Day six, part two: The plan today was not overly ambitious, we thought. North through Yellowstone and on to Bozeman, down I-15 to a little shortcut through the Beaverhead National Forest and over the Continental Divide for an evening in Salmon, Idaho. The first few miles of the shortcut were smooth and twisty, followed by a few more miles of rough asphalt, and then no pavement! It was rocky, gravel-covered, dusty, and 25 mph at best. We continued for the next thirty-five miles over Bannock Pass and on to Salmon. We saw one Jeep CJ the entire time. Lesson learned: check the map legends more closely next time.
Day seven, part two: August 6. I had put on 6,920 miles on the GT3 in exactly one month of ownership. We followed the Bitterroot Range north to Missoula and on to our two-day layover in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. The next day I would exchange my wife at the Spokane airport for my third passenger, Scott.
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Day one, part three: We drove north to Bonners Ferry, just shy of the British Columbia border, and turned east through Kalispell, Whitefish, and Glacier National Park. We then cut down to Wolf Creek at I-15 north of Helena, a spectacular route. Two lanes, no traffic, great view in every direction, so it was 90 to 100 mph. On this stretch we saw a total of four cars, and we achieved some of the highest speeds of the trip. We slowed to a legal speed when we saw two Sturgis-bound bikers pulled over. They didn't need help, but it turned out that we did, because we discovered that we had a flat left-rear tire. No nail, just steel cords on the inside edge of both rear Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s! We limped down the road on the half-filled tire to Wolf Creek, which, shockingly, had a towing service. We were on the flat bed en route to Helena $160 later. Over a beer, we reviewed the afternoon experience. One word: lucky! Just miles before the tire let go we'd really been crusin'. Prior to leaving Pittsburgh, I called the Tire Rack and put four PS 2's on hold just in case I trashed a tire. A quick call had two rears on their way. The shop was eager to help change the tires and willing to fix the excess negative camber at the rear wheels. Service for these two city slickers in their expensive car? Mount and balance two tires plus a four-wheel alignment-- $89.00.
Day three, part three: The rest of the overall trip was really without incident and mostly involved just covering some serious mileage. With what was left of the day, we made it to Buffalo, Wyoming, for the night.
Day four, part three: On Friday, August 13, a fourteen-hour day. Into Devils Tower by 8 am, south to Crazy Horse Memorial, east to Mount Rushmore, north to Deadwood, and on to the Sturgis bike rally. Sturgis has to be experienced to be believed: half a million bikes and pork 'n' bean wrestling. Then out of Sturgis, through the Badlands just before dusk, and on to Mitchell, South Dakota.
Day five, part three: Required detour: Des Moines, and a connection for Scott. Then I was on to Chicago for a stop to see relatives and get a night's sleep in a real home, not a motel. Nearly 800 miles clocked today.
Day six, part three: I left Chicago with the sun shining again. It had not rained since the first day in West Virginia--twenty days and no wipers. It was an easy 450 miles today to Pittsburgh. The gauges indicate that the average mpg for the trip was 25.9. Not bad considering our typical high speeds. Plus, Sewickley Porsche had a new front spoiler waiting for me at no cost and did a quick check to verify the fine work that the Helena shop had performed.
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The GT3 has over 10,000 miles on the odometer and only a very few small chips from the adventure. I still have "Old Sparky," and I hope to keep the GT3 for two decades, too. It is my daily driver, year-round. My plan is to eventually make this car the highest-mileage GT3 on the planet.