Dodgy wiring or not, the 911 has proved to be an awesome touring machine, as Mrs. Erock and I have taken the car on a number of road trips of decent length. Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan in 2013. Jasper Park Lodge and camping in the Kootenays in 2014 (partially with Mr. and Mrs. good buddy in tow). It’s remarkable how much camping gear you can pack into a 911.
I used to take my E30 camping, skiing, etc. However, what always killed me was the fact that the standard BMW seats were nowhere near as comfortable as the Porsche sports seats. My lower back would seriously give out after about 2.5 hours of driving and I would have to pull over. The 911 is oddly much more comfortable for long periods than the E30.
The only knock against the 911 is the short gearing. On a four-lane divided highway, I’m either running over 3500 rpm in 5th gear at 120 km/h or settling down in the right lane at lesser rpm at 110 km/h. Either way, the general flow of (insane) Alberta traffic will be racing past me at a solid 130-150 km/h. At least I’m not risking any tickets.
However, I have no problem jumping in the 911 over my daily driver (a battle-scarred 2007 VW GTI) for a long haul, particularly if that long haul consists of winding 2 lane roads, with lots of acceleration in 3rd and 4th gear. That’s where the 911 really comes alive.
Here are many gratuitous shots from Jasper/Lake Louise/Nelson/Kaslo/Schroeder Creek, in 2014 (and a reminder that we do, in fact, live in one of the most spectacularly beautiful places in the world):
Winter 2014/2015 was unseasonably mild in Calgary, so I managed to get at least one drive in each of the 12 months of that year, on (mostly) dry roads.
Fernie, Seattle, Victoria and Tofino was our destination in summer, 2015. Our route took us south through Idaho (beautiful) west through Washington State (unremarkable, save the Columbia River Gorge and some of the mountain roads), north to Anacortes (highly recommended) and across to Vancouver Island on the Anacortes ferry (ditto). Note below my attempt at taking artistic photos before dawn at the Experience Music Project in Seattle.
