Help Me with My Bucket List

[roadrunnerron]

I’m in the process of completing my bucket list which I’d like to fulfill in the next 10 to 12 years. Major list items:

1. Drive around US and Canada to visit sites and attractions that I’ve yet to see or revisit ones that I really liked. This is where I need your advice, help and suggestions. I expect to have my B-Bodied Chariot ready for a first trip in the summer/fall of next year.
2. Golf the great golf courses of Scotland and Ireland. If you are of like mind send me a PM.
3. Visit the great capitals of Europe. If you are of like mind, enjoy architecture and museums send me a PM..

Things I’d jotted down so far that I’d like to see or do: drive route 66, NASCAR museum, Las Vegas, Rock ‘n Roll Museum, the Alamo, the Grand Canyon, Grand Ole Opry (again), Highway to the Sun (west to east this time), golf Kokanee Springs, Gallagher’s Canyon, Predator Ridge, visit Quebec City (my favourite) again and drive the highway north of Superior in the fall and attend MOPAR events along the way.

I’d like to add to this list and seek your help for inclusions. I’m thinking four or five excursions to complete the entire driving list - I need lots of suggestions and recommendations. The first would begin next August and be through the mid-west and western states crossing over the border in Spokane, visiting my brother in BC and returning by a Canadian route along the north shore of Lake Superior.

The second would be to the New England states and Atlantic Provinces as well as La Belle Province. The third would get me to Texas and Arizona.

Each trip to be one to two months long.

 

[72Fourspeed]

Sounds like fun. I have 2 thoughts/suggestions. If you go to the Alamo, allow enough time to visit the John Wayne movie set in Brackettville, Texas. Being out on the Shahan ranch, it gives a sense of what the real one must have looked like in 1836.
And by all means visit the Custer Battlefield. Walk the paths,read the markers, & go to the presentations. Like most folks, what happened never made sense to me. When you get there & see the terrain, it adds up better.
Personally,after those 2 battlefields, the only ones I want to see now are Normandy & Thermopalae. Lots of other sites to see, just my suggestions.

 

[BBishere2]

If you head toward the Little BigHorn - I would make stops at the Badlands and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota - the Badlands are like nothing I've ever seen for topology - Mount Rushmore, awesome sight. Can't miss Wall Drug as you leave the badlands - the biggest tourist trap you'll ever see! LOL Heading into Rapid City there's a place called 1880's Town - neat recreation of a wild west town - and has a museum. Can get a cold sarsaparilla at the bar and visit the rooms upstairs where the ladies would ply their trade. That would put you close to either head over to Devil's Tower in the northeast corner of Wyoming before heading out to Montana or go up to Deadwood and see where Wild Bill Hickcock was shot - I think the bar furniture and table, etc is in Kevin Costner's casino (don't quote me on that, it's been a few years since we were there) - one word of caution about traveling in Montana - we took the scenic route from Deadwood over to Little BigHorn - there are no places to stay on the route - very few places to fill up - had to go another 50 miles to Billings to find a place to stay - had to check 4 hotels to find a place and that's with nothing going on in town - the only place to stay for about 100 miles - so call ahead. After staying in Billings - then we drove back to Little BigHorn and then down thru Cody Wyoming and saw the Buffalo Bill Cody museum - quite a place! Has a fantastic firearm collection there, along with many other things.

 

[kiwigtx]

If you head toward the Little BigHorn - I would make stops at the Badlands and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota - the Badlands are like nothing I've ever seen for topology - Mount Rushmore, awesome sight. ...................

Man, those are on my bucket-list also. I wish I had taken a bit more time in my travels to go that far north. Flown over the place, but never driven the Badlands. My wife and I met Johnny cash's mother, and Elvis presley's Uncle. Happily, I have played golf in Scotland. Just remember to use orange balls in Winter :laughing8: I also had the pleasure of the Queen of England attend my 30th birthday celebrations ion Braemar (Scotland)...she didn't realise till afterwards :headbang: I have video evidence.

 

[wahya]

If you are going along route 66 and headed for Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. A bit north, there is Monument Valley where several John Wayne movies were filmed. One of the list things for me was finding the scene from Forrest Gump movie, which was near the 13 mm on hwy 163 just north of the Arizona / Utah line. From there I would suggest north rim of Grand Canyon and Zion National park on way to Las Vegas.

It would be cool to see a picture of your car there.

 

[Meep-Meep]

If you are going along route 66 and headed for Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. A bit north, there is Monument Valley where several John Wayne movies were filmed. One of the list things for me was finding the scene from Forrest Gump movie, which was near the 13 mm on hwy 163 just north of the Arizona / Utah line. From there I would suggest north rim of Grand Canyon and Zion National park on way to Las Vegas.View attachment 221547

It would be cool to see a picture of your car there.

Let me guess, the guy in the pic is a Ford owner.

Am I right??

 

[1970GTX]

let me guess, the guy in the pic is a ford owner.

Am i right??

lol!

 

[Rick@Laysons]

May I suggest the LeMay car museum in Tacoma?

http://www.lemaymuseum.org/page.php?id=64

 

[Budnicks]

If your in any of these areas at the proper time I'd suggest taking in a NHRA Race too
In July 24th-26th Bandimere Morrison/Denver Co. area, Mopar Mile High Race NHRA
July 31st -Aug 2nd Sonoma Ca. Nats NHRA
Aug. 7th-9th Seattle Wash. area Northwest Nats NHRA
Aug. 20th-23rd Brainerd Minn. Lucas Nats NHRA
Sept. 2nd-7th Indy US Nats NHRA

the Pacific Ocean, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Point Reys fishing trip, Fort Brag &
south for the numerous great SoCal beaches,
the Pacific Coast hwy 1 is a cool drive too,
Lake Tahoe, Northshore Stateline, Incline Village, sights golf boating gambling
Reno Hot August Nights cruise & take in the Barrett Jackson Auction,
Vegas baby

Calif. Fishing/hiking in any of the Sierras many trails {John Muir Trail}, numerous streams & lakes
gold panning, driving in the Motherlode Central Eastern Sierra's or streams & rivers
Whitewater rafting, American River & Coloma gold discovery area's
Grater Lake Or., the Rouge river

Chi-town to LA or visa versa on Route 66 is well worth it,
it's not the typical vacation trip thou off the beaten path

Yellowstone Nat. Park
Yosemite Nat. Park
Pebble Beach & Monterey area
Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway
Moab & Zion Nat. Park,
even Webster & St. George Utah, Mesquite Az. golf & sights
Sedona Az. golf & sights

all good too

 

[wahya]

Wife's car is a Ford, so that makes me half owner. So you're half right. So many places in this beautiful country (Canada as well), so little time.

 

[Dennis H]

Box Canyon. When you are roaming around Southern California - Palm Springs, Death Valley, and heading towards Vegas.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Have driven that route twice from California through Arizona and coming up over the rising grade and then dropping down with those majestic buttes coming into view is still one of the prettiest things I've ever seen. Take your time through there and stop to take in the view, breathe the air, and don't forget to look up. The sky looks very big there away from the city. You can even rent a horse with a guide and ride around through the buttes. You can also drive around a portion of them and see part of the old John Ford movie set. It's not cheesy at all. The native americans run the place and it's very peaceful and rustic.

Not far from there (less than 10 miles) is a small wooden sign that reads "valley of the gods". I had to drive down the road! It's where they filmed the TV show Airwolf. I think I liked that even more than monument valley. It's a 5-10 mile dirt road that's pretty easy going with small hills and not a soul in sight. You could camp out there if you wanted to. I want to go back to visit and do some more hiking too, like when I camped and hiked in Zion National Park for 3 days.

There's a reason the Mormons settled in southern Utah. It's one of the most scenic places in America.

If you are going along route 66 and headed for Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. A bit north, there is Monument Valley where several John Wayne movies were filmed. One of the list things for me was finding the scene from Forrest Gump movie, which was near the 13 mm on hwy 163 just north of the Arizona / Utah line. From there I would suggest north rim of Grand Canyon and Zion National park on way to Las Vegas.View attachment 221547

It would be cool to see a picture of your car there.

 

[Mr Gorsky]

This old bastard has got that album:

​

 

[HawkRod]

Hi Ron,

I am planning a similar trip next year - so far the plans are to drive coast to coast. I will likely take a northern route, past Detroit area, then down towards St. Louis on route 66, up to Boulder, CO, then to Yellowstone and Salt Lake area, eventually making my way over to San Francisco, then down to Los Angeles.

There are still a lot of possibilities and details to work out, and I have to actually have a running car to do that trip too!

Besides the route you are taking, I suggest you decide what tools and parts to take with you in case of issues on the road. Some of the parts on these cars are readily available, others aren't. So consider typical failure items and the availability of parts and put together a nice little kit to help keep you going in case of any issues.

Sounds like a great time!

Hawk

 

[roadrunnerron]

Hi Ron,

I am planning a similar trip next year - so far the plans are to drive coast to coast. I will likely take a northern route, past Detroit area, then down towards St. Louis on route 66, up to Boulder, CO, then to Yellowstone and Salt Lake area, eventually making my way over to San Francisco, then down to Los Angeles.

There are still a lot of possibilities and details to work out, and I have to actually have a running car to do that trip too!

Besides the route you are taking, I suggest you decide what tools and parts to take with you in case of issues on the road. Some of the parts on these cars are readily available, others aren't. So consider typical failure items and the availability of parts and put together a nice little kit to help keep you going in case of any issues.

Sounds like a great time!

Hawk

Good luck with your trip. Don't forget the panty hose.

 

[SteveSS]

You are all welcome to stop by my house at Monument, Colorado. Just a stone's throw from the Rocky Mountains. We have the United States Air Force Academy, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, etc. You can be in the mountains in 10 minutes from downtown Colorado Springs.

 

[SteveSS]

You could go hiking in the mountains. Be careful though. We are losing about one person per week. On the good side, Aspen ski resort opened.

 

[roadrunnerron]

Great suggestions all. Thank you! A few comments on specific postings.

Budnicks: I’ve done southern California (San Francisco to Tijuana Mexico) many times and have not included it in my bucket list. Loved my time in California and remember it well. My all time favourite California golf course is Poppy Hills on the Monterrey peninsula.

Rick@Laysons: I spent seven weeks in Seattle in the late seventies. At that time the number 1 tourist attraction was the Port Angeles ferry to Victoria BC. I’m including the LeMay Museum in the itinerary. Since I’m there I’d like to drop over to Laysons for some chrome pieces for my Roadrunner. Do you have a special discount that would apply?

Hsorman: Your comments about tools, parts and issues on the road made me think that I need to take a shorter trial run to test everything out. My neighbour pointed out that everything has been apart and while it's a B-body, it's better described as hand-built. Hope to have the chariot finished by March and will use is regularly, when the weather permits. I’m thinking of driving around Lake Ontario and take in the Syracuse Nationals in mid-July.

SteveSS: I’d love to stop by and chat for a bit. I lived in Calgary for ten years and am very familiar with the Rockies. Pike’s Peak here I come.

There are so many great places to see that I’ve broken it into two trips. The routing of the first trip:

• Oakville to Cleveland to the Rock n Roll hall of fame.
• Cleveland to Chicago to pick up Route 66
• Work my way down 66 to Amarillo Texas and go south to San Antonio and the Alamo.
• Return to 66 and continue on eventually turning North to Las Vegas, and Reno.
• Over to California Napa valley and up the west coast to Tacoma
• East to Spokane crossing the border into BC. Here I’ll meet up with my brother in Cranbrook and golf the great courses of the BC interior.
• Depart Cranbook for Calgary via Crowsnest Pass to Calgary with stopovers at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton National Park for high tea and the Air Museum at Nanton. Stay with friends and family.
• Return home via the Trans-Canada Highway and time the drive north of Lake Superior at the turning of the leaves (late September/early October).

The second trip in the following year would have me going west via a Canadian route through Lloydminster to the Oil Sands area, and on to Jasper National Park and the Columbia Ice fields. Turning south, I’ll work my way south to Banff, Lake Louise and staying at Fairmont Hot Springs. Continuing south, I’ll golf the course of the Columbia valley and end up at my brother’s place in Cranbrook for a rest.

After the rest I’ll begin the US portion by crossing the border into Kalispell where I’d pick up the Going-To-The-Sun Highway. After that, I’ll weave my way around the wonderful sights in South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado that you’ve mentioned. Specifics to be developed this time next year.

If you happen to live near one of these routes and interested in having a wobbly-pop with me and/or can help me out in the event of a breakdown, send my a PM.

Thanks again for your wonderful suggestions.