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damn! im in the bay area and was originally from vancouver, always wanted to do a trip like this... I think you just gave me an idea for an actual trip next summer...
Great trip, great pictures! Boring drive between here (Calgary) and Winnipeg tho, EH?
Eastern Alberta is the flattest drive I've ever done, and Medicine Hat to Regina wasn't much better. But Eastern Saskatchewan and Western Manitoba, culminating in Riding Mountain National Park, was actually surprisingly excellent once we got off the TransCanada. The canola fields were in bloom so there were all these yellow flowers and a bunch of lakes. Couple pictures in the linked album from there. Certainly better than the equivalent longitude in the US. Really friendly people as well.
Amazing pictures and trip. We should all aspire to get even remotely close to your experience!
Thanks. It really was the trip of a lifetime, the only thing I think could measure up would be the equivalent in Europe which I hope to do someday. Timing didn't work out for European delivery on this car, maybe the next one.
CL wheels, I just bought the ~$480 breaker bar from Suncoast in case I encountered a flat and the shop in the middle of nowhere didn't have the ability to take off the wheel. Got a flat on Vancouver Island and the tire shop was able to take off the breaker bar. I tried using the stock sealant and inflator to patch it up but the sidewall was totally destroyed so had to get a tow. Fortunately there was a car rental place right across the street so we just continued our trip to Vancouver while we waited for the new tire and then I took the ferry back there a couple days later to pick up the car.
Packing tips: If you don't have the custom fit luggage, I went with one big suitcase that took up all of the frunk, then 2 backpacks that I put in the rear seats, and then folded the seats down and put 2 carry-on (but thicker) sized bags on top of the folded down rear seats. Some stuff can go on the rear parcel shelf too but your bags in the rear have to be tall enough that the parcel shelf stuff won't slide forward under hard breaking. Also make sure that whatever you put back there is dark colored because otherwise the reflection will be annoying. Biggest advice I can give is make sure you put everything you need inside of a large bag. You're pressed for space, so anything loose or smaller than a backpack you'll just constantly be trying to find a place for. (I attempted to impart this idea to my wife with only partial success, haha.)
Also, make sure you get a water bottle that is thin enough at the bottom to fit in the cup holders, or get one of those console cup holders to fit a larger bottle. Again, having stuff loose around the cabin is very annoying when trying to do some fun driving.
Thanks for the reply. I had a 991.1 GTS with 5-lug wheels.. Now on a TTS with CL. I would be worried to go on such a long trip w/o being self sufficient in case of a flat. Sounds like you were equipped properly and your debacle was not too bad luckily.
And thanks for the packing tips. All make sense.
Haha, 38 wasn't enough for you? I'm guessing this was part tongue in cheek, but the hilarious part is that album is culled down from well over 100 car pictures alone, not to mention the food and people pictures. I'd guess we took between 700 and 1000 pictures total. I look forward to forcing my future teenage children to look at all of them!
Awesome story! Road trips in a 911 are perfect, I'm getting ready to do the DWA Sierra Rally with mine next week, which should be about 1000-ish miles. I just realized my rear tires are getting a little low on tread so I'll need to figure out if they'll make it.
On the luggage topic, I found that two pieces of standard roller luggage (not the huge ones of course, but closer to carry-on size) fit perfectly in the front if you lay them flat one on top of the other. And there is still a little room up there for misc jackets and other stuff.
This is a photo at the hotel valet in Portland after picking up my new-to-me 991.1S in Seattle. We drove with the whole family from Seattle to Portland (wife + 2 kids) in the middle winter (January) so we had to pack all these heavy clothes. It worked out great, the plan was to drive with them all the way back to SF but they chickened out after our overnight in Portland and decided to fly home while I drove the rest of the way.
Great story and pics! Driving across America is fantasic and in a Porsche double so.
Every Porsche owner owes themselves the trip across the Great Basin on Rt 50, the "Loneliest Highway in America". I drove out to the last Rennsport from Maryland. Slowing down to merely ridiculous speeds occassionally to take in the scenery and stopping at ColdSprings Station (originally a pony express station) are highlight memories.
Great story and pics! Driving across America is fantasic and in a Porsche double so.
Every Porsche owner owes themselves the trip across the Great Basin on Rt 50, the "Loneliest Highway in America". I drove out to the last Rennsport from Maryland. Slowing down to merely ridiculous speeds occassionally to take in the scenery and stopping at ColdSprings Station (originally a pony express station) are highlight memories.
Yeah got up to 180 on a straight out in the middle of nowhere between Austin and Fallon. You can see for miles so if you don't see any cars you can really wind it out.
You sir are are badazz. That's how your supposed to treat your car. I bought my gt3 yr15 in march and lut 11k on it 6 months. Thanks for sharing your road trip. My miles are mostly country roads outside of houston. I'm really thinking of go to big to Arkansas to roll on their roads as everyone always raves about them.
You sir are are badazz. That's how your supposed to treat your car. I bought my gt3 yr15 in march and lut 11k on it 6 months. Thanks for sharing your road trip. My miles are mostly country roads outside of houston. I'm really thinking of go to big to Arkansas to roll on their roads as everyone always raves about them.
Appreciate it. Yeah that Arkansas Dragon was absolutely fantastic, although only about 10 miles long. I got it from this site, might have some other worthwhile recommendations.
Sounds like a great trip. I do have a question. I live in south-west Washington State and have driven up to Vancouver on a few occasions. The main road, I-5, is mostly old concrete and the tire noise in a normal car (in my case, an Audi RS3 and a Tesla Model 3 Performance) is really loud and annoying. My GTS on the local roads is almost unbearable from the noise. I have literally taken to wearing earplugs.
What did you do, if anything to deal with the road / tire noise in the GTS? Note that my GTS has the Pirelli tires rather than the Michelin, so I suspect that I get the worst of it, but I'm concerned that even the Michelin tires will be too loud to tolerate for an extended drive.
Other than that, I am deeply envious of your amazing journey.
09-17-2019, 01:03 AM
