Lets see, where did I leave off....
Ahh, right, the mountain. Everyone got lined up on the gravel, most everyone was out taking pictures or getting their video cameras put on and ready. Some of us even put on their cameras without SD cards and furthermore went to the trouble of "recording' video footage of ripping up the mountain :frustrated: It would have been nice if everyone could have taken off at the same time, but other lame, slow traffic kept coming off the main highway to do nothing but impede a large group of testosterone filled Audi nerds from going all out on the mountain. Perhaps it was for the best though as no one had any accidents. As we wound up and up, it started to rain and the temps dropped drastically, I almost felt as if I needed a jacket up there. There was two routes to go and the first way we went led us to a lodge where we got out, took more pics (I didn't though), and bathrooms were used before going to the other side of the mountain. We rounded up and headed out. back down a ways, then turned north and back up we went. up and up and up. It was a beautiful drive, one that I might have had video footage of if I wasn't a complete dunce :frustrated: . Once we got to the next destination, we all lined up for pictures and then ate lunch generously provided by Audi Henderson. Sandwiches, chips, and drinks (though I think the chips were brought by the Leader of the Iroz clan). Out again for a bunch of pics...
Sean has a mighty nice interior. If this is what the URQ's interior looked like brand new, man, sign me up (I seem to get in them when they look like old raisins)
some of the rest of the cars on down the line
After hanging out, chatting, and finding a steep incline with lots of loose rocks to travers part way down and take a leak (since I opted out of the bathroom stop at the lodge), everyone started to disperse to go down and do whatever they wanted to until the Banquet. I was chasing John in Seans wide fendered CQ, and Jim was chasing me as we wound back down teh mountain. This time we didn't have as many slow pokes hanging us up
quite the scene to look up and see the front of Jims car get BIG and then small and then BIG and then small in my rear view mirror
Once we got back to Johns place, I thought this was a cool shot of the rain clouds in the background
We gathered at the Alliante' Casino/Hotel at 7ish and had wonderful food to choose from. I had the Chicken Parmesan and then afterwards Cheese cake. I had an a great time just sitting and talking with folks that I don't normally get to, plus made a new connection with a guy named Rudy, who came in his S8 since his URQ wasn't quite ready for the trip. Stories abounded. It was great. Then came the raffle and awesome stuff was to be won. Ben hit the jackpot and came home with Koni struts. I was sure I'd have to bind and gag him for the ride home, but he practiced self control quite well
. I really wanted to win one of the service uniforms, but alas, I was meant for a shirt, a decal, and coupons. It's ok, I didn't really go for prizes. My prize was driving my own car all that way and back home again, I couldn't ask for anything else. well, maybe a ride in Jims car..... Speaking of which, he was super tired, had to get up at 5am to head out to the track, and I was slated to give Todd a ride in my car after dinner (we left the banquet room maybe 11?), so he went back to Johns to go to bed, and as I'm walking out to go for a ride with Todd, Jim calls me and says "man, it's killing me, you've driven all this way and last time you didn't get a ride"... LOL. I felt so bad because I knew he was really tired, his eyelids were hanging pretty low after dinner
.
I gave Todd a ride and when we got back, Jim was waiting in the parking lot. Since Jim, Todd, Ben, and myself were staying at the Irozio (my spin on the Bellagio since I don't think I would have had it any better anywhere else in Vegas), I told Todd, "um, you want to take my car back ?" He's like "really", and I said " just don't wad it up or I'll be forced to kill you". I jumped in Jims car, we promptly broke any speedlimits and had some good laughs. That car is fast. Not just "wow my dads 350chevy has an RV cam in it and will smoke the tires in 2nd" fast, it's "holy cow, we're going how fast?" fast. I've ridden in Javads car with the 40R, and that had a boost hit that would mush your brain into the back of your head while taking your breath away from compressing your chest in, and you do all you can to hold your bowels and bladder so as not to soil the seat. Jims car isn't like that. It comes on and propels you with quite a different feeling. So usable, so solid. It's very impressive and a wonder that it's done on pump gas. My sights might be set higher in the future
Thank you Jim for that ride!
We got back to Johns and all crashed to sleep after midnight. A much needed night of sleep for me. The next morning after we all woke up, Jim was gone, no one knew where Darin was, and John made special pancakes for Ben, Todd, and myself (thanks John for the recipe!). Then out of nowhere, Darin comes walking across the room..... Still half asleep, looking like he was ready to sit down and watch cartoons for a few hours
. turns out he didn't feel well and decided to bail on the track event. After breakfast Ben and I were ready to head out, and Todd was going to stay in Vegas for a "paper packaging convention", and head out monday. We said our goodbyes and thanked John and his wife for their hospitality, took a pic of the "Audi Ranch" for posterity's sake...
and hit the road... the open road of the State of Nevada. Wow is there a lot of it.
you're allowed to go 85 right?
and take pics out the side while going 85?
Thanks to Ben for this cool shot
We ran up hwy95 towards Tonopah and in the middle of nowhere, on a perfectly flat, straight section of road, came across this..
I don't mean to throw salt on an open wound, but how do you end up on your side out in the desert, off such a simple road? It also represented the largest gathering of police cars we saw in all of NV. Other than these, we saw maybe one other lawman out dealing with a customer.
Barreling onward to Tonopah
I'm really not a big desert kinda guy, but I just couldn't seem to get enough of the views. There's nothing to see, but you can see it all. Quite the conundrum. Then there's McDonalds
20 chicken McNuggets, 3 BBQ sauces, and a large fry later, back on the road to Reno
I didn't, but Ben probably got some pics of when we drove through a town called Hawthorne, and there is all kinds of military stuff there. Bunkers, playgrounds, Water training centers? stuff that makes you really curious....
Good bye Reno. I have family in Sparks and I've been through/to Reno enough times to not really care anymore.
Up and over Donner pass
and wound down I80 to the Sacramento area. We went to my Dads shop and he had the lift free so I could poke around under my car and just see how things looked... and I found this
I didn't take the time to double check the alignment guys work before we took off from Salem, but I'd wager that was loose for quite a while. A little scary TBH, but I'm glad nothing happened. I decided not to flip out and rant at the tech, but I am going to show him this pic and see what his reaction is. If nothing else, a reminder to really be sure that you double check your work, especially when other peoples safety is on the line.
Otherwise, everything else looked great. I did notice a bubble/kink in my alu. exhaust just aft the SS/alu. transition. It appears I had a bit of tension on the exhaust that sorted itself out with heat from sustained high speed driving
. there appears to be no other issues with the exhaust and all the rest of my hardware seems tight and good to go. So we went out and grabbed chinese food for dinner, then headed back to Dans house for the night.
Monday morning we got up, loaded up and were ready for the last stretch. 580 miles back to salem (for me anyway, poor Ben had 300 more on top of that to get back to La Grand). We were both tired from all the driving and this section of road I know so well I didn't think much of taking pics. Just one of Lake Shasta
We got back into Salem about 7:30ish, loaded Bens goodies and bid goodbye. Like the adventure for me and the last Zermatt 4kq going across the USA, this is an adventure I'll never forget, and hope to make again in the future. There was a lot of thinking time while driving, and many of the places we drove I've been a few, or several times before since I was a young boy, and it reminded me of the things my dad used to do with me growing up. Going places to look at cars, hunting the next exciting car find, hurrying to get a deal on some special parts, going places that are rediculously far just for Ice cream or coffee. For all the car influence my dad had on me and everything he's facilitated to help me become who I am and my passion for cars. Not just Audis, but the automobile. Such an adventure wouldn't be possible in this time frame, and convenience without cars. Who'the thunk a 26 year old german sedan that was an old lady's daily driver, would be turned into this car, and make such a journey in the name of Love for a hobby, keeping alive the history that was made and the successes and excitement it brought to so many back in the day.
One day, I can't wait to have adventures like this with my son Gabriel. Cheers to everyone who made it, and to those who couldn't, try again next year, it's worth it 8)
It's good to hear from you on here, Derek!