Another 3200 miles, Overcrest Rally '22 trip report Options

[Optimusglen]

The trip has come and gone and as promised here is a trip report. It was, in a word, wonderful.

My report for last year's OC Rally is here if you're interested, it sets the stage a bit for my, my car, the rally, etc.

Of course, my build thread here with some updates and fixes before I left.


After the success of last year's OC Rally, I was excited to find out what they had in store for this year. It had all the ingredients of a great time: the spirit of adventure, a limited group size, non-snobbery of driver/vehicle selection, and time spent with friends old and new.

The location shifted north, and was now in early September to better avoid potential snow or cold weather. Our starting point: Challis Idaho.

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Just like last year, getting to the start was a battle of it's own. Sure, the car was "proven" now, 3400 miles to Utah was likely to work out most of the bugs, but there were some things I had done in the interim, and old cars are always a mystery it seems.

Now, my schedule the week before was a little hairy too. That Tuesday was my daughter's first day of kindergarten and I wasn't about to miss getting her off the bus. So Tuesday evening I hit the road. Destination: the middle of nowhere North Dakota.

[Optimusglen]

Sunday, September 11th -Tuesday, September 13th

Sunday morning, a lot to think about and remember. It had been a long time since that day in 2001 but I remembered exactly what I was doing when I heard the news.





This day was day one of my drive home. I loaded up the car, hit the gas station, and then set out towards Bozeman.

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12 going north was sublime, weaving in and out, keeping time with the Lochsa River.

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At the end of that nice road there were several of us that found each other at a fuel stop, just before getting on the expressway. We grouped up and set our course for Bozeman.

On I-90 now, cruising between 80-90mph, we were having a pretty good time. Around a bend near Garrison we saw a friend who wasn't having a good time. Kevin in his MR2 was on the side of the road with what turned out to be a blown motor. We pulled off but it ended up being pretty far ahead. We split the group, a few going down the onramp carefully, the rest going ahead to check on the next nearest U-haul.

Of course, being a Sunday afternoon and the anniversary of 9/11, places weren't typically open. We did a drive-by of one in Anaconda, MT. They had trucks but only a dolly trailer.

The other group did help them get their car off the expressway and helped organize a flatbed.

With all of us back on I-90 we were only about 30 minutes ahead of them when we got to Bozeman. Found a place to connect and had some burgers and beers.

After food and some decompressing, I made my way to my lodging for the night. In the parking lot I found a Porsche and parked next to them.

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I checked into my room, then came back out to unload. While I was at my car the couple with the Cayman S came out and we got to chatting.



Monday morning

Today was the most dreaded of all the days, a lot of nothingness of the road ahead. I got up and started scoping out the local auto parts stores to get my oil and filter. I was going to do a change now when I really should have done it in Grangeville.

At the hotel breakfast, I found my new friends and we talked some more. Turns out Bill has had a few other notable Porsches. A 356, a '69 911T, a 930, and most impressive a 935 that he raced all over the west coast, Sebring, and Daytona. Of course, being from Wisconsin, he was often at Road America as well. It was fascinating hearing all about his adventures. It was with the 935 that he had hung up his hat and (from my understanding) it wasn't until 2014 that he got back into the seat of a Porsche with the Cayman S. They asked about me, and I told them about my now paltry achievements and wrote down links for my website, the Rally, and 000. After breakfast I bid adieu and set out.

Josh (yeah, another Josh) in the 924 is from Bozeman and was kind enough to offer his garage. So after picking up some VR1 and a filter I made my way over.

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With the oil changed and the car running well I set out for the most tedious and boring day on the road.

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This route was made extra special {sarcasm} by all of the wildfire haze. It was just gray on gray the whole way. I was spent on it before I even hit North Dakota, and you can imagine the excitement that driving straight through North Dakota brings...

As the day faded into the evening I found and exit and drove a few miles up a gravel road. I wanted to call the girls and wait for the "sunset"

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And then, ultimately, another hour into Bismark, ND for my lodging.



Tuesday, the final stint

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This was a pretty unremarkable drive. Flat expanses of nothingness were magnified by the haze of emptyness. When I crossed the border into Minnesota everything changed. I saw trees again, and the air was clearing up, it was good to be home.

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A pitstop at a DIY car wash to clean off some bugs and then I pulled into my driveway at 2:30. Kissed my wife, unpacked, and then my daughter got home at 4 off the bus and I lost it.



It had been 7 days and 3200 miles. Most of which without a door window. The low temp was 38 degrees on the morning of day 2 of the rally in McCall Idaho. High temp, 104 degrees in North Dakota and Montanna on the trip out. Thankfully no rain this year.

This year didn't have the emotional impact of last year. Partially because getting the car ready wasn't as big of a hurdle, but also because last year I had a pretty big mental breakthrough, self-diagnosing as I blasted through the plains. The trip also didn't have the breathtaking scenery, fault placed on the wildfire smoke and haze that left everything in an eerie post-apocalyptic dinge.

Will I return? You bet.