Cross country trip

[Rodger]

Last October I bought my '00 Boxster S in Tuscon, AZ and drove it to Phoenix, AZ for a week. I then drove it from Phoenix to Anchorage, AK (almost 3800 miles) in five days. Phoenix to Idaho Falls (Day 1), Idaho Falls to Lethbridge, Alberta (2), Lethbridge to Grand Prairie (3), Grand Prairie to Whitehorse (4), Whitehorse to Anchorage (5).

Had the car looked over by a specialty import shop in Phoenix the day before I left. They replaced three spark plug tube seals in the right bank and changed the oil. I had new snow tires installed the morning of the second day of driving in Idaho Falls, ID.

I was relatively comfortable after each day of driving, despite spending close to 14 hours in it each day. Averaged 30 MPG (OBC).

Zero tickets (V1, saved me plenty of times), but I saw lots of cops between Calgary and Edmonton. Saw zero cops between Grand Prairie and AK. About the only run-in I had with "the fuzz" was at the border because I messed up the temporary registration process while in AZ........I didn't think I'd need it! I was extremely lucky to get into Canada on a "registration technicality". When I stopped in Lethbridge, Alberta I printed a temporary registration from the AZ DOT website and had no further difficulties.

I didn't stop to sightsee at all, I was in a hurry to beat the winter snow. Had a trailer tire explode next to me on a pickup pulling three 4-wheelers at 80 MPH. little bits hit my car (no damage). Averaged 10-15 MPH over the limit at all times, even while passnig big horn sheep, deer, moose in Canada. Saw a huge sheet hanging from the windows of a prison in Montana spray painted with the words "meth house". Got slightly lost in Edmonton trying to find the highway west, wasting about an hour. Almost put the car into a hillside just inside the AK border when I hit some black ice while taking an off-camber right-hander at 75 MPH. Few quick steering corrections to catch the back end and then I slowed. I took it very easy just east of Glenallen over the pass due to snow flurries.