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I've been on vacation the past two weeks and have been getting some driving in while I can. Last week Nancy and I trailed the Speedster 155 miles to the coast for a make-up drive since our last coast trip got cut short due to my carburetor fire. The trip was awesome. Over 200 miles of coastal adventures were experienced.

This week I've been sweating in the yard since Sunday getting yard work finished, solar panels cleaned (all 63 of them), windows in the house cleaned (all 32 of them), and various other chores. Average daily temps have been 105 degrees so it's been early to rise to beat the heat. I decided to treat myself with a One Tank Adventure today so I got up at 0445 hours and was out the door before 0515 hours to begin my adventure.

As always (well, almost always) my adventure took me to the Sierra Nevadas for some mountain driving. I've posted a link on Google Drive for a map of my trip. After I passed Hartland Christian Camp I stayed on what I thought was the main route after coming to an intersection at Eshom Valley Dr and Forest Rte 14S75. After a couple miles the road was becoming more and more less of a road. Pavement became spotty pavement, then gravel, then dirt, and finally a rugged dirt path with massive crevices due to erosion. I turned the Speedster around and headed back to the last place where the road was good. I met a guy standing on the side of the road who is local to the area and struck up a conversation with him. Turns out he's a Canadian/American artist/musician and he's selling his mountain retreat to move to Cuba to continue his life's adventure playing the clubs around Havana.

I confirmed with him my return route and continued on. I made a loop of the trip and only repeated the last 15 miles of my loop. All in all I was in for about 175 miles if you add the 30 miles it took me to get to the starting point from my house and another 30 miles to get home. The route couldn't have been any better with a majority of the roads being shaded by the canopy of the forest. I went out in shorts and a t-shirt but could have used a sweatshirt in the early morning hours due to the chilly morning mountain air. I watched the sunrise over the Sierra Nevadas and stopped often to look at the majestic beauty of the sierras, to listen to the sounds that only the mountain solitude can provide, and smell the aroma of the pines. I stayed to the southern end of the SN due to the massive fires burning in the north. I managed to get above the smokey air where it was fresh but I could see the smoke layer as I was headed home. 

All-in-all it was a great day. Too bad Teby can't get out of bed at 0500 hours or the could have gone too.

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If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space!

 

 

 

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Nice, Robert.  I'm envious.  Our temps are a little lower (mid 90s), but our humidity makes the heat indices around 110 and sweating has no effect other than making you feel slimey - no cooling at all.  Our nightly lows have been near 80 with even greater humidity.  The result is no time of day in which a Speedster drive is particularly comfortable.  I think I drive it more in January than July.

Last edited by Lane Anderson
arajani posted:

@Robert M: Wow. Your car looks amazing! VERY Shiny! 

Thank you Anand. The detail shop I took it to was pretty amazing. Nice black and white tile floors, custom made Porsche sign on the wall, ice cold beverages as needed, super friendly detailer with these dainty well manicured surgeon-like hands and an award-winning smile.

The car was filthy when I came back and it cleaned up super easy because of the superb detail the week before! 

My wife returns to work next week now that school is starting again. She's away at the coast with her girlfriends so I teamed up with Teby for another amazing adventure today. 175 miles of driving bliss. Left the valley floor and headed to a road I haven't been on since I rode it on my bicycle. Except then I started and ended in the town of North Fork, CA for a 100 mile bike ride. Today's loop was much longer.

Today was awesome and very little traffic. It did get a little warm after lunch (100º)   but we were headed home so as long as we were moving it wasn't TOO bad.

Here is the link to the map:

https://drive.google.com/open?...xfmI&usp=sharing

Teby did have to put in a little bit of gas at Mammoth Pool but I think he could have made it without.The driving wouldn't have been as spirited if Teby was watching his fuel needle though. Finished the drive with some fabulous pulled pork, sweet potato fries (no shrimp tacos Stan), and an ice cold hard apple cider.

 

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