hour or so worth of bathroom breaks we finally arrived in South Bend, IN. I'm not a huge Notre Dame fan but finding a hotel right next to the campus seemed like good enough reason to stay there.
So, to recap. Maryland cooperated, Pennsylvania was nice and Ohio's weather sucks.
Last edited by ramius665; 07-22-2012 at 02:24 PM.
07-02-2012, 04:01 PM
#5
Instructor
Good call on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Maybe you'll be able to hit the Tail of the Dragon, too. And 211/522 East would be a nice stretch of road before you're back in metropolis.
07-02-2012, 07:59 PM
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I road tripped mine through the Ozarks and Oauchita's from SE Oklahoma through Mena and then up to Eureka Springs and ultimately up to Branson. It was really fun with lots of back roads. I did have a problem with the tensioner for the A/C compressor..not a big deal. Certainly no where near your planned adventure!
Now that I've had the car a while (and performed a lot of preventive maintenance) I should do just that again..though now that I really know the car I'm more nervous than ever! LOL
Have a blast!!!
Now that I've had the car a while (and performed a lot of preventive maintenance) I should do just that again..though now that I really know the car I'm more nervous than ever! LOL
Have a blast!!!
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07-03-2012, 12:16 AM
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Sounds like a great trip! I used to live in Denver and visit SLC monthly. I would strongly consider either picking up 76 in Nebraska to 70 in Denver, or dropping down I25 once you cross over into Colorado, visit Denver/Boulder if you have the time, and take 70 across Colorado to route 6 in Utah up to SLC.
I've done the Denver/SLC drive about 10 times, and have driven both I 70 and I 80. The stretch across Wyoming on I80 is pretty boring, especially if you've just gone through Nebraska, the universal metaphor for flat spaces. You'll see some antelope, lots of snow fence, and dusty truck stops. There's a Starbuck's in Laramie at the grocery store as you pull into town, so stock up if you need coffee, and drive through Laramie because it's the last sightseeing you'll have till Utah.
The drive across Colorado, OTOH, goes through the Rockies, over Vail pass, through some cool ski towns. If I could only do this drive once, and one way, there is absolutely no doubt I'd be going through Colorado. No doubt at all. In addition, there are 2 Porsche dealers in Denver, and in Colorado civilization extends all the way from Denver to Grand Junction. In Wyoming, there are no Porsche dealers, and you'll be pretty much on your own if s/t goes wrong mechanically. There are also, perhaps as a consequence of the above, more Listers in Colorado.
One thing to bear in mind with either route--the distance between gas stations is vastly longer in the mountain west. This is something I really had to get used to--nothing worse than having to take a ****, and spending 30 minutes looking for the next exit with services. In fact, there is one stretch on I70 in eastern Utah/ western CO where the distance between gas stations is (was anyway) over 100 miles. I remember it well, as my wife hit a large rock right in the middle of the frickin deserted highway, literally puncturing not only the tire but the aluminum wheel in the car we were driving. It was a long trek east into Grand Junction on a doughnut...Great memories.
SLC is a great town. Super clean, good food, good beer (believe it or not), and very very nice people.
Enjoy and pls post up some pics.
Tim
I've done the Denver/SLC drive about 10 times, and have driven both I 70 and I 80. The stretch across Wyoming on I80 is pretty boring, especially if you've just gone through Nebraska, the universal metaphor for flat spaces. You'll see some antelope, lots of snow fence, and dusty truck stops. There's a Starbuck's in Laramie at the grocery store as you pull into town, so stock up if you need coffee, and drive through Laramie because it's the last sightseeing you'll have till Utah.
The drive across Colorado, OTOH, goes through the Rockies, over Vail pass, through some cool ski towns. If I could only do this drive once, and one way, there is absolutely no doubt I'd be going through Colorado. No doubt at all. In addition, there are 2 Porsche dealers in Denver, and in Colorado civilization extends all the way from Denver to Grand Junction. In Wyoming, there are no Porsche dealers, and you'll be pretty much on your own if s/t goes wrong mechanically. There are also, perhaps as a consequence of the above, more Listers in Colorado.
One thing to bear in mind with either route--the distance between gas stations is vastly longer in the mountain west. This is something I really had to get used to--nothing worse than having to take a ****, and spending 30 minutes looking for the next exit with services. In fact, there is one stretch on I70 in eastern Utah/ western CO where the distance between gas stations is (was anyway) over 100 miles. I remember it well, as my wife hit a large rock right in the middle of the frickin deserted highway, literally puncturing not only the tire but the aluminum wheel in the car we were driving. It was a long trek east into Grand Junction on a doughnut...Great memories.
SLC is a great town. Super clean, good food, good beer (believe it or not), and very very nice people.
Enjoy and pls post up some pics.
Tim
07-03-2012, 01:15 AM
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Hope to meet some Rennlisters there. I'm not taking the 951 but will be driving the Boxster S.