road trip recos
Good to have another 993 in Kirkland, hope to see you around.
06-14-2009, 11:05 AM
#18
Track Day
Thread Starter
alrighty, about to roll out from grand rapids, mi, after a night of way too much drinking and partying... the germans definitely do know how to do it 
got to put everything into streets and trips, gonna finish up packing, and bunny is ready to go
planning to get to denver in two days, while the following week will be spent on the fun roads. w00t. will post pictures...
some comments below...
cheers (& happy trails!),
pen
added
sweet! i've been through leadville before... right now my route has me going south of grand junction... continuing along 133 to 95/24/12 via escalante and the grand staircase national monument. it looks interesting on a map... haven't done it before though...
bryce canyon is gorgeous, yup! it's along the way and i will be making a stop there. the first half of the trip i will try to straight shot as much as possible. mmmeh. sorry middle america! i'll see what time we are passing through lexington as well. +rt 49... this looks particularly squiggly on the map, hurrah. come to think of it i think i may have been through here before... oo... 
hrmmmm i think that will be a bit too out of the way... perhaps for next time
hrmmm... another one that i'll have to save for a ride or road trip later
got to put everything into streets and trips, gonna finish up packing, and bunny is ready to go
planning to get to denver in two days, while the following week will be spent on the fun roads. w00t. will post pictures...
some comments below...
cheers (& happy trails!),
pen
Stop in Grand Junction Co, and drive through the National Monument there. There are a few tunnels and lot's of twisty roads. Just look out for all of the cyclists.
Also, a suggestion is to take the back road to Aspen via Leadville CO and go over independence pass into Aspen. You turn off on I-70 at Copper Mt. This route is actually shorter.
Then the back road from Aspen to Delta Colorado then to Grand Junction and you will back on I-70. From Aspen go to Carbondale, then Paoina and to Delta. Between Aspen and Delta is Marble Colorado, Redstone Castle. Watch out for the cows on the road. The cowboys have figured out that the road is better suited for moving cattle then cars. The scenery is great. You can see the back of Aspen's Maroon bell. You may be able to get some Paoina gold.
Also, a suggestion is to take the back road to Aspen via Leadville CO and go over independence pass into Aspen. You turn off on I-70 at Copper Mt. This route is actually shorter.
Then the back road from Aspen to Delta Colorado then to Grand Junction and you will back on I-70. From Aspen go to Carbondale, then Paoina and to Delta. Between Aspen and Delta is Marble Colorado, Redstone Castle. Watch out for the cows on the road. The cowboys have figured out that the road is better suited for moving cattle then cars. The scenery is great. You can see the back of Aspen's Maroon bell. You may be able to get some Paoina gold.
Your plan looks pretty good. As you can tell, there is not much in the way of good roads on the first half of your trip, or at least none that I found. I do have a few simple suggestions:
1) Check out the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles in Lexington, NE (http://www.heartlandmuseum.com/aboutus/index.html). We just stumbled into this on our trip and it is a worthwhile stop. They have an impressive collection of stuff. It is right off Route 80, and there is really not much else going on in that part of the drive so it is a good way to break up the trip.
2) It goes without saying that after Colorado you need to pass through Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah. Budget some extra time for this portion. You'll find some entertaining roads, but more than that, the scenery is just stunning.
3) Your current route seems to have you passing through Yosemite on Route 120. This is good, however, rather than continuing West, budget some extra time and head South to Route 41 after you pass through Aspen Valley and take it down to Oakhurst. From Oakhurst, take Route 49 North through the gold country region of California. You can stay on Route 49 until you get roughly as far North as Sacramento. The road is stellar, in my opinion, probably the best stretch of sports car road in the state. There are some interesting gold rush towns you can stay in along the way, like Sonora. There are also a lot of good side roads off of Route 49. I could easily spend a few days in that area thrashing all of the backroads.
In terms of preparation, it sounds like you have a lot of good advice already. I really didn't prepare much and had no problems. Of course, GPS, a cell phone, and a AAA membership with towing coverage can cover a lot of potential problems. The things that I made sure I had were a spare alternator and fan belt, as well as the required tools to change the belts if necessary.
Have a great trip.
-Ruben
1) Check out the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles in Lexington, NE (http://www.heartlandmuseum.com/aboutus/index.html). We just stumbled into this on our trip and it is a worthwhile stop. They have an impressive collection of stuff. It is right off Route 80, and there is really not much else going on in that part of the drive so it is a good way to break up the trip.
2) It goes without saying that after Colorado you need to pass through Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah. Budget some extra time for this portion. You'll find some entertaining roads, but more than that, the scenery is just stunning.
3) Your current route seems to have you passing through Yosemite on Route 120. This is good, however, rather than continuing West, budget some extra time and head South to Route 41 after you pass through Aspen Valley and take it down to Oakhurst. From Oakhurst, take Route 49 North through the gold country region of California. You can stay on Route 49 until you get roughly as far North as Sacramento. The road is stellar, in my opinion, probably the best stretch of sports car road in the state. There are some interesting gold rush towns you can stay in along the way, like Sonora. There are also a lot of good side roads off of Route 49. I could easily spend a few days in that area thrashing all of the backroads.
In terms of preparation, it sounds like you have a lot of good advice already. I really didn't prepare much and had no problems. Of course, GPS, a cell phone, and a AAA membership with towing coverage can cover a lot of potential problems. The things that I made sure I had were a spare alternator and fan belt, as well as the required tools to change the belts if necessary.
Have a great trip.
-Ruben
hrmmm... another one that i'll have to save for a ride or road trip later
06-14-2009, 11:25 AM
#19
alrighty, about to roll out from grand rapids, mi, after a night of way too much drinking and partying... the germans definitely do know how to do it
got to put everything into streets and trips, gonna finish up packing, and bunny is ready to go
planning to get to denver in two days, while the following week will be spent on the fun roads. w00t. will post pictures...
some comments below...
cheers (& happy trails!),
pen
added
sweet! i've been through leadville before... right now my route has me going south of grand junction... continuing along 133 to 95/24/12 via escalante and the grand staircase national monument. it looks interesting on a map... haven't done it before though...
hrmmm... another one that i'll have to save for a ride or road trip later
got to put everything into streets and trips, gonna finish up packing, and bunny is ready to go
planning to get to denver in two days, while the following week will be spent on the fun roads. w00t. will post pictures...
some comments below...
cheers (& happy trails!),
pen
added
sweet! i've been through leadville before... right now my route has me going south of grand junction... continuing along 133 to 95/24/12 via escalante and the grand staircase national monument. it looks interesting on a map... haven't done it before though...
hrmmm... another one that i'll have to save for a ride or road trip later
The other option is from Denver south to Durnago an then Silverton and telluride. This is via the million dollar highway. You may show chains / tires even in the summer. The road from Denver to Durango is called the gun barrel. Pretty much a straight shot down 285. Head out to Conifer from denver.
06-14-2009, 03:48 PM
#21
Rennlist Member
06-16-2009, 12:50 PM
#22
Track Day
Thread Starter
day 1. grand rapids, mi to lexington, ne
day 2: lexington, ne to montrose, co
day 2 detail... independence pass...
awesome burgers in denver... best in town!
sigh. necessary stop. bridgestones it is.
eisenhower tunnel, co
leadville! as featured in warren miller films:
zoink #2:
....and today is day 3!
day 2: lexington, ne to montrose, co
day 2 detail... independence pass...
awesome burgers in denver... best in town!
sigh. necessary stop. bridgestones it is.
eisenhower tunnel, co
leadville! as featured in warren miller films:
zoink #2:
....and today is day 3!
Last edited by penpen; 06-23-2009 at 05:25 PM.
06-16-2009, 05:05 PM
#25
Nordschleife Master
LOOKS LIKE FUN!! Did you really get pulled over 2x already? You also get some new tires?
Seams like you'll need a good detail on the car when you get it home.
Seams like you'll need a good detail on the car when you get it home.
06-16-2009, 05:22 PM
#26
bryce canyon is really just a drive through, a couple places to pull over and walk to see the crazy hoodoos.
the real gem is zion national park.
its worth a day to get a hike in at zion, angels landing is mostly paved, extremely steep and actually scary in some spots.
if you get to zion early enough you could get a leg stretching hike in and be back on the road and out of tourist madness by 3pm.
and of course at that point you are only a few hours to the grand canyon.
more tourist madness.
the real gem is zion national park.
its worth a day to get a hike in at zion, angels landing is mostly paved, extremely steep and actually scary in some spots.
if you get to zion early enough you could get a leg stretching hike in and be back on the road and out of tourist madness by 3pm.
and of course at that point you are only a few hours to the grand canyon.
more tourist madness.
06-16-2009, 10:32 PM
#28
Those round tunnels is in Paonia CO.
If you are in Grand Junction go to main street. There is a great Italian place, il bistro italiano..
last time I was there I got stopped a few times too. Stopped twice by the same cop in Marble, CO. A 911 sticks out like a sore thumb.
If you are in Grand Junction go to main street. There is a great Italian place, il bistro italiano..
last time I was there I got stopped a few times too. Stopped twice by the same cop in Marble, CO. A 911 sticks out like a sore thumb.
06-16-2009, 10:48 PM
#29
Track Day
Thread Starter
sitting in a mexican restaurant in page, az right now, drinking some well earned cervezas
will throw up some more pics later!!! no souvenirs from the local PDs today, a few heart stopping moments though.
seriously, 65 speed limits going through the desert? psh!
and yes, bunny is in SUCH dire need of a detail. it makes me sad. i'm prolly gonna take her through a coin op touchless shortly.
this is what we are thinking for tomorrow... may bypass the grand canyon since we've been through before, but also thinking of taking the north route through via marble canyon and zion np, but the grand staircase looks neat too.
thoughts? choose your own adventure, haha
will throw up some more pics later!!! no souvenirs from the local PDs today, a few heart stopping moments though.
seriously, 65 speed limits going through the desert? psh! and yes, bunny is in SUCH dire need of a detail. it makes me sad. i'm prolly gonna take her through a coin op touchless shortly.
this is what we are thinking for tomorrow... may bypass the grand canyon since we've been through before, but also thinking of taking the north route through via marble canyon and zion np, but the grand staircase looks neat too.
thoughts? choose your own adventure, haha
