Purple ZR-1 Road Trip to Yellowstone and the Pacific Northwest

[QB93Z]

We continued south and stopped at Smith Rock State Park. All of the park facilities are in good condition and there were volunteers working to keep the a nice place to visit.

The park offers views and hiking trails around the remains of an ancient volcano and the Crooked River that eroded the lava rock leaving the core:




As we headed down toward the stream, we were greeted by a small lizard:




We stopped for a photo in an eroded rock formed into a small cave:




We climbed up to the cliff base and found a large slab of rock that had fractured from the wall. Lyndi did her part to prevent further collapse:



A pleasant view looking down stream:




On the way back up the trail to the parking lot, Lyndi points out our goal:




Jim

[QB93Z]

There was a question about what tools and supplies I carry when we travel so I will try to list the things I have pack.

I put my tools and parts in the storage compartment behind the passenger seat. In the 1995 (and in a 1994) the jack is stored there. I removed the jack and the Styrofoam block that holds it. I double-wrapped the jack in plastic and put it in the spare tire. I leave the plastic "bucket" at home.

The compartment also has a radio receiver and control unit Velcro-ed to the side. Because I installed an after-market nav system/stereo, that unit in removed.

For spare parts I loaded: alternator, fuel pump, serpentine belt, idler pulley, 5/16 inch coolant hose and hose clamps, ignition coil and a fuel pump jumper connector.

For supplies I carry brake/clutch fluid (Dot 3), spare fuses (three sizes), and an oil filter if the trip will be long enough to require an oil change on the road.

My philosophy for replacement parts to carry is to recover from a failure that will disable the car and can reasonably be replaced with on the road or in a parking lot. I would be able to pull the plenum for repairs.

For tools I carry: 1/4" drive socket set with sockets 7mm to 13 and 1/4 to 9/16", ratchet handle and extension, socket u-joint, two standard and two phillips screw drivers, Torx bit socket set, long T-40 and T-15 wrenches, various small pliers, vise grip wrench, crescent wrench, six-in-one multi tool, medium and large arc joint pliers, wire stripper/crimper with lugs and unions, scraper, small pry bar, zip ties, siphon tubing and a bulb, flashlights, multimeter with leads and jumper wires, magnetic pickup tool.

I also carry jumper cables under the passenger seat and a first aid kit under the driver's seat.

In the future, I will add plenum gaskets to my supply.

I am working from memory so I probably missed some.

Jim

[Paul Workman]

Very comprehensive "kit". Thanks, Jim.

My kit wasn't nearly as complete. But, I"m going to use your list to augment mine prior to my next trip. You didn't mention your excellent technical support team back home, which supplants carrying an FSM. I carry the electrical portion - for what that is worth (thinking about Steve's watered out switches/connectors at the BG gathering).

Very helpful! (I saved a copy of it)

[8cam]

I just love your threads, and this one is fantastic. Please keep posting! I have been trying to talk my wife into doing a similar trip, but she's just not a road-tripper. She's about the destination, not the journey. I tried to tell her trips like this, the journey IS the destination, but that didn't fly. Oh well.

[ghlkal]

Awesome. I appreciate you guys sharing your adventure with us.




Is the Z in your license plate just coincidence?

[Racinfan83]

Originally Posted by 8cam

I just love your threads, and this one is fantastic. Please keep posting! I have been trying to talk my wife into doing a similar trip, but she's just not a road-tripper. She's about the destination, not the journey. I tried to tell her trips like this, the journey IS the destination, but that didn't fly. Oh well.

Sounds like my wife. Anything over 2 hours in a car and she ain't happy.. I'm one of those who could drive a lap around the country and be lovin it. I don't think I would want to do it in my Z though. Not enough room for stuff...

[QB93Z]

On Wednesday, after visiting Smith Rock State Park, we stopped in Bend, Oregon for a Road Trip Maintenance Day (RTMD). I took the PurpleZ to a Jiffy Lube and supervised an oil change, mailed home a box of souvenirs, and washed the Z. Lyndi did the laundry, and repacked all our clothes.

On Thursday morning, we left Bend early and headed south. Our first stop was Lava Lands at the Newberry Volcanic National Monument. Lava Lands is run by the Department of Agriculture. We arrived at about 6:45 AM and found the roads gated and the Visitor Center closed. We had to look over the gates and wonder at what we would have seen:




Our experience has been that the National Parks that are run by the National Park Service (Department of the Interior) are always open to some extent.

Next, based on a suggestion from a man I met at the Jiffy Lube, we visited Sunriver Lodge. The lodge is in the community of Sunriver, Oregon. The lodge is a beautiful pine construction building built before World War II and used by the Army as a training post for soldiers destined to fight in extreme cold weather. Today the Lodge is privately owned, and it's beauty is still visible:




We continued south and turned onto the Volcanic Legacy Oregon Scenic Byway, heading for Crater Lake National Park. The road to the north entrance to the park runs straight as an arrow for most of the way to the park:






We drove up the side on the mountain and got our first look at Crater Lake:




Lyndi took a picture of me next to a stone that clearly shows the scrape marks left by the glaciers that covered the top of the mountain before a catastrophic eruption about 10,000 years:




to be continued....

[XfireZ51]

Jim,

Have you made it to the Oregon Coast. Astoria, Newport, Ecola Park?

[QB93Z]

From the top of the mountain looking west, we could clearly see two major forest fires burning:




We watched a hawk circling over the lake. Lyndi got this beautiful photo of hawk's wings:




We took some glamor shots of the PurpleZ with the blue water behind it in the morning sun:




We climbed the trail to the top of Watchman Peak for the high-level view of the lake:




Then I took a picture looking down at the parking lot:




We drove around the rim road, and stopped at the Crater Lake Lodge area. With the sun higher in the sky, the views of the lake were even more stunning:




to be continued...

[QB93Z]

We left Crater Lake NP and headed south west on OR-62 and the air was showing the effects of the forest fires we saw and a larger fire near Prospect, OR:



After all of the driving up and down the mountain at Crater Lake, I was in need of a fill up. There are not very many gas stations in this part of Oregon, so we were glad to see a station. However,




A little later we found another gas station. The didn't have premium, but they did have an ice cream bar:




The haze continued. We found out later that were had been about 15 miles from the Prospect fire:




By the time we got to Grants Pass, OR, we drove out of the haze for the evening.


Jim