Ride with us, as we take a 3-week drive through Canada and the USA, searching for deep snow and hoping for a white Christmas.

Read what happened during Week 1 here, and Week 2 here.

Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 14 – Lethbridge, Alberta to Missoula, Montana

It’s -14 degrees (Celsius) outside, there’s been snow overnight, the Mazda CX-70 is covered, and it looks glorious. This sort of snow is what we came for. We’ve got a 520km drive today, so we hit the road early…well, 9am early at least.

The highway south to the US border is covered in snow, so we followed a few snowploughs, grateful for them clearing the way. It’s another straight, boring drive to the US border at the Sweetgrass / Coutts Border Crossing.

We weren’t expecting any dramas at the US border, but how wrong we were. Our first mistake was missing a stop sign (it was half covered in snow) before getting to the customs window, leaving ten feet between us and the next car that was at the window. Suddenly, the border patrol officer got out of his little room and stormed towards us. His face was not a happy one. 

Confused by his look, I rolled down my window and threw out a “Good morning”, only to be greeted by a stern “Can’t you read!?”
“Sorry, did we miss a sign?”
“I SAID, CAN’T YOU READ?”

 I felt at this point that:
1: He was already having a bad day
2: We had missed a sign
3: I should not annoy him any more than he is

“Yes, I can read, and sorry if we missed a sign.”
“GO BACK!”, he said, “to where it says stop and wait here until the lane is clear!”

We reversed up and found the stop sign. We had both missed it. Honestly, my gut feeling is that this happens a lot, and maybe they should put in something that is a bit more obvious and can’t be partially covered in snow.

We moved up when it was time, and then the interrogation came, about where we had come from, where we were going etc. I could feel his absolute hate towards us, for missing the sign.

“Park to the left, and go through the double doors,” he said to me. The thing was, I couldn’t quite understand what he had said because of his accent, so had to ask him to repeat it. That went down really well.

We drove past the checkpoint, parked and went inside. There were no other ‘visitors’ there, so just the two of us, so we waited. And waited, and waited. I think the checkpoint guy probably just held our passports for as long as possible to inconvenience us. A very slow stream of cars was going through the border, so it wasn’t exactly busy, and there were five Customs guys working, any of which could have helped us – if they had our passports.

After 20 minutes of sitting around waiting, we got called to the counter. The Customs guy asked the same questions, and when we said we were heading to Missoula, he asked why. I answered honestly; they have a Crackerbarrel restaurant there, and we very much like Crackerbarrel (true story).

US Customs at the Sweetgrass, Montana border crossing. Not recomended for a good time

This seemed to confuse him some, so we said we’d be staying in Missoula for the night, and he asked where – they needed an address. We jumped onto phones, booked a hotel, and gave him the address. Next up was photos and fingerprints for both of us. Then he had to fill out an ‘I-94” for us, and we paid US$12 to cross the border. Phew! We had made it.

The weird thing is, when we crossed the border last year from Canada into Vermont, there were no forms, no fingerprints, and no cost. I’m not sure if anything has changed in a year, or maybe our initial interaction with the customs guy set them off on us (most likely option).

We got out of there as quick as we could in deep snow, and pulled into the first gas station in Sweet Grass (yes, that’s the town’s name), now in the USA – that’s the main photo of this travel blog. At US$3 a gallon, it’s a lot cheaper than in Canada. Like all gas stations, packs of cigarettes line the wall behind the counter. The cost? Around US$6 a pack, some are less, some are more, and discussing the difference in cost between our two countries brings shock and horror to most Americans. But they understand why ours cost so much, and the benefits that it brings.

South of Shelby, and on the road to (eventual) breakfast

We went searching for food in Sweet Grass, but found none. The next town was 30 minutes away and is called Shelby, so we had to go there (because, come on, Shelby). Shelby was a lot bigger, but still we struggled to find anywhere open. We even struggled to find what was a road and what was someone’s land, as the whole place was totally blanketed in snow.

So we drove on for 30 minutes to Conrad, and parked right outside Folklore Coffee, a coffee and pastries shop. Driving through Conrad, the snow is so deep here and some people have had to clear the snow away from their front doors, just to be able to get out of the house. The centre is the road is sometimes an island of snow, dividng the lanes. 

Back on the interstate, we spy some coyotes in the snow, but they’re not getting close to traffic. I also spy a big rig following us way too closely. I check our speed and the Mazda’s cruise control is set to 80. Embarrassingly, it takes me a few seconds to click that the car is still set to km/h and not mp/h. We change the car’s settings and quickly we’re sitting on a legal 80mp/h (130km/h). The CX-70 is only doing around 2,000rpm at that speed, and the engine is just a quiet hum, doing its thing under the bonnet.

The CX-70’s SatNav took us on some back roads to get us to Missoula, and that was fine by us. It was nice to not be on the interstates, and instead go through some small towns. The speed limit was often 70mp/h, but with the lack of snow ploughing on back roads, the corners are a bit tricky to get around safely.

Still, it’s worth it for the scenery. We go from wide open spaces of Montana, to rivers and trees – all covered in snow. True to Montana’s reputation, we see very little traffic, often driving for 20 minutes before seeing another vehicle.

Just a normal winter’s day in Montana

Some of those vehicles passing us on a two-lane back road were truck and trailer units. This can be a hairy experience, as the amount of snow they throw up as they pass you is huge, completely blocking your vision for five seconds or so. Every time a big rig approached us, I held that steering wheel straight and looked exactly where I wanted the car to go. Spooky.

Later in the afternoon, we made it to Missoula. It’s not a big town – population around 80,000 – but it’s got the only Crackerbarrel restaurant that we’d be going anywhere near. It might sound weird to stay in a town because of a specific restaurant, but Crackerbarrel does it so well. The whole atmosphere of each restaurant is excellent, with an old-time feel to it, and has great food at reasonable prices. The fact that they all have a shop attached to each restaurant makes no difference, says my wife (insert Tui wording here).

Snow – it’s what we came for

The first Crackerbarrel opened in 1969 in Tennessee, and the company attained U$1B in value way back in 1992. Now, there are over 660 restaurants across the USA.

Tomorrow, we head to Twin Falls in Idaho, to continue our drive west.

Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 15 – Missoula, Montana to Twin Falls, Idaho

You know you’re back in the USA when, in the hotel room, the paper coffee cups are in individual plastic bags. Plastic drinking cups? In a plastic bag. If you want milk with your coffee, there’s only dairy creamer, a sort of white powder of unknown origin. It, too, comes in a plastic bag, along with some sugar, a stirrer and a napkin. So once you use one of those things, you throw everything in to the rubbish. They could learn something from the Canadians on this front – it feels so wasteful.

Back on the road, and more snow

We’re heading to Twin Falls, Idaho today. Our next actual destination is Tacoma, in Washington state, to go to an animal sanctuary there, but we’ve actually for a few free days up our sleeves so are taking the long way, heading south instead of west. Why Twin Falls? Always wanted to go there, so decision made. It’s a 754km journey, but Google is suggesting it’s a 7-hour drive since much of it is at 70mp/h.

It’s -3 degrees outside as we load up the car in Missoula, and it’s snowing heavily. We go straight out onto the highway (not the interstate) and drive west, cruise control set and music playing. Down the road, we get to Bitterroot to grab coffee on the run. The sign on the door says “No shirt no shoes no service”, so it’s a high-quality gas station we are heading in to. Like in Canada, we both shocked at the cost of the junk food here; Most of the bars of any sort are over US$3.30 (plus tax), and even a small bag of beef jerky is US$11 (plus tax). It seems nothing is cheap any more in the USA.

An hour later, we come across a rare sight: a Sherriff’s patrol car, sitting at the side of the highway. He actually looks like he’s looking out for speeders, too. This is the first cop we’ve seen actively patrolling for this whole trip – over two weeks so far. And yet, as I’ve already mentioned, the traffic drives smoothly and safely, so there’s no need for extra enforcement.

Halfway through the day we cross the state line, moving from Montana into Idaho and weirdly, we see a lot more snow. The trees are far more laden than they were just on the other side of the hill we crossed. We’re on the Lewis Clark Trail, and max out at over 7,000 feet at the highest point.

Lunch is had in the town of Salmon, located on the Salmon River in Lemhi County. We stop at Buddy’s Diner and I have to order the salmon, because that’s how I roll. I’m not sure if the Salmon I am fed comes from the Salmon river, but it’s delicious. The fries that the waitress called “the best around” are the best. At US$16.95, my meal comes with a salad (or soup) and fries, and is great value.

Later in the day, we pass the 45th Parallel, a theoretical point which represents the halfway point between the north and south poles. Okay, it’s theoretical, but still quite cool to go past.

A quick walk through a deserted – for winter – campground

The views all day are stunning, and we move from mountains of snow and millions of trees, into tussock-laden expanses that make us feel like we are driving on New Zealand’s Desert Road.

We find a hotel in Twin Falls, it’s all of US$73 for the two of us, including breakfast. Can’t complain about that. Maybe there are some things in the USA that are still cheap.

A common view for today

Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 16 – Twin Falls, Idaho to Portland, Oregon

First thing in the morning, we’re going to see the Twin Falls of Twin Falls, Idaho. Well, we would, if they weren’t closed. Apparently during the winter, somehow, they turn the water off to the falls so they’re shut. I don’t think it’s going to be the same without water going over the falls, so we pass on it.

We initially had a 760km drive set for today, heading to The Dalles, in Oregon. But since we won an hour of time back by moving into Pacific time zone today, we decided to push on and drive all the way to Portland.

That meant a 900km drive, about the same as driving from Kaitaia to Wellington. It would take us around 8.5 hours of driving time.

It’s 4 degrees outside when we pack the car up, and funnily enough, back at home we’d be complaining like hell about that temperature, but after experiencing below zero for the past few weeks, we actually feel quite warm.

Just minutes from the hotel, we are on the I-84 interstate, with cruise control on the CX-70 set at 80mp/h (130km/h) and we sit back with a coffee. Setting the car’s SatNav, we punch in The Dalles, as that’s where we were originally going to go. The SatNav comes back with a “Please turn right in 462 miles”. That’s 745km without a turn. Naturally, we’ll need coffee and toilet breaks.

Drive for 745km, and then turn right

An hour in, and it’s time for a toilet stop, and we decide to fill the car up as well. A Lowe’s Truck stop appears, and that’s perfect. It’s an experience going into a Lowe’s (Or a Flying J truck stop, for that matter), as the amount of stuff they have for sale is amazing. We pay US$3.29 for a gallon of premium gas – that’s NZ$1.55 a litre.

Today’s common view

Back on the road, we start passing some of the smaller towns, and marvel at the names early Americans gave to their towns. During the day, we’ll pass Jerome, Fruitland, Bliss, Lime, Stinker, John Day, and Rufus.

We cross the Oregon state line and eventually into the Pacific time zone, and take lunch at Baker City at a small town diner.

Another state line crossed

The day goes on and on, and we have to peg our speed back a little as the I-84 is only 70mp/h once you cross into Oregon. Still, other traffic doesn’t care and many drivers are doing around 85mp/h, even in Oregon.

Later in the day, we grab another coffee and I decide to top the tank up, as I know fuel gets more expensive the further west you go. It’s already at US$4/gallon at our next stop, so hopefully that might be the last one.

The first time I’ve ever seen a ‘no cats’ sign at a rest area!

Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 17 – Portland, Oregon to Tacoma, Washington

We thought we’d head into an older part of Portland in the morning, before driving to Tacoma, ready to visit an animal sanctuary tomorrow.

The thing is, there wasn’t much to see or do in Portland itself, which was disappointing. We’d always planned to come back to Portland and have a good look around, but it just wasn’t worthwhile. Sorry, Portland.

That doesn’t mean we just sat in the car. My wife found yet another book store to visit; Powell’s City Of Books is apparently the world’s largest independent book store. It takes up an entire city block, and even has a fully kitted-up camera-shy security guard at the door (mind you, I think he’s there more to keep homeless people from going in).

Better guard those books with guns

There’s a café inside, and surprise surprise they actually have real coffee, and not just filter coffee. The book store is in a very old building, and you can hear the wooden floors creaking as people above you are walking around. It’s quite cool in that respect, rather than being in some new and perfect building.

Powell’s Books – takes up an entire city block over multiple levels

While my wife was loading up with more books to take home, I jumped onto one of Portland’s Streetcars. Some of the Streetcars loop the city, while another line goes north to south. It’s a comfy, easy way to travel and looks well used by locals – so not just a tourist attraction.

After leaving the city, it’s not long before we cross a bridge and go into Washington state, our 4th US state of this trip. Then, it’s onto the I-5 interstate, and it’s busy with traffic. Being the main route from Seattle south, the traffic is heavy, although as usual it’s flowing beautifully.

We’re heading directly north to stay in the town of Eatonville, just south of Tacoma. On the way there, my wife spies a Walmart and decides she needs something. I go in as well, mainly to scope out the tools section, and walk past that familiar sight, in any Walmart:

You want guns with your cereal?

So yes, pop in to Walmart to get your groceries and grab a couple of guns while you are there. And some ammo too, there’s plenty of ammo. Only in America.

I leave the Walmart and head on over to the neighbouring Harbour Freight store. If you are a car guy/car gal, and have never been to a Harbour Freight store, you are missing out big time. Regardless of the name, they sell tools. Just tools, nothing else. And the prices are very, very sharp. It’s so tempting to load up with tools, but we are almost already at our weight limit for our two checked-in suitcases. I still grab a few things, and marvel at the prices.

That night, we have a look at the website for the Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, only to find that they are closed the next day! We’ve specifically come to Eatonville/Tacoma to go to the park, so that’s a real shame.

It’s time for Plan B, so instead we’ll head to Seattle Zoo, since we’ve not managed to get to any sort of wildlife sanctuary this trip – most of them are closed for the winter, or have greatly reduced opening hours.

The old and the new in Portland, Oregon

Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 18 – Tacoma, Washington to Seattle, Washington

Since we have failed to get to any wildlife sanctuaries this trip – let alone seeing much actual ‘wild” wildlife – we decided we would just have to go to a zoo to get our bear and wolf fix. It’s a short 30-minute drive to Seattle today.

Seattle has the Woodland Park Zoo, located just 15 minutes north of the city. After paying US$10 to park for a couple of hours, we headed in to buy tickets. Weirdly, you can’t actually go in and buy tickets; you wait outside the doors, until the people in front of you have their tickets, and move off. It’s one of those weird ‘only in America’ things. They love to queue here.

After paying US$40 for two tickets, we grabbed a zoo map and started walking. Woodland Wildlife Park is very well laid out, basically it’s just a big loop circuit, with the occasional deviation to go to a specific exhibit. It’s nice and wide, too, so you never feel overcrowded with people.

Definitely not a busy day at the Seattle Zoo

At first, we were pretty disappointed; the wolves were nowhere to be seen, the bears had gone awol, and after 20 minutes we’d seen a couple of elk and some birds. Not a great start. We did spot a couple of keas, both looking pretty home sick.

Then we found the snow leopards, and they were amazing to watch. Next up was the tiger, who was crashed out, as you’d expect. Then we got to see Glenn, the rhino. I’ve never seen a sadder sight; Glenn was running loops around his enclosure, looking for a way out. Either that, or Glenn has mental issues, and who can blame him. The board giving us Glenn’s details said he was ‘playful’ but to us, he was bored as can be.

After 90 minutes of walking around, we’d seen all we wanted to see, and left a little sad for Glenn.

Our next thing for the day was a walking tour, with the Beneath the Streets Underground History Tours company. At US$26 each (plus taxes, of course), the walking tours run for about an hour each. Dave, our tour guide, was extremely knowledgeable about Seattle’s early history, and all about its ‘underground’. Once he heard we were from New Zealand, he was quick to point out that he had given Peter Jackson and his family the same tour. Small world.

We were the only people on the tour, so that made it quick to get around places, and we could ask questions freely. We started in the basement of the company’s premises; here, Dave showed us in person just what the ‘beneath the streets’ part of the tour was. Back in 1899, most of the commercial area of Seattle burnt to the ground, after an incident in a woodworking shop. The local council took the opportunity to redevelop the area, including banning wooden buildings. This is a common change we’ve seen across many cities of the USA.

Before the big fire, the commercial area was affected by the tides – it was built too low and close to the shoreline. So the council started to build up the roads, and reclaimed land. The local retailers could not wait, so they built shops at the lower level, while the heightening of the roads went on. Eventually, everything was raised up to the new level, but the old lower-level shops remained there, and are still there.

In the room that Dave showed us, there are still the windows from a shoe shop that existed, and was eventually abandoned once the road building had finished. The council was supposed to infill all the what were now tunnels, but they ran out of money and so just left them.

The windows on the right side are from the old shoe shop, when this was ground level

We next walked out into the street and then under other buildings in the town, and accessed other tunnels, some of them connecting more than one building.

Some of these tunnels ended up being used for prostitutes or drug dealing, and the local police of the day were quick to point out that you couldn’t see any crime in Seattle – but that was because it was all happening in the old tunnels, under the streets.

The tour covers just 4 city blocks, so it’s not a long or arduous walk at all. Dave covered other aspects of the city when we weren’t underground, like The Central Saloon, the oldest bar in Seattle, dating back to 1892, and it’s still in operation. It’s considered the ‘birthplace of grunge’, and is the bar where bands like Nirvana got their big break.

The company also runs an ‘After Hours: Red Light District Tour, for adults only. This tour delves into the ‘underside’ of Seattle’s underground history, featuring a humorous look at prostitution, gambling, drinking, and vice. This tour is for guests 18 and older.

If you are in Seattle, we can recommend Beneath the Streets Underground History Tours for a walking tour. You’ll learn a lot about Seattle, and its seedy past.

Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 19 – Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, BC

A few years ago, we had booked tickets to visit the Boeing Factory near Seattle, to do their tour. Due to a muck up with car ferry bookings, we had to flag the Boeing factory tour and leave Seattle.

It’s always been a plan to come back here, and do the tour – and that’s our plan for today.

Over 6 million people have done this tour in the last 5 decades; The original Everett factory tours started in 1968, after 747 production began, and were held in a single-trailer that sat next to the Everett factory.

Boeing factory tours building

The factory is located 40km north of Seattle in the town of Everett, and there’s a hotel right across the road, very handy. There’s one catch on the factory tour; you can’t take your phone, a camera, a backpack – you can’t even take a pad and pen on the tour. So it’s just walk around and look at stuff, and listen. Thankfully, Boeing has given us a media kit with some images, so you can at least see what to expect.

Here’s a list of a what you cannot take:

  • No purses, handbags, waist pouches or backpacks
  • No electronics, cameras, video equipment, phones or tablets
  • No pens, pencils, notepads or binoculars
  • No food or drinks
  • No weapons

The site covers over 1,000 acres, with the factory covering over 13 million square metres of land. The floor area alone covers 98 acres of land, but you don’t have to walk all that way during the tour.

Tickets cost US$38 for an adult, and that gets you on the 80-minute tour. Our tour guide, Joe, mentions that the factory is the biggest single building in the world, having been added on to a number of times. It started with the 747, the “Queen of the skies”, and then that building was added on to, to be able to build other aircraft like the 767, the 777, and the all-new 777X, with its carbon fibre wings that fold up at the ends (because they are too long for most hangars).

There’s about 30 people in our group, and no surprises that we have travelled the most distance to get to the factory. I feel the hate from the Australians sitting behind us, beaten by New Zealand once again.

Our tour starts off with a video of the history of Boeing, starting with its founder, William E. Boeing, who was born in 1881. It’s a feel-good story, and one with a happy to-date ending. At the Everett factory alone, there are 30,000 employees.

After the video, we’re loaded onto a bus and taken to the factory. We’re taken to the top level and get out to view one of the main areas where they put the planes together. There’s a lot of activity happening, cranes moving things around, and 777s in various states of build. Joe tells us about different aspects of each build, and how the plane that’s nearly ready to go out, can’t until its engines turn up.

Boeing manufactures 30% of the parts required to build a plane, and relies on third parties for the rest. After 20 minutes or at this location, we walk across to the other side of the area and see a 777 freighter being built. This one has its GE engine attached, so looks more finished.

Tour guide giving a group the run-down on plan building at Boeing

After more chatting about what’s going on below us, we go back to the bus, and take a slow drive to the beginning of the tour (finishing via the Boeing Store, of course). Sadly, that was the end of the tour. Very much worth it to see and learn as much as we did, but I thought we’d go to other parts of the factory to see different aspects of the construction of a new plane.

After the tour, you can go up onto the Skydeck that overlooks Paine Field, which is an airport. This is a commercially operating international airport, so it’s not just used for Boeing’s purposes. The views over the airfield to the mountains is stunning today.

There’s also the shop, heavily loaded with all sorts of Boeing merchandise, around 80% of it branded clothing. If shopping is not your thing, there is the Gallery, an area with all sort of displays and aircraft, videos and exhibits. You could spend hours in this area alone, and exhibits, like the cut-away section of a 767 with the video running behind it, are so very well done. If you have kids, there’s a ‘Kids Zone’ just for them.

The Destiny Module exhibit is a full-size mock-up of the primary research lab for U.S. payloads sent to the International Space Station (ISS). You can walk right through the lab, and see how everything works, and how it’s laid out.

There are no tours on Tuesday or Wednesday or any week, so keep that in mind if you are visiting Seattle, and want to go on the Boeing Factory tour.

After finishing up at the tour venue, we headed down the road to a small diner for some brunch. The last time we were in the USA (in 2023), I made a note of mentioning the tip amounts rising. At that time, we had noticed that while 15% used to be a higher tip, in 2023 it was the minimum-level tip.

At the diner we were in today, the tips started at 20%, next was 25%, and then you could add a 30% tip if feeling very generous. I’m not sure where this is going to end, but I am so happy we do not have tipping at home.

After lunch, we hit the road, taking the 2-hour drive to Vancouver at a leisurely pace. It was lucky that we weren’t in a hurry, as the traffic from the border to Vancouver was crazy, and it ended up taking us 3.5 hours.

After our ‘fun’ at the US border on Monday, we were a bit apprehensive about going back through the border, even if it was the Canadian one. We needn’t have worried, as other than asking about who owned the Mazda, it was all too easy and civil – a huge difference to our experience at the US border earlier in the week. It feels true that all Canadians are friendly.

A far easier time was had at the Canadian border

Canada/USA Road Trip: Day 20 – Vancouver, BC

Other than checking out of our hotel and dropping off the Mazda CX-70, it was time to go to the airport and fly home.

So, what about the Mazda CX-70 we used for our 6,000km road trip? I mentioned in the first travel blog that while New Zealand doesn’t have the CX-70, it’s identical to the CX-90 that we do have, but with 5 seats instead of 7.

Was it the perfect road-trip car, for three weeks across Canada and the USA? Yes, it was. If anything, it’s simply reinforced my view that the 3.3-litre, turbocharged, six-cylinder petrol engine that Mazda puts in this model is absolutely outstanding. It’s silky smooth to the point where you feel you could balance a coin on the engine with it running. It’s that smooth.

Our home for 3 weeks and over 6,000km

Not only that, but it’s quiet, too. Other than when accelerating hard, the engine is almost imperceptible, and when you do floor it to pass slower traffic, it sounds amazing, with a growl that only a straight six can produce.

You’d think that such a big six-cylinder turbocharged engine would eat petrol like a V8, but I was extremely surprised at our end result. After driving over 6,000km in rain and snow, up mountain ranges and through cities, our CX-70 used just 8.8L/100km of petrol. That’s outstanding for such an engine.

I love that Mazda has, as usual, fitted a ‘normal’ automatic transmission to the CX-70, and not gone to a dual-clutch transmission (that can be jerky) or a constantly variable transmission (that can be slurry). Overall, the transmission is a perfect combination for the engine, however, there’s a ‘but’. When accelerating, the transmission kicks down too many gears, causing the engine to roar that lovely sound it makes, and then it starts using lots more fuel. Sure, our overall economy was excellent, but I found that I needed to force the engine to change up gears using the paddles to stop it using too much fuel.

We started in Vancouver, and we finished in Vancouver

I’m not sure about the logistics of this transmission programming, but it feels so wrong. It’s especially noticeable when using adaptive cruise control; many cars are far too slow to accelerate when (for example) the car in front turns off the highway, and then the car needs to accelerate to the set speed. The CX-70 will kick down 2 and sometimes 3 gears just to accelerate up 10mp/h. It feels needless when the engine has so much torque, and does not need to do this.

Rant over, the rest of the car is near-on perfect. Visibility is excellent, the heads-up display was a huge boon to a long road trip, seat comfort is high, there’s plenty of room for passengers and luggage, and let’s not forget just how bloody good it looks, especially when finished in Mazda’s stunning Soul Red Crystal Metallic.

Back at Signature Mazda, and looking a lot dirtier than when we picked it up

We would do this road trip – or any road trip – in the CX-70 again? Yes, without hesitation.

That’s it for now; we’ve got no more international road trips planned, but there’s always a chance of a random, “you know, we could…” comment. It could happen at any time.

READ PART ONE OF THIS TRAVEL BLOG HERE.

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Fred Alvrez
How on earth to start this? I've been car/bike/truck crazy since I was a teen. Like John, I had the obligatory Countach poster on the wall. I guess I'm more officially into classic and muscle cars than anything else - I currently have a '65 Sunbeam Tiger that left the factory the same day as I left the hospital as a newborn with my mother. How could I not buy that car? In 2016 my wife and I drove across the USA in a brand-new Dodge Challenger, and then shipped it home. We did this again in 2019 in a 1990 Chev Corvette - you can read about that trip on DriveLife, and again in 2023 buying a C5 Corvette and shipping it home. I'm a driving instructor and an Observer for the Institute of Advanced Motorists - trying to do my bit to make our roads safer.

2 COMMENTS

    • HI Campbell. Thanks for making the effort to leave a comment. Doing a road trip like this is one of the coolest things ever, so I encourage you to start planning now 🙂
      Our view has always been that we don’t know what’s around the corner, so do it sooner rather than later before something stops you and you regret not taking the opportunity. But that’s easier said than done, I know. Travelling ain’t cheap.
      Cheers
      Fred

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