OT: 10 States in 7 days...
10-15-2007, 02:13 AM
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OT: 10 States in 7 days...
So, as some of you remember, after that fateful day at the 48 hours of Sebring Club race, my poor 993 race car have been repaired/stored 2500 miles away from me, at the best 911 mechanic that I know, Mike Callas in Sealy Texas. Its been a VERY long 2.1/2 years since I last saw my car, but alas the time has come for me to reunite with her and FINALLY bring her home.
As I only have a few days to squeeze in my busy schedule I decided to make the trek in 7 days from Vancouver BC to Houston and back! Yeap, its a 5000 mile trip that needs to be done in 7 days! So I thought to myself, easy enough, I'm doing it before the winter so weather should be A ok, I love long road trips, its doable.
So I set of Friday early afternoon, I was supposed to leave in the morning, but things got really hectic at the Hotel, a very boring conference call later and I was out the door. I had packed everything I needed ( or so I thought).
The plan was to do at least 500 miles on Friday, then 1000 miles each day and be Monday morning in Sealy, then start driving back doing the same route... Target to be Friday the 19th at the border to export/import the car and my trailer...
The towing machine is a new Ford F-250 , much to my dismay without any brake controller, nor towing mirrors, but most importantly without a diesel engine. Oh well, I'm lucky I got it in the first place, so off I go.
The US is such an incredible country. Such immense beauty in every corner. Starting up in WA state, fall has set in well, the scenery is breathtaking with all the colors that you can imagine, like a painting in the making.
I really dont like I-5, what a crappy piece of highway that is! Busy with all the loonie Canadians going mental driving in hordes to raid the shops around Bellingham and Seattle. The border wait was over an hour and the friendly officer looked at me, looked at the truck and asked me "are you going to tow from Texas?"
He could not really believe it! LOL...
Getting through I-5 and finally on to I-90 I'm greeted with some very steep mountain roads... I'm thinking..this is not good, this Ford is the first car that I have ever driven , where you press the gas pedal at speed and nothing happens!
Imagine with the tow... at any rate, I cant help loving the natural beauty, Yakima ( the wine country) is a very bizarre place. It lookslike it could be in Arizona, very bare and gray. Getting to the hills, the wines in full bloom most likely already harvested, its really a site to behold.
Overnight in Toronto Oregon, things are on schedule, but it downs on me that the next day is a 1000 miler... Next morning I fuel up, boy this truck consumes... and now I'm in Idaho heading South East. The interstate is a mess, and I feel shaken and stirred after bouncing up and down for what seemed to be forever. This truck is stiffly sprung, hopefully when I load it it will smooth out, but my old 2005 F-250 was riding much nicer than that unloaded. Mostly I felt like a milk shake, not a happy feeling and I must say I got a bit dizzy. Crossing into Utah was better, the scenery is the same baren, lots of land type, only now the mountains are red. The land in many places looks like its rippled, very bizarre. I'm almost thinking of stopping in Salt Lake and visit that damn Gelato place that has been on the AM radio for the past hour. What a torture to hear about how incredible that gelato is and what type of different flavors they serve! Reality check though and I had to cover the 1000 miles, so I turned on I-80 and into Wyoming. That was the first time I had been in that State, and while I had been in Utah before, the mountains there always kept me in awe state. So Wyoming was an even better awe moment! The same style of hills as in Utah but instead of being red, they are gray green! Very bizarre and so beautiful at the same time! Now you will say " this post is worthless without pics". Well, that is where the "almost" on my previous packing statement comes ... I forgot the memory card for the camera! I made sure I got the charger but I left the card in my home computer... Duh! So sorry no pics of the gray green hills! In Wyoming also there was the most bizarre of "new home" communities. As I approach a town that escapes me, in the gray/green barren hills, I can see the signs for a brand new community starting at xxxx $$$... It was below the 100's so I thought, makes sense, who wants to live here Pretty indeed but in the middle of nowhere in the dessert... So as the road twists and turns, I see what looked to be homes, on the hill side, neatly stacked offering dreamy views of the landscape... As I drive closer,,,they are all trailer homes
Continue driving on I-80 I see these barriers and signs around them like to chain up, road closed use blah blah... I get chills thinking of my return trip, I really did not know how high that road goes... I have been through the interstate that goes up 13000 in colorado and I knew there was no way to take that risk. So I keep on driving, it seems pretty flat, I'm thinking why would this road ever close? I see a sign, it says 7000 elevation, I'm startled. The road keeps on going gently up hill for a few miles, then it seems to flatten out an finally I see barriers on the other side... Im thinking this is ok even with snow, so now its time to go down hill... Its getting darker now and its raining heavily. Within half an hour its pitch black and pouring. What? Why we are going Uphill??? Low and behold the nice rainstorm becomes a snow storm! At this point I had driven about 800 miles and I REALLY did not need this! Visibility is zero, I see nothing ahead of me and we keep on going up! The storm is blowing pretty hard, huge chunks of snowflakes, the road is already covered in snow and there is snow rapidly accumulating on my truck! I switch to 4x4 and the truck has no problem plowing to what is now about 4-5 inches of snow on the road. We are crawling doing about 30mph at best, a couple of truckers play it brave and try to overtake the line of cars on the right. As they pass me, huge chunks of ice splutter on my window and windshield, I'm almost off the road as I cant see a thing! I make the mistake to fall a bit behind from the cars ahead of me and I literally see nothing... I dont see the road, I dont see any lines, nothing! And we keep going up... The truck seemed to do very well so I said screw it and sped up to reach the cars ahead of me. At least following them would have me see where I go ( hopefully not down the cliff!)
For the next 40 grueling miles, these are the conditions and they dont let up. I'm thinking there is no way I would tow back like that. Finally we started going down hill, the 7000 foot marker seems to be the magic number up here as below that it again became rain... So I speed up, still bouncing like a yo yo on the awful I-25 towards Denver. Finally exhausted I make it to Limon and my overnight stop. I crash at the hotel and today I was up checking the weather... Yeap... I'm going through California on the way back! Not only I-80 is going to be snowed, but the passes up in Washington are going to be snowed too! Great
The drive today was easier, through the flat lands of southern Colorado and Oklahoma. A nasty rain storm this morning had spikes all around me in Colorado but it was a piece of cake compared to the snowstorm last night.
Going through Texas I felt kind of revived, I love Texas and it still feels like home in a lot of ways. I have a Garmin nuvi thingy, very nifty I must say. It plotted my way through some back roads so to speak and I did not challenge it. I love going through the sleepy towns in Texas, some are really neat to see, some are depressing seeing then getting abandoned and run down. Plus, I still needed to buy a memory card for my camera...I knew I can count for the sacred halls of Wallmart to be somewhere and for sure I was not disappointed! Probably the biggest Wallmart I have ever seen, very fitting to be in Texas where everything is bigger
I snapped some pictures which I will try to attach in the second part of this post as now I'm completely wiped and I need to go to bed! Tomorrow is the big day! Finally I'm getting my car!
I also have to plot my way through NM, AZ, CA etc and try to find some relatively safe hotels to overnight with my truck and trailer in tow... Any recommendations for safe hotels or safe areas would be highly appreciated!
Sorry for the long post
As I only have a few days to squeeze in my busy schedule I decided to make the trek in 7 days from Vancouver BC to Houston and back! Yeap, its a 5000 mile trip that needs to be done in 7 days! So I thought to myself, easy enough, I'm doing it before the winter so weather should be A ok, I love long road trips, its doable.
So I set of Friday early afternoon, I was supposed to leave in the morning, but things got really hectic at the Hotel, a very boring conference call later and I was out the door. I had packed everything I needed ( or so I thought).
The plan was to do at least 500 miles on Friday, then 1000 miles each day and be Monday morning in Sealy, then start driving back doing the same route... Target to be Friday the 19th at the border to export/import the car and my trailer...
The towing machine is a new Ford F-250 , much to my dismay without any brake controller, nor towing mirrors, but most importantly without a diesel engine. Oh well, I'm lucky I got it in the first place, so off I go.
The US is such an incredible country. Such immense beauty in every corner. Starting up in WA state, fall has set in well, the scenery is breathtaking with all the colors that you can imagine, like a painting in the making.
I really dont like I-5, what a crappy piece of highway that is! Busy with all the loonie Canadians going mental driving in hordes to raid the shops around Bellingham and Seattle. The border wait was over an hour and the friendly officer looked at me, looked at the truck and asked me "are you going to tow from Texas?"
He could not really believe it! LOL...Getting through I-5 and finally on to I-90 I'm greeted with some very steep mountain roads... I'm thinking..this is not good, this Ford is the first car that I have ever driven , where you press the gas pedal at speed and nothing happens!
Imagine with the tow... at any rate, I cant help loving the natural beauty, Yakima ( the wine country) is a very bizarre place. It lookslike it could be in Arizona, very bare and gray. Getting to the hills, the wines in full bloom most likely already harvested, its really a site to behold.Overnight in Toronto Oregon, things are on schedule, but it downs on me that the next day is a 1000 miler... Next morning I fuel up, boy this truck consumes... and now I'm in Idaho heading South East. The interstate is a mess, and I feel shaken and stirred after bouncing up and down for what seemed to be forever. This truck is stiffly sprung, hopefully when I load it it will smooth out, but my old 2005 F-250 was riding much nicer than that unloaded. Mostly I felt like a milk shake, not a happy feeling and I must say I got a bit dizzy. Crossing into Utah was better, the scenery is the same baren, lots of land type, only now the mountains are red. The land in many places looks like its rippled, very bizarre. I'm almost thinking of stopping in Salt Lake and visit that damn Gelato place that has been on the AM radio for the past hour. What a torture to hear about how incredible that gelato is and what type of different flavors they serve! Reality check though and I had to cover the 1000 miles, so I turned on I-80 and into Wyoming. That was the first time I had been in that State, and while I had been in Utah before, the mountains there always kept me in awe state. So Wyoming was an even better awe moment! The same style of hills as in Utah but instead of being red, they are gray green! Very bizarre and so beautiful at the same time! Now you will say " this post is worthless without pics". Well, that is where the "almost" on my previous packing statement comes ... I forgot the memory card for the camera! I made sure I got the charger but I left the card in my home computer... Duh! So sorry no pics of the gray green hills! In Wyoming also there was the most bizarre of "new home" communities. As I approach a town that escapes me, in the gray/green barren hills, I can see the signs for a brand new community starting at xxxx $$$... It was below the 100's so I thought, makes sense, who wants to live here
Pretty indeed but in the middle of nowhere in the dessert... So as the road twists and turns, I see what looked to be homes, on the hill side, neatly stacked offering dreamy views of the landscape... As I drive closer,,,they are all trailer homes Continue driving on I-80 I see these barriers and signs around them like to chain up, road closed use blah blah... I get chills thinking of my return trip, I really did not know how high that road goes... I have been through the interstate that goes up 13000 in colorado and I knew there was no way to take that risk. So I keep on driving, it seems pretty flat, I'm thinking why would this road ever close? I see a sign, it says 7000 elevation, I'm startled. The road keeps on going gently up hill for a few miles, then it seems to flatten out an finally I see barriers on the other side... Im thinking this is ok even with snow, so now its time to go down hill... Its getting darker now and its raining heavily. Within half an hour its pitch black and pouring. What? Why we are going Uphill??? Low and behold the nice rainstorm becomes a snow storm! At this point I had driven about 800 miles and I REALLY did not need this! Visibility is zero, I see nothing ahead of me and we keep on going up! The storm is blowing pretty hard, huge chunks of snowflakes, the road is already covered in snow and there is snow rapidly accumulating on my truck! I switch to 4x4 and the truck has no problem plowing to what is now about 4-5 inches of snow on the road. We are crawling doing about 30mph at best, a couple of truckers play it brave and try to overtake the line of cars on the right. As they pass me, huge chunks of ice splutter on my window and windshield, I'm almost off the road as I cant see a thing! I make the mistake to fall a bit behind from the cars ahead of me and I literally see nothing... I dont see the road, I dont see any lines, nothing! And we keep going up... The truck seemed to do very well so I said screw it and sped up to reach the cars ahead of me. At least following them would have me see where I go ( hopefully not down the cliff!)
For the next 40 grueling miles, these are the conditions and they dont let up. I'm thinking there is no way I would tow back like that. Finally we started going down hill, the 7000 foot marker seems to be the magic number up here as below that it again became rain... So I speed up, still bouncing like a yo yo on the awful I-25 towards Denver. Finally exhausted I make it to Limon and my overnight stop. I crash at the hotel and today I was up checking the weather... Yeap... I'm going through California on the way back! Not only I-80 is going to be snowed, but the passes up in Washington are going to be snowed too! Great
The drive today was easier, through the flat lands of southern Colorado and Oklahoma. A nasty rain storm this morning had spikes all around me in Colorado but it was a piece of cake compared to the snowstorm last night.
Going through Texas I felt kind of revived, I love Texas and it still feels like home in a lot of ways. I have a Garmin nuvi thingy, very nifty I must say. It plotted my way through some back roads so to speak and I did not challenge it. I love going through the sleepy towns in Texas, some are really neat to see, some are depressing seeing then getting abandoned and run down. Plus, I still needed to buy a memory card for my camera...I knew I can count for the sacred halls of Wallmart to be somewhere and for sure I was not disappointed! Probably the biggest Wallmart I have ever seen, very fitting to be in Texas where everything is bigger
I snapped some pictures which I will try to attach in the second part of this post as now I'm completely wiped and I need to go to bed! Tomorrow is the big day! Finally I'm getting my car!
I also have to plot my way through NM, AZ, CA etc and try to find some relatively safe hotels to overnight with my truck and trailer in tow... Any recommendations for safe hotels or safe areas would be highly appreciated!
Sorry for the long post
10-15-2007, 02:19 AM
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I have done plenty of this in my 993, but never in a 
F-250. I can't believe you're doing it again.
F-250. I can't believe you're doing it again.
10-15-2007, 03:59 AM
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Hi Danny,
I am very sorry for not coming with you, I just could not take the time off. Drive very safely and get as much sleep as possible...you don't want to drift off! I am looking forward to seeing this car that I have heard about for the last 2 years....are we going to swap that race engine into your cab for fun?? :-)
Post pictures if you have time, if not keep your eyes on the road and get back to Vancouver,
Cheers,
Mike
I am very sorry for not coming with you, I just could not take the time off. Drive very safely and get as much sleep as possible...you don't want to drift off! I am looking forward to seeing this car that I have heard about for the last 2 years....are we going to swap that race engine into your cab for fun?? :-)
Post pictures if you have time, if not keep your eyes on the road and get back to Vancouver,
Cheers,
Mike
10-15-2007, 10:25 AM
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Danny, my offer to you years ago still stands, if your ever in the area of SoCal, your welcome to stay at my place!! travel safe!!
10-15-2007, 01:36 PM
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Danny,
Your snowy experience reminded me of out trip to the Grand Canyon about 10 years back, in April (Easter if I recall correctly). We left Vegas late, tried to make it to Williams. We were in a rental minivan, and it snowed like the Dickens. I could not see a thing. That was a one-lane windy mountain road, with virtually no shoulders. If I got stuck, I was stuck in the middle of the road. The kids were small and they did not perceive any danger. I was sweating bullets. Lucky we made it.
Three days at Grand Canyon, and we did not see past 20 yards as it snowed so bad. We hit all the gift shops and the Imax multiple times to kill the time.
I can see in my mind's eyes your anxiety trying to get through the blizzard. Please be safe for the rest of the trip.
CP
Your snowy experience reminded me of out trip to the Grand Canyon about 10 years back, in April (Easter if I recall correctly). We left Vegas late, tried to make it to Williams. We were in a rental minivan, and it snowed like the Dickens. I could not see a thing. That was a one-lane windy mountain road, with virtually no shoulders. If I got stuck, I was stuck in the middle of the road. The kids were small and they did not perceive any danger. I was sweating bullets. Lucky we made it.
Three days at Grand Canyon, and we did not see past 20 yards as it snowed so bad. We hit all the gift shops and the Imax multiple times to kill the time.
I can see in my mind's eyes your anxiety trying to get through the blizzard. Please be safe for the rest of the trip.
CP
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10-17-2007, 04:03 AM
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Hi Danny,
I am very sorry for not coming with you, I just could not take the time off. Drive very safely and get as much sleep as possible...you don't want to drift off! I am looking forward to seeing this car that I have heard about for the last 2 years....are we going to swap that race engine into your cab for fun?? :-)
Post pictures if you have time, if not keep your eyes on the road and get back to Vancouver,
Cheers,
Mike
I am very sorry for not coming with you, I just could not take the time off. Drive very safely and get as much sleep as possible...you don't want to drift off! I am looking forward to seeing this car that I have heard about for the last 2 years....are we going to swap that race engine into your cab for fun?? :-)
Post pictures if you have time, if not keep your eyes on the road and get back to Vancouver,
Cheers,
Mike
So... needless to say that every trip I do becomes an adventure... So I made it to Houston yesterday and was greeted warmly by Mike MC and Warren at Rennsport in Sealy. It felt like I was coming to see family... Amazing people indeed and they are a big part of why I miss Texas. For the first time in 2.1/2 years I laid my eyes on my race car, all ready to go perfectly aligned sitting on the rack inside the shop waiting for me. What a sight to see especially since my last memory of how my car looked was very sad...
Had to run into town , do errants, get registrations, insurance and a brake controller... run like a headless chicken all day long.. to make things worse a wicked thunderstorm fell upon us, I got drenched one too many time. The whole storm thing and all the running I had to do resulted me in leaving the shop at about 7.00pm. I needed to make it at least to San Antonio as this southern route is longer by at least 200 miles.
So here I am, chugging along, the wicked thunderstorm all around me pouring buckets of water. The truck is actually doing really well , to my surprise and the equalizer tow hitch system makes the tow a dream. It tows straight and true, no wagging when the trucks pass me etc.
Finally the rain is letting up , its still pitch black and I'm in the middle of nowhere on I-10. All of a sudden I hear a bang and feel the truck dipping on the left... I pulled to the side of the road.. i go out and what do I see? One of the trailer tires had exploded... and of course it had to be on the left side so I would be next to the right lane on the highway in total darkness... Before the tow I was thinking of changing all the tires on the trailer as a precaution as they were on the trailer at least for 3 years and God knows how long before that...I did not have time to do it and now I was paying for it... regardless I made sure that I bought a tire sealant and recharged my trusty cordless impact gun. I also bought a new 6 ton jack to be able to lift the trailer... What I did not remember was a tire pump! So after the blowout I was beating myself for not having an air pump with me! With that in mind it was clear that I had to call for help. Luckily I had signal, barely, and called AAA. 10 minutes for them to understand where I am and in the process I realize that I'm running low on battery! I call quickly my wife and tell her where I am and for her to follow up with them. The tow guy calls me and I tell him where I am.. the battery is dying and i make a last call to my wife to be on their case... Then the phone dies... Its 9.00pm. I wait and wait. I go to the trailer and get the jack, the impact gun etc. I find a flash light and it works! go out, some truckers they scare the living daylights out of me passing me doing 70mph right next to me...I try to take the tire off, its impossible. The impact cannot brake the lugs loose...get the crow bar, nothing... I figure..at least I can raise the trailer and have it ready so i cna save time when help comes. The jack cannot lift the trailer high enough as I have pulled too far right and the trailer is tilted a bit. No option however to move the trailer as that would put me right into the oncoming traffic... So I'm depressed and the time is 10.00pm.. I go out again and check the spares. Both dry rotted tires. I check the pressure it shows 20 psi.... great... I go back to the trailer and go through every drawer and nook and cranny. Low and behold hidden behind some towels there is an air pump! Its also a 'trucker" type so it can inflate tires up to 90 PSI!!! With renewed hope I take the best spare out and inflate it. All the while I'm really freaked out in the middle of nowhere and it starts raining... I get the crow bar out again and try to take the lugs out. Nothing again... its 11 pm and I'm soaked... get back in the truck and try to wait patiently...I give myself till midnight. after that I got to find a way to brake loose the lug nuts! Midnight came and gone no help in sight... the rain stopped and now I'm really tired, really cranky and pissed off at AAA. I find a piece of wood and put it on top of the jack. I also used my race jack to initially lift the trailer so I can slip in the combo under. Thanks GOD that all my tools were in the trailer! Lift the trailer, it barely lifts enough the rear tire which was blown, but it will do the trick. Then I remember Robert H's words from our last trip to Putnam where we had a blow out and we put the good tire on the rear and the spare in front as the rear tire takes the most load... With my dry rotted tire I could not afford another blow out. So..great another tire to brake loose! You know that when someone is really pissed off it it true that he gets almost superhuman power... I was determined not to get stuck there with the coyotes! In the process of finally braking all the lug nuts loose, I twisted the crow bar if you can imagine!!! An hour later, still no help from AAA, the tires are on and I start driving all the while praying for not another blowout... 3.30am exhausted, I arrive at the hotel.
So this morning with 4 hours of sleep and 5 new radial tires from discount tire I made it outside Tuscon in AZ... The tow went very well, the new tires do make a difference, I can blow by trucks without a single movement... West Texas is very beautiful and I was lucky to witness one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen outside of El Paso TX...
Below are pics. You can see the exploded tire, Mike Callas and Warren of Rennsport Sealy, plus various pics of my car and Texas:
10-17-2007, 10:37 AM
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Must say I love the midwestern sunsets!! Glad your back on the road, glad you got a memory card to provide us pictures with Travel safe!
Travel safe!
10-17-2007, 12:14 PM
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Great story Danny, I am glad nothing bad happened and you got the trailer all fixed up. Just make sure you don't get sleepy on those long straight stretches....
Is the car streetable?
Cheers,
Mike
Is the car streetable?
Cheers,
Mike
10-17-2007, 02:56 PM
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Danny...Great update. What a scary experience, but I'm glad you got the tire fixed and back on the road. The pictures look just like Texas as I remember it. Safe trip and be careful.
10-19-2007, 07:36 PM
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Finally I made it home in one piece.! 
5347.7 miles in 7 days , 84 hours and 39 minutes of driving at an average speed of 63.2 miles per hour.
What a trip that was! It was an adventure that I will remember forever...
I left Tuscon on Wednesday morning and the goal for that day was to cover 950 miles to Sacramento. The morning tow went very well. In the long straights of Arizona I made good speed and stopped only for gas. The whole trip actually went this way, I have not had an actual meal in 7 days... At any rate the occasional a-hole trucker aside ( how rude some of them are) I entered California early afternoon. I knew I was in California as the first billboard after the agricultural inspection was for Plastic Surgery! $50.00 bucks a month
I was making good time and with the new trailer tires, I was confident. I was not sure about the traffic outside of LA, but I figured I would be ok. My Garmin GPS prompted me to take another highway, I thought, oh maybe a shortcut to I-5. My plan was to go to I-10 and then I-5 and to avoid the Mohave Dessert as on the radio it said that 2 days ago 2 people got killed in an accident due to the severe sand storms there... Little did I know that my stupid GPS was taking me EXACTLY through the same Highway 58 that the accident took place!!! When I realized what was happening it was way too late. I was up on the mountains on I-15 and then onto the Mohave dessert... The sand storm was wicked. I could barely keep the rig straight doing 40mph. On some sections of the highway the sand was blowing very hard as through a vacuum, for a moment it was like driving through a sand wall , zero visibility for a few brief seconds...For the next 3 hours, it was one of the scariest driving experiences I have ever had. Once I got through the dessert, it was up on the mountains again, big warning signs about campers and RV's not recommended to drive due to extreme winds, I soldiered on and as it was getting dark I finally got through that as well... Now way delayed and still swearing profanities at my GPS, I knew I had to keep pressing on and cover as much ground as I could. Finally at about midnight after 17 hours of driving I was really exhausted. I made it to Stockton just outside of Sacramento. I pulled into a Comfort Inn for the night as it was the only hotel that actually had trailer parking in the area! I pull up at the front and go in through a side door. There behind a safety glass, the hotel clerk greeted me. A security officer was also there and the whole setup made me very nervous about how safe the place is. I have no clue which are the safe places in California and this one did not look like one of them.. I ask him of all that and he said that since they employed 2 security officers they do not have any problems. Went out back to the truck and contemplated. I called every big chain hotel in Sacramento in search of a safe parking... not a single one has space for my rig... I thought of keep on driving, but I was really tired and I would not be safe for me or anyone else on the road. So reluctantly I decided to stay. Get my room keys and then drove the truck behind the building where there was space. To my relief the 2nd security officer was parked there! I slip him a 20 and I tell him that if my rig is there untouched in the am there will be another installment dor him to deposit in his bank account He was funny and his eyes turned green from thinking of the second deposit He promised to stay next to the truck all night! And he did! I crashed and burned so to speak, the time was about 1.30 am... 6.00am the alarm rings, I'm still tired but I drag myself to the shower and off I go. That day ( yesterday ) I had to cover another 950 miles to the border so I can overnight there and go through Customs the next morning.
The adventure of the day came at the California/Oregon mountains. It was pouring rain and at a certain point we were in dense fog! Great I thought, like I needed another Mohave experience... High winds, rain and fog made the next 2 hours again very interesting to say the least... Passed that the wind and rain continued all the way to Seattle. I did not make my target again as I was again wiped driving another 17 hours, but I made it to Everett and got my first good night sleep ( straight 8 hours) of the week!
This morning the Customs experience was actually a breeze and Andrew from our local Porsche club met me at the border and helped me unload the rig at my home.
Finally she is here and I really cant believe what I did in the past 7 days. There are so many little things and experiences along the way that I must say it was well worth it. It put a lot of things in perspective for sure, but I would not do it again... that is until the next time
Finally some pics from the Arizona dessert , the start of the Mohave dessert road ( you could see the dust clouds ahead as I could not snap pics while I was fighting the winds , Outside of Edwards AF base sunset and the Oregon Grants pass)
5347.7 miles in 7 days , 84 hours and 39 minutes of driving at an average speed of 63.2 miles per hour.
What a trip that was! It was an adventure that I will remember forever...
I left Tuscon on Wednesday morning and the goal for that day was to cover 950 miles to Sacramento. The morning tow went very well. In the long straights of Arizona I made good speed and stopped only for gas. The whole trip actually went this way, I have not had an actual meal in 7 days... At any rate the occasional a-hole trucker aside ( how rude some of them are) I entered California early afternoon. I knew I was in California as the first billboard after the agricultural inspection was for Plastic Surgery! $50.00 bucks a month
I was making good time and with the new trailer tires, I was confident. I was not sure about the traffic outside of LA, but I figured I would be ok. My Garmin GPS prompted me to take another highway, I thought, oh maybe a shortcut to I-5. My plan was to go to I-10 and then I-5 and to avoid the Mohave Dessert as on the radio it said that 2 days ago 2 people got killed in an accident due to the severe sand storms there... Little did I know that my stupid GPS was taking me EXACTLY through the same Highway 58 that the accident took place!!! When I realized what was happening it was way too late. I was up on the mountains on I-15 and then onto the Mohave dessert... The sand storm was wicked. I could barely keep the rig straight doing 40mph. On some sections of the highway the sand was blowing very hard as through a vacuum, for a moment it was like driving through a sand wall , zero visibility for a few brief seconds...For the next 3 hours, it was one of the scariest driving experiences I have ever had. Once I got through the dessert, it was up on the mountains again, big warning signs about campers and RV's not recommended to drive due to extreme winds, I soldiered on and as it was getting dark I finally got through that as well... Now way delayed and still swearing profanities at my GPS, I knew I had to keep pressing on and cover as much ground as I could. Finally at about midnight after 17 hours of driving I was really exhausted. I made it to Stockton just outside of Sacramento. I pulled into a Comfort Inn for the night as it was the only hotel that actually had trailer parking in the area! I pull up at the front and go in through a side door. There behind a safety glass, the hotel clerk greeted me. A security officer was also there and the whole setup made me very nervous about how safe the place is. I have no clue which are the safe places in California and this one did not look like one of them.. I ask him of all that and he said that since they employed 2 security officers they do not have any problems. Went out back to the truck and contemplated. I called every big chain hotel in Sacramento in search of a safe parking... not a single one has space for my rig... I thought of keep on driving, but I was really tired and I would not be safe for me or anyone else on the road. So reluctantly I decided to stay. Get my room keys and then drove the truck behind the building where there was space. To my relief the 2nd security officer was parked there! I slip him a 20 and I tell him that if my rig is there untouched in the am there will be another installment dor him to deposit in his bank account
He was funny and his eyes turned green from thinking of the second deposit He promised to stay next to the truck all night! And he did! I crashed and burned so to speak, the time was about 1.30 am... 6.00am the alarm rings, I'm still tired but I drag myself to the shower and off I go. That day ( yesterday ) I had to cover another 950 miles to the border so I can overnight there and go through Customs the next morning.The adventure of the day came at the California/Oregon mountains. It was pouring rain and at a certain point we were in dense fog! Great I thought, like I needed another Mohave experience... High winds, rain and fog made the next 2 hours again very interesting to say the least... Passed that the wind and rain continued all the way to Seattle. I did not make my target again as I was again wiped driving another 17 hours, but I made it to Everett and got my first good night sleep ( straight 8 hours) of the week!
This morning the Customs experience was actually a breeze and Andrew from our local Porsche club met me at the border and helped me unload the rig at my home.
Finally she is here and I really cant believe what I did in the past 7 days. There are so many little things and experiences along the way that I must say it was well worth it. It put a lot of things in perspective for sure, but I would not do it again... that is until the next time
Finally some pics from the Arizona dessert , the start of the Mohave dessert road ( you could see the dust clouds ahead as I could not snap pics while I was fighting the winds
, Outside of Edwards AF base sunset and the Oregon Grants pass)
10-19-2007, 09:02 PM
#14
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Welcome back Danny. Your baby is home safely and so are you...Good Job!!! What a trip and thanks for the story. Those kind of road trips are what great memories are made of...especially when pulling a race car is involved. Glad your home!
10-19-2007, 09:12 PM
#15
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