Ultimate Rockies Trip

[Charlie V]

My good friend Guy and I completed a 6 days road trip through the Rockies in Northwest USA. What an adventure...............

Bucket list item for the 2 of us. How did this all come together??

About 4 weeks back Al suggested a few of us head to NE Oregon. Traditionally, this has been done in the Fall, but it moved up this year. Then, Paul shared a video of an adventure he and J did into Yellowstone Park.

Road Rally - Porsche Boxster Driving - Yellowstone - The American Innovator - YouTube

Well, that then got Guy and I talking about our bucket list desire to do something very similar. After trading ideas and plans back and forth, 2 weeks ago we landed on what we wanted to do - approximately 3200 miles on B and C roads as much as possible. Guy was generous enough to offer his car and we would share the driving and costs - this was a "road trip on a shoestring". Besides, we are a couple of retired guys on fixed incomes.

We would join the group going to NE Oregon and then head east as the rest of the group turned back west. We would be alone and heading for some of the best roads.

The group met up in Bellingham to head south on I-5. The adventure begins.



Picnic lunch stop behind Mount St. Helens.



Guess where we ended up on Friday afternoon??



A traditional stop over at Steven's Route 30 Classics Shop to chat, BS, grab t-shirts and have ice cream. Guy is with Steven along with Guy's immaculate 993 cab. Our chariot for the next 6 days.



Lunch stop at Long Creek. Great burgers and a crazy out of proportion picnic table. About one of a couple places with premium fuels in the middle of nowhere. This is where we said our goodbyes and ventured on our own.

[Charlie V]

continued...............

Heading for the Rockies.



Had to fix the wiper arm in the middle of a hail storm with the Grand Tetons in the background.



Cut through the southeast corner of Yellowstone to get to Cody, Wyoming. Had snow on the road through Yellowstone. The C4 was working the 4 wheel drive with Michelin Pilots.

From Cody we headed about 70 miles east to hit Bighorn National Forest. Once we dropped into Dayton, we turned around and did it in reverse. All before getting back to Cody for lunch.

Morning coffee kicks in and when you got to go............ Door open, lights on and motor still running. It was a rush..................



Left Cody and headed for Chief Joseph Byway and Dead Indian Pass. WOW!!!! Then on to Beartooth Pass at 11,800 feet. Wow again!!!!



Dropped down the north side and headed to Helena, Montana and Big Sky country.

[Charlie V]

We left Helena, Montana and worked our way to Missuola, Montana before heading north on Hwy 200. This took us into Idaho and back into Washington for lunch.

We made our way along C roads over several mountain passes and ended in Omak, Washington.

The "road trip on a shoestring". 2 star motels in a 5 star vehicle. The white car did create some interesting conversation at each motel.



The daily ritual....Guy had to clean his car every day without fail. I think the car washes are more important than the motel room. For me, driving a clean car each day is a treat.




We enjoyed a nice steak dinner and a few beers last night before heading to bed. I use the alarm in my smart phone for the wake up call. The last time I turned my phone on was in mountain time. Omak is located in pacific time. I got ready for bed, removed my glasses and turned the alarm on for 5:30 AM wake up. The alarm goes off this morning and I drag myself into the shower feeling rather tired. I must be getting old - too much driving and a few beers was what went through my head. I get out of the shower and Guy asks me if I know what time it is. I respond with Ya and before I can say the next word I glance at the motel alarm clock sitting beside the bed. As I see 4:46 AM my mind immediately concludes, the damn phone is on mountain time. CRAP!!!

So - go to sleep of an hour or start the day a little earlier. Earlier is the decision. But, our shoestring trip includes the free breakfasts offered at the motels. Even the 2 stars can have breakfasts that challenge the 3 star places. So - Guy being the smooth talking person he is.......he knocks on the office door to check out. Somehow he gets the desk clerk to put out the breakfast eats for us. Plus, he is able to have her cook him a waffle. WTH????? Not sure how he does it. But, there we were eating breakfast an hour before it normally opens.

So - on the road extra early the roads are empty as we head for Hwy 20 to the west coast. We travelled the entire highway without a single person in front of us. For those that may be unfamiliar with this highway....it is traditionally a long string of car, motorhomes and trailers snaking their way west. Most of the road is 2 lane with mostly double solid yellow lines. Can be impossible in the summer months. We were extremely fortunate.

Long shadows in the early morning sunlight.



I want to thank Guy for his generosity. His car is always immaculate. The car performed flawlessly - except for the wiper thing, but that was a couple minute repair. This was my first opportunity to really drive a 993. I like them, but my Rosie will continue to be my mistress.

[bernardbarbour]

Fantastic, I really enjoyed your road trip. I have to laugh at myself looking over some of these photo's as I like to keep my car clean on road trips too. Thanks for the write up.

[Hard-Deck]

Great write up! Thank you!

[sepia2.4]

Great fun.

[Scooter]

Sound like a good time.

[Rich Lambert]

Looks like you guys had fun. I love road trips.

[Crewchief]

Looks like you guys had fun after we turned back west. I think you may have had a 943 wiper on the car instead of a 993 wiper, glad you got that fixed. Stayed in that same motel in Omak last year. Parked the 930 where the jeep is, I remember they had a real good breakfast as well.

Cheers....Terry

1979 930

[Charlie V]

Originally Posted by Crewchief

Looks like you guys had fun after we turned back west. I think you may have had a 943 wiper on the car instead of a 993 wiper, glad you got that fixed. Stayed in that same motel in Omak last year. Parked the 930 where the jeep is, I remember they had a real good breakfast as well.

Cheers....Terry

1979 930

Seems like the nut holding the wiper arm on was never properly tightened when Guy got the clear bra installed. When the incident happened, I was thinking to simply remove the wiper. Luckily, the spline was not stripped and a simple tightening of the nut was all that was required. Of course, getting to the tools required unpacking the car - in a hail storm. I was standing out there with my Tilley hat on and the rim was flapping up and down as the hail hammered me.

The 2 stars we stayed at were much better than I remember from my old racing days back in the early 70's. Rooms were clean, beds were firm with clean sheets (I could tell you stories that would curl your toes), and the free breakfasts were actually better than anticipated. But, what is this American thing with biscuits and gravy????? YUKE!!!!!

[NYNick]

My wife and I did a 2 week road trip from NY to the Blue Ridge Pwkwy and back. I then did a story with pix and sent it to my local PCA club magazine, who published it, and then Panorama picked it up and published it as well.
Give it a try!
Nick

[Charlie V]

Not a member now. In fact, I'm a rebel...........along with a few others.



Independent - no politics and no rules. Just common courtesy and respect.

[S4hounddog]

Charlie,
It sounds like you and Guy had a fantastic trip! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Cheers

Ray

[timmy2]

Sounds and looks like a great trip.
Next time try to head up to the Flathead valley from Missoula and see Glacier National Park and do the Going to the Sun Road. Then take Highway 2 to Libby MT and beyond back to Spokane WA.

[Canada Kev]

Is the road to the sun open yet? I thought it didn't open until well into summer. Gotta take a run out there as I hear it's a pretty good little drive...

Glad you and Guy had a great trip. So the CanAm this year was just a warm up?

[timmy2]

Oops, Now that you mention it, the sun road may still have 30 feet of snow... I used to live in the valley and knew that...
Usually open in July though.
Glacier is worth the visit even when you can't do the sun road.

[FMyers]

The road is open from the St Maries end to the top, but the Apgar side is only open part way. The park service is saying that the avalanche danger is high near Going to the Sun Road.

[grizzfan]

That was super. I was borne and raised north of Yellowstone Park and spent three summers there working. Beartooth Pass is a marvel and was snowed in on top of it on July 3, 1959 on way to the Fourth of July Rodeo in Red Lodge.

Do another one!!

Tom

[briefescape]

Hey Charlie
Now know why highways are red in WY .

" in NE Wyoming a lot of the road base has "scoria" mixed in with it, here is a good definition of scoria,

Everyone who has traveled through western North Dakota has noticed the colorful reddish layers and brick-like masses of baked and fused clay, shale, and sandstone that color and shape the landscape.These baked materials, known as clinker (or locally as "scoria"), formed in areas where seams of lignite coal burned, producing heat that baked the nearby sediments to a form of natural brick. Clinker beds typically range from a few feet to 50 feet or so thick in western North Dakota, but much thicker beds are found in Wyoming and Montana.

Also sand and gravel from the Chugwater Formation (Triassic age) has a lot of oxidized iron (Porsche speak - RUST) the red tinted gravel also is used for road base in a lot of areas. "

Cheers Guy

[Charlie V]

Guy, I am still tired. Obviously, just way too much fun.