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Last year I posted a thread on our 8,000 mile road trip in our 2014 CD Platinum Editon and I was chided by some on this board for lack of pictures. We are off again starting in Florida on our first leg for a stopover in Colorado. I prepped with a new set of Michelin Latitude Tour HPs from Costco (don't laugh, I've had great luck with Costco tires) and a nice oil change at Suncoast Porsche in Sarasota ($199 plus add blue; decent price).
On the first day we followed US 98 all the way up the Florida coast and along the panhandle. Very nice drive. Today we pulled into the Vicksburg National Battlefield State Park before stopping in east Texas. We noted tons of flood waters through AL, MS, LA from the recent rainstorms.
Safe and happy motoring. Takes lots of pics...man I wish that I lived near that Sarasota Porsche dealer and his $199 oil change. My parents used to live in the Meadows and then in Tara in Bradenton. Great part of FL.
Driving in Texas is getting to be fun. Not only are the freeways posted at 75 mph (and some 80), the back roads are too. Did about 100 miles on Texas route 86 which is a two lane road with traffic in both directions and it's posted at 75 mph too. You can make some time, but then it is a really big state. I'm feeling a little lonely as we haven't seen another Porsche for two days. Diesel so far around $2.00 and as low as $1.79. Photo below is near the entrance to Palo Duro State Park near Amarillo. It took awhile to find a longhorn for the photo op.
Very nice photos. Hopefully you will take many photos to share them with us. Is it just you and the lady? How many days are you guys thinking of traveling?
We will be on the road in spurts of a few days, then stay a few days to a week or two in some places. The total trip will be likely around a month or so. Haven't decided for sure yet. We are in Colorado Springs for tonight then off to Breckenridge for four nights. From there to Idaho and probably Washington. I have my bride of 33 years and our black lab(ish), Clover, along for the ride. Clover gave the longhorn a piece of her mind yesterday.
No Porsches in sight again today, but we did see Pikes Peak as we approached Colorado Springs from the south. No Porsche owner could pass that up so we took a left turn and up we went. Beautiful drive and scenery. They did stop us at the 11,500 foot level due to snow. I was driving a Cayenne, which I love, but I found myself thinking how I would attack this turn or that in my 964 Targa. Here's a couple shots from the climb.
We've made it to Breckenridge where they have three feet of powder in the last three days. If you find yourself approaching Denver from the south and your aim is to take I-70 west from Denver, don't do it, particularly if you are in a Porsche. I strongly recommend taking US 24 west from Colorado Springs and wind your way to I-70 through Breckenridge or Leadville. You rise up about 4,000 feet from Colorado Springs on a curvy road that has the kind of twisties that you can generally see around so you can really pound it if you want. No police or any other cars around for the most part. Great fun.
Today's photo is from an overlook on US24 when you break over one of the passes and hit the high plains at about 10,000 feet. Great scenery all along this drive.
Will be a pause in posts while in Breckenridge unless something interesting happens. Will likely hit the road again on Monday. I can tell you that the front defroster worked pretty well to clean off a very iced over windshield under about 10 inches of snow.
.... I can tell you that the front defroster worked pretty well to clean off a very iced over windshield under about 10 inches of snow.
Mtea, I'd be interested to hear how you defrosted your windshield in those conditions...
Did you wipe off the 10 inches of snow first, and attempt to scrape as much of the ice off BEFORE you started the Cayenne & turned the defroster on full?
The reason I ask, is that many many years ago, I learned a valuable lesson on what NOT TO DO....
.............................. warning: This may be to your trip reports,... but maybe we can learn something here too .....
While owning/driving a 4Runner, the morning after a heavy snow storm, I needed to shovel the driveway, stoke the wood stove, etc, etc,... so I got lazy and did not wipe off any of the 10" of snow, nor did I scrape (there was definitely a layer of ice beneath the snow). I just jumped in, started it up, turned on the defrost, turned up the heat, and shut the door, to head back out to my chores. BAD IDEA. I let it run till until I could tell it was warming up on the inside. Then I pushed all the snow off & started to scrape. At the time I THOUGHT it was a great idea, since it was then very easy to wipe & scrape it all off....
But to my dismay, the windshield had cracked all the way across (luckily it was very low along the lower edge, and you could barely see it). I was obviously disappointed in myself. I determined that letting all the heat build up inside the vehicle, while still allowing all the cold snow & ice insulation outside on top of the windshield was too much of a differential & the windshield cracked inbetween the two.
Here is how it relates to our Cayenne's...
When I was purchasing my CTT, I was asking about the windows & windshield on the Cayenne's, and in particular the one option for "Thermally Heat & Noise Insulated Glass" - Option VW5. I did not want this option since several existing owners had told me that it did NOT allow EZPass to transmit through the glass, and thus they always had to hold the Easy Pass transponder OUT the window every time they passed through a EZPass toll. That just sounded like a PIA, and I wanted no part of it. BUT,...
The Sales Rep told me that all Porsche vehicle glass is thicker than most all other manufacturers. I have not confirmed that to be true yet (mostly because I keep forgetting to take my micrometer out and measure the thickness of my CTT glass, and compare against my other vehicles. I need to do that!! Has anyone else done it?? )
sidebar:...
But I can confirm that Porsche sound deadening and insulation in the vehicle is PHENOMINAL. Unbelievable in fact. I have the Burmester Sound Sys,.. and I like my music loud. I have tested how well (actually how poorly) you can hear the music from outside the vehicle when turned way up (I HATE it when you pull up to a stop light, and all you hear is the thump-thump-thump of the kids subwoofer next to you). So I was really HOPING that would not be the case with the Cayenne. It is AMAZING how little it transmits through the vehicle. These things are VERY well insulated. So my hope is that our Cayenne glass is indeed THICKER than everyone else out there!!
Anyway, I can safely say that I will NEVER use that tactic ever again, and leave snow / ice on my windshield before I start / warm the car up. Not worth taking the chance, even IF the Cayenne glass is extra thick & high quality!!
Hope your trip continues well. Keep those pics & stories coming!! Much appreciated.
=Steve
Ouch on the windshield! I used a broom to take off substantially all the snow before I started the car to let it melt the ice. It was a pretty thick layer of ice, too. I'm not sure I believe the thicker glass info. I had something hit my windshield driving north from Florida and you could just watch the crack spread. Had to replace the windshield. Given all the road driving that I do, I've had some pretty substantial hits on the glass since and it looks like the replacement glass is holding up better than the original.
Next job for me is to find a car wash and take off many layers of grime from the snow before heading north and then west for Idaho on Tuesday. Three feet of snowfall at Breck made for the best spring skiing I've ever had by far.
What a day! I wanted to take the scenic route from Denver to Green River, Wyoming so I took off from I70 west on US40 which goes up over an 11,000 foot pass befor it drops to the high plains where you pass through Winter Park and Steamboat Springs as US 40 meanders West through the northern part of Colorado. Somewhere after Winter Park the road runs for awhile along the Colorado River which is more like a creek at this point (see the first photo). Although I70 through CO is nice, this route is entirely on two lane roads that have more twists and turns than you'll find on the interstate. No traffic though so you can go just as fast.
In the NW corner of CO I came upon Dinosaur National Monument and decided to turn in. Good choice. I drove about 10 miles in and the bluffs, canyons, and colors in the rock were spectacular (photo below). Don't pass this by if you happen To be in the vicinity.
In Vernal, Utah I parted ways with US40 and took took US191 north toward Wyoming. If you love your twisties this is the route to take. Switch-backs just kept coming as you rise 3,000 feet from Vernal. It's hard to keep your eyes on the road with all the red rock formations along the way. A word of advice here. If you ever plan this route you might want to wait until at least April.
That 3,000 foot rise takes you to over 8,000 feet and I can tell you from very recent experience when it snows here, it really means it. As I crested the pass it turned into a complete white out and I had about 70 miles to go. Near the Flaming Gorge dam I ran into signs proclaiming "this road has limited snowplowing". Perfect. Conditions were getting worse very fast and there were no towns to stop in so I kept going. This was a white knuckle drive for almost two hours. Thankfully there were snow markers on the shoulder so I could tell where the road was going. The wind was so strong it blew me sideways at times on the icy road. I saw three or four people in cars and they were not making it through. The Cayenne handled pretty well even with the fat tires. It helped that I grew up in snow country so I had some confidence to get through. That was possibly the worst snowstorm I've driven in and I was very thankful to pull into my hotel in one piece.
Tomorrow I may stick to the interstate as I head to Boise, Idaho. At least I'll check the forecast before heading out.
Did anybody notice that I80, I25, and the Denver airport were closed today? That storm was what I ran into yesterday, on a road they don't plow no less. Very lucky I made it through. My son called this morning to tell me he did a 360 on a freeway on-ramp this morning in Denver to top things off.
I took my time heading out this morning and I did stick to the interstate. I saw two 18 wheelers wrecked in the first few miles. The weather turned out to be fine and I started loving some 80 mph speed limits. The scenery was particularly nice as all the mountains had a fresh coat of snow as I headed toward Salt Lake City on I80. Pretty much the same on I84 through Idaho. I stopped at Shoshone Falls on the Snake River in Twin Falls, Idaho for the photo op. I couldn't get the Cayenne in the picture with the falls in the background so you get a shot of the rocks and river downstream. I'll be in Boise for awhile so I'll ill search a bit for some interesting places for photos.
03-13-2016, 10:03 PM
Road Trip 2.0
to your trip reports,... but maybe we can learn something here too .....
