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After leaving June Lake there were just a couple of other notable places I wanted to check on my list. There were very, VERY few other vehicles on this trip which emphasized the expanse of the landscape. On my way into Mono Lake I had a couple opportunities to snap some open road shots. Also along the way I noticed an abandoned homestead that needed investigating.
This leg of my trip was pretty uneventful I wanted to make the detour through Lake Tahoe but the sun was setting and I didn't really feel like setting up camp in the dark I made a couple of other short stops but now it was onto Reno. I arrived in Reno at night which was a good thing. (It's rather boring during the daylight). I made my way down the main strip, grabbed a bite to eat and decided to call it a night.
I woke up the next morning and started climbing in elevation out of Reno. I do have to admit I wish this beast had more power. The long steady climbs up make me a bit nuts watching my speedo go from 70mph to 55 in a matter of seconds. I was tempted many times to put the pedal to the floor and drop it a gear but I didn't want to risk something happening. How do you guys drive your RRC's? Is it hard on them to run them under load at 3 grand plus? On a positive note I got into some snow and some total whiteout conditions once I got into Lassen National Forest. I love how this rig feels in the snow and ice. There were multiple semi's that had slide off the road and a couple of pretty serious accidents that I passed during this leg and needless to say I loved how planted the Rover felt.
Last leg of my trip is coming up next. stay tuned.
Having lived in and around the area you’re in I feel your pain. I manually shift mine into 3rd all the time. 4500 ish is my personal redline. And I drive 100% loaded. The 04 Disco w the 4.6 was much better at the hills but the 4.0 (3.9) are ok. Way better than the Toyota straight 6 in the Fj60 I had.
Having lived in and around the area you’re in I feel your pain. I manually shift mine into 3rd all the time. 4500 ish is my personal redline. And I drive 100% loaded. The 04 Disco w the 4.6 was much better at the hills but the 4.0 (3.9) are ok. Way better than the Toyota straight 6 in the Fj60 I had.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm still getting used to the driving dynamics but so far so good...
A RRC in the Snow, I'm with you... NOTHING BEATS IT!
EXCEPT ROVER Kryptonite.....other people in traffic (not in your case)
with cars and Cute Utes with the wrong tires and no clue how to drive in the snow.
Finally getting around to sharing this last leg of my trip. I have to admit I was pretty damn tired at this point. So my motivation to stop and take pictures had started to taper off. I was also back in my home state and everything was starting to look familiar. Once I got into Klamath Falls the roads were turning to sheets of ice. No matter how great the RRC was in the snow, I was being ultra cautious. From here it was a straight shot up HWY 97 to my next big stop and my favorite town. Bend,
When I rolled into Bend it was still early so unfortunately none of the Breweries were open. No worries though I got to swing by the Pancake Wagon and Megaphone Coffee for a lil late breakfast.
Ok...sorry about that, almost no more pictures without the RRC in them... Those are just a couple of the best stops in Bend so I had to share.
On my way out of town I stopped in at one of our favorite mountain/lake vacations spots, The Suttle Lodge, to say hello. I highly recommend either getting a room or cabin there for a few snowy days.
After I got though some of the wet snow on the Santiam Pass I started my decent into the the Willamette Valley. Growing up Detroit Dam was always one of my favorite stops as a kid. I loved walking or driving our on the the Dam and looking at the insane drop down to the river on the low side of the Dam.
Home Sweet Home. Just a few miles away from the RRC's new home and new life in the Pacific North West.
One of my first stops after getting back to Portland was to my friends place. A few weeks before me he bought a '93 LWB. We'll now be comparing note on a regular basis I'm sure!
And here is the number 1 reason we got the RRC. By no means the only reason, but Lucy here wasn't going to fit so well in our other vehicles once she is full grown. No we can take our regular camping trips up another notch and start really getting off the beaten path.
To wrap it up I have to say it was an epic road trip home. The only issue I had the entire was was the broken coolant level sensor wire and a few drips of oil hitting the exhaust. I would definitely call this a major success and hopefully the beginning of many more road trips in the RRC.
I plan to continue to post my experience with the Rover and I'm sure there will be plenty of questions along the way. Below you can see a general route I took on my way back. Thanks for following along.
12-18-2017, 09:32 AM
