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Parade 2013 article By sondra richter Sunday June 16th, the odometer is 37,507 and we are off to Traverse City, Michigan for the Porsche Parade. We set the GPS for the hotel in Grand Forks, BC and headed off to Costco for gasoline. The GPS wanted to take us farther along I-90 than we had planned but we got back on track by going through Soap Lake. We finally got to the border, swore that we had no firearms and started east along the Crowsnest Highway (aka 3) and WOW what a beautiful drive. What we found was a high quality mountain road, full of twists and turns, with trees and lakes everywhere. Many times there were no other cars in sight. I guess this light traffic is the result of the relatively small population in Canada. The car loves roads like this and so do we. We were getting 28.3 mpg, even in the mountains. We got to Lethbridge after a beautiful mountain drive and found the rolling prairie begins here. As we drove along something pinged the windshield and left a chip in it. At the time there wasn't another car in sight. Meteorite? Behind us, on the day we left there, poor Lethbridge was in for a slashing tornado and massive flood as days of rain could not be absorbed into the still frozen earth. On to Regina past farm fields of vibrant green. The storm clouds that have followed us since we crossed the border were still in our rear-view mirror. Saw one antelope. At Chaplin we saw salt flats. The GPS just went crazy about a mile out of Moose Jaw when it told us to make a U turn and go west. What's that all about? Never did find out. Oh, boy. The A/C just quit. We went crazy trying to get a phone number for a Porsche dealer in Winnipeg. Information said there was no dealer there. We then called back to Barrier and the lovely woman told us that not only was there a dealer but that she could transfer the call right to them. We got to the Porsche dealer (great people who were extra helpful when they found we were on our way to the Porsche Parade) late in the afternoon. They ran the car into the shop and got the thing pumping out cold air but we couldn't change the setting as the controls now were frozen at 66 degrees Hey, we'll take any cold as the prairie is too warm for open windows. We will freeze before we reset the A/C. Off to Thunder Bay with a working A/C. It is cold in the car, but no A/C would be a disaster. The weather behind us is terrible. We are lucky to be a day or so ahead…so far. There was a rainfall of over ten inches in the Calgary area and there was that tornado in Lethbridge. Calgary has many closed roads and everyone has been told to stay home. Sault Ste. Marie today. The highway is now running right along the north side of Lake Superior and it is a beautiful drive. There are no settlements or towns anywhere along here. You had better plan your gas consumption carefully because there are almost no filling stations or potty stops. The one station we did find offered a single pump of regular and one of diesel, take your pick. The owner cheerfully pumps your gas. I don't think there was much else for him to do. 46 SEPTEMBER 2013 Every so often the road offered a passing lane and a warning to avoid hitting a moose or a deer. No living animals along the highway, but lots of blood splotches and road-kill. We got the message. As we got close to the hotel the weather finally caught up with us. It began to pour and because the hotel was hosting a high-school graduation, the place was super crowded with no place to park. We finally parked in a used car lot next door and hoped no one would sell our car overnight. Dinner was leftover pizza from the lunch stop. Ah, the glamour of travel. The drive down from Canada to the Parade was easy and U.S. gas prices seemed low after $6.25 a gallon in Canada. In Canada I asked about that, and the man at a station said half of the cost was tax. The Grand Traverse Resort is lovely and the weather was just perfect. It was a relief to finally unpack and settle in for the week. There wasn't much to see in Traverse City but I think that the tours wore out parts of Highway 16. Each tour was a variation on the Hwy 16 route, but they all came with a great lunch at local places. The annual Cherry Festival was opening on the same day as the Parade and the police used this as an excuse NOT to escort the parade. We drove the Parade behind a Coke truck and beside an old Toyota clunker. Heaven knows how many stop lights there were, and we hit every one. All of the Porsches ahead of us were long gone and out of sight. At the finish no one had thought to give the Parade date to the high school kids who wanted to set up booths and sell to us. No kids, no booths, no sales. Always check and then double check. The banquet held the best surprise as Peter and Janine Ridge had to fly out to claim the Cayman. Peter took the key and brought the car to life with a snarl that almost drowned out the roar of the crowd. What an excellent evening for one of our club members. Back on the road and over the Mackinaw Bridge to Rhinelander, WI. Back to the good ole USA and having a place to buy a soda just around every curve. Then it was on to Worthington, MN and finally Rapid City, SD. The car loves the open road and we are getting over 30 mpg. Rapid City was supposed to have a big July 4th at Mount Rushmore. In the past it has featured the Marine Corps Band and a Thunderbirds fly-over along with fireworks at the Monument, so we decided to stay an extra day to see it. Oops! Not this year. Everything was cancelled (sequester) much to the disgust of the locals who love the monument. We drove out to see it anyway, and it is spectacular. What an achievement. We can't say the same thing for the Crazy Horse monument as it hasn't changed since we last saw it twenty years ago. Heading home from Rapid City we began planning for the next Parade. Along the way we got a call from my brother announcing the delivery of his new Boxster. I'm sure we will see him at next year's Parade in Monterey, CA. How about you? Total mileage 6,088.

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