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      09-07-2022, 12:01 AM   #1
Wild Blue
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BMW X5 Owner Road Trips even BIGGER From PCD Delivery to Alaska!

.

(Thread sub-title: "Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Cruise Control")





Hello again BMW world! Those who have been into BMW's the last couple years, may have read my mega-road trip journals, starting with a huge trip I did starting Feb 2021, picking up my beloved X7 from the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina, and driving it back to Alaska. That trip journal can be read IN THIS THREAD HERE.

Two other big trips I journaled in my X7 were taking her deep into the Eastern Alaska wilderness IN THIS THREAD, and another road trip to the mountain Denali and up to the Arctic Circle IN THIS OTHER THREAD. I still have another trip journal pending, that I had some challenges putting together.

I've been amazed at the interest, readers, and level of feedback I've received on those trip journals, especially the first one in my first trip from PCD back to Alaska. So, guess what? WE'RE GOING TO DO IT AGAIN! Bigger and better than ever before, driving from one corner of the North American continent to the other and back, picking up a new X5 at the Performance Center, and having tons of fun on the way back.

This time, I'm going to pack in BMW's, and performance driving, and Disneyworld, and Star Wars, and rock concerts, and LEGO, and yummy barbecue, and (American) football, and jet planes, and military tributes, and 21 different National Parks/Monuments, and electronic toys, and huge mountains, and gobs of beautiful scenery and wildlife... and more! Almost 2 months, and 12,000 miles of fun and adventure.

I will be journaling for almost 2 months in this thread, live posting every day where I'm driving, what I'm seeing and doing, how the X5 is doing, my thoughts on the BMW product, car accessories/mods, where I'm staying for lodging, and more. Tons and tons of pictures and videos to come. I hope you'll check in periodically, and follow along this grand adventure with me!





So, you say, "hang on, dude... that X7 was supposed to be your 'forever car'. What the heck, you're buying another one?"

Yes, but not replacing the X7. To review, I'm a disabled veteran with a degenerative muscle disease, and bought the X7 as a very, very special purchase for me, to be the last car I ever buy for myself. BMW hit a home run with the X7, and it has proven to be the perfect purchase for me. I've taken my X7 some very special places (reference above picture, and my other road trip journals), taken care of her, and she's still virtually as new as when I bought her about 20 months ago. My X7 will have to be pried from my cold, dead, hands.

Hope this isn't just being a downer, but due to my continuing muscle disease progression, this will likely be the last mega cross-country road trip I ever do, at least as a driver. Therefore, this trip will be special to me, making the most of what I've got, while I still have it, and I'd like to share it with all of you. I should still be able to at least do smaller road trips for a while after this. I'm also processing some significant life events going on, so this will also be a special healing trip for me, to reconnect with my country, with lots of time to mull things over and just... be.





SO... the latest story is, a family member, who shall remain nameless but notorious (3 Amigos "In-famous"?), totaled the other car I had as a secondary family-mobile. 2006 Infiniti QX56. No injuries, and the car still drives fine, but just too expensive for insurance to fix. So, my daughter bought the car back from insurance as salvage, for her college car. And suddenly, I was unexpectedly thrust into a very unplanned situation of needing something as a secondary family car, to compliment the X7.





Unlike my X7, I had not budgeted and prepared for this. But... that's life sometimes. Me being me, I researched and debated long and hard over options for a 2nd car. In the end, I decided to go with another new BMW. In no small measure, was I influenced by how much fun my previous PCD experience was, and big cross-continent road trip, so I decided to seize the presented opportunity, combine it with some conferences I had available across the USA this fall, take the old totaled car to my daughter's college, and do another mega road trip. And, of course, I've enjoyed driving my BMW's for the last 23 years. But, of course, to keep y'all interested, every sequel has to be bigger and better than the first, right?

So here we are.

The new car is an Arctic Grey 2022 BMW X5 40i. Details about the build and ordering process can be found IN THIS THREAD HERE.

As before, because I had a bad experience with the sales portion of BMW of Anchorage, (details IN THIS POST as an optional read--their service department has been FANTASTIC though) I instead ordered through "BMW David" Aviles at Catonsville BMW again. BMW David was able to get me a great price for the current market, and he's been great to work with since I ordered my X7 with him and arranged PCD delivery. He even met up with me on my previous X7 trip and we did lunch on the California coast!

(okay, I STILL just couldn't bring myself to order the Family Truckster in Metallic P)





I should mention, my brain works in movie quotes, references, and pop culture, so if you can't handle that... might as well bail now. This journal will be overflowing with them.

As before, I'm going to try to keep such a long road trip manageable. There will be (virtually) no long, frenzied, 12 hour driving days on all boring interstate, making a beeline on the shortest route back to Alaska. I'll be breaking up each day into less than 500 miles, with stops for varieties of food, activities, scenery, etc. Do a few events on the way.

If everything goes to plan, this will end up being quite an epic road trip, deliberately criss-crossing all over the continent. Some places I've been before at some point in my life, and I want to go back. Others will be new visits for me, or places that I didn't get to do on my previous trip, like because of COVID. This will be almost entirely a different route than my previous X7 road trip. I'll be flexible on my plans where I can.





Because this car purchase was unplanned, I have to sell some assets to make it happen. First up, was my beloved Imola Red 2004 BMW 330i with ZHP Performance Package. This thing was a unicorn--everything everybody wants in an E46. Less than 100k miles, Alcantara leather, 6 speed manual tranny, aluminum cube interior trim, great condition, 4 door sedan, etc, etc. I sold it before I even officially put it on the market. SO sad to see it go, but with my muscle condition, I had already moved on to my X7, and it was challenging to drive the 330i. It was finally time to just let it go.

Also have to sell my RV. 2008 Gulfstream Conquest Endura, rare Super C configuration with upgraded International commercial truck diesel engine and chassis. 22k miles. This has NOT sold yet, if anyone wants it.. Also don't want to sell this, but with my muscle disease, it's difficult now for me to just climb up into it, and it's also time to move on.

Of course, I also took the insurance payout from the Infiniti QX56 being totaled, and will have to just juggle all of it, to make this financially viable.








Again, my X7, my baby, isn't going anywhere. Isn't she looking good all freshly detailed, ceramic coating topped off, by RC Detail of Alaska? I'll be keeping her until I croak.

So, as before, after placing the order with BMW David, I nervously waited, hoping my requested PCD delivery date worked out, to coincide with my various lower 48 events. I did get the date I wanted, so I planned out this great road trip in great detail. Then the worst part about doing a Performance Center Delivery is waiting. I'll talk more about why I ordered what I did, and details with the ordering process, as I go through my trip.

To start the road trip, I needed to get the old totaled Infiniti QX56 to my daughter at her college in Oklahoma City. I wanted to drive through Canada and make a great preamble to the BMW road trip back, but timing just didn't work out. I do plan on driving BACK through Canada this time.

So this trip started, with shipping the Infiniti QX56 from Anchorage, Alaska, down to Tacoma, Washington State. I used Tote Maritime, the same company that helped me with my final X7 travel portion. It took about 4 days, and then I prepared to pick up the car for the drive east.





Some nice cars at the shipping port there. (not mine)

NOTE: For those who want to skip the first part of my road trip, driving the old car east through Washington State, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, to drop off in Oklahoma City--you can jump ahead if you like.
BMW-specific stuff and the Performance Center Delivery take place starting with Day 7 of this trip, BEGINNING WITH THIS POST HERE

I do want to also mention, I have received no promotional consideration or payment from BMW, or any company that I'll be using throughout this trip. All the opinions and experiences I document here are all my own.

Okay, readers, pack your suitcases, grab a Slurpee and snacks, and buckle up! We've got a LONG ride ahead the next couple months!
__________________
Cross-continent road trip journal from BMW PCD to Alaska in new X7 M50i in this thread HERE!
New EVEN BIGGER road trip in X5 from BMW PCD to Alaska NOW ONGOING LIVE IN THIS THREAD!
Wilderness road trip journal to Eastern Alaska in this thread
And road trip journal to Denali and the Arctic Circle here in this thread!

Last edited by Wild Blue; 10-24-2022 at 07:44 PM..
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      09-07-2022, 12:27 AM   #2
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Amazing. I loved your original pcd write up when it first came up

I'm truly happy for someone who's finally been able to hang it up work wise and truly enjoy their retirement and share that experience with others

I have a while before I punch my time card for the last time, but your stories provide me the motivation to keep working hard so I can enjoy the same when it's my time

Have fun…and can't wait for the updates
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      09-07-2022, 12:48 AM   #3
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Amazing, I loved reading your last trip and being there vicariously for every moment

Can't wait for this new journey!

Thanks again for taking the time to write/photograph and fully-capture this one too.

Hopefully no sunroof issues this time either.
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      09-07-2022, 09:39 AM   #4
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Congratulations Wild Blue! Awesome trip ahead and thank you for sharing your amazing road trip experiences with us. My family’s itinerary from Greenville to Disneyworld this October looks nearly identical to yours on your map! Starting with a booked factory tour alas sans PCD… fab timing and model year did not pan out for the full experience. However, we are planning on filling up our national anything collectors book with any and every stamp we can get along the way 😁
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      09-07-2022, 09:53 AM   #5
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Oh yeah cant wait, looking forward to great pictures like last time. Are you lunching with David again?
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      09-07-2022, 12:12 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goobies818 View Post
Amazing. I loved your original pcd write up when it first came up

I'm truly happy for someone who's finally been able to hang it up work wise and truly enjoy their retirement and share that experience with others

I have a while before I punch my time card for the last time, but your stories provide me the motivation to keep working hard so I can enjoy the same when it's my time

Have fun…and can't wait for the updates
Thanks! I'm needing some work, in part to pay for this unplanned car purchase, but will see about that later in the trip.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sahajesh View Post
Amazing, I loved reading your last trip and being there vicariously for every moment

Can't wait for this new journey!

Thanks again for taking the time to write/photograph and fully-capture this one too.

Hopefully no sunroof issues this time either.
From your lips to God's ears, brother! I'm sure life will happen on this trip too. Just hoping it's nothing major.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fahrfun View Post
Congratulations Wild Blue! Awesome trip ahead and thank you for sharing your amazing road trip experiences with us. My family’s itinerary from Greenville to Disneyworld this October looks nearly identical to yours on your map! Starting with a booked factory tour alas sans PCD… fab timing and model year did not pan out for the full experience. However, we are planning on filling up our national anything collectors book with any and every stamp we can get along the way 😁
Sweet... sounds like I'll be there in WDW just a couple weeks before you are. I'll be putting about 3 days worth of WDW content into this thread, so you can check out the latest!

Quote:
Originally Posted by darksilkx1 View Post
Oh yeah cant wait, looking forward to great pictures like last time. Are you lunching with David again?
That would be fantastic! No plans at this point for that, and my route doesn't take me through the northeast. But you never know. Last time we met up on the California coast!
__________________
Cross-continent road trip journal from BMW PCD to Alaska in new X7 M50i in this thread HERE!
New EVEN BIGGER road trip in X5 from BMW PCD to Alaska NOW ONGOING LIVE IN THIS THREAD!
Wilderness road trip journal to Eastern Alaska in this thread
And road trip journal to Denali and the Arctic Circle here in this thread!
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      09-07-2022, 08:09 PM   #7
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Day 1 of pre-PCD road trip:
Anchorage Alaska, to Tacoma Washington, Mt. Rainier, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Total Miles: 400


... and away we go!

As I mentioned in the OP, timing didn't work out for me to drive down through Canada, even though I wanted to. But I'll be coming back that way! So I shipped the old totaled car, 2006 Infiniti QX56, down from Alaska to Tacoma, WA. And then my trip started with a flight to Seatac Airport.

Most flights from Alaska leave late at night, or in the morning dead hours, so people (and airplanes) can make it down to the lower 48 states to make a connection somewhere else. So it wasn't unusual for my flight this time to leave at 3:30 AM. UGH!!!

That did mean that I couldn't get more than a quick nap before having to get up and go the airport. I crashed hard on the plane, and landed just after 8 AM in Seattle. Good timing to go straight to the port and pick up my car.

One note: I'm starting this journal a little time shifted by a few days, so I won't be boring you with 10 full days of Orlando when I get there. So my trip actually started several days ago, and in about a week, this journal will catch up to be real-time every day.





My first Lyft driver didn't pick me up at the airport, so I had to call another driver. (My Uber driver was also 20 minutes late picking me up in Alaska, but I made it). Sigh. 2nd driver was fantastic, a nice Iraqi gentleman, and we had some nice talks on the way to the port to pick up my (daughter's) car.





Pickup from Tote Maritime was super easy from the Port of Tacoma. Just a few minutes after arriving, I was loaded and ready to hit the road.

That's the old car, right there. Out with the old, and then a week from now, in with the new!





To explain context, I bought the Infiniti QX56 down in the lower 48 in 2006, then brought it with me when I moved up to Alaska. Infiniti's GPS systems of that era, didn't include Alaska map data. Like... anywhere. Not possible to buy. So when I drove up through Canada, the map just became blank after the Canadian border, almost like I was driving off the end of the world.

So the map has been blank for the last 16 years in Alaska. Not a big deal, as there's other ways to navigate. It's just funny, to now see the screen finally start working again, after all this time, because she's now back in the lower 48. (with 16 year old map data, lol)





Okay, this may be no big deal for most people, but we don't have Chick Fil-A's in Alaska. I just had to grab an early yummy chicken goodness lunch before leaving the greater Tacoma area and head east.





I mean, really... who doesn't love a good Spicy Chicken Deluxe sandwich? Oh so good.





Since it was a fairly small detour, I decided to swing by Mt. Rainier National Park on the way eastward. In good weather, Mt. Rainier is visible from much of the greater Seattle/Tacoma area. I lived there for 4 years, but never actually went inside the park, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to include it in the trip.

Here, you can see Rainier from Tacoma. It's just a little hazy today, but clear blue skies and the mountain is out. The view will become much better and more dramatic as I get closer.





A little traffic at the entrance to the park, being a beautiful sunny day in an otherwise rainy Washington week, just before Labor Day. Washingtonians do like to get out and take advantage of the beautiful state. The park boundaries around Rainier are very much Pacific Northwest forests, with big trees.

I have a lifetime pass to US national parks, which I certainly exploit on my road trips, getting in these places for free. Woot!

I entered the park from the south, where the main road winds back and forth up the hills through the forest. Very pretty drive, although fairly slow.





Not too far from the entrance is a public area with hotel, restaurant, etc. I thought this old gas station was quite cool.





Getting closer to the top, an overlook gave a stunning view of Rainier.








The road summits at "Paradise". Reportedly named so, as the daughter of an explorer that discovered the site, with views of Rainier exclaimed "this really is paradise!"





Stunning views. Sadly, the park road that continued on, down from Paradise, with some very popular views, was closed for construction. So I backtracked to the southern park entrance, and took back roads out to eastern Washington as planned.





These backroads turned out to be more "backwoods" than I planned, even though they didn't appear to be so on Google maps. Pretty rough, winding through the woods. The Infiniti suspension is pretty good, a luxury SUV, but it's not the same level as BMW, and this kind of wore me out.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have added on the Rainier detour to what was already a long day with the flight, and start to the trip. But... it was quite pretty.





Past Yakima, the mountain roads started opening up a bit. Still hilly and beautiful, with features.





This is a big part of Eastern Washington state, agrarian farming with apples and fruit.





And then, leaving the hills, Washington transitions to flat farmland. Pretty to see from the foothills.





Leaving the hills, I picked up I-90 going east. You can see how flat is is, in contrast to the drive to this point. Since this portion of the road trip is a bit more of a "drive and get there" to drop off the car, I-90 will actually be my primary route for the next 2-3 days. I'll be doing a lot more turning and multiple roads on the way back.





Spokane, Washington, is on the eastern edge of the state. I'm not the biggest fan, mostly because of military experiences. I've done several military survival schools, learning how to survive in all sorts of global climate environments, and social/political scenarios.

Fairchild Air Force Base, on the outskirts of Spokane, is one of the primary survival school locations, which includes training on captivity and being interrogated. I'll just say that particular school isn't fun.

Shortly after Spokane, I entered Idaho, where I finally stopped my weary body in the city of Coeur d'Alene. I'll show that part tomorrow!
__________________
Cross-continent road trip journal from BMW PCD to Alaska in new X7 M50i in this thread HERE!
New EVEN BIGGER road trip in X5 from BMW PCD to Alaska NOW ONGOING LIVE IN THIS THREAD!
Wilderness road trip journal to Eastern Alaska in this thread
And road trip journal to Denali and the Arctic Circle here in this thread!

Last edited by Wild Blue; 10-24-2022 at 07:48 PM..
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      09-07-2022, 08:40 PM   #8
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Awesome!
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      09-08-2022, 08:16 AM   #9
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Welcome to Idaho!
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      09-08-2022, 09:47 AM   #10
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Glad you got to enjoy Mt Rainier on your way. Weather and clear views have been great lately. I’ve heard that a few popular NPs around the country now require entry reservation(?)
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      09-08-2022, 09:20 PM   #11
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Just out of curiosity, but how exactly is that QX56 totaled? There doesn’t seem to be any kind of damage whatsoever??
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      09-08-2022, 10:30 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fahrfun View Post
Glad you got to enjoy Mt Rainier on your way. Weather and clear views have been great lately. I’ve heard that a few popular NPs around the country now require entry reservation(?)
Yes, this is true. Even when I did my big road trip last year, you had to have a bus reservation for Zion National Park. So I recommend before going to any national park, that you go to the NPS website and check out the particulars for that park--hours, fees, special procedures, road openings, etc

Quote:
Originally Posted by RNJ26 View Post
Just out of curiosity, but how exactly is that QX56 totaled? There doesn’t seem to be any kind of damage whatsoever??
That's a reasonable question. In that port picture, the damage is actually on the other side. Left front and rear corners.

Because the car was totaled and insurance wouldn't be fixing it, I did what I could to fix it myself once my daughter bought it back from insurance.

So here's a couple before and after pictures. What you can't really see in the pics is the frame/bracket damage underneath the outer bumper shells. And in the rear pic of the damage, the "before" damage actually has the left corner bumper bent back and hanging off the car.

I used a heat gun, gloves, zip ties, and a screwdriver to bend and shape things back closer to what it should look like. And I bought a replacement rear tail light off eBay and swapped it out. So it still looks beat up, but SO much better. Still rather nice for a college kid's car.

All the aspects of the repair costs, including damage to surrounding body panels, subframe, etc, just exceeded insurance's threshold for repair vs. totaling.

Before:





After:





Before: (again, there's far more damage outside the frame of this pic)





After:


__________________
Cross-continent road trip journal from BMW PCD to Alaska in new X7 M50i in this thread HERE!
New EVEN BIGGER road trip in X5 from BMW PCD to Alaska NOW ONGOING LIVE IN THIS THREAD!
Wilderness road trip journal to Eastern Alaska in this thread
And road trip journal to Denali and the Arctic Circle here in this thread!
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      09-08-2022, 11:51 PM   #13
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Day 2 of pre-PCD road trip:
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho to Billings, Montana
Total Miles: 908


As I mentioned, yesterday ended up longer than I had planned, and I just crashed when I got to my hotel. Stayed in a low-end budget hotel, partially because all the regular-grade hotels in Coeur d'Alene were super expensive, and partially because I knew in advance I wasn't going to do anything other than just crash.

So it ended up being just fine for my needs. Even got a few breakfast items included.








(the "oven" reference on the sign there refers to the heat wave going on in the western USA. 90-100 degrees F highs, even in the higher elevations of Washington, Idaho, and Montana!)

The next morning, I got a little look around the area, which is beautiful. Coeur d'Alene may have a French name, but it's all American. A mid-mountain lake semi-tourist town that has lots of outdoor activities. Very pretty area.





My motel had been in the downtown area, which is fairly quaint.





And I was right back on I-90 for the entire day, out to Billings, Montana. One of the few days of the trip I'll be doing an all-interstate day, to get somewhere else, but it was quite scenic today along the way.

Idaho was pretty, quite mountainous/foothills in this part of the state. The highway wound through the mountains, with some fairly steep portions.








Crossing over the state line to Montana, the highway became a little less twisty. Montana used to have no speed limits, which, alas, is part of the good days of the past. But still, 80 mph there is pretty good, to make time across such a large, vastly wide open, state.





Montana truly is "Big Sky Country", and today was more fantastically clear weather to see it all. Most of the state has amazingly open, scenic landscapes, with big Rocky Mountains, whether close up, and/or visible in the far off distance as well. Very much an enjoyable place to travel, and an outdoorsman's paradise. Some similarities to my home of Alaska there.

Reference the 1st mate in the movie "Hunt For Red October", who wants to visit Montana when he defects to the USA. Later, as he's shot and dying, he laments, "I would have liked to have seen Montana".













Pulling off the interstate for lunch, I just had to do the Five Guys that was right in my path. Another chain that isn't in Alaska. Oh-so-bad for you. Enough grease to lubricate an entire X5 chassis. But hit the spot for a mid-day road trip meal.








Here, in addition to the scenery, the hotel's name struck me. Sacajawea was a famous American Indian princess.





This is pretty close to where I will be crossing my own route, in about a month, later in my trip, as I head up from Yellowstone, through Montana again, and continue north into Canada.





Stunning views of mountains, close and distant. Look on the left side of the picture, and you'll see a couple lines of fences running across the hills. Those are "snow fences", commonly found across the Rocky Mountain states. They work to prevent blowing snow drifts in the winter. The wind, blowing across the ground, picks up snow. But when it has to go over the fence, it loses speed, and drops the snow it's carrying, instead of blowing it all over.





Oh, come on now. A Rocky Mountain sunset is one of the prettiest in the world, and should not be missed.





Pulling into Billings, Montana, after a long 500 mile drive, I happily found an Old Chicago restaurant right next to my hotel. Old C's is a chain found mostly across the midwest and mountain USA states, serving pizza, beer, and more. One of my favorite places, having grown up in Colorado.





Old C's has something like 160 different beers on tap and in the fridges. You track which ones you've tried on your membership card, and after doing 110 of them, you complete a "World Beer Tour", and get prizes. It's fun. I'm on my 3rd tour, which I only get to work on when I come across Old C's during my travels like this.





One of my favorite staples is a "Chicago 7" pizza. Sausage, black olives, mushrooms, green peppers, pepperoni, and I don't remember what else. I do thin crust. Yum.





I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn for the night. Nice place, and nice standard Hilton room.











Will be some awesome national monuments tomorrow!
__________________
Cross-continent road trip journal from BMW PCD to Alaska in new X7 M50i in this thread HERE!
New EVEN BIGGER road trip in X5 from BMW PCD to Alaska NOW ONGOING LIVE IN THIS THREAD!
Wilderness road trip journal to Eastern Alaska in this thread
And road trip journal to Denali and the Arctic Circle here in this thread!

Last edited by Wild Blue; 10-24-2022 at 08:03 PM..
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      09-09-2022, 10:45 PM   #14
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Day 3 of pre-PCD road trip:
Billings, Montana, Little Bighorn National Cemetary, Devil's Tower Wyoming, Mt Rushmore, to Rapid City, South Dakota
Total Miles: 1326


Hitting some very scenic locations today. These spots are the main reason I bent my routing a bit north from Tacoma WA to Oklahoma City, to hit these spots. I've been all over the USA and greater world, but for example, this is my first time to Mt. Rushmore, so I wanted to knock it out.





Nice little hot breakfast buffet at the Hilton in the morning before hitting the road.





And then I hit Jimmy Johns on the way out of town, to grab a nice sandwich for the road, since I'd likely be wayyyyy out in the pairie around lunchtime.

Don't judge, lol... Jimmy Johns is another joint that we don't have in Alaska. Super yummy sub sandwiches, and LASER fast service. I just did the drive-through this time, and by the time I pulled up to the window, I handed them my credit card, and they handed me my completed sandwich.





My route for the first half of the day detoured off of I-90, to hit a couple sites in southeast Montana, and Northeast Wyoming.





First up was the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and Cemetary. As a retired military officer, and combat veteran, I take things like this very seriously, and it made me quite somber. For one, I think we need to honestly view our nation's history not just with rosy-colored glasses, but also ponder the darker parts of our history that were not so good.

This is arguably part of that.

Here, LtCol George Custer made his eponymous "Custer's Last Stand" at the Battle of Little Bighorn. It was a terrible day. Custer was routed, and all his men died, along with a great unknown number of native American Indians. This was followed by an more terrible reprisals against the Lakota Sioux, and Cheyenne.

For years, the location and story was told from the white man's perspective, naming the site "Custer's Cemetary". Eventually, it was renamed Little Bighorn, after the battle.





All the burial plots in the cemetary, and throughout the greater monument site, are all US military. (some military personnel that have died later have been allowed to be buried in the cemetary). The native American Indians that died, were all taken by their tribes elsewhere.








Note in the foreground, the Brigadier General buried next to the Private. In death, we are all the same.

LtCol George Custer was the senior officer in battle. Marcus Reno had been made a Brevet Brig General during the Civil War, which is a form of a honorary rank and title. So, in death, he was buried with the full rank. There's actually interesting stories about Marcus Reno.





All through the site, there are these signs. I thought it was a great idea, being able to use your own phone and make calls to get information, instead of having to rent some audio tour system from the site.

Heck, you could even call that number now and listen to the info if you liked.





Such a beautiful (and scorching hot) day. Temp upwards of 100 degrees F. I find it somewhat profound, looking at battlefields, quiet and all still today. Just picturing the terrible battle that happened right there, and imagining what that must have looked, felt, and smelled like.

You can drive a path through the site grounds, seeing and learning about different portions. You'll notice white headstones dotted here and there among the hills, where US soldiers were buried where they fell in battle.





Here, a sculpture commemorating the American Indians that died has been placed, many many years after the site was created.











Back into the back roads, the landscape transitioned as I got closer to the Wyoming border, going through several small old prairie towns.








We are indeed in the wild west, and just catching the northeast corner of Wyoming, where the landscape changed again.





... which brought me to Devil's Tower National Monument. It started to appear on the horizon a bit of a ways out during the drive, almost like it was calling. (lol)





Even today, just seeing this thing makes we want to say "this is important... this MEANS something!" I also feel a compulsion to shape a lump of mashed potatoes on my plate into this shape whenever I have enough.

Those who are film buffs will recall that this is what happened to Richard Dreyfuss in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", a landmark sci-fi film of its kind, which featured Devil's Tower.

















I find this rock formation quite fascinating. There are some other formations kind of like it in the world, but here is this one, just sticking up out of nowhere in northeast Wyoming. No other formations like it around. It's not like it's part of a volcanic lavafield with dozens of these things around.

It's quite stunning to look at, as you drive and/or walk around the monument.





I particularly like how this picture turned out, after I drove down a back trail for a bit.





Once again back on the road, after taking back roads, I rejoined I-90 and crossed into South Dakota.








First up in South Dakota, was a little stop off the highway into Sturgis, best known for its annual motorcycle rally. The rally has already happened this year, so the town wasn't that full. I can't even imagine what it's like during the rally.

And then I checked in early to my hotel, "Tru by Hilton" in Rapid City, South Dakota. I'll show the hotel tomorrow morning, since today has so many pictures.

But my night wasn't done yet! After getting settled for a bit, I took off, intentionally having planned to do Mt. Rushmore late in the day.





It was a rather nice drive, with surprisingly steep hills, that I didn't know were quite that dramatic around Mt. Rushmore.





There were many, many hotels along the way, with lots of tourist stuff in the vicinity of the monument. Had I known, I wouldn't have stayed in Rapid City, and would have preferred to stay closer.

No biggie.





Wow. Pretty impressive sight!








I intentionally planned to do Mt Rushmore at the end of the day, capturing the evening light at the monument.

But I also wanted to stay for the daily lighting ceremony after dark. There's a 30 minute ceremony, where a park ranger talks rather poignantly about liberty and freedom, what it means to various aspects of the American life, and the need for constant adherence and protection. Rather thoughtful. Then there's a video about the monument, concluding in the lighting itself.

I hope you can see this video below and enjoy it.





I was pooped after a long day with lots of sites. More tomorrow!
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Last edited by Wild Blue; 10-24-2022 at 08:17 PM..
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      09-10-2022, 08:07 AM   #15
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This is going to be an epic thread ! Bookmarked !
Safe travels WB !!
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      09-10-2022, 11:43 AM   #16
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Awesome picto-writeup! Thanks for the historical anecdotes too. Thoroughly enjoying reading your travelogue.
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      09-10-2022, 12:57 PM   #17
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Following, hope you have a wonderful journey!
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      09-10-2022, 04:45 PM   #18
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USA sure is a beautiful country. Loved your X7 collection post and this one has now been posted on the UK forums so expect more traffic...
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      09-11-2022, 02:12 AM   #19
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Day 4 of pre-PCD road trip:
Rapid City, South Dakota, Badlands National Park, to York, Nebraska
Total Miles: 1743






At the end of last night, after Mt. Rushmore, I crashed in the "Tru by Hilton" hotel in Rapid City, South Dakota.








A little different feel, having a "Euro-modern" vibe to it. Still nice.





Hotel breakfast in the morning, and then I rejoined I-90 for the last time on this trip, headed east.





There were all these signs every mile or so, for "Wall Drug". Must have 100 or so signs, between both directions of the highway. I don't think I've ever seen so much advertising for one place, so I thought I had to check it out, and use it as a bathroom stop before entering Badlands National Park.





Wall Drug is in the city of... Wall, South Dakota. Cute little downtown, PACKED with tourists and tourist busses. Not surprised.





Wall Drug itself is what seems to be a string of stores that got bought and all connected together to be one big place, selling food, souveniers, Western gear, a barber shop, and much more.








Then saw this on the way out of town.





And there we go. Badlands is another place that I've seen pictures of my whole life, but never went there. Got that taken care of now!





Oh my gosh. Right off the bat, some stunning views as the north entrance brings you to the rim of these canyons. The formations throughout the park reminded me very much of formations in the Southwest USA. I'll be there in about 3 weeks, and compare the pictures of the southwest when I get there, with pictures of Badlands.





A dirt road offshoot to the west is worth a short drive to the end of the canyon types, before turning around and getting back to the main road. There is 1 main road, paved, that goes through the park, with scenic viewpoints all along. Quite an enjoyable drive.











Sorry (not sorry) for the picture overload here. There's just so many pretty views. The middle of the park has some beautiful rock and dirt colors. And I found it striking that, with the varied terrain and rock formations, there were consistent striations of the same color and type running at each elevation, showing how the earth had been carved away.





This area was particularly beautiful. Rocks and dirts blending reds, purples, blues, yellows, tans, and whites, mixed with some spare green vegetation here and there. A full pallet of colors.





Yikes! Okay.





I took this picture, not so much for the badlands formations, but rather the vast prairie beyond it. Very beautiful, very flat. In the settlers times, there would have been homesteads dotted amongst that view, spattered about here and there in little hand-built farmhouses.








Bighorn sheep











Had to get at least one pic with the old car. Only have a couple days left with it before delivering it to my daughter at college.





Found this formation fascinating. Almost like it had been CGI created by Pixar, to use in "Cars", as a car hood perched on a pedestal or something.





And then it was time to leave Badlands. The shortest route to my final destination tomorrow, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, uses all back roads, through Nebraska and Kansas. Lots of flat, flat, straight roads.





And... more, flat, flat, straight roads. The biggest variety of this part of the boring drive, was really whether the crops in the fields were grain, corn, or grass.








I found him!!!!

"Morning!.... $h!tter was full!"





Driving through several small towns along the way, I noticed a trend. Seems that a town had really made it in its growth, when it had obtained a Dollar General in it.

This town had TWO!!!!





I'm showing this, for anyone that has looked down from a plane flying over farms, and wondered what all the circular fields were about.

The fields use these automated boom water sprayers, to water the crops. Notice that one end is a water pipe, fixed in the ground. Then the booms rotate around the central pipe, riding on wheels. You can extend the boom several times, to get a longer arm, and eventual bigger crop circle.





Finally, at the end of the day, I picked up some miles on an interstate again, happy to be off the back roads. Stayed the night in York, Nebraska, not because I had any need to be there, but rather it was just a stopping place that had a hotel along my route to Tulsa, which I will resume tomorrow. Hampton Inn tonight.








Okay, tomorrow night will be rockin! Literally!
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      09-11-2022, 08:50 AM   #20
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Badlands is a very beautiful place to stop and have a short hike. Definitely stunning views.
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      09-11-2022, 11:41 AM   #21
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Ha! I like reading this daily.

I may have missed a part of the background, but did you discuss your plans for the Nissan when you arrive? Are you selling it to a Carmax?

That 2006 navigation is . Back in the day having a indash navigation not substantially different than a standalone Garmin experience was truely high tech!
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      09-11-2022, 12:40 PM   #22
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Days 5 and 6 of pre-PCD road trip:
York, Nebraska, Rocklahoma Music Festival, Tulsa Oklahoma, Weird Al Yankovic concert, Oklahoma City
Total Miles: 2288


I'm combining two days this time, since there's not too much to the drives, and similar evening events.

Since I grew up in Colorado, we have a natural rivalry with Nebraska, particularly in college sports. So it felt just a little like being being enemy lines, being in the state.

Not much change, though, in scenery, going straight south into Kansas. Still flat with fields.








Finally made it to Oklahoma, which will be the end of this pre-PCD road trip, before the REAL part begins.





I actually lived in Enid, Oklahoma for a year when I did pilot training. Lots of hard work that year. But this time, I'm turning east off of I-35 to head to Tulsa.





Toll road to Tulsa. There's just a few toll roads in Kansas and Oklahoma.





Pretty lake on the way to Tulsa.








Downtown Tulsa is nice, with some interesting architecture. I picked up my daughter from the bus station, where she had come in from her college in Oklahoma City, so it was great to see her.

But, whoa... I tell you what, Tulsa BY FAR wins the award on this trip for crazy drivers. All sorts of shenanigans. Biggest thing was me going through an intersection, where the light had been green for some time and several cars had already gone ahead of me. A driver zoomed through from the cross direction right in front of me, completely oblivious that there was even a stoplight (or an intersection?) there at all.

Scary. Almost got T-boned and ended the trip, and maybe even our lives, wayyyy prematurely.





My daughter and I went out to Pryor, Oklahoma, northeast of Tulsa, to the Rocklahoma music festival.





Some huge music names there. We only were able to go Saturday, as road trip and her college demands didn't allow for more, sadly.

Good to see some returns to live concerts as we transition to "post-COVID" times.








First group I cared much about was Quiet Riot, a blast from the 80's. Fun.

I had never heard of groups "Nothing More" and "In This Moment", but both were pretty good. Some serious drumming from Nothing More.





Skillet was fun, having seen them before and having a couple of their albums.

I thought there was a song or two from Suicidal Tendencies I had liked from way back when, but... they were really not my thing.

And then...











I was really there for Evanescence, and their lead singer, Amy Lee. Amy is my all-time favorite female vocalist. Absolutely, positively, stunning power voice.

I've bought everything Amy and/or Evanescence has recorded and put out. I used to say I'd buy a recording of Amy singing the alphabet, if she made one. Well, many years ago, she became a mom, and went through a mothering phase, even putting out a kids music CD.

Where I was literally... listening to her sing the alphabet.

She definitely returned to full power rock kick-ass form tonight. Voice as strong as ever. Hope these videos below turn out well. And sorry for the fat fingers, where I accidentally paused the recording in the middle of a couple of them and had to resume.

















It's a shame recordings like these really don't capture the power of the performances.





Next up was Seether. Good, but not my favorite. HOWEVER, Seether sings "Broken", one of my favorite songs of all time. Amy Lee recorded a duet with Seether on the song, when she was dating Seether's lead singer.

They had a nasty break-up and haven't performed together since. As far as I know, this was the first time in the last 15 or whatever years they've even been at the same event together, so I was really, REALLY hoping after all this time, they'd have put the past behind them, and sing the song together.

But sadly, no. To be fair, "Broken" was a Seether song before Amy even came along, so he did it solo. Also in a little different style from the original, which IMHO wasn't as good. Still enjoyed hearing it though.








Last up was Korn, a legend in Nu-Metal throngs. I think they said they've been performing for 22 years now? Most impressive.

Some serious musical and performing skills. Their bass guitarist was particularly epic. Korn's music just isn't my jam, though. But I can appreciate the skills and fan appeal.





Stayed at the Hyatt Regency back in Tulsa that night. More crazy drivers... woof.

I'm a top tier member of Hyatt's loyalty club. That comes with some perks and occasional rewards that are great to use. One benefit is a personal "concierge" that helps me make reservations and works issues. Joanna is absolutely awesome to work with.

I also have a bazillion Hyatt points, so I'll be using those throughout the vast majority of the rest of my trip. Hyatt didn't have hotels at the locations I had stayed at to this point, so this is the first one this trip, and I should be at them for most of the rest of the way.








Being a Regency Hyatt property, it's nicer with more amenities than Hyatt's more general properties like a Hyatt Place. I got a nice upgrade to an Executive Suite, which is pretty much two large rooms put together with a pass-through door, and one of the rooms turned into a nice living area.





My daughter already pulled out the pull-out sofa bed before I could take a picture of her room.








As pretty much two rooms connected together, each had its own identical bathroom with shower.





Lovely night-time view of the city from the room. After a day of driving and a long concert festival, I was pretty tired and crashed again.

The next morning was a little frustrating for breakfast. EVERYWHERE in America seems to be short-staffed as we enter this "post-COVID" world. The pandemic still is affecting every aspect of life, almost 3 years on now. Breakfast was good, just very, very slow.

A short 1.5 to 2 hour drive down to Oklahoma City, back to where my daugher's going to college. I took her and her boyfriend out to dinner, having gotten a recommendation for a local BBQ place, Clark Crew.





I really enjoy proper BBQ, so this will be an emphasis area of my trip. Clark Crew BBQ in Oklahoma City has been champion of many, many barbecue competitions. Let's see how they do. First up, yummy deviled eggs for appetizers, and they do their own pickles, in 3 levels of spice. Pretty good.





Daughter did brisket mac n cheese. Pretty good.





Her boyfriend did the barbecue sandwich.





I usually do some sort of meat tray like this at barbecue places, to try several of the establishment's offerings. Here, we've got brisket burnt ends, brisket slices, and ribs.

If nothing else, always provides for leftovers to take home for the next day.





Sorry the focus is a little blurry on the brisket slice here, but you can get the gist. Sadly, this is a sign of the overall product. Really, really good BBQ competitors can turn out some amazing meats, when they're focused on making ONE brisket. One or two racks of ribs. Etc. You can put your whole attention into that one meat. When that competitor tries to scale up to run a restaurant, putting out HUNDREDS of briskets, every day, it's really, really hard to put the same level of love and attention into every piece.

Here, what you see is a nicely cooked slice of brisket, but it's not fully rendered. The connective tissue inside isn't fully breaking down, starting to come apart, so it's pretty much a full slice of meat.

Tastes good, good texture, but it's just not top-tier, like a BBQ competitor is able to put out at a smaller scale.

The brisket burnt ends were AMAZING though. Favorite of mine.





They also had bologna burnt ends on the menu, and had to try some out of curiosity. Not bad, but it's still bologna. Kind of like chicken, IMHO, where you can do some good stuff with it, but it can't reach the top tier of succulence like beef can, such as brisket.





We shared a pecan trifle for dessert. Very good.





On my way out, the pitmaster caught me peeking in the windows, and invited me into the kitchen pits to see their craft. We bantered a bit about techniques, as I am always in pursuit of smoking the perfect brisket myself. Including a current method of brushing with beef tallow when wrapping in butcher paper. Much appreciated talking to him.





Then, I took my daughter and her boyfriend to a Weird Al Yankovic concert. I've enjoyed Al over the years, and ended up buying all his albums. Although not a die-hard fan, I find him quite funny, and he also has quite a bit of actual musical and lyrical skill.

This tour, he got away from doing his parodies, and focused on his original songs. While disappointing to some, I still enjoy his original stuff too. Ended up being a real enjoyable show. Opening act of Emo Philips, a comedian that also appeared in Al's movie "UHF".





I can't think of any better tribute to Al, than having snuck a recording of this song snippet.

Stayed at the Hyatt Place hotel near Oklahoma City's airport. Will be showing lots of Hyatt Places in this journal.

My daughter bought the Infiniti QX56 back from insurance as a salvage vehicle, so I left it there with her. It's now hers, so I've told her, she's responsible for everything and anything that happens with it from here on out.

Okay, pre-PCD trip complete! Next up, South Carolina and BMW Performance center, here we come!
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Last edited by Wild Blue; 10-24-2022 at 08:39 PM..
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