66 replies to this topic

[ballade]

T-minus (17hours)

 

There is vacationing and there is traveling. A vacation is about relaxing at a given destination....easy, comfortable, and worry free. Traveling can mean many things....by train. plane and automobile, involving multiple destinations.  When the idea was proposed to undertake a 11,000 km journey over a 13 day period, (most would do this in a month!) an epic adventure immediately came to mind.  This is far from being a "vacation". 

 

Each has 2 weeks time from work.  Both are photographers who love to travel.  The question then arose: How much can be seen in a 2 week period on the road on a budget. Both of them decided that the American southwest would play a significant role in planning of this trip. For Kevin the images of the southwest are coloured by old Hollywood films. For Mark it is all about the landscape.  The American southwest offers vistas that are unique to the rest of the continent. Between the two of them, this is a region that has long been an area of interest.

 

There are many different ways to travel, but it was agreed upon from the beginning that this was to be done by car.  Many believe that the best way to see America is by car on the open road. 

 

What they are doing is nothing new, every year families travel through North America in their campers and RV's in the thousands every year in comfort. Neither have an RV or any desire to ever own one. Both have new cars in their driveways, with leather seats, air conditioning, dashboard GPS. But that would be too easy. Why not up the ante and do it in a 28-year-old 2 seater sports car. Now it's an adventure.

 

This may seem ludicrous to some, but what they hope to establish is that the enjoyment is in the effort that is put forth.

 

What they are doing is embarking on an adventure in a time where little thought is given to the open road, and to the love of the automobile. Its one thing to be driving the trip, but they are documenting every step of their journey as well

 

With an allotted amount of time, a certain amount of organization was necessary. Modern day conveniences such as Google maps, online motel booking, cross referenced with many iconic locations and out of the way oddball stops that could be located, a route was born which they believed could maximize their adventure.

 

 

Due to the size of the car, careful thought and planning of the photo and video equipment also had to be considered, the car itself and how it was to going to play out as the main platform for the video production and as the home for both of them throughout the journey.  The end result of the trip should produce enough material for daily blogs, photo galleries, and eventually a documentary short film.

 

The first portion of our trip will have us leaving Barrie Ontario, (Canada) at 2:00am on Sunday Sept 8th, we hope to arrive in Nashville in the mid afternoon. 

With our predetermined route we hope to capture life on the road as it unfolds. At the end of each day we will file photos and report on our progress and adventures. 

 

 

From The Road, 

Mark and Kevin.

 

 

 

 

Mark Wanzel is an award winning photojournalist with the Barrie Examiner, lives in Barrie, Ontario with his wife and two children, and has a passion for anything                  automotive. 

 

Kevin Lamb is a former Barrie Examiner photojournalist and is a past winner of Canadian Geographic’s wildlife photography of the year. He is currently working on a book about Canadian music. He lives in Barrie, Ontario with his wife and their cat, Fred. 

 

 

The Nuts and Bolts

 

The Car : 1985 Honda CRX Si (sport injected)

                   170 hp ( Japanese spec B16A )

                    Tuned suspension and upgraded brakes

                   The vehicle has been fitted with several camera mounts 

 

           car was recently featured in 

           Motor Trend Classic Magazine : http://www.motortren...lpaper_gallery/

           and

           Honda Tuning Magazine:  http://www.hondatuni...5_honda_crx_si/

           

 

Camera and video equipment:

  

 

         Two DSLR systems 

         multiple flash units with remote triggers. 

          Laptop

         Maps / GPS

         Two GoPro cameras 

         Binoculars

         Assorted brackets and hardware

         two way radios

         Two LED Video lights

         Tri Pod

         two Mono Pods

         Slider

         Audio recorder 

         multiple Ipods

 

       

 

 

 

[ballade]

Day 1 Sept 8

Barrie Ontario to Nashville

1287 kns 12hours 

 

Day 2 Sept 9

Nashville to Tulsa OK

1000km 10 hours

 

Day3 Sept10

Tulsa OK to Roswell NW

927kms 9.5 hours

 

Day4 Sept11

Roswell NW to Bisbee AZ  to Tucson AZ

900kms 9 hours 

 

Day 5 Sept 12

Tucson Az to Las Vegas

670kms  7 hours

 

Day 6 Sept13

Las Vegas to Moab

869 kms 8.5 hours

 

Day 7 Sept 14

Moab UT - Page AZ

908kms 11.5 hours

 

Day 8 Sept 15

Page AZ - Flag Staff

350 kms 4 hours

 

Day 9 Sept 16

Flag Staff to Albuquerque

610kms  6 hours

 

Day 10 Sept17

Albuquerque to Dodge 

763km   7 hours

 

Day11 Sept 18

Dodge to Hannibal

876kms   8.5hours

 

Day 12 Sept 19

HAnnibal to Toledo

866kms 8.5 hours

 

 

Day 13 Sept 20

Toledo to Barrie 

527kms 5 hours

[DuallDude]

Looks like you guys have it all planned out, If you are still passing through OKC on Tuesday I'd love to see the ride,(and get some replica centercaps and badges).  Good luck on the epic journey!

[cbstdscott]

Great trip, great equipment.

 

Later in the year you will get more low angle light but I guess you got to go when you have the time. 

 

Your schedule seems to be pretty tight, I hope you figured in time for serendipity.

 

Its a shame you are not coming to California, but that is another trip.

 

Have fun,

 

Scott

[ballade]

Thanks Scott

It's going to be work that's for-sure but I like it like this. can't sit on the beach for longer then an hour without going nuts.

Maybe next year we can squeeze in Cali (best place on earth)

would love to have one of those famous hot dogs, enjoy the BBQ and stay tuned!!!!

[badpenny]

Wow, well, have fun.  Don't forget to write.

[Smokescreem]

looks like your all set,  Have a great  time.

[ballade]

Thanks Smokescreem

[Vicious]

Drive safe mark

[Aren D.]

Awesome! Good luck, and your car is looking excellent as always!

[ballade]

Leaving Barrie Ontario at 2:30 in the morning there was an obvious lack of traffic to Toronto and along the 400 series highways, we made short work of the overnight trip to Windsor and the American border. An uneventful border crossing gained us access into the USA.  Any anxiety was quickly diminished once the trip began and during the 1,300 km trip to Nashville, the car performed flawlessly and we achieved the 35 mpg that we had expected. The first stop in Monroe, Kentucky for breakfast resulted in our first exposure to the genuine southern hospitality that the region is known for.  We then continued on our way through Kentucky and stopped at the Mammoth Caves, which is a highly recommended stop when visiting the state.  A short distance later saw us inside the International Corvette Museum, which, not surprisingly, entertained Mark, a car aficionado.  Even a non-car person like Kevin enjoyed the well thought out displays and the wide range of the iconic cars from each era.  Leaving the museum, we crossed into Tennessee where we stopped in Nashville for food and a place to spend the night. When in Nashville, one of the more peculiar sights is a full-scale replica of The Parthenon of Greece, which is fully lit up at night, and is a must see for anyone visiting the city. After a evening out with friends we retired back to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, the largest non-casino hotel in the Continental United States outside of Las. Also ranking as the 29th in the list of largest hotels in the world. From here on our accommodations will become less extravagant. Over all the first day was an exciting one offering a wide variety of sites. Were both excited to push on and see what unfolds.



From The Road
Mark and Kevin.













 

[ballade]

[CRXer87hf]

Nashville eh! Great city.  Sounds like you have the makings of an epic adventure.  I hope you have a great and safe time!  

[DuallDude]

The corvette mueseum in Bowling Green?  I was there years ago and it was awesome, they has a late 60's Vette with 7 original miles on it!  Glad to here everything is going smoothly, drive safe.

[Screech]

Not a US road trip without seeing at least one of the two oceans.

Still looking forward to updates and pics. Have fun and drive safe.