SL Diesel - Road Trip (Canadian Rockies)
 

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1435606854

Well it's been awhile since we headed out on a road trip, so it's just about time to start packing and heeding the call of the open road.

As my Mercedes diesel is a R107 (380SL), I spend my forum time in both the diesel forum here, and the R/C107 forum over on BenzWorld - depending on whether the issues are engine/transmission related or chassis related.

There is a group of SL enthusiasts over there that have planned out a coast-to-coast Canadian trip from Ontario to Yukon Territory and we decided to join them for a portion of the west-coast swing through the Canadian Rockies. The event is called Benzypalooza and here's their itinerary.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1435607349

We will be driving to the Vancouver area and then heading east to the Rockies to link up with them somewhere along the Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper. Here's our itinerary for that portion of the trip - Calgary on the 12th, Hinton on the 13th, Kamloops on the 14th and then back to the Vancouver area on the 15th. Should end up being about 4500 miles.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1435607561

Hoping for good weather along the way and another uneventful road trip experience.

Looks like fun!

Let me know if you pass through my area again, I owe you and your wife a cup of coffee.

I'm hoping there will be time to do just that.

Alright Mack4 I'll be looking for you on the 12th geez thats Stampede rodeo Yahoo!!! You'll have a boot stomping horse snorting diesel puffing good time! Did you think of accommodations could be difficult?? Nice itinerary and nice country you're headed to.

Looking forward to all the pics and updates

Have a great trip and be safe!

My wife won't go on long driving trips anymore unless I keep the travel to bout 300 per day max. so a trip like this would be out for us.

Looking forward to hooking up with you in Hinton, Mach.

May the Roadtrip Gods smile down on us.


Palooza 2015

The success of my 24 year marriage is based on my absences. :)

A roadtrip a year with the boyz keeps us all sane.

The icefields parkway is an amazing highway. We took a trip along there a couple years ago. Banff was surprisingly commercial for a park!

I enjoy reading your trip threads. Safe journey, have fun!

My Wife :gorgeous: and I just passed 29 yrs, we go together everywhere :love:.
And road trips, she is ready. just have to say the word.

Ya gotta be best friends.


Mach4...have another safe trip, and have fun.


Charlie

If you're passing near Seattle, you can come see my in-progress r129 diesel SL! (And my w115 240D and my w124 300DT) Would love to meet you.

Have a great trip!

-Bruce

Echo that :thumbsup::thumbsup:

P & K, we'll be watching. Have a great time.


.

Unfortunately.....a car accident she had in 2006 drove the road trip bug out of her. She is a lousy passenger now....even though she was the one driving!

Alas....there will be Valium in her future if we ever hit the road together, again. :)

T-1!

Mach....see you in 7 days.....I'll be connected so if there is an issue fire me off a PM.

Don't know if you have my cell# or not...........

Safe driving!

|Mach4 Let me know if you pass by Vancouver area.. Would love to meet you & see your SL.. :):)

T minus 2... The car is pretty much ready to go at this point. Got the oil changed - a little early, but don't want to have to deal with that on the road. Inspected pretty much everything and changed a couple of exhaust hangars. The flex disk is starting to show signs of age and I'd be concerned except that these are the larger V-8 disks and I'm running a (relatively) low power diesel, so should be fine for the time being.

We are in Winnipeg now. See ya soon!

On the road in about an hour...

Bon voyage!

Safe Travels. :)

Charlie

X2- I will be following you (here on this thread of course:D)...Rich

Survived LA post rush hour traffic - Arrived Bakersfield safely.

Nothing picture-worthy.

Bakersfield is oil country did you park beside a pump jack at your hotel? With a bit of midnight plumbing you could have a tank full of crude. Bakersfield is an interesting place for sure.

I am not surprised.

Bakersfield to Grants Pass
 

Had a wonderful day on the open road today.

Left Bakersfield at around 7 heading for Oregon. Anyone that has been around the CA Central Valley in July, knows the heat can be absolutely brutal, but not today. Believe it or not, at noon going through Sacramento the temperature was 68...and that's not a typo. It was a spring-like day. (Now I'm realistic enough to know that on the return trip I'll pay the price)

Most have probably heard about the CA drought and I can attest that it's real. Here's a picture of a pickup truck driving around on the dry bottom of the Shasta Reservoir.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436499244

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436499257

Here's a couple images of the drive through Northern California

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436499269

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436499280

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436499292

Had a little excitement on the drive today. Just before Oregon I looked in the rear view mirror and saw flashing lights, I knew it wasn't for me as I meticulously held the speed limit all day. A pickup truck roared by followed by 12, count 'em 12, law enforcement vehicles - Sheriff, Highway Patrol, City Police and what appeared to be fed-type officers in unmarked cars. Moments later the "procession" went the other way on the other side of the freeway, and then again passed me going back the original direction. Further down the road I saw officers getting ready to deploy spike strips and other potential tactical strategy. Unfortunately I have no idea what the chase was all about and didn't get to see the end.

The car has done really well thus far with the only issue being the rear view mirror - the little flipper quit flipping and the mirror started flopping. The fix was a piece of coffee stirrer strategically placed - but I'll definitely need a new mirror.

The fuel mileage is quite good thus far with tank #1 providing 38.2 mpg and tank #2 providing 34.2 mpg.

Jumped off the road earlier than I wanted due to rain and getting tired.

Tomorrow, Canada

I didn't know the Blue Brothers drove a pick up these days

68 sounds perfect. Need some of that over here, 54 and raining at the mo :sad3:

Enjoy the drive and we need more pics.

Have a great trip and say hello to Nobby and Mrelbe from me ....great couple of guys. We met in Florida a few years ago at a GTG...

It was great meeting you and seeing your wonderful car in person! Have a great rest of your trip!

http://brucecaruthers.com/Cars/91-SL...964_resize.JPG

http://brucecaruthers.com/Cars/91-SL...965_resize.JPG

http://brucecaruthers.com/Cars/91-SL...966_resize.JPG

Made it to Canada. Yea!

It was a pretty grueling day, due primarily to heavy Friday traffic in Portland and Seattle.

The border crossing is a piece of cake - 3 minute wait, friendly agent and on my way. It's always great spending time with my niece and her husband. Looking forward to some Canada sightseeing and local activities before heading out for Calgary on Sunday.

As referenced above, had a great time with bkc, seeing his great project and comparing swap notes. One of the best things about road trips is meeting up with forum members and putting the face with the posts.

The car continues to run really well. Had another good mileage day - 35.1 mpg. I'm not sure what's different that's producing the high numbers, but my suspicion is speed. On my east-west trips I've been going the limit 70, 75 and sometimes 80 (west Texas) and on this trip it's been pretty much all 65... also winds, this trip has been pretty much calm with what winds there were were pretty much quartering on the tail.

One thing of note was I've yet to see an accident on this trip.

glad the trip is going good!

love that mpg, what a cool car

stay safe

And we are in Canmore!

Funny.....We,ve already covered 4000 kms and haven't seen an accident, either.

Continued safe travels.

yeah its always like that. The I5 sucks in rush hour. Welcome to my neck of the woods! You picked a good time to come up as its cooler this week. Much more pleasant temperature right now.

What? you didn`t stop and see Buck Owens Crystal Palace?

He put Bakersfield on the map. :rolleyes:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5P6zdlPJ34


https://www.google.com/search?q=buck+owens%E2%80%99+crystal+palace&biw=853&bih=569&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=mU-hVZO6MYnp-QG-m4mABw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&dpr=1.5











Charlie

OMG! :eek:...............:D

Another fantastic day in Canada. Made the trip from just outside Vancouver to Calgary, just a hair under 600 miles. The car continues to perform logging 34.9mpg for this the 4th tank...couldn't be happier.

Finally got a chance to catch a picture of the car along the way.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761310

It was a nice Sunday for cruising and there were other project cars out enjoying the open roads.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761388

The Rocky Mountains are spectacular and the weather cooperated fully. Here's some representative images...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761520

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761541

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761560

And some more...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761710

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761762

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761826

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761864

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436761895

And a few more...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436762039

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436762059

One rather interesting thing that I observed along the way, were these animal bridges. The highway is fenced to prevent wildlife from getting on the highway, but these bridges are placed strategically to allow them to get from one side to the other.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436762093

I couldn't tell if these horses were heading to the Calgary Stampede or just out for a Sunday afternoon walk.
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436762108

Yee Ha ya made it Mach4! What Mach4 failed to mention was the Coquihalla Highway it's about a 120 mile length of highway starting around 400 foot elevation with the summit at about 4000 feet and yes a solid 60 mile climb but a fun ride down the other side. Owner operator truckers hate it. Too much stress on there rigs in both directions some end crawling the entire length. Welcome to Calgary Mach4!

Yea, I couldn't help thinking about what the road would be like in winter. I like to watch Highway Thru Hell and can't believe what the truckers and travelers deal with. It's an amazing highway for sure, one I've wanted to run(in summer) for a long time.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436795472

There is a bypass to the Coquihalla which was the old number 1 highway it will add a couple hours to the journey more switch backs but no real long climbs more up and down much easier on the trucks. Way more scenic more intense driving as its mostly single lanes and yes you pass through Hells gate.

Finally connected with Paul in Hinton, Alberta.

If you go around Vancouver area again let me know.. Maybe a little meet would be great.. It would be nice to see the 380sld:)

Calgary to Hinton via Banff and Jasper Parks
 

Today started in Calgary with a nice drive back to Banff after spending the night there. Calgary is out on the plains and is definitely cowboy country. Yesterday was the last day of the Calgary Stampede so all the news stations had results and profiles of the various event winners. The biggest event seemed to me to be the Chuck Wagon Races. Definitely a different culture, but very cool!

Something else caught my eye and that is that all the hotels have electrical boxes by each parking stall - yup, to plug in engine heaters in the winter so they'll start the next day. Wonder how the old 617 engine would do under those conditions? ...not gonna happen anytime soon, however!

Leaving Calgary you quickly begin to see the Rocky Mountains off in the distance with the long perfectly straight roads belying the twists, turns and ups and downs ahead.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436841741

As you get closer, it's as if the mountains rise directly out of the flat with no transition.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436841752

We had another day of great weather and warm, comfortable temperatures.

The Benzypalooza wasn't the only car event in town as there was a huge gathering of Model T vintage cars out for a run through the mountains - must have been two dozen or more presumably running from Banff to Lake Louise.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436842278

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436842862

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436842862

The car did really well again, posting a very respectful 36.2 mpg including all the stops for scenic viewing, grades and road work.

I chased Nobby and mrelbe all day but, as it turned out, they got an earlier start and overnighted in Canmore which was the better part of an hour closer, so they were already settled in in Hinton by the time I got in.

Tomorrow on to Kamloops.

Got to see the first real wild life today (pictures below).

Here are some scenic images from the day. Everything is so spectacular it's really tough to pick the images.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843754

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843754

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843754

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843754

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843754

Wildlife
 

Right on the side of the road there was a family of mountain goats grazing on the nice grass along the road. They were completely unfazed by the traffic or the people taking pictures.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843428

Down the road a little further was an elk eating right on the edge of the road.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843469

Also came across a group of elk relaxing on the side of the road.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436844033

And a bit further along, this group of sheep grazing on the road grass.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843810

And what day in the mountains would be complete without some car pics - this is a car forum after all...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436844273

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436843978

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436844561

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1436844561

beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing with us

Nice pics Paul. You'll need to come to France. Quite a lot of those critter bridges there.

Bette sends her regards.

Keep 'em coming. :D

Thanks for the pictures! Great wild country there! Glad your benz is working so well!

I seem to remember predicting you would get mid thirties for Mpg in it back when you were in the build.