WALLA WALLA WASHINGTON 2010
After 35+ years since sitting in front of tv on the floor as a kid, finally made it to Walla Walla Washington!!
Calgary, Banff, Invermere, Cranbrook, Sandpoint, Cour D'Alene, Walla Walla, Lewiston, Missoula, Kalispell, Glacier National Park, Coutts, Lethbridge, plus about a billion small towns.
2600 km round trip in 4 days driving holiday.
Average speed 88 km/hr
Top speed we hit 170km/hr (105 mph) lots of times (hey it's still a new car). MT does have speed limits now too.
Avg mileage 8.2L/100km or 34 imp mpg including 400 km drive home in very gusty (60 mph in some areas) miserable wind and also through 1" of snow at top of Glacier National Park plus driving like an idiot for some portions of the trip with me at the wheel (go figure!). Could probably do better if I lost some weight!
Altima Coupe 3.5 slingshots when passing. Wicked mid range and with CVT no shifting at all. Corners like a bastard too, very impressive. Bless her heart, my wife likes driving, coupes, big power, and she buys them too :)
Highway 12 between Lewiston and Missoula is a 200 mile+ fantastic twisty drive (last 100 miles going East is crazy) with trees or vertical rock walls on one side and 12" shoulder with drop into the rocky river on single lanes. Warm at the bottom, into mild snow at the top ears popping then back to warm at the other side, the curves never stop, short and sharp, long sweepers, from one to the next, some banked, some flat, some turns marked; some not, some guardrails; most not and and all are blind. Hardly any traffic too.Too bad its 500 miles from home but I'll be going back. Speed limit 50 mph down to 35 mph for some corners. Pick your own speed. Awesome.
Walla Walla Washington was average small US town except for motel girl who had 5 o clock shadow ***freaky***
No sign of Bugs Bunny.
No place to buy Acme portable holes either.
Hit one tumbleweed
Almost hit one old hippie van coming other direction, he was passing 3 cars at once when they popped over a hill, drastic action on Dawns part probably saved our lives and we managed to stay upright despite single lane, no shoulder. He was still in our lane as he went past and all I remember thinking was I was going to die before seeing Walla Walla Washington.
One BMW 3 series also passed three cars and he managed to get back into his lane as he flew past at crazy high speed, however the cop who had been following us for the last 30 miles did nothing about it. WTF?
BC has flush toilets in outhouses in the middle of nowhere. AND cutouts in the walls so you can look out or the squirrels can look in while you're having a pee.
Walmart shoppers are the same everywhere!
Kalispell restaurants close at 8:30-9:00 pm. You've been told.
Brought back womens shirts, 1 box of Whoppers, 1 Chili pepper Christmas ornament, 4 bottles of wine and two blue Hot Wheels GSX cars.
XM trial ran out the day we got back.
Tom Tom worked well
Tim Tim got us lost
No tickets.
CBSA guy seemed interested in us. When we told him we were in Walla Walla Washington he asked why and I said "Haven't you ever seen Bugs Bunny dude?"...."get the **** out of here" he said....so we did....
Arrived Calgary back right in middle of whiteout. Last 15 km took us over an hour.
Pics attached, including small segment of highway 12 from google maps. 5th pic was from window of moving car.
later
Tim
PS yes we both love driving.
