Last summer my wife and I took the M5 on a road trip across the US and Canada visiting landmarks, friends and family. The trip encompassed 11,000 miles and 22 states/provinces. I took 3584 photos, taking up 2.79Gb on my laptop. The most informative are below with captions. Some are in the form of postcards, which I made up on-the-fly and emailed for friends/family from various stops along the way. Others are just photos. And away we go, in chronological order:
Packed and ready to go. FYI: Putting a cargo pod on an M5 makes it INVISIBLE to law enforcement!
Day 1. A jet fuel tanker truck turned over on the I5, just north of the grapevine, exploding and melting 3/4 of the freeway. Backup was horrible and the ever-so-knowledgeable cops were routing people through Bakersfield - a 120 mile detour
We used a map and our Nav system for find a gloriously beautiful route through the mountains to the west of the grapevine. It saved us several hours was very fun to drive.
Our first look at civilization in 8 hours since leaving home. Blech, tract housing
Until recently, my wife and I worked on a pyro crew doing the Lights On The Lake fireworks show (the largest west of the Mississippi). Here is the M5 parked next to one of the three barges:
At Falling Leaf Lake, by Tahoe. Hmm, guess you can't see the waterfall in this shot. Sorry. Pretty trees though.
Postcard #1, from the top of Heavenly Ski Run:
Postcard #2. As I took the photo, that's obviously not us in it
After the 4th, we headed out the back side of Tahoe and down toward Reno. Then we took the I50 east - and AWESOME barren road with no towns for hundreds of miles. It's called the loneliest road in the world, which it probably is outside of Siberia. I loved the drive. This picture is from the western side of Nevada. It gets rockier and higher before dumping you out into the sands of Utah.
After waking up in Utah, we detoured south to Moab, home of Arches National Park:
After heading north to the main interstate we entered Colorado near Grand Junction. As we were a little ahead of schedule we decided to go look at the Colorado National Monument. What the hell is that I wondered? Well, it's a HUGE series of cliffs and towers created by seismic activity and errosion. The road you drive takes you up over 1500 feet from the bottom to the top, and then back down into Grand Junction. A very fun drive!
Our next stop, after visiting a friend's parents, was the drive up Pike's Peak. For those of you who don't already know, this is the highest racetrack in the world, starting (officially) at around 8000' and ending at 14,140 (according to my Nav, below):
Little known fact: In the gift shop/cafeteria they sell special "high altitude" doughnuts that are strangely dense and puffy because of the lack of air pressure at 14k' compared to conventional see-level doughnuts:
Here is Kristin staring down a 4000' drop. There are a lot of these on the drive up/down. I can't imagine having the nerve to drive flat out up 12 miles of dirt road with such a "downside" - forgive the pun.
Then we were off through Kansas. Notice I didn't say "to" Kansas. Sorry folks, but unless you are a pilot and like clear skies and one giant flat runway everywhere you look, Kansas kind of sucks. Sorry. We had a headwind the entire way through (700 miles I think), during which the cargo pod acted like a sail and I was lucky to get 18mpg.
Next came St. Louis. Having been up in the World Trade Centers as a child I remember them well. Kristin had not been to them, and obviously won't ever be able to see New York from 1000' up. So I insisted that we stop and go up in the Arch - because you never know. It was somewhat cramped and humid, but the view was good. The Museum of Western Expansion I enjoyed even more. It's located at the base of the Arch and is free. It uses radial and rotational axes to chronical the legislative and physical acts of exploring and colonizing the west. The Arch's 100% stainless steel welded panels are a marvel to behold, especially at sunset:
The M5, from 720' and parked next to the Mighty Mo:
Our drive through Kentucky was disappointing - short and rainy. It's one of the most beautiful states in the US, but not that day
I highly recommend the National Horse Park near Lexington - like Disneyland for horse buffs.
This was my first trip to Tennessey. One of my projects on this trip was taking photos out the front of the car of the variations in flora from state to state as it relates to the interstate highways. Tennessey was like entering Jurasic Park! It's not only very green, but DENSE - almost wooly.
This is Chatanooga, one of the prettiest cities I've ever seen. It's nestled in a valley near a short mountain from which you can see 5 states - or 100 yards, depending on the humidity that day, lol.
On of the causes of the humidity in Tennessey was the front edge of a hurricane that we brushed through en-route to Atlanta. The M5's wipers work quite well.
Speaking of which, here is my setup for changing brake pads in the rain - on my friend's steeply-sloped driveway.
Then it was off to Road Atlanta. This is still the most fun, organic track I've been one - I highly recommend it. The Panoz driving school wasn't all that good, but it was worth putting up with just to be on the track.
Our friends took us up to Dehlonaga (sp?) and we toured an old gold mine. It was very beautiful, but I really like caves and being underground.
Then we went on some back roads (which are most roads in Georgia) to Amicolola Falls. You can see a long way, despite the humidity, from the top.
Then you can hike down (much easier than up) the 100billion or so steps to the bottom of the falls, which is actually lower than this picture:
Here is the beast unsaddled, for the last time during the trip:
Then it was time to head north to D.C. Next up was South Carolina. No chances for photo ops, due to our timetable. I drove RIGHT PAST the closed BMW Performance Center, having completely forgotten about it
I'm still kicking myself for that
Next was North Carolina. I believe that is King Mountain in the distance, a tourist stop at which we didn't - for better or worse.
Virginia. It's a nice state, but one I don't plan on visting again until they change their authoritatian stance against radar detectors. The foliage had many different, subtle colors woven throughout what at a glance appears to be "green".
Then we arrived at D.C. It was late, so we took a walk from our hotel around the Capitol and adjacent monuments. This is the newly-unveiled WWII memorial with the Washington monument in the background.
It was Kristin's first time to D.C., but we only had two days. So we rushed through most of the Smithsonian Museums. Most of which I had been in before, but not the National Gallery. OH MY GOD! I had NO idea how much significant art we have on display at our Capitol! I went through all 6 of my memory sticks, and wish we could have spent more time. I'm not posting any pics here though, because if I started I wouldn't know where to stop. Instead, here's Kristin about to be eaten my Megaladon (prehistoric Great White) - and YES, the picture IS to scale:
Another great museum, the National Air and Space. Here are two of the more important historical aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis and the Bell X1. The former proved that oceans can be crossed. The latter proved that the laws of physics can be bent, if our pre-conceptions can be broken:
Onward toward relatives in West Virginia. Here are the Appalacians, lovely little hills/mountains with nooks, valleys and farms nestled between them.
On my uncle's property in West Virginia:
Hiking through Cooper's Rock, under an old-growth forest:
From Morgantown we headed north to Pennsylvania (more beautiful farmland):
Then through Ohio:
In which we stopped to rush through the National Air Force Museum. This was the most amazing aviation museum I've EVER been in. There are three main hangars, each wide enough to easily fit a B52 or 747's wingspan, and long enough that a B-36, B-2 (the first one ever) C-130 and B-1 all fit in the same one - leaving plenty of room for an SR-71, B-58 and about 30 other planes. Literally EVERY plane ever used by the Air force since WWI is on display, including prototypes and a whole wing of Air Force Ones (which we missed due to time constraints). I'm definately planning a trip back just to spend a whole day (or two) at the museum.
Onward toward Chicago, our next destination. We didn't stop anywhere in Indiana, so here's a pic from the road:
The best picture I took during our first day walking around Chicago. I was very impressed with the city. It's very clean and the architecture is eclectic and tasteful. The food's great too. It actually reminds me a lot of a miniature Tokyo.
Here is a twilight picture of Kristin by Buckingham Fountain - made famous to us visitors by the opening credits to Married With Children:
How lucky are we! Through happenstance we got to watch two 4th of July fireworks shows. This is Ventitian Night (I don't know why). It was a small show, but I thought it was staged very well and had good composition and pace.
We went to the Shedd Aquarium, as we're sort of aquarium junkies. It's rotational exhibit was of the world's freshwater habitats. Very interesting as river systems are difficult to duplicate and the variety was impressive. They are also know for having captive beluga whales:
Our last stop before heading out of town was to go up Hancock Tower. It's about as tall as Sear's tower, but much classier. And unlike Sears, it's on the water and is FREE to go up - so long as you grab a bite at the restaurant or bar. This is a policy it shares with the Stratosphere needle in Las Vegas, btw. The food at both is very good and reasonably priced. The view from Hancock quite honestly made me a little queazy
Here is a view of Sears Tower and western Chicago:
Then it was north and west into Wisconsin. We stopped to get some good Amish cheese, salami and fresh bread. FYI: The rear a/c vents can keep drinks and cheese cold for quite a while if you prop a bag up in front of it. We snacked on meat, cheese and bread on the way to Minnesota. We had planned to stop off at Air Venture in Oshkosh, the world's largest air show, because Kristin had never been there before and Space Ship One was the featured aircraft - but scheduling conflicts kept us from going
So we'll just have to drive back...and visit Elkhart Lake along the way
Here's a pic from the road, illustrating Wisconsin's low hill and brush. Simple, but attractive in its own way.
Here's a sunset photo north of the Twin Cities. We were somewhat hurried to get to our next destination, Fort St. John in BC, so we didn't stop much between Wisconsin and BC.
Here is North Dakota. Yes, it's flat, but much more interesting than Kansas. The northernmost portion is hilly and desolately beautiful in the rain.
Just before entering Canada I took this shot at the US Customs station:
And now we come to Saskatchewan, the biggest, flattest region on the freaking earth! It's a lot like Kansas, AND North Dakota, but 6 times larger. It was interesting for the first two hours. After that I was very glad to have NavTv!
There are also bugs! The broken foglight actually happened back on the I5 during Day 1. A piece of concrete got thrown in front of the car somehow and I took it on the chin. Luckily damage was only cosmetic. Note yellow Gorrilla Glue holding a couple peices of my airdam on. That damage was caused by a ******ed jackrabbit down is Borrego Springs. If you've ever seen the "fan scene" in Alien 3, you now know what the underside of my M5 looked like after that exchange. Anyway, it was all cleaned up after the trip.
In Alberta we stopped off at the mall in Edmonton. Again, Kristin hadn't seen it before and as it was once the largest mall in the world I thought it deserved a look. Here she is on the Glow Golf miniature golf course:
Back on the road, northeast. I've always felt that Alberta had an unsung beauty, at least among Americans. This was the start of the world's longest sunset (not really), from 5pm to after 11pm (next pic) - and it got more interesting the whole time!
I know this shot sucks, but it's the start of the Alaska highway so I thought I should include it. We were on it from the BC/Alberta border to the turnoff into the bush (see later pics).
I think this was my best bug picture of the trip, outside our hotel in Fort St. John:
I must confess that at this point in the trip we had to park the M5 and rent an Expedition for two day-trips out into the bush. You can see why:
Out near some old property of the family's we saw this whitetail deer:
We hiked some, to check on how overgrown the property had gotten in my 15 year absence. It was a little unnerving to be walking down a cut line like this knowing that a bear could be five feet away and invisible through the brush
But we did have our respective 12 gauges.
Another postcard, from our second trip into the bush.
Sunset in Fort St. John, after a rain:
On our way south we stopped by the WAC Bennett Dam, a huge dam that holds back a 200+ mile long lake...and rumor has it there is an unrepairable crack in part of the foundation.
The Rockies, still way up in BC:
The beast at the Abbotsford Airshow. It's no Oshkosh, but it was fun.
The Thunderbirds put on an awesome show!
We stopped for a few days at Kristin's aunt and uncle's in Blain, Washington. Here is the M5 in the morning sun:
Aside from blackberry picking along the side of the road, we were around when one of their cows gave birth. Cows are nice, gentle creatures, but they sure do drool!
Then we drove up to see Mount Baker:
The drive was nice, and I got to torment an Audi TT on the way down. He was driving pretty-much flat out, thinking he was hot sh!t, and the beast just jogged along behind, laughing.
Here is Seattle (my first time there), another beautiful city. We went through the Pike Street Market, I bought a plush (stuffed animal) chestburster from the movie Alien - life sized too
After Seattle we stopped in Portland for dinner with my niece.
Then we detoured to see the new home of the Spruce Goose (Hughes H-1), the largest wooden plane, and largest flying boat, ever built. Here is a pic of the M5 outside the Evergreen Air Museum, which is literally built "around" the Goose:
I hadn't seen her since I was a boy, when she lived in Long Beach. She is HUGE! An entire F-4 Phantom fit under 1/2 of her tail! In the photo below you can see the tip of a DC-3's wing. That whole cargo plane took up less space than 1/2 of one of the gooses wings! The museum, by the way, is entirely funded by private donations - odd in a state in which employment policy is such that it is illegal to pump your own gas
The museum is impeccably clean and has vintage airliner seats as benches throughout. In addition to the Goose are some 30 or so vintage and modern aircraft from the military and civilian sectors. There is also an excellent children's area and good cafeteria.
OMG, we're back in California!
Mount Shasta, the highest mountain in CA. We didn't have time to stop, but we'll hit it next time we're in the area.
Driving through the Sierra Madres (Mother Mountains):
Still heading south on the I5, now through farmland north of the bay area:
At this point we headed off the I5 and crossed through some marvelously twisty roads to see friends in Sebastopol:
The Calistoga Grade:
The beast, dusty in Sebastopol from some 10,000 miles:
Heading south, crossing the bridge into Oakland:
Passing through Los Alamos on the way to visit my parents in Santa Ynez:
The M5 at my parents:
Sunset on our last day before arriving home:
Back home, and unpacked. ALL this stuff fit inside! Here is the list:
-big suitcase
-small suitcase
-neck pillow
-paper bag of gifts
-blue pyro box
-black bag of CDs
-black bag of DVDs
-helmet
-two folding chairs
-knitting bag
-blue duffle of track gear
-blue denim snack bag
-briefcase
-two umbrellas
-white bag of gifts
-plastic bag of stuff
-foam stretching roller
-rubber bands for excercising (never used)
-purse
-another blue denim bag (more gifts?)
-cooler
-large water jug
-massage seat cover (never used)
-paper bag of gifts
-books (gifts)
-backup car charger
-my shotgun
-her shotgun
-maps of the BC property
-great white poster (gift)
-more gift bags
-Joint Juice, a glucosomine supplement. I tried it, it's ok.
-third blue denim bag (ammo?)
-brown gift bag
-two jackets and hats
-another brown bag, this one has snacks
-yet another brown gift bag
For those that fear to abuse their beast, here's mine after 11,000 miles, countless bugs, bumper and foglight repair, and a wash:
Now for the numbers.
Just because this thread is SO long already, why not make it a little longer...
Here is my fuel log:
340, Home through grapevine
167, mid-valley to Sacramento
220, to Tahoe
303, Tahoe to Eureka
80, Eureka to Ely
328, Ely to Green River
303, Green River to Moab to Glenwood Springs
289, to Florrisant
280, Woodland, up Pike's Pike, to Kansas
312, Colby to Topeka
321, Topeka to St. Louis
304, St. Louis to Tennesse
260, Tennesse to Woodstock
204, around Atlanta
208, to Road Atlanta, track, around Atlanta
259, Woodstock to South Carolina
232, South Carolina to Greensboro
323, Greensboro to D.C.
225, D.C. to Morgantown
172, around Morgantown
326, Morgantown to Dayton
299, Dayton to Chicago
302, Chicago to Osseo
309, Osseo to Rothsay
238, Rothsay to Bismark
240, Bismark to Carlyle
284, Carlyle to Saskatoon
86, Saskatoon to North Battleford
288, North Battleford to Onoway
245, Onoway to Grand Prarie
289, Grand Prarie to Fort St. John
(320 on rented Expedition)
306, Fort St. John to Prince George
284, Prince George to Cache Creek
264, Cache Creek to Bellingham
277, around Blain
295, Blain to Vancouver (not BC)
320, Vancouver to Medford
262, Medford to Williams
294, Williams to Los Banos
297, Los Banos to Carpenteria
118, Carpenteria to HOME
Totals: 10,753 miles on M5, 11,073 miles driven, 53 days of travel, and 41 fillups.
The M5, with several hundred pounds of gear and the cargo pod averaged 18.3mpg over the duration of the trip - not bad considering the track day and climb up Pike's Peak, along with somewhat frequent city driving.
Here is a map I constructed, showing our route:
That's it, I guess.
Linear Mode
