The guys are just pulling into Gallup, NM now. They should be on-line within the hour.

The road is dry and fast. We spent the past almost hour solving all of Porsche’s problems.

If the AZ guys get together, we need to get them a washer pump and perhaps wipers. They are using a hand spray bottle for washers.

The plan for tomorrow (4/8/07) is the Grand Canyon. Time and weather will determine how much. Let’s help.

Best,
Grady

Grady,

Lots of auto parts places in Flag but not sure that any are open.

Damm, wish I had known this earlier, could have picked one up today for them.

Planning on driving up to Flag to have lunch with them. Not much of the Phoenix crowd going as they already had plans. I did as well but fussing with the airplane will wait another day!

Joe

I"m pretty sure the washer pump worked when they left!!!, ( no guilt here, but clearing my conscience just the same LOL)

Donny, Pls PM or email me with some suggestions on where to meet in Flag tomorrow morning.

Or even post them here.

Joe

Karen (my 20-year SO) and her mom are spending the night in Santa Fe on the way back to Denver from putting on a week’s presentations in Albuquerque. Roads are dry.

As you can see, I’m doing “double duty” with my road conditions analysis. Not to slight either.


OK, on to tomorrow and “The Grand Canyon Park”

Guys, do you want reservations? Do you want the mule trip down to the Colorado River 5000” below? An opportunity of a lifetime is now.


To repeat other opportunities for Sunday:

I-40 AZ Exit 311 is Painted Desert and Petrified Forrest NP.
http://www.nps.gov/pefo/
I can spend a day+ here.

An easy stop might be Meteor Crater just west of Winslow, I-40 AZ.Exit 233, go south a few miles.
http://www.meteorcrater.com/index.php
If this happens today, the effects would be global – and this was small.

Along I-40 there are stretches of abandoned US-66, the old “Route 66” is still 1920s concrete – the first paved road west.


I haven’t called the Park reservations today. I suspect Sunday night and Monday night may be available. A Monday mule trip you will never forget. It can be snowing at the rim and 80F at the Colorado River.

The next time you are hear is rafting down the river. Another once-in-a-lifetime experience.


Can some others help with the trip from Los Vegas to Carson City? These Yankees must see the spectacular West. Yosemite comes to mind.

Today there was discussion of Joshua Tree. That isn’t on their route and I see as an Eastern suburb of LA.

Just now the guys are on the phone with Joe. All of us find Pelican “wicked slow”, what’s the deal?

Best,
Grady

Hey is it just me or is anyone else having problems opening Charles thread entitled Half a bag of MM's a bottle of OJ and xxx miles to SF ?

9,

I could not open it either.

Grady,

Just got off of the phone with them and looking like they would like to do the drive down the mountain through Jerome, then try to make it to the canyon.

They will call me tomorrow morning when they head out. Once they get 20 miles W of Gallup they will lose all cell phone signal until they make it to various small towns enroute.

Right now they are estimating Flag around noon.

Joe

Edit, Here is the info on the railroad that goes down into the Grand Canyon. Also gives hotel info there. http://www.thetrain.com/

Half a bag of M&M's, a bottle of OJ and 185miles to Flagstaff
 

Well we are nestled in at the "El Rancho" what a hoot! Great choice of a place to crash... Chris was tired and worn out, something about gripping the door with white knuckles while I was driving through the "flurries"! sheeze" you would think he would be used to going sideways by now ;)

I think we will take some time in/around the flagstaff area, so we are definitely game on meeting people, the more the merrier!!! you can call me today till say 10:30 pm (New Mexico Time) if you want to line things up - 603-TOP-KATS (cell)

Santa Fe was worth the stop by, real nice, quaint and lunch was tasty and mexican to boot! (Chris likes mexican food - can we say Grande Burrito!)

Grady was a SUPER SUPER HELP TODAY! We would have really been flying by the seats of our bare a$$es if not for his info during the day!!! Can we say guardian angel?!

Todd - your Turbo still lives, but it now pulls a bit to the right and has some balance issues about 100mph :(

Well I just got back from doing the wifey and mine laundry :D We are like an' old married couple.. (s)he went right to bed complaining of being tired :D hehehehehee

Will post a few pic's up next, some neat country after we got past Texas. Ugh that upper half was flat and ugly.. panhandle,... yup... definitely.

Time for the visual cues
 

Guess where we were today! It was mmm less than sunny and warm. We should have gone through North Dakota, they won't have any snow till next week. sheeze!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176011225.jpg
A modern farm in Oklahoma! Wish we had some of these on the Cape, but the visual snobs won't have it... Progress is so hard sometimes..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176011482.jpg

Leaving Amarillo, TX what is this we spy on our first gas fuel up?? I thought this stuff only happened "up north in the hills??" Little did we know how much worse it was going to get later!!!!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176011691.jpg

(NM)Cool! And that building in the back was where the exit led to! Weird!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176011765.jpg

This is what we had for visibility on the driver side. No washer fluid and summer blade. Always fun to crank it up a notch :D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176011950.jpg
Storm at its worst, due to flat lighting, it looks worse than it really was! Really Ma, it was just a few flurries! :cool:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176011108.jpg
Chris giving me the look - So you wanted snow, so you got snow, happy?!?!!?
!@#%!@#$^@#$^ :D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176011142.jpg
Poor TracDog, feeling a bit cool now!

Hey, do not feel bad. I remember one year it snowed on the 29th of May up in this neck of the woods.

Give a ring when you guys are getting ready to head out, or we can just set a time to meet in Flag.

Donny mentioned the Cracker Barrel in Flagstaff. Problem is that many places are closed on Easter Sunday.

Let us know when you are heading West and hope you guys enjoyed the hotel! Its Route 66 at its finest... :)

Hey guys, just heard from Donny. We are going to meet in Cordes Junction (South of Flag) at 11:00 then mosey into Flag, should get there around 12:00 or so.

You have my cell phone so give a ring when you can!

Joe

The two guys “batching” it across country in a 911 are in Painted Desert – Petrified Forrest NP in eastern AZ.

Next stop is Meteor Crater.

Then on to Flagstaff (and regain cell connection).


Does anyone have experience touring Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite this time of year? CA-120 into Yosemite is closed from the East until summer. If all they do is cross Death Valley from LV and go north on US-395, they will miss all the beautiful parks.

Who has a good route along the west side of the Sierra Nevada with dips into the parks? I KNOW you SoCal guys do this.

They will be coming from Las Vegas, CA-190 across Death Valley to US-395. How about then South? Is J41 open toward Bakersfield? How about the roads going north from Lake Isabella through Sequoia? I can see a loop into Kings Canyon NP on CA-198. It looks like you have to go west to Fresno to get CA-41 through Yosemite.

From there I don’t know exactly where near Tahoe they are going. They also mentioned something about skiing … where?

Best,
Grady

The guys aren't seeing anything important

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176064424.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176064462.jpg




The scarey thing about Meteor Crater is this could happen to NY, LA, London, Paris or mid-ocean in the next minute.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176064493.jpg




Tomorrow they get to see one of the greast features on the planet.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1176064536.jpg

Best,
Grady

I was fortunate to raft the Colorado twice as a guide in the 70's. (I was the baggage raft hump, hard work since there a looong stretches of the river that are calm.)

From the rim, from the river, implausibly beautiful.

Nice pics!! they guys are going to hook up with me in San Jose on Tue-Wed.. The plan is they will see Yosemite on Thurs.. then head to my house in Carson City.. chill on Friday then ski Kirkwood on Sat and Sun..
Todd

Thoughts on a 911 tour.

Something that this trip, and other similar, show is how much fun a 911 trip can be.

This is “simply” a delivery trip. Think of what a trip can possibly be. Start with a 911. Prepare for proper operation. Plan a trip. Connect with everyone. Enjoy and educate. This can be for a day, weekend or several months. Everyone should do it.

I have taken my 911 backpacking (at least to & from trailheads.) We have been all across North America, on most significant race tracks (not as a race car), and even enjoyed the company of Dr. Porsche.

Any 911 can do this. It is fun, fast and reliable. It runs in any weather (well, if you have the washers working). It is just the right size for two to tour America.

With today’s technology, there shouldn’t be any fear of being stranded or know what to do. Even “Where to go?” has helpers available a click away.

There is so much to see and do here, there shouldn’t be any excuse for not “being there and doing that” several times in a lifetime. Specifically three come to mind; as a young adult without children, as a parent with “back-seat-age” kids and after the kids are off on their own. Retirees should be in a 911 and not some humongous RV.

I consider a 911 an oversize suitcase that happens to do other things. Mine has been on roads (if you can call them that) that would make most SUVs cringe. It has been at max speed for exceeding long periods (Denver to Palo Alto and Denver to Edmonton in 14 hours). It has been skiing (and pulled out of the ditch), in 117F desert, run at -35F, been to Parades, grocery stores, work and track. If there ever was a vehicle that could be called a “Renaissance car” a 911 is it.

On this Forum we debate all the technical details. In reality what these guys are doing is what 911 is all about. They are doing it. I have done it. More should do it. We can all make it happen.

1¢

Best,
Grady

PS; the world-wide Pelican group can come to the States with their 911 and find support everywhere.
G.

Grady, you are so right. It's good to know there's a complete support group at your fingertips if you need them ( assuming you've got a laptop with wireless or a buddy who's only a cellphone call away).
Remember when we were growing up and they used to say "foreign cars,, you can't get parts for them??)

I'm driving down to pick up Ashville John w/his '87 911 in early May. 2 911s will be heading west for around 10k miles.

There is no 911 volume constraint if anyone wants to ride.

I highly recommend taking Chris,, the kid has never been anywhere and is a great mechanic.. he also doesn't eat much