SA:AK>AZ Day 1 - We Are in Montana
10-19-17, 12:55 AM
#1
SA:AK>AZ Day 1 - We Are in Montana
Fast-forward to Oct . 18th. 2017
Time to Go! I have best guesstimated my arrival to pick up my Little Red Bastid before winter strikes Canuk cowboy country. So you can imagine my horror when I arrived then had my first look at the SA with a scattering of SNOW all about! (pic). The SA sat dutifully under its cover and was coaxed into ignition under a pall of white smoke that I think momentarily hid the house from the neighbors. Damnable Alaskan visitors. Warmed up she purred like a kitten, tho the last miles in from BC in July had brought out a distinct whine from the gearbox that made for some sleepless nights. Will she make the last 1500 miles to Sedona? Or will she cough up a tranny in Atomic City, UT? gads.
The Alaska Highway was polished off her bulkheads and we headed over to a pretty nifty Calgary Rotary shop where, amongst piles of rotor housings (they re-man and re-jig new ones there...) and a pretty impressive FD, the good folks at RX7 Specialties (pic) drained the tranny and topped it with fresh AMSOIL synth and a report that no gears or their bits seemed to be attached to the magnetic drain plug. Yes! (or: maybe?).
Friends helpfully noted that "you will probably spend most of the drive in 5th gear anyway". Uh-huh.
I week visiting (and driving around to verify it might continue to shift...) and it was time to hit the road. Good bye Calgary! (pic)
Time to Go! I have best guesstimated my arrival to pick up my Little Red Bastid before winter strikes Canuk cowboy country. So you can imagine my horror when I arrived then had my first look at the SA with a scattering of SNOW all about! (pic). The SA sat dutifully under its cover and was coaxed into ignition under a pall of white smoke that I think momentarily hid the house from the neighbors. Damnable Alaskan visitors. Warmed up she purred like a kitten, tho the last miles in from BC in July had brought out a distinct whine from the gearbox that made for some sleepless nights. Will she make the last 1500 miles to Sedona? Or will she cough up a tranny in Atomic City, UT? gads.
The Alaska Highway was polished off her bulkheads and we headed over to a pretty nifty Calgary Rotary shop where, amongst piles of rotor housings (they re-man and re-jig new ones there...) and a pretty impressive FD, the good folks at RX7 Specialties (pic) drained the tranny and topped it with fresh AMSOIL synth and a report that no gears or their bits seemed to be attached to the magnetic drain plug. Yes! (or: maybe?).
Friends helpfully noted that "you will probably spend most of the drive in 5th gear anyway". Uh-huh.
I week visiting (and driving around to verify it might continue to shift...) and it was time to hit the road. Good bye Calgary! (pic)
10-19-17, 01:22 AM
#2
OK - so the straight shot to the US border from Calgary, Alberta is a bit dry... (pic). Its Prairie and ANY curve is welcome. There are five routes to chose to enter Montana: the nearest the Rockies is the one at Babb (pop: 3?) It is dinky and isolated. And so is the great piece of pavement that runs thru it.
The Rockies are in full view and today I am heading to Helena for the night. I got off late (11AM) and have over 380 miles to go. The Mountains are dramatically backlite with big storm clouds - and snow - roiling over the tops. (pic) But the Prairie-side (east) is dry. So far. This is HWY 89 and it is two decent lanes of nice curvy road, some of it breathtakingly so! And its October. The famed Glacier National Park is closed, along with most of the tourist hangouts. The tourists are GONE. Its just me and the local PU crowd, and damn few of them. The benefit of my late Calgary start pays off with near empty roads (are you sensing a pattern??) bathed in warm evening light, that are mine to conquer. This is why we own sports cars folks!! (Pics). Narrow winding roads thru grasslands and foothills against the drama of the Rockies settling in for winter. I pass snow patches here and there beside the road, in the shadows. They know the time is coming - and mine is short. Another week and I would have to take the I-15 to the East and the drone of hours of dull, straight prairie highways. I am in luck....
The Rockies are in full view and today I am heading to Helena for the night. I got off late (11AM) and have over 380 miles to go. The Mountains are dramatically backlite with big storm clouds - and snow - roiling over the tops. (pic) But the Prairie-side (east) is dry. So far. This is HWY 89 and it is two decent lanes of nice curvy road, some of it breathtakingly so! And its October. The famed Glacier National Park is closed, along with most of the tourist hangouts. The tourists are GONE. Its just me and the local PU crowd, and damn few of them. The benefit of my late Calgary start pays off with near empty roads (are you sensing a pattern??) bathed in warm evening light, that are mine to conquer. This is why we own sports cars folks!! (Pics). Narrow winding roads thru grasslands and foothills against the drama of the Rockies settling in for winter. I pass snow patches here and there beside the road, in the shadows. They know the time is coming - and mine is short. Another week and I would have to take the I-15 to the East and the drone of hours of dull, straight prairie highways. I am in luck....
10-19-17, 01:36 AM
#3
It seems over too soon, and I have 150 miles to go as 89 eases me away from the foothills and back out into the prairie. But the Mountains still beckon on my right as I race with the sun to catch as much as I can before it gets dark. An occasional deer darts across the road to remind me what is in store if I get cocky in the dark...was that it?? No more mountain dream-roads today?
Yes. I get routed thru some tiny towns lost in the backwater of the foothills as I turn onto HWY 247 and now I am REALLY alone. It runs right back to the mountains then parallels them thru dramatic, stone-spined foothills and valleys like I have seldom seen. (pic) The SA is alive in the cool crisp fall air. The corners are sweeping and the suggested speeds are almost laughable. Bless Montana for setting the limits to 70, but I am assuming that is a suggestion. I am in heaven. Dusk falls as 247 merges with the I-15 for the run into Helena. But there is one final gift. The two roads merge just as I-15 winds into a fabulous run of canyons, 4 open lanes (2 ea way) and only an occasional car to overtake. Headlights up, the sky is lit with the last remnants of daylight. One last climb and a huge valley, rimmed with mountains reveals the twinkling lights of Helena.
Can't wait for tomorrow...
Stu Aull
80GS
Montana...
Yes. I get routed thru some tiny towns lost in the backwater of the foothills as I turn onto HWY 247 and now I am REALLY alone. It runs right back to the mountains then parallels them thru dramatic, stone-spined foothills and valleys like I have seldom seen. (pic) The SA is alive in the cool crisp fall air. The corners are sweeping and the suggested speeds are almost laughable. Bless Montana for setting the limits to 70, but I am assuming that is a suggestion. I am in heaven. Dusk falls as 247 merges with the I-15 for the run into Helena. But there is one final gift. The two roads merge just as I-15 winds into a fabulous run of canyons, 4 open lanes (2 ea way) and only an occasional car to overtake. Headlights up, the sky is lit with the last remnants of daylight. One last climb and a huge valley, rimmed with mountains reveals the twinkling lights of Helena.
Can't wait for tomorrow...
Stu Aull
80GS
Montana...
10-19-17, 08:52 AM
#5
Rotary Enthusiast
I am, apparently, on the wrong US coast. What a great trip. Keep posting!
Last edited by Toruki; 10-19-17 at 08:52 AM. Reason: Grammar and typos!
10-19-17, 02:24 PM
#6
Amazing adventure Stu. Jealous as hell!!! Looking forward to having you in AZ for some annual rotoring together. Hey, how ironic that you were on Hwy 89 yesterday in MT. 89 here in AZ is also one of the most scenic and fun stretches of asphalt. Be safe, but have fun. Hope that little Bastid keeps humming right along!
10-19-17, 10:22 PM
#7
Thanks Guys 
Yep a whole world of amazing roads right here in the US of A. I am hitting mountain roads like I have seen driving in Europe....only without the traffic. This Great, Big Country is full of paved surprises!
Stu
80GS
somewhere in southern Wyoming...
Yep a whole world of amazing roads right here in the US of A. I am hitting mountain roads like I have seen driving in Europe....only without the traffic. This Great, Big Country is full of paved surprises!
Stu
80GS
somewhere in southern Wyoming...