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texas mongrel

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
May 3, 2009
1,661
Houston Texas
Following our awesome Rally 12 in Park City, Roz and I went on a ten-state road trip (pre-planned, but also extended a little to avoid being in Houston during and after Harvey). We got home Tuesday evening. House is fine but Houston is a bit of a mess; what should have been a twenty-minute drive round the Loop to our house took almost three hours. Each day is getting better however as more streets re-open.
Leaving Utah, we drove up into Idaho and went kayaking on the Teton river, then through Jackson Hole into Yellowstone to go hiking with Friends. After that it was off to Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore and the Badlands before heading down through South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Couldn't quite get over 5,000 miles, but it was close. We tried to use roads rather than freeways and got to run on some of the best (and worst!) two-lanes I've ever driven. The car came home bruised but intact. Some observations;
- America is one huge-ass country - we drove for hours on end without seeing any signs of civilization, it's a vast and wonderful place.
- We stayed in small town motels and ate at local diners. Everyone was consistently warm and friendly, and always interested in, and knowledgeable about, the GT.
- I know there are threads on this forum about the rise of autonomous vehicles and our current younger generation's lack of interest in cars. However, I think this view is often coloured by our right and left coast, big city sensibilities; all the kids in the towns we visited went gaga over the GT and they were obvious gearheads. I don't think we need to worry about the demise of the car hobby
- every politician in Washington should be required to make a road trip like ours: It meets you up with the heart and soul of the US, real people living real lives, all having common (and common-sense) views on our political class. I won't get political here, but they all were big-time Trump supporters
I'm attaching a few pix, including one showing the accumulated crud that gets on a car after 5K miles - this is for my fellow member of TDCC (The Dirty Car Club) Mr Mark McGowan, who also knows that you NEVER wash the car until its back home in the garage.
Can't wait for Rally XIII!
 

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FENZO

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 7, 2008
1,518
Lafayette, CO
Awesome. Good times!
 

Simon

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Feb 19, 2013
1,230
Houston
Welcome home! Our luggage arrived yesterday....the trip was epic! Next time maybe we could do it as planned:willy:thumbsup
 

Mark McGowan

Ford GT Team Alumni
Jul 31, 2006
133
That is why Lynn and I drive to the Rally, love the small towns. Try Laramie Wyoming next time for a great Black ice tea and pesto turkey sandwich:) Welcome to the TDCC.
 

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Spirit

Heritage GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Glad to hear you are back, no problems, and no home damage upon your return to Houston.
Trip to Utah was a good run for old #6 as well, only issue was rear bulkhead window crack.
Just another battle scar for the old girl.
Driving is what it is all about.
:cheers
 
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Vince H

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 23, 2012
2,417
Southern California
Susan and I really want to do this one day once our kids are sick and tired of us.

Vince H
 

AJB

GT
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jun 28, 2006
2,942
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
God bless America.
Andy (ajb)
 

Apollo

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Aug 5, 2006
2,499
Pahrump, NV
Great Post, Home sweet home! :usa
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,258
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Glad to hear your home is intact and Houston is recovering quickly. Now all the attention is on Florida, which by all accounts is about to get pounded much harder by wind, maybe not so much by rain.

Yeah I love road trips too, and these cars are meant to be driven, not sit like garage ornaments. After getting back home from the Rally last week, I just ticked over 54Kmi.

My car took a significant beating from crap on the road, and I have a bunch of gravel chips in places I didn't before the trip. Of the major roads I drove across the USA, I think easily 20% of their length were under construction of some sort, especially US 2 and I-80. I'll be busy touching up areas and looking for ways to protect them in the future. I even got some chips THROUGH the clear bra on the front fenders. Lesson learned: I will order the front mud flaps from Stillen and put them on ASAP. I should have done that before the trip, but I thought putting clear bra on the front half of the car would be sufficient. It wasn't. I'm also tempted to try to make some mud flaps for the rear wheel wells too. And helicopter blade tape.

I agree that the middle of the country is warm and friendly (and definitely Trump Country), and every gas stop for me resulted in at least one conversation about the car and photo session. People out there love and depend on their cars and trucks.

As for the TDCC club, well I have to admit that I took my car to a car wash in Minot ND in the morning after a long wet and dirty segment across US 2 where sections of the road were literally mud. I just couldn't bear to see it that way...

There was a thread several years back about road trips. I'm thinking of resurrecting it and adding my road trip info I put under Rally 12 to that thread instead.
 

Special K

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Aug 23, 2016
1,775
Franklinton, LA
I'm glad you were able to experience "real" America! We take our kids on several road trips every year with the goal of them seeing all 50 states before they are 18. Back roads and small towns are our paths and waypoints as well. If you pay attention, every single one of them tells a story. We too, are awe inspired at the vastness of our country and kindness of its citizens. All seems right with the world while on our adventures. Glad you made it home safe!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

STORMCAT

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
May 25, 2006
7,549
Ft. Lauderdale
Great Story Dave !! I am happy to hear you took the time to view this vast land we have. One of the reasons I don't mind driving ross country if I have the time.. Happy for you and Roz !! ,, and a little jealous.. :biggrin