Across North America in Five Weeks! (1 Viewer)

[SMG]

This is amazing!

 

[aging fleet]

Totally enjoying the updates, thanks for posting all of this.

 

[40Wanted]

Like everyone else, loving the updates and pictures! Awesome trip!!

 

[4mydogs]

But, it worked out! And we made it to Jackson Hole fine... followed of course by...

Big Sky Country... Now I know what it means... (I like the look of those dusty tires... courtesy of Montana, stamped in Idaho, confirmed in Wyoming!)

The Grand Tetons... is there anything else after this???

This is the exact spot where they explain (in those white boards in the background) a significant portion of the geologic features of the Park... and where you can ACTUALLY see the Teton Fault!

I have pics of myself and family at these same spots, taken last summer. Thanks for the memory jog!

 

[hecrod]

So we left Grand Teton NP early today... drove by this reflection pool... and had to stop. Is that amazing or what? Now I know what Forrest Gump was talking about... unbelievable.

And one last picture of this truly spectacular place... by Jackson Lake... (the 40 almost looks like a toy car in this picture doesn't it???)

And we drove on into Yellowstone... that mystical place of the otherworldly landscapes. And it truly was that… so much so that it was a bit hard to relate to! Steam coming off from interminable valleys… sulfur-smelling ponds… fire-ravaged hills, for miles on end… the bluest of blues… rust-colored water flows… geysers spewing boiling water 100+ feet into the air (Old Faithful!).

Some major, major force is brewing down there… the earth crust is mighty thin here… this experience was out of this world.

See that little bit of "dust" on the right? by the walk stands??? It's steam... one of the warning signs stated something to the effect of... "Dangerous Terrain... many have been scalded to death here... stay on designated paths...)

I'll load a few more pictures shortly... but first, some thoughts...

• The pictures above (and forthcoming) are just of a few of the locations... dozens of these pools and geysers by the road as you drive along! Imagine those that cannot be easily reached... out of this world.
• I think one should read about this place before coming here, if one is to get a better understanding of what's going on... otherwise it runs the risk of coming across as just "something interesting and unique..." It is that, but it is much more of course.
• it may be early summer, but... the traffic! Jeez! We got to see Old Faithful in action, and then got stuck in ~an hour traffic jam leaving the place! And let me tell you, people are not patient with others driving older cars on the road... which brings me to:

The Technical Section: for the second time in two days the 40 struggled in higher altitudes... up to 7,500... no problem. Above that it loses power, and misfires from time to time. Even though I put in 92 octane in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. What can I do? Octane booster? My plan for tomorrow was to get to Billings through Beartooth Highway, but I'm seriously rethinking that option... the Pass over the mountains goes up to 10,900+!... 10,900+!!! Not sure my 40 can go there... any feedback from experienced high-altitude drivers would be seriously appreciated and considered...

Some more pictures coming up in a few...

Read and Ride along!

Hector & Chelsea


PS. I have a very, very poor signal here in the Northeastern portion of Yellowstone National Park... hopefully the pictures will go through!

 

[cbmontgo]

Great pics.

See if you can find ethanol-free gasoline. It should help. I've spent a good bit of time in the Rockies with 2F engines.

Puregas.org will have a map of local stations.

Performance loss comes with the territory though.

 

[cbmontgo]

 

[ginmtb]

Computer screen background!!! Amazing shot!

 

[hsumbal]

You are blessed to live in such a beautiful country with diverse conditions....I have never enjoyed a thread this much..

Coming to the technical side...Power loss over 7500 feet is natural in a naturally aspirated engine. I have the experience of driving my 40 to over 13,500 feet but I run a straight six Diesel. It looses power but doesn't miss fire....Higher Octane fuel or for that matter Octane booster will not help as higher octane does not improve the burn ability of the Gas, it just improves the compress ability. Any thing over 87 Octane should be fine for an old banger like 2F....

 

[FJ40Mitchell]

Computer screen background!!! Amazing shot!

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I was thinking the same thing!! Probably my favorite shot from the trip so far. I was wondering, how are you posting these updates? Are you just using your phone and cellular data or do you have a router or similar and a laptop? I want to do the same thing on my own trip. If it's cellular, what carrier do you have? You seem to have really good coverage so far.

 

[eman375]

Hector, your engine was probably tuned for sea level so if your rig is naturally aspirated, you're going to experience the fuel/air mix issues. I have an old f engine in my 40 and and have had it at altitudes above 12k ft with few issues. In fact, Vail Pass in Colorado is on I70 and I believe the summit is ~11k ft above sea level. It's a stressful drive to be sure because it's a slow pull. Beartooth Pass is as spectacular a high altitude road you'll ever see. Fortunately, the road winds so speed isn't an issue but on the weekends there can be a lot of traffic. Good luck and keep on posting up!

 

[eman375]

A Beartooth primer!

 

[JohnnyC]

If your going to be at a high altitude for extended time you can use the high altitude jets that are on your oem carb ... Or lean the carb a bit to get a decent common ground

 

[Birdmon]

Computer screen background!!! Amazing shot!

View attachment 1280560

I have been following and loving every post you make. I think that this picture is BY FAR the best one to date. Just stunning!!

 

[Aaron225]

Roadtrippers.com

Ever heard of it? I had not, until this past week (Thanks Nicole D.!) Excellent website for, guess who, road trippers! Where most maps apps (like Google Maps) stop at 10 way points, roadtrippers gives you 60 (!), along with suggestions on places to see / visit within a 30-mile radius of your planned route. Check it out... really an excellent tool!

Below is a screenshot of my current planned track. A few changes, mostly on the 2nd half of the trip, and only after listening to your feedback as to places to go. Distance so far... ~5,800 miles... 33 days. An average of 3-4 hours a day on the road.

View attachment 1188770

General places of focus (very high level):

• West - National Parks - Olympic (WA), Jasper (AB), Banff (AB), Glacier (MT), Grand Teton (WY), Yellowstone (WY), Wind Cave (SD) and Badlands (SD). I am missing ID... may have to do something about that...
• Midwest - Places like Orange City IA (Dutch culture), Winterset IA (Bridges of Madison County), Amana Colonies IA (German culture), Kalona IA (Amish). Will drive Route 66 for a while (mostly in IL into St. Louis), also alongside the Mississippi River, and will visit Springfield (Lincoln!)
• South - Nashville! Louisville! Bourbon and Whiskey in TN and KY (distilleries... here I come!) Coal Heritage Trail and Mountain Shadow Byway in WV (these should be spectacular). Charlottesville (Jefferson!). Fredericksburg (VA), Alexandria (VA) and Gettysburg (OK, this is a bit North) for some Civil War History...
• East - DC, NYC and Boston.

I'm starting to get pumped up here! What am I missing? Willing to adjust here and there. Get ready for some spectacular pictures come June and July...




The 40 Story:

Extra Parts: Have by now extra hoses, belts, u-joints, etc. ready to be loaded up when the time comes. Also JB Weld, duct tape, fuses, jump starter, etc. I'll be ready on this front... no doubt. Will also have a list of contacts (which you guys WILL provide -)) for potential emergency purposes along the way...

Storage: bought four of these ammo storage boxes... they should fit great. I should get them this week... will post some pictures once they are in to show you the fit. May buy some army bags as well to latch onto the cage.

Comfort / Security Improvements:

• Seats - bought a set of 330xi front seats... thanks to your advise here. To be installed soon.
• Tuffy console and Metaltech singout bumper - also to be installed soon. Pictures within a few weeks!

Still to decide on the roof top tent and fridge.

Thanks for all of your commentary and suggestions... I am incorporating them as much as possible. Do keep them up!

Just for kicks, how my 40 looked ~ 5 years ago...

View attachment 1188805

Checking out for now...

Hector

I would suggest going into Idaho and going up hwy 95 to Canada. Lake Coeur D' Alene and Lake Pend Orielle in Sandpoint will blow your mind.

 

[hecrod]

Yes... a geyser IN the lake (Yellowstone Lake)...

Not for swimming... note the steam...

We actually got to witness Old Faithful in action! Note the person on the right of the picture for scale (the white dot!)

Few "40 pictures" in Yellowstone... most of the features are not next to the road... notice steam in the distance (not the clouds LOL).

Damage from the '88 and '94('93?) fires still clearly visible throughout the Park...

That's it for today!

This was supposed to be posted last night... very poor reception. Which gets me to Mitchell's question... I'm hotspotting my laptop to my cell, on Verizon... has worked pretty good so far (until last night that is...)

Drove Beartooth! More in a few hours...

 

[hecrod]

Great pics.

See if you can find ethanol-free gasoline. It should help. I've spent a good bit of time in the Rockies with 2F engines.

Puregas.org will have a map of local stations.

Performance loss comes with the territory though.

Thanks for this, and for taking the time to include the screenshot! Unfortunately I was staying in Canyon Village, and there was nothing in the screenshot in between the Village and Red Lodge... already past Beartooth. But, awesome information and tool to have. Thanks for sharing...

Computer screen background!!! Amazing shot!

I was thinking the same thing!! Probably my favorite shot from the trip so far.

I'm not going to argue... it is a good one... the blues are amazing...

Hector, your engine was probably tuned for sea level so if your rig is naturally aspirated, you're going to experience the fuel/air mix issues. I have an old f engine in my 40 and and have had it at altitudes above 12k ft with few issues. In fact, Vail Pass in Colorado is on I70 and I believe the summit is ~11k ft above sea level. It's a stressful drive to be sure because it's a slow pull. Beartooth Pass is as spectacular a high altitude road you'll ever see. Fortunately, the road winds so speed isn't an issue but on the weekends there can be a lot of traffic. Good luck and keep on posting up!

@eman375 You got everything (stressful, spectacular, speed wasn't an issue) here right!


So we (yes, Chelsea participated in the decision) decided to go for it and to take the Beartooth highway. I couldn't not do it, after being there, but I was a bit concerned... I admit. Your input helped! But first, we had to get out of Yellowstone, and I'm telling you, I found the Northeast side (taking us to the Northeast entrance) more impressive than the South side, which we took coming into the Park. This means nothing, other than I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of this side of the Park...

The evidence of past glaciers were everywhere... see the "erratic" on this picture to the right... stones that seems to appear from nowhere, but which were actually "dropped" there by receding glaciers. This one was bigger than the 40!

And the quintessential picture of the American West... yes, those are buffalo in the distance on the right (we came across hundreds of buffalo today... in multiple locations...) the sounds in this spot... I'm sure you can imagine it...

And one more of this surreal place...

And yes, someone before encouraged us to be aware of bears... I had my can of "bear spray" near me at all times (saw a black bear today)!

But we had to eventually leave Yellowstone... moving into...

 

[tls3601]

How is your 40 running at 7500 ft plus??

 

[hecrod]

Beartooth Scenic Byway... what's interesting here is that the Yellowstone ends, and one leaves Wyoming into Montana (Cooke City), but 10 miles or so later, one dives again into Wyoming, and that's where the fun actually begins!

From Wikipedia: It traces a series of steep zigzags and switchbacks, along the Montana-Wyoming border to the 10,947 ft (3,337 m) high Beartooth Pass. The approximate elevation rise is from 5,200 ft (1,600 m) to 10,900 ft (2,400 m) in 12 mi (19 km) in the most daring landscapes. Enough said... Why isn't this part of Yellowstone??? I suspect there's a story there...

The climb itself??? I think the picture below will be quite descriptive... constant zig-zagging for miles on end. I need not have worried about speed too much though, because there was no way anyone could have driven much faster than 25 mph anyway! That said, I did pull to the side a few times to let the traffic go, but that wasn't a problem at all. The 40 handled the climb well... power was off, but, no sweat!

Note the switch-backs below...

And we made it! Along with some bicyclists... and here I was losing my breath just driving!!!

Another set of just surreal landscapes... the plateau at 10,000 feet +. I'm getting a little repetitive here, but... I can't help it!

And one last reminder of the absolute need for "Safety First!"

This is it for now... in Billings tonight... Chelsea is heading home tomorrow. It will be just me in the 40 for a little while... Heading Southeast tomorrow towards Devils Tower.

I'll touch base tomorrow!


Hector

 

[sggoat]

Another couple of hundred miles today… from Calgary to Glacier National Park’s entrance in Montana (St. Mary’s), with a couple of stops along the way…


But first, I found this drive from Calgary to the US border via Route 2 to be fantastic. Maybe the fact that I’m driving slow allows us to take more of it in, but fact is that the visuals throughout the entire 8-hour (including stops) was extraordinary… just a sample below with the Rockies on the US side visible in the distance (they were visible from 100+ miles out!). And yes… it was as windy as that windsock flag indicates!

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Our first stop was at the Canadian Grain Elevator Discovery Centre in Nanton. Glad we stopped! For a grand $5 per person you get a personalized tour of the inside of one of these elevators… the ingenuity and engineering behind their operation is truly outstanding. Almost no motorized equipment… most of it operated by pulleys and counterweights. An engineer’s paradise…

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We also visited the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site near Fort Mcleod. Also a very educational place… of Native American Indian aspects, dating back to 6,000 years ago! That’s my daughter Chelsea on the spot!

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The border crossing back into the US??? No one in line! Can you believe that? We even had to wait a couple of minutes for the attendant to show up and wave us in! And friendly to boot.


Our first picture back in the US… with the "Welcome to Montana" sign in the background... very windy still.

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Now with my very happy and energized daughter in tow…

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Tomorrow? Going to the Sun Road… need I say anything more?

@White Stripe... They are Mud Terrain 255/75R17... yes, 17 not 16...
@DSRTRDR... I had checked the tire pressure (and had it aligned as well) before shipping it... haven't checked since. I'll do that in the next 1-2 days. Thanks for the note.

Hector & Chelsea!

This is prob too late, but if you go to the Sun road--go UP the back pass way and COME DOWN the main road--you won't be in the outside lane!