THE ROAD TRIP

Road Trip:

West Texas and The Grand Canyon in the perfect vehicle

WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY: SETH MCDONALD

THE ORIGINS Early In 2019 my wife and I started planning an auto road trip to take place the following year with a goal to explore areas around west Texas and the states surrounding the Grand Canyon. However, we needed to purchase a vehicle that would be both be fun to drive and practical for our extended trip. THE CAR My wife and I both studied automotive engineering in college so we were quite picky about choosing just the right vehicle for our trip. In an effort to make the best decision possible we made a list of must haves, would like to haves, and luxury options for our ideal vehicle. After making a rather complex Venn diagram along with a spreadsheet of desired options the search began. One of my key requirements was for the vehicle to have chilled seats, as in my mind Texas road trips in summer were brutally uncomfortable without them. I was hyper focused on an estate/station wagon because of its car-like attributes coupled with the extra carrying capacity. However, my wife kept pulling me towards a Macan for our ideal road trip vehicle. After researching her suggestion I thought we should purchase a used Macan S model if we could find one reasonably priced and in good condition with the features we both wanted. Well after considerable searching the stars aligned in late September and we purchased a 2016 Macan S from a dealer in San Antonio, Texas. The vehicle had 40,000 miles showing on the odometer, so for a little extra peace of mind we decided to purchase an extended 100K mile warranty. THE PANDEMIC We were able to execute our first big road trip in February 2020 to Big Bend National Park. However, by March 2020 the pandemic stifled further road trips and the Macan essentially sat out the remainder of 2020. Fast forward to March 2021 and with travel ability opening up we began planning a road trip for late September 2021, coinciding with a friend’s long delayed wedding in San Antonio. THE ROUTE We basically planned National Park tours of the west – sans California. Our route would eventually include the Petrified National Forest, Zion, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Canyonlands & Arches National parks. The route also included the infamous “route 666” now 191 in eastern Arizona (https://journal. classiccars.com/2020/08/11/devilish-delight-u-s-191-in-easternarizona/) PRE-TRIP CAR MAINTENANCE Prior to the trip the car had just clocked 50,000 miles so I we replaced the battery, installed new brake pads and rotors and new tires. During its 50K checkup I was informed that the timing chain cover bolts needed replacing, which is a common issue. Thankfully the extended warranty we purchased covered the timing chain cover repair as well as other issues including changing all fluids and a four-wheel alignment just before the trip.

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THE TRIP

• 9/17 Houston to San Antonio for first leg of trip. • 9/18 San Antonio to Morenci, AZ – long haul drive along I-10 before cutting northwest in New Mexico. We previously had determined that 12 hours is the upper limit for driving in one day. Leaving San Antonio at dawn to maximize daylight we arrived in Morenci just as the sun was setting. • 9/19 Leaving Morenci north on 191 our route heads through an open pit copper mine, which I believe is the largest in North America. This route had dramatic twists and turns as the road was circuitously routed to accommodate the mining operations. Incredibly massive mining equipment could be seen along the way. The route ends on a relatively high mesa area south of Petrified Forrest National Park – our first park of the trip. We then cruised along I40 and 93 via the Hoover Dam into Las Vegas. • 9/20 Day in Las Vegas

• 9/21 After our last night “in normal hotels” according to my wife, we proceeded north east along I15 before cutting off towards Zion. We cruised through Zion and went on several hikes before ending the day at an AirBnB along 89 in a town called Oderville, which is close to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. • 9/22 Driving into the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, was one of the most spectacular drives, in my opinion. The route south starts in what feels like a canyon, however you soon end up on a high Mesa surrounded by open plains followed by a forest. The dense forest provides no clue that you’re approaching the Grand Canyon before finally catching glimpses of it before arriving at the North Rim. We wanted to stay at the North rim for 2 nights, but bookings for lodging are required months in advance. We were lucky to get 1 night and it exceeded our expectations. • 9 /23 Driving to monument valley via 89A essentially routes you down into the canyon. Fascinating changes of landscape from the lush forest of the north rim into a sudden deep depression of rock and dust before eventually arriving at Lee’s Ferry (main access point of the Colorado River just north of the canyon). We took this opportunity for a quick swim in the Colorado River – highly refreshing as the water temp remains in the low 60s. A quick drive up to Page for lunch and a quick viewing of Lake Powell (shockingly low nowadays) before traveling south and then back north to Monument Valley. • 9/24 We spent the night at the famous Gouldings Lodge where the rooms have spectacular views of the morning sunrise over the valley. On one morning I awoke not by the usual sunrise, but by the sound of multiple flat six cylinder engines. Confused I got up and could hear and see various Porsches driving around and staging in a dusty parking area just north of the hotel. After dressing quickly I drove down to their location and discovered a road rally full of vintage Porsches and several REEF 911 Safari editions. All of the rally Porsches made for an even more spectacular sunrise and fantastic photos.

We then drove north to one of the coolest spots on the trip a place called Muley Point. It’s essentially like the Grand Canyon but without the forest and was seemingly abandoned. In fact we didn’t see another person while at Muley Point and the approach from the south requires a drive up an amazing switchback road from out of the valley and onto the top of the mesa (Highway 261). The road then turns into an off-road trail for a few miles before simply stopping at the rim of the canyon which resulted in some of my favorite pictures of the trip.

We then continued north and entered the southern portion of Canyonlands national park. I regret not spending more time here, however its remote location makes this difficult without camping or dealing with long drives to a motel every day. It was an amazing

park and we were able to get a late afternoon hike in before heading into Moab for the evening. • 9/25 Day in Moab & Arches – well worth it but we had to get a guided tour as the arches feels like a theme park, insane the amount of people who visit it, both sad and inspiring at the same time. • 9/26 Our drive was essentially due east on dirt roads through Onion Creek, up the base of Mt Wass and into Gateway Colorado. I was worried about this portion of the trip as online reviews ranged from people successfully driving mini-vans to lifted Jeeps getting stuck. Fortunately for us the road was seemingly graded overnight and had little to no issues. So, we were able to maintain a decent average speed and experienced only a few slowdowns for some washouts. This route was fantastic as it provided a captivating change of scenery from the dry high desert plains to wooded forest on highway 141 that follows the Dolores River in Colorado. This road while pretty remote offered some stunning scenery. We drove through the canyon mostly alone for several hours before approaching the high mountains of southwest Colorado and our stop for the evening, Ouray. • 9/27 We spent the morning in Ouray before driving south along the Million Dollar Highway. In all honesty there were several other routes on our journey that were equally impressive and nowhere near as busy. But still it’s one to check off on the to-do list. We then drove at a rather leisurely pace into Santa Fe via back roads off the highway for the evening. • 9/28 We originally intended to stay at a spa in Santa Fe to relax at the end of our road trip however the place was plagued by staffing issues due to the pandemic. We then decided to simply start heading home around mid-day. We ended up driving non-stop back to San Antonio in time for my Dads birthday (29th) arriving a few minutes after midnight..

TRIP DATA

Trip from Houston back to San Antonio • 73 hours 48 minutes • 3763 Miles • 24.2 MPG average • 54 MPH average speed

FUEL COST

• $690.11 at an average cost of $3.95 per gallon • 174.54 gallons filled

ISSUES

• We encountered zero mechanical issues of any kind. Oil consumption was minimal and the average MPG was higher than my pre-trip estimate of 20MPG, I seem to have underestimated the effect the turbos would have in the mountain roads and just how much cruising at 70MPH we would do. J

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