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I have always wanted to take my car out west to stretch its legs amid the incredible desert and mountain scenery. It is an exercise in frustration to drive it around here although the twisties in the north GA and western NC mountains are quite fun (albeit in 2nd and 3rd gear). My thought is to ship my car to Denver or thereabouts, fly out there, pick it up, drive it for a week on epic roads and amazing scenery at slightly illegal speeds, then ship it back. I don't have the time to take 2-3 days on either side of the trip to drive it out there and back and would prefer not to rack up too many miles if I can avoid it. A couple of my driving buddies are interested in making the trip too.
If anyone on this board has done anything like this I would love to hear your thoughts. Suggestions on places to ship that would hold our cars until we flew in, suggested routes, etc. Thanks!
I’d join you on a drive here in Colorado. My wife and I drive down to Telluride and along the million dollar highway once a year or so. Just beautiful.
All the cross country drives I've done have involved buying a car followed by the drive home. Great times, but not ideal as the mission is to get home and the car is foreign at the start.
A friend and Indy shop owner suggested a really cool strategy, as follows.
-drive the car 8 or 10 hours or for a weekend, then store it at a reputable storage place, fly 1 way back home. Fly back to the car and drive to the next destination city. Essentially continue to do this until you're at the destination you want. So, from MIchigan, in my case it might leg through Nashville, Little Rock, Dallas, Phoenix, to eventually get to Dana Point, CA. Then Plan a week to drive from Dana Point to San Fran or Seattle. Ship the car home from there or drive through the square states. Lots of effort, but you can take a summer and lots of 1 way flights to make it happen.
I've been wanting to drive the PCH in my 911's and I don't know the best way to do it. Subscribed for thoughts!
Great idea, and there are plenty of epic roads out here in the Southwest to push a Turbo on. Lots of options.
I would drop off the car in ABQ, which would allow you some great drives North up in Northern New Mexico (Santa Fe, Taos), then work your way up to Durango (where I live), do the Million Dollar Highway around to Telluride (3 passes above 10,000 ft. elev.), epic driving. After that you could venture west into Monument Valley, then turn back south to ABQ. This combination would give you everything from Autobahn straights where you could touch top speed (if you dare), to 20 mph posted twisties, with mountain views that will blow you away and have you smiling with every corner.
I know of a very good Transporter with a two car enclosed hauler, who my Porsche friends and I use exclusively. When he texts you and says he will arrive at 8:15 am, and then shows up 15 minutes early with your car exactly as it was loaded, its pretty cool. Id even roll with you in my TTS for part of the way PM if you would like more details.
I’d join you on a drive here in Colorado. My wife and I drive down to Telluride and along the million dollar highway once a year or so. Just beautiful.
Thanks for the responses everyone! Coincidentally I was just in Santa Fe for a long weekend several weeks ago. I can see why the roads north of there were recommended. Sadly, I was in a rented Yukon though. Maybe a point to point from Albuquerque to Denver? Given schedules it will probably be next summer before we can do it which gives us lots of time to figure out an itinerary.
I just got home this afternoon driving my 2010 TT from Denver to Boise, Idaho. 4 states in 2 days and it was fantastic. This is the second time I've done that drive but this was the first in the Porsche so I took some scenic routes. Day one I drove from Denver to Bear Lake in Utah. Going through Wyoming on state highways was great. The scenic vistas and deserted roads allowed for some GREAT driving. Leaving Utah this morning was just as great.....a twisty canyon drive into Logan with virtually no traffic (Sunday morning in Utah). Also, if you head West during the summer, think about Oregon and Washington as well.....lots of amazing scenery and it doesn't get too hot in the summer months. I'd recommend researching routes and using google earth and google maps to get a visual of the drive and some of the places you might want to check out. Hope it comes together for you as I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I live in Dallas and have done exactly what you're considering before. Shipped the carrera gt and 993tt to Denver and went west from there. I have a good friend who lives just south of Denver so care before I flew in wasn't an issue.
There are hundreds of miles of great roads in Colorado, including those mentioned in previous posts. Finding them will be the easy part.
If you use one of the big shippers like Reliable, they'll only be able to give you estimated arrival dates so I'd suggest finding a friend to receive/hold the car for you. I'd also suggest getting your driving buddies to commit. These are so much more fun with a few others.
It was a very memorable trip and well worth the effort.
Also, if you head West during the summer, think about Oregon and Washington as well.....lots of amazing scenery and it doesn't get too hot in the summer months. I'd recommend researching routes and using google earth and google maps to get a visual of the drive and some of the places you might want to check out.
Last year about this time, I did 10 days on the PCH. Drove from Las Vegas, NV to Astoria, OR to Santa Barbra, CA, then back home to Las Vegas. Look up my trip post for some great ideas!!!
05-05-2018, 10:29 PM
Western road trip dreams
PM if you would like more details.
