It all started from my house in Annapolis Maryland and down with the DC area Z3 group to SC. After that I tagged along with the Tennessee group (Great beer, company and food. Thanks guys) on my way to Denver. At Denver I picked up my girlfriend at the airport to start the long roundabout drive to see this great country we live in.
This is the list of what I did:
* Grand Junction, CO (Hotel)
* Arches National Park, UT (tent camping)
* Mesa Verde NP, CO (camping)
* Grand Canyon NP, AZ (camping)
* Las Vegas, NV (Hotel)
* Zion NP, UT (Hotel on the 11th)
* Bryce Canyon NP, UT (camping)
* Salt Lake City, UT (Hotel)
* Jackson, WY (Hotel)
* Grand Teton NP, WY (camping)
* Yellowstone NP, WY (camping two nights)
* Badlands NP, SD (camping)
* Chicago, IL (friend’s house)
* Home on Sunday afternoon and spent the afternoon washing my very dirty car.
Some facts about my trip:
* 7,281 miles driven
* 29 mpg average (The performance driving at HC brought this way down!)
* 52 mph average speed
* 120 mph top speed (girlfriend would not let me go faster)
* Most speed traps in Ohio
* No V1 required (Never got ticket! And I was always speeding, well almost always)
* Only lost $120 in Vegas
* Was very close to wining a Z3! (I had 0 0 7 in a row but it was 1/2″ away from the Pay Line)
What I had in a Z3 trunk:
* Two 24 disk CD holders (I have the OEM 6 disk CD player)
* 2 1/2 person tent and tarp
* Two sleeping pads
* One sleeping bag (other one was behind passenger seat)
* Camping stove
* Two tanks of fuel
* Pots, pans, cups and plates
* Spices and other cooking stuff
* Food for over five days
* Three sets of shoes but only two sets in the trunk at one time (Hiking boots, Tevas, dress and I forgot she had to bring some running shoes so make that three sets in the trunk)
* Two rain jackets and two Fleece
* Two bath towels and one hand towel
* One large duffel bag and one backpack
* Clothing for two people for over a week each that included summer type for the hot desert, winter type for the COLD Mountains and a nice set for going out to dinner.
* Toiletries for each
* I almost forgot that wonderful backpack from Homecoming. (My girlfriend made me mail it home in Salt Lake City but we did use it)
Things in the front seat:
* Girlfriend
* Small cooler
* Small backpack with snacks
* Water bottle
* Camcorder, two cameras and film (I will post pics later)
Things behind seats:
* More food
* Extra hats
* Car cover
* Car washing stuff
* Sleeping bag
* Coffee mug
Worst thing that happened on the trip other than the 11th: Ran over a large rock! 20 miles from Jackson, WY it was raining and dark. I was behind a RV and a pickup truck in a one lane road. They of course just drive over the thing but I was not as lucky. On coming traffic prevented me from avoiding it so I had no choice but to drive over it. Not a good thing to hear as the big bang under the car and the many pieces of rock I saw in the rear view mirror as I drive on. With no place to pull over and the heavy rain I drive the 20 miles to town. I wanted to put the car on a lift to see if the car was damaged but I could not find a single gas station with a service center. I checked the oil and looked under the car. I saw a scratch in that bar before the axel but it all looked ok. Well after many looks under the car and repeated oil checking the car ran like a champ.