Road Trip!

gagrice

xwesx said:

fintail said:

You should run a dashcam - with the wacky stuff there, you might be able to make a popular Youtube channel.

I have thought strongly about getting one, and probably will do so for my wife's Forester, at least, very soon. I have a Blackvue in my Amazon cart for the longest time....

I have a Blackvue in my Amazon Wish list also. Ever since Fintail recommended them. Great Alaska pictures, not interested in sharing the cold with you though. I did my 37 years in Alaska. I like looking at snow on Mt Charleston from the warmth of my Nevada home.

gagrice

Finally filled up my trailer and brought the last of our earthly possessions to our home in Pahrump NV. This is the last leg just 27 miles from home. Thankfully we had great traffic conditions on Interstate 15 & 215 towing the trailer. I was not looking forward to this trip. Just filled the tank. Averaged 21.8 MPG pulling a 3500 lb trailer.

fintail

Not bad seeing as a gasser model probably would have used 40% more fuel.

On the road this morning, a positive note - a pothole so big and deep that I would look for it in the dark by water reflections, and so big and deep I think it generated its own weather like one of the Great Lakes, has finally been patched.

xwesx

gagrice said:

Finally filled up my trailer and brought the last of our earthly possessions to our home in Pahrump NV. This is the last leg just 27 miles from home. Thankfully we had great traffic conditions on Interstate 15 & 215 towing the trailer. I was not looking forward to this trip. Just filled the tank. Averaged 21.8 MPG pulling a 3500 lb trailer.

That's fantastic, Gary! Congrats on (nearly) closing a chapter in your life. Hopefully the sale goes well!

tacomann

Every year my wife and I road trip to AZ to visit family. We live in San Diego so it makes for a quick easy trip but fun nonetheless!

berri

So Fin, I open my local newspaper up and what do I see, an article and discussion about why do so many more cars seem to have no headlights or just one working headlight. You were ahead of the curve on this one since it appears no turn indicators has been downgraded a step in the pecking order of peeves

fintail

I assume one working light is because of increased VW sales? But really, I see it from most makes. I spot it a lot around here, maybe 10 cars a day.

Two winners in the dark rain today - RSX with nothing, some kind of roller skate (maybe a Yaris) with parking lights.

Michaell

I spotted a new F-150 running without lights tonight. I had to flash mine a couple of times before the driver got the hint.

fintail

It's staying lighter a little later now, and locally, always raining. Still lots of no-lights people, Honda and Toyota are in the lead via my anecdotal observations, but that might just be via those cars selling so well here.

Your next road trip might be watched - Orwell would be proud, three cheers for small government and the authoritarian melding of public and private sector.

xwesx

Folks are sort of doing this type of thing voluntarily, in many cases. I just received an email this morning from an insurance company that basically says, "Let us track your every movement, and collect all your driving stats, and we'll give you a discount!" LOL

kyfdx

xwesx said:

Folks are sort of doing this type of thing voluntarily, in many cases. I just received an email this morning from an insurance company that basically says, "Let us track your every movement, and collect all your driving stats, and we'll give you a discount!" LOL

I bet a lot of people sign up for that...

But, even if it's only twice per decade, if I want to go 100 mph, I don't want to report it to my insurance company. (The Infiniti made that happen a lot more than usual..)

fintail

I can't believe people would trust both the insurance companies, and the brave "authorities" who will likely receive the information without protest, if they so desired. But anything to save a buck.

fintail

I saw a wacky rig on the road today, couldn't get a shot of it. Early 00s Ford heavy duty truck, flatbed dually. The inner dually wheels were missing, it only had wheels at the end, so it had this weird squatting look (no doubt quite safe). The cab was full of junk, and driven by a couple of younger guys, which surprised me, as the thing screamed old hermit. The icing on the cake, a "CNN is fake news" sticker - no doubt a perfect truck for the chemtrails/pizzagate types. That thing might be USA 2018 in vehicle form.

berri

Hahaha - they will not only find some "gotcha's" down the road, but will sell your info if they can make money on it!

moris007

In the May this year I want make a trip on my car to Arizona with my girlfriend. Firstly I would like visit Holbrook and Petrified Forest national park. After we will go to Phoenix where my best friend live. The trip promises to be long enough give that I will start from Oklahoma, but hope it will be cool and unforgettable.

berri

If you get a chance, drive some of the old Route 66 that AZ has preserved.

xwesx

Cool? In Arizona? In May? You may be somewhat disappointed.

tifighter

I was in Death Valley over the weekend and it was just below 80. I think I sunburned my ankle.

kyfdx

xwesx said:

Cool? In Arizona? In May? You may be somewhat disappointed.

Flagstaff might be cool... in either way you like.

cdnpinhead

Happiness = reality - expectations

Good luck with that AZ visit in May.

I have a quite different point of view, based on most of 50 years of off-and-on experience with AZ weather. Phoenix (the "valley of the sun") can be, and usually is, above 100 deg F from 15 Apr to 15 Oct. Earliest was 26 Mar, as I recall. You'll have to wait until June or July to participate in the 115 - 122 degree weather.

Oh boy.

fintail

Watch out on the roads around Seattle this morning, icy.

The braintrust sanded my street (hill), so it sounds like a gravel road when you drive on it. But go a block away, and it is still a black ice sheet with no treatment and no cares given. Someone important must commute on my street.

It never ceases to amuse me how a decade ago, the qualified experts who are in charge of infrastructure in this region would ignore any weather-related road events. But after mishandling of the 2008 snow event cost the Seattle mayor his job, they jump in and over-react (de-icer everywhere when it is 36F), or even better, react inconsistently.

fintail

Out on the road today, was behind an A4 with no normal brake lights, only a CHMSL:




Keep up the rep!

fintail

Random contrasting scenes in Vancouver: a dreary day with a brief comment by the driver:



And a sunny morning with the skyline and mountains in the background:

xwesx

Wow; that bicyclist just FLEW by you on the left there. Looked like he was riding straight down the lines.

cdnpinhead

I rode a bike in and around Vancouver in the early '70s and have done so in metro Phoenix more recently. If you snooze, you lose. It's definitely a Darwin situation.

I rode a motorcycle back in the late '60s until it looked like a losing proposition, especially in metro Phoenix. I quit and bought an MGB.

Riding a bicycle in heavy city traffic falls into the same category, but then I'm old and testosterone is but a fond memory.

fintail

Vancouver and Seattle are really twin cities in quite a few ways, including lots of bicyclists in both. Most mind their manners, but some can be a little iffy. The guy in my clip was heading down a hill, on to a stretch with few lights. I notice more scooters in Vancouver. Being on two wheels around these parts is a form of Russian roulette IMO. A motorcycle is always tempting to me, but my daily commute has me rethinking the idea every time it crosses my mind.

gagrice

Two wheel scooters. Coming out of Las Vegas into Red Rock Canyon we passed at least a dozen scooters with the same name on them. Must be the way to see the city and sites on the cheap. It amazes me how big Las Vegas has gotten. Fortunately all our banking and Costco are within a mile of the outskirts of Red Rock Canyon. It is a gorgeous 50 mile drive from Pahrump to Costco.

fintail

Once one is out of the city, that's probably a nice area for two wheels. I remember visiting Red Rock several years ago, I recall the roads were nice and open - Vegas has plenty of idle land. Even the grind from LA to LV was more fun than the rat race here, as speed limits are barely suggestions.

gagrice

Once you get past Victorville on the I 15, better stay in the right lane for anything under 75 MPH. The best part of the drive for us is the last 86 miles when we turn off the 15 and head across the desert on SR127. My daughter is coming the middle of this month. We will be making some day trips to Death Valley and over the LV. Hoping to see some wildflowers and some of the resident wildlife.

berri

I like that highway shot you took

gagrice

Not my picture. Posted on Pahrump FB page this morning.

https://www.facebook.com/LocalPahrump1/

tifighter

That highway shot reminds me of the 374 from Beatty into DVNP over Daylight Pass. I cycled it in Feb and the downhill on the other side was quite a descent. Nice country.

fintail

Watch out if you speed on the roads around here - speeding may result in a gun pulled on you, and another typical miscarriage of justice in the punishment.

berri

Hey, the driver didn't get jack rolled and carjacked like in many big cities

fintail

More fun on local highways

berri

Look at it this way, in Chicago gangbangers are taking pot shots at drivers on the expressways. A U-Suck sign it a bit funny in a way since you have talked about Seattle driving skills

fintail

As a statement on local driving skill, or perhaps consistency and accountability of rule enforcement, it indeed rings true.

tifighter

So last week, this happened-




Overnight trip on a section of the WABDR (Washington Backcountry Discovery Route). It had been raining a few days prior, so there were some pretty muddy sections. Another fun part was a slope called Baby Head Hill, apparently named for the rocks on trail that, you guessed it, were the size of baby heads. Morbid. Still, the Volvo got through; I was glad to have the slightly bigger tires and the skid plate. Well, and a group to go with. They would all stop and get out to see if I'd make it through whatever obstacle. Fortunately, I did.

kyfdx

Great pictures!

xwesx

So fun! Thanks for sharing, tifighter! That terrain looks a lot like home, though I never did any off-roading in my youth.

cdnpinhead

It's fun seeing someone actually using a vehicle for something it's designed to do, even though you're probably the only one in a 500 mile radius. Nearly all SUVs never leave the pavement, never mind station wagons. The few that do certainly provide lots of fun and memories.

xwesx

Our snow is melting fast now, but we had some huge berms along the road sides due to the larger-than-normal snowfall we received over the winter.

On the far side of the road from my driveway, the berm is still about 4' high. And, with the warmer temps, it has compressed to a nice, solid mass of ice. So, I drove one side of my Q7 up the side of it (driver side on the road surface, passenger side on the berm) yesterday with my kids in the car. At first, they said nothing, so I just kept angling up the berm and climbing higher. once we were up about 2.5' on that side, which induced a pretty substantial tilt inside the cab, they start yelling at me, "Dad! What are you doing?! You're going to flip the car over!" Hahahha

Ah, making memories, even if they're ''crazy dad" memories....

tifighter

cdnpinhead said:

It's fun seeing someone actually using a vehicle for something it's designed to do, even though you're probably the only one in a 500 mile radius. Nearly all SUVs never leave the pavement, never mind station wagons. The few that do certainly provide lots of fun and memories.

I'll bet it's a lot further than 500 miles, but you are correct. When I look at the interwebs, there are only a handful of people really off-roading these. Very few in the US, most are in Russia and those guys do post some wacky videos on youtube from time to time.

I have a friend who bought a Cherokee Trailhawk last year. Still hasn't driven it off pavement.

berri

Your Volvo looks pretty sleek amongst those SUV's !

cdnpinhead

We beat the snot out of our Pathfinder the first few years we had it and accumulated any number of dents on the undercarriage, involving the frame, but no harm, no foul; the thing sucked it up without complaint. Fun, but since then the "kids" have done less of it and the beloved PF went to the big scrapyard in the sky a couple of years ago.

andres3

tifighter said:

So last week, this happened-




Overnight trip on a section of the WABDR (Washington Backcountry Discovery Route). It had been raining a few days prior, so there were some pretty muddy sections. Another fun part was a slope called Baby Head Hill, apparently named for the rocks on trail that, you guessed it, were the size of baby heads. Morbid. Still, the Volvo got through; I was glad to have the slightly bigger tires and the skid plate. Well, and a group to go with. They would all stop and get out to see if I'd make it through whatever obstacle. Fortunately, I did.

Those tires look great, and appropriate for the task at hand.

andres3

Not a lot of opportunity to go off-roading in the Alltrack in San Diego. And the eastern deserts are more for serious sand duning and off-roading.

fintail

Probably the only Volvo wagon doing off-roading in the country. Well done.

Bluetec is 4Matic, but way too low for anything but an unpaved driveway.

Michaell

Back in the late 1980's, I owned an Isuzu Trooper. One cousin had a 1st generation Cherokee, and another a Ford Ranger 4x4. We would go to Hungry Valley (off I-5 near the Grapevine) and explore the trails there. We'd always find a steep hill that none of us could climb. The Trooper would give out first, then the Ranger. The Cherokee, with the 4.0L straight six, always made it further than the others.

Fun times.

tifighter

The XC70 probably has about 8.5 inches of ground clearance with this wheelset. Could be worse. Approach angle could be better, but a careful pilot can work with it.