The Long Road Home

[Sean240Z]

Day 1 – Shalimar, FL to Memphis TN

- 482 miles (20.3 mpg)

- 12.75hrs on the road

- avg speed - 37.8mph (abysmal (see below), did average 75-80mph on open road)

- meal breaks – 2 (2hrs total)

- potty breaks – 8 (2hrs total)

- minimum time between potty breaks (mtbpb) – 24 minutes :mad:

- time in traffic jam – 55 minutes (5 cars rear ended each other, rather impressive)

- ambient temperature – low-mid 90’s degF,

- humidity 70%,

- Equivalent temp (feels like) 102 degF

- 4.5 yr old daughter lasted 1.5 hrs in Z (Barbie’s "Twelve Dancing Princesses" movie and bag of Doritos distracted her)

- 7yr old son lasted 30 minutes, feigned dehydration and heat exhaustion to justify return to a/c equipped van

Lessons Learned:

- when driving mid-summer in non-a/c equipped car, apply sunscreen liberally to left arm and left side of neck and face BEFORE you hit the road

- kids aren’t as tough as they used to be

- a downpour when stuck in traffic jam in non-a/c equipped Z, in 90+degF heat, REALLY sucks (words like sauna and tropical rain forest come to mind)

- it’s a good idea to carry a towel so you can dry off while stuck in traffic and after each stop

- Hwy 78 from Birmingham, AB towards Memphis, TN is a really nice stretch of road. Rolling hills, green scenery, not much traffic and no cops (hit 90+mph for a stretch then had to slow to 65mph to let the wife and kids catch up.

Tomorrow – no significant driving, we're going to visit Graceland and pay tribute to the King!

[kenz240z]

You may consider dropping down into Nebraska on your way to Mt. Rushmore to visit carhenge - http://www.carhenge.com/

[george71z]

Sean, We're gonna miss you at the convention in October at Daytona. I remember your car from the Z-fest's in Orlando. Good luck on the relo'. We'll be waiting to hear the 'I put my Z up for the winter' stories from you.

[Sean240Z]

Thanks George. I was really hoping that the Z Convention would have happened a little earlier in the year. I don't think I'll be making another 3,000 mile trip to Florida in the Z in the next little while . I really enjoyed the two ZFests I attended in Orlando and the Mitty Classic at Road Atlanta. I enjoyed getting to know you, Chris, Dave, Carl and others.

Well day two and three are in the book.

Day 2 was great. We spent the day in Memphis and spent 5+ hours at Graceland. Graceland was awesome! I was only five yrs old when Elvis died so only new of him through his music. Visiting Graceland, you really get an appreciation for the huge impact he had on western culture. Elvis rocks!

After Graceland, we went to Mud Island River Park. They have a scale model of the Mississippi River which is pretty cool.

Day 3 - 515 miles (11 hrs on the road). The drive went really well (mid-80degF but low humidity ). The corner of Arkansas we drove through was pretty flat and boring. But some of the Interstate through Missouri was rolling hills which was nice. When we were not checking out every single rest stop in Missouri :mad:, we kept up a constant 80 mph. The Z felt really good at speed, though I kept thinking that a six-speed or an overdrive would really drop the revs and improve my gas mileage (averaging 20 mpg). At approx 80 mph, the motor is turning at ~3,000rpm (5-speed from 280zx with 3.9 R200).

[deadflo]

You must have the later five speed. My 79 280ZX with the 3.9 rear is at 3000 RPM at about 65MPH.

[gogriz91]

If you get this in time and it suits your travel plans you may consider stopping at the Custer Monument in Crow Agency MT for an hour, well worth it. Also, you might think about taking the freeway from Billings to US89 right outside of Livingston MT and going north on it through White Sulphur Springs and Maverick. Much nicer scenery and you won't lose much time, should be beautiful this time of year.

Finally, if you haven't already been, Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump just north of Ft McLeod AB is worth 90 minutes too.

I miss long road trips in my Z but just don't have the stamina any more during the summer.

[sleepyzzz]

you are right about that eastern side of Arkansas being flat and boring. it is a shame you didn't make it over to nw Arkansas and ride thru the Ozark mountains on your way into Missouri. we have some great hills and curves along with some beautiful views. i love driving my z around here.

that is an impressive road trip you are making in the z. goodluck with your adventure.

[Sean240Z]

gogriz91 - thanks for the advice. I modified our route to take US89.

Yesterday we drove through NW Missouri and then Iowa. Wow, and I thought Arkansas was flat!! This was the most boring day of driving so far.

I am looking forward to today and tomorrow. Today we'll be visiting Badlands National Park. Tomorrow Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and then Devil's Tower. We're taking the scenis route on this section of the trip so I'm hoping for some nice roads and a few good pics.

Cheers,

[zKars]

sean240z

Glad to hear you trip is going well.

If you are still planning on going through Calgary Alberta in the next few days, if there is ANYTHING you need, Z related or otherwise, please let me know. The Calgary Z Club is at your service!

Jim

[Sean240Z]

Thanks very much Jim. I appreciate the offer.

Today we drove from Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD. Along the way we visited Badlands National Park, which was awesome. I've got some great pics which I'll upload when I get a chance.

Tomorrow should be an awesome driving day with a lot of scenic byways, on our way to Wyoming by way of Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial and Devil's Tower.

[Sean240Z]

Part 1 - Wow! What a trip! We finally made it to Cold Lake, Alberta after 9 days and 3,200 miles / 5,100 km. The Z ran great. We often ran at 80-90mph with no significant problems. The only issues I ran into were wrt the carb mixture. I last set the carb mixture in Florida in January; consequently, they were running rich at +5,000 ft, and 104 degF in Montana. I also had an idiot let his car door go and scratch the paint on my drivers door :mad:. I got his insurance info so now I've got to sort that out.

My favorite parts of this trip were driving through the Badland National Park in South Dakota and the two-day drive from Rapid City, South Dakota to Great Falls, Montana.

Over the two days between Rapid City and Great Falls we drove over some fantastic roads with spectacular scenery and got to take in two awesome sunsets.

We started out by heading to Mount Rushmore. We stopped on the road to Mount Rushmore and took some pics and then proceeded to the Crazy Horse Monument. The visit to Crazy Horse was awesome. They’ve been working on it for 50 years, and it’ll probably take another 100 to finish. The Visitor’s Center there was really well done. As a bonus, it’s free admission for active duty military.

We then proceeded south then east and took the Needles Highway Scenic Drive (SD-87) in Custer State Park. This road was fantastic, though a little narrow at times with quite a bit of traffic. Quite a few hairpin turns with some spectacular views once you get to the summit.

Then it was US-16 (another fun open road) through Hill City (where my door got bashed :mad: ) and on to Lead. We then went south-east on US-85 to the Spearfish Canyon Highway (14A). This was another awesome road (highly recommended) as it follows the Spearfish River towards I-90.

We then put the pedal down on I-90 to get to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming before sunset. Highways US-14 and WY-24 on the way too and from Devil’s Tower were a blast. As we were getting to Devil’s Tower late in the day there was no one on the road. I loved this road as it twisted and rolled through the Wyoming county side. We got to Devil’s Tower just before sunset and got some really nice pics. We then left Devil’s Tower and spent the night in Sheridan, Wyoming.

The next day was STINKING HOT (no a/c)!!!! Records were set as we proceeded through Billings, Montana. I believe the high was 104 deg F. Fortunately, I didn’t find it too bad as the humidity was quite low. It did feel like a blast furnace though, when I stuck my arm out the window. We blasted on I-90 until we exited onto US-89 (GOGRIZ91 thank you, thank you, thank you for the recommendation!!!!) towards Great Falls, Montana. US-89 was an incredible road. With a 70 mph limit you don’t loose much time vice taking the interstate and the roads and scenery were spectacular. We took in another fantastic sunset to finish off an awesome two days of driving.

The next two days were pretty boring but we are now in Cold Lake, Alberta, waiting for our furniture to arrive.

I also reached a milestone on this journey. When I bought my 240Z in 1991 (my senior year in high school) it had 71,000 miles on the odometer. Today, my odometer rolled through 142,000 miles. I have now driven more miles on my Z than all previous owners combined. It’s now truly my Z

Thanks to all of you for your recommendations. This was definitely an unforgettable journey which I was fortunate enough to take in my 240Z.

Below are a few pics from Badland National Park.

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Crazy Horse Monument (for an idea of scale, the four heads of Mount Rushmore would fit inside Crazy Horses head)

Needles Scenic Highway

[Sean240Z]

Part 2-

Devil’s Tower, Montana

On the US-89

Sunset Photos

Me and the Z