The BEST Trip (yet) in our E9
We have a 1970 2800CS with M30B35, 5 speed, limited slip and vented disc brakes (all thanks to SF Don).
We primarily drive it in TSD Rallies & on road trips, but had not been on a tour, so we decided to try the Corps of Discovery tour.
We met in Camas, WA & visited with the 8 or so other cars, then started driving east. We did not know exactly how things would go, so we chose to follow along at the back of the pack.
After about an hour, we came upon the group pulled over on a quiet mountain roadway. The Tour Leader felt that we had missed a turn, so we all turned around & found another road about 1/2 mile back. We drove along that one & in about 10 minutes came to the end of the pavement (oops).
While we were standing around trying to figure out where we went wrong, a hunter in a pickup came out of the gravel road. The Tour Leader spoke to him for a bit, then came over to the group & announced that the hunter had said that the gravel section was only about 5 or 6 miles long, then it turned back to pavement & led to Trout Lake (our scheduled lunch spot). There were some pretty nice cars on this tour, so everyone discussed what we should do (the plan had not included dirt/gravel roads). Eventually we decided to try the dirt/gravel road. Now I should say that I have a fair bit of experience on gravel roads due to my work (I am a Land Surveyor & specialize on cellular communication sites), so when we decided to try the gravel road, I did not want to be stuck behind someone that was going to creep along trying to save their car or avoid the dust, so I volunteered to go first.
I started out fairly slowly to get a feel for what this particular road was like, but it was in pretty good shape with a few potholes here & there. As my confidence in the road & my car on the gravel increased, so did my speed. Soon we were drifting through some of the bends, just flying along, having a good old time. We did hit one pothole that was hidden in a shadow, but the car took it in stride & we continued to the end of the gravel. I stopped there, gave the car a quick once-over, & thought about what to do then. We did not know if the others would find the gravel too intimidating & turn back, or what (no cell service). We decided to soldier on to Trout Lake & have lunch & see if they would show up there.
Now, to say that the gravel ended is an understatement - we were now on a newly paved, single lane forest road. After a very short while, we were really enjoying the car & the road, watching for oncoming hunters (there were very few), again flying along, having a good old time.
We soon reached Trout Lake, purchased some lunch & found a park to eat (& pee) in. After we ate, I tried texting our fearless Leader. I was quite surprised to find that they were just entering Trout Lake & headed to a restaurant for lunch. We joined them while they ate, then took off for our destination hotel.
The next day was unremarkable (although it did include a visit to Maryhill museum's annual car show & ended in Dayton at the historic Weinhard Hotel).
They 3rd day started off slowly, then we met for lunch in Pendleton. We got caught up talking to a couple that we recognized from their participation in TSD Rallies who were in their Aston Martin DB7. We got separated from the group (we left late) & so really got to exercise our cars on Hwys 74 & 206 to Heppner & Conden - GREAT ROADS - we had a ball! We stayed at the Conden Hotel, another very nice historic hotel, but had to travel to Fossil to the Royal Stag to eat (Condon had rolled the sidewalks up).
We really enjoyed this tour & look forward to running in another!
We have a 1970 2800CS with M30B35, 5 speed, limited slip and vented disc brakes (all thanks to SF Don).
We primarily drive it in TSD Rallies & on road trips, but had not been on a tour, so we decided to try the Corps of Discovery tour.
We met in Camas, WA & visited with the 8 or so other cars, then started driving east. We did not know exactly how things would go, so we chose to follow along at the back of the pack.
After about an hour, we came upon the group pulled over on a quiet mountain roadway. The Tour Leader felt that we had missed a turn, so we all turned around & found another road about 1/2 mile back. We drove along that one & in about 10 minutes came to the end of the pavement (oops).
While we were standing around trying to figure out where we went wrong, a hunter in a pickup came out of the gravel road. The Tour Leader spoke to him for a bit, then came over to the group & announced that the hunter had said that the gravel section was only about 5 or 6 miles long, then it turned back to pavement & led to Trout Lake (our scheduled lunch spot). There were some pretty nice cars on this tour, so everyone discussed what we should do (the plan had not included dirt/gravel roads). Eventually we decided to try the dirt/gravel road. Now I should say that I have a fair bit of experience on gravel roads due to my work (I am a Land Surveyor & specialize on cellular communication sites), so when we decided to try the gravel road, I did not want to be stuck behind someone that was going to creep along trying to save their car or avoid the dust, so I volunteered to go first.
I started out fairly slowly to get a feel for what this particular road was like, but it was in pretty good shape with a few potholes here & there. As my confidence in the road & my car on the gravel increased, so did my speed. Soon we were drifting through some of the bends, just flying along, having a good old time. We did hit one pothole that was hidden in a shadow, but the car took it in stride & we continued to the end of the gravel. I stopped there, gave the car a quick once-over, & thought about what to do then. We did not know if the others would find the gravel too intimidating & turn back, or what (no cell service). We decided to soldier on to Trout Lake & have lunch & see if they would show up there.
Now, to say that the gravel ended is an understatement - we were now on a newly paved, single lane forest road. After a very short while, we were really enjoying the car & the road, watching for oncoming hunters (there were very few), again flying along, having a good old time.
We soon reached Trout Lake, purchased some lunch & found a park to eat (& pee) in. After we ate, I tried texting our fearless Leader. I was quite surprised to find that they were just entering Trout Lake & headed to a restaurant for lunch. We joined them while they ate, then took off for our destination hotel.
The next day was unremarkable (although it did include a visit to Maryhill museum's annual car show & ended in Dayton at the historic Weinhard Hotel).
They 3rd day started off slowly, then we met for lunch in Pendleton. We got caught up talking to a couple that we recognized from their participation in TSD Rallies who were in their Aston Martin DB7. We got separated from the group (we left late) & so really got to exercise our cars on Hwys 74 & 206 to Heppner & Conden - GREAT ROADS - we had a ball! We stayed at the Conden Hotel, another very nice historic hotel, but had to travel to Fossil to the Royal Stag to eat (Condon had rolled the sidewalks up).
We really enjoyed this tour & look forward to running in another!
