Hi all...
I wrote the list a couple months ago before my trip across the US in my B.
I want to thank all of you who helped with with pre-travel information and
tips, and those that responded to my dad's email when I was having some
problems at higher elevations and called him for tips.
The trip...
San Jose, CA to Daytona Beach, FL. 3,600 miles - 3,300 with the top down!
My goal was to stay on the small two lane highways and avoid the
impersonal, load interstates.
I started in San Jose, on a less than perfect day. Overcast and cool temps
after weeks of beautiful weather. The first day, we drove down US1 in
California to San Luis Obispo. The incredible drive through Big Sur made
up for the less than stellar weather conditions.
We then continued on towards Santa Barbara then across California to Joshua
Tree Natinal Park. The sun broke through the cluds over night, and was
looking like what you'd expect from Southern CA!
>From Joshua Tree we began the hottest day of the journey. Temps in the
120's. The park rangers said the ground temps can reach 140, and I'm sure
they did that day. The car was running warmer than usually, but nothing to
worry about. I had the heater blowing through the defrost to help keep
things as cool as possible. The most rewarding part of this torturous leg
was seeing all the new, cars overheating on the side of the road --
especially a new Jeep Cherokee. Those poor saps, running their air
conditioning...
Out of the heat, and into the higher elevations. We headed for the Grand
Canyon. The car was really gasping at the 7,000+ elevations that the Grand
Canyon offered. It took some pretty complicated driving (i.e., using the
hand brake to stop so that I could keep my foot on the gas to maintain the
RPM's so the car wouldn't stall). I was glas that we had a few days at the
Canyon to rest. If you consider the 18 hour hike into, and out of the
Canyon a rest. That is a grand canyon!
The elevation didn't get much better though as we left the Canyon to head
towards Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff was a nice city, and I did meet a fellow
'B owner there.
On to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. The first rain. Of course,
putting the top up didn't help keep us too dry! :)
The drive from the Petrified Forest, down highway 180 towards Silver City,
NM was one of the nicest of the trip. Through winding hills, down into the
desert, then over the Silver City. Beautiful. And, a little more oxygen to
help satisfy the car.
Another fun drive from Silver City, NM up to the Gila Cliff dwellings. A
40 mile drive that takes about 2 hours because of the twists and turns.
>From Gila, to El Paso, then over the Austin, TX. Not much exciting driving
for this stretch, but it was still enjoyable. It's always fun with the top
down! :-)
The humidity really started to make its presence known from Austin through
to Florida. It wasn't so bad when we were moving, but stopping wasn't fun,
for me or the car.
By the time I got to Florida, I was a bit road weary and finally traded the
fun, two lane highways for the more rapid interstate. It rained the last
hour, of the drive pretty steady. But, there was no way I was going to end
this journey with the top up. So, I got wet.
Once I figure out how, I'm going to get some pictures from the trip on the web.
Thanks again for your help in making this trip great!
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Mark A. Wise Tel: (+1) (904) 226-7104
Department of Psychology Fax: (+1) (904) 226-7050
University of Central Florida E-mail: wisem@db.erau.edu
Orlando, FL USA
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