A nice leisurely car thread.

No Politics
No Iraq
No gay debate

OK after reading the threads my mind is swimming in the stinkiest pile of BS I've ever encountered and I need to take a 2000 mile road trip.

What car would you take and what destinations would you stop at? Ie, tracks strip clubs restaurants.

I'll start after my morning meetings.

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted by BusyBenz

How about a trip to hell?

. . . Make sure the A/C is in tip-top shape.

I love New Mexico; it's got everything from deserts to forests, mountains to plains, lakes to sand dunes and Carlsbad Caverns, and Albuquerque and Santa Fe for cities.

If I ran out there from NO, I'd love it to be in a W126, say a 560SEC. No, wait, gas-sucker. A 300SDL? Or a modern CDI!

Take a trip up the eastern side of the Mississippi River, from about St Louis to where it diverges in Minnesota. Continue from there across the river and continue to International Falls, MN. very pretty country and lots of cool villages and shops. When heading home, be sure to stop in St Paul, MN and get some Thai or H'mong cuisine and see the statue commerating the Mary Tyler Moore show (just kidding about that).

[elau]

I would love to go across the country in a carefree manner with my roadster. Stop at every state and just take in what this vast country has to offer.

[Hatterasguy]

Give me an Enzo, a V1, $50k cash, a GPS, and a stun gun. Ahh the makings of the best cross country trip ever.

[PHAEDRUS242]

I'd take an old Honda motorcycle, my son and best friend and cruise through the western mountains. Camping, beer and long drawn out soliliquies expounding on the division of classic and romantic thought. Copious amounts of conflicted internal dialouge are a must.

Oh wait, that was "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

We were about 30 miles outside of Barstow when the drugs began to take hold...

[shane]

I love the trip from Dallas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. No it aint the prettiest, but it is nice and desolate with not much traffic. Now if the damn texas highway patrol would lighten up it could be invigorating as well. As a matter of fact I am taking this trip saturday. Vehicle of choice is an '89 Ford F150 XLT Lariat with 42k orig miles with all opts. I have to take the Ford out there so I can bring my '89 GTA with 8k orig. miles back to Dallas after New Years. Dog as copilot. Dog barks at cows and howls when I blow the horn.

[crash9]

Well I’d be in a Westy camper. That’s my favorite way to go. Got to go back to the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. Crossed over them one time in the middle of the night and didn’t see but one car for about four hours – it was very spooky. Never really saw them, but could just feel that they were majestic.
I’m getting to the point of wanting to replay some experiences. After many passes, I found that great German restaurant in Fredericksburg Texas, but have never been back since. I like to spend more time in Savannah GA and Annapolis MD. I’d like to see what Jasper Arkansas has turned into and see if OJ’s Chicken is still along the road too Little Rock.
Actually I’m looking at a pretty nice mountain right now. Twenty miles up a dirt road is a real nice little lake – I think I’ll go fishing – thanks for the idea.

[R Leo]

Thanks for the diversion MM.

First choice would be an extended road trip, a la "Blue Highways" in the lovely and charming Marlene. With the dogs, a load of 'car camping' gear in the back and time on my hands, my route would be sans schedule and well off the beaten path.

I can imagine that it would look a lot like this:

[KirkVining]

Probably the best car trip I ever went on was from Hampton, N.H. to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York, that I drove in my 58 Austin Healy 100-6 back in 1973, to my college roommates wedding. Mountain roads the whole way, if you stay off the interstates, some of the coolest curvy roads in the world, every other turn a hairpin- the stretch thru Vermont Route 9 is the absolute coolest. If I could, I would make the exact same trip in the exact same car. There is nothing like English sports cars for roads like that, and that car had serious nut. Second choice would be the road from Santa Fe New Mexico to the Carson National Forest that runs thru Los Alamos and the Jemez mountains, taking you right into the crater of the Jemez volcano, and after that to some of the most spectacular absolute wilderness in the country. I'd do that one in a '66 Chevelle with a 427.

[KirkVining]

Originally Posted by shane

I love the trip from Dallas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. No it aint the prettiest, but it is nice and desolate with not much traffic. Now if the damn texas highway patrol would lighten up it could be invigorating as well. As a matter of fact I am taking this trip saturday. Vehicle of choice is an '89 Ford F150 XLT Lariat with 42k orig miles with all opts. I have to take the Ford out there so I can bring my '89 GTA with 8k orig. miles back to Dallas after New Years. Dog as copilot. Dog barks at cows and howls when I blow the horn.

The way I go to New Mexico from Dallas when I want to see the sites is to take 380 out of Denton. That old state road will take you right into Roswell. From there, take either 84 or 284 north to Santa Fe. I think 84 is the wavy washboard highway you see on TV a lot, just one short 20 ft rise and fall after another for a hundred miles - a great highway if you like to get all four wheels off the ground. 284 is the flat land highway - no cops, blow your motor up if you feel like it- if there are any cops you'll see them 60 miles off. Great place to see antelope and such. The word desolate only begins to describe it. You can drive for hours and not see one car or house. Best to stop for gas whenever you see it.

[kerry]

I'd take the 71 Travco, hitch up the 23' Macregor behind it and drive to the Finger Lakes in NY. Then I'd launch the sailboat in the Erie Canal and putt along on the 8hp Honda across NY state and then turn north at Albany up into Lake Champlain and eventually out in the the St. Lawrence. I'd head upstream and stop in Quebec City and Montreal, spend a few days in Kingston, sail across Lake Ontario to Oswego and then back into the canals for a trip down to NYC and finally back up the Hudson and Mohawk to the motorhome. Great history, wonderful scenery and French culture.

Kirk,

When you get to I-40, cut back east on I-40 to NM3. Go north to I-25. You will drive through some of the most incredible scenery in the west. You will descend into the Pecos river valley and wind your way through some really rustic villages and past a winery as you follow the river. It won't matter what you are driving at that point.


Steve

[KirkVining]

I'll never forget a fishing expedition I went on when I was a kid on the Hudson. We got lost in a fog bank. When we finally came out of the fog, we came right out under Sing Sing. It was a horror-film kind of moment - the place is terrifying looking from that point - it was like Dracula's castle appearing in the mist. The guards in the towers had a close eye on us, wondering WTF we were doing, and you could see their machine guns and rifles. Man, did we ever row.

[KirkVining]

Originally Posted by steve hutson

Kirk,

When you get to I-40, cut back east on I-40 to NM3. Go north to I-25. You will drive through some of the most incredible scenery in the west. You will descend into the Pecos river valley and wind your way through some really rustic villages and past a winery as you follow the river. It won't matter what you are driving at that point.


Steve

Thanks - I drive out there once a year, usually in the first two weeks in April when the wildflowers bloom in the mountains and the whitewater rafting is the best. I used to live in Los Alamos, and it was the best two years of my life in so many ways. I've never tried that route, sounds cool - I'll give it a spin.