[Wild Blue]

Day 4: Pioneers, Space Cadets, and Denali Preview


Total Trip Miles: 1331





Time to head back south, and see some good stuff on the way. Really good weather has rolled into the area, and we're gonna get some good views.

Before leaving Fairbanks, I stopped by Pioneer Square. It's a semi-historical site, semi-amusement park.





Lots of historical buildings from Fairbanks' gold-rush/frontier days, and this cool big paddleboat that used to travel up and down the main river that runs through Fairbanks.





One of the first Fairbanks homestead cabins.





Driving through Nenana, you can see this weird little metal structure, lying on its side next to the highway. It actually has an interesting story. Alaska doesn't have legalized public gambling, or a lottery. One of the states that doesn't participate in the Powerball.

So, a fun and rather "Alaskan" thing that Alaskans do every year, is freeze this big tower in the middle of the ice every winter as the river freezes. Then people place bets on exactly when the river will thaw just enough in the spring that the tower will move the tiniest bit. Called the "Nenana Ice Classic". Ends up being a big thing across the state, on the local news and all, as Alaskans look forward to the end of winter.





Decided to stop at Clear Air Station enroute, my first time as a military retiree on one of our newly renamed Space Force bases. Probably shouldn't take pictures on a site like that, so I just looked around, and grabbed a Diet Coke from the little shoppette.





Just outside of Denali National Park is Denali Village. Pretty much a tourist spot, with rows of little shops, eatieries, and souveniers. You can see one of Princess Cruise Line's lodges way up on the hill. But many people are surprised that you can't actually see the mountain of Denali itself. You have to travel into the park for that.





I'm not a Harley guy, but I'm told that this shop is one of the most exclusive and desireable for Harley-Davidson gear.

Interesting, note that the sign refers to "Mount McKinley". The mountain was officially named after President McKinley for many years. However, we Alaskans have always called it by its native Alaskan name, Denali. Only six years ago, the official mountain name changed back to Denali. This has caused some maps and signs confusion.

Note also in the same picture the shop next door's various activity offerings.








Stopped for a quick lunch bite at this little spot in the Village. Yummy reindeer dog and chili.





It was already mid-day by the time I reached Denali National Park, but I decide to go inside. I've been in the Park before, but couldn't remember all the rules, so I thought I'd see what I could.





Just inside the park is the train depot. As mentioned, it's really popular for tourists (residents too) to take the train to Denali from Anchorage or Fairbanks, particularly in conjunction with an Alaskan cruise. VERY pretty scenery, and fun experience along the way.





There's only 1 road into Denali National Park. Because of the park's massive popularity, and road limitations, they greatly restrict the use of the road. Tough to keep it safe and maintained, with all the combined issues. Even the short publicly accessible portion has a top speed limit of 35.

(and I still saw one doofus that ran off the road into a tree. Who knows if they swerved for a moose, or were rubbernecking at something, or what)








This is as far as the public can drive, just 15 miles into the park. I asked whether they'd let me drive further, but got turned away at the roadblock/checkpoint.

This actually turned into a VERY VERY good thing, setting up an astonishing drive for tomorrow. I'll explain then.

So I turned around, and just enjoyed the views. Juuuuuust enough clouds that you couldn't see Denali from here, but tomorrow is coming soon enough. (hint, hint)














With tourist season, availability (several places still closed like Princess Cruise's two lodges due to COVID), and high prices, I got a room in the village of Cantwell, which is 30 miles outside of the park.

I got to Cantwell early, and didn't want to waste the absolutely gorgeous day, so I turned east and drove the Denali Highway for a while. This is a dirt road in gorgeous scenery that stretches 135 miles east and west through the middle of the state. So I drove it a while eastward, away from Cantwell and Denali. Some pretty views.











Then I went back to Cantwell and checked in at the Cantwell Lodge, which is also the village's night spot.





The fish tacos daily special and my favorite, Captain Morgan and Diet Coke, hit the spot.





The lodge was having an Alaskan wedding out back. (bride and groom far right in the pic). Fun time. And what views!








I discovered why the place I was staying was called "The Runway House". Literally a house next to an Alaskan airstrip runway, lol. (no planes operated while I was there)





Umm... interesting little place.





And it turns out I was just renting a bedroom in a person's little house for the night. Other people renting other bedrooms. Kicking our feet up together on their couch, one shared bathroom, breakfast in their kitchen in the morning.

Kind of a fun quirky experience. And for $75 or whatever it was, seemed reasonable.

Just wait. I think tomorrow is going to be epic.

[FCX5]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Just starting off with a teaser of what will likely be the star photo in a few days, later in this journal.

Decided to do another chapter in my road trip series. A bit of regional good weather came up through central Alaska, coupled with an airshow, and I decided to seize the opportunity.

For those who haven't read, my first road trip was doing a PCD in my new X7, and road trip from S. Carolina all the way back to Alaska:
https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1803710

Next trip was to the wilderness of Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Valdez, in eastern Alaska:
https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1837498

This trip will go north into the central part of Alaska, touching on the northern arctic region, and visiting some quite interesting areas, not the least of which will be Denali, the tallest mountain on the North American continent.

Similar to the last road trip, this trip is going far, far off-grid for most portions, so I'll be posting updates every day, but the thread takes places several days after the actual fact.

Also as before, that big line on the right side of the map is Canada.





Day 1: Anchorage to Fairbanks

375 miles

This is a common travel route, for both Alaskan residents and visitors, between Alaska's two largest cities. As Denali is between the two, visiting tourists will often either drive up, or take the train, which is lots of fun and very popular.

This can also be combined with before or after an Alaskan cruise, to make for a trip of a lifetime. Some cruise lines will even offer land vacation packages, taking you to/from the cruise ship, to designated hotels and tours. Princess Cruise Lines in particular owns several grand hotel lodges and takes customers all over. But not last summer or this one, as COVID has shut everything down and crippled Alaska, just like the rest of the world. Cruise lines are just now starting to send a few ships back. 4 of 5 Princess lodges remain closed.





The first significant place you travel through (driving or train) on the travel north is the small city of Wasilla. Many people remember it as being the home of Governor Sarah Palin. As Anchorage is geographically out of room to expand anymore, Wasilla has become a very popular semi-surburb area for people to settle down, with better properties for the money, on bigger land acreage. As such, for some years it has been the fastest growing area in the United States.





For those unfamiliar with Alaska, the drive is deceptively long. On a map, it looks like a quick jaunt, but as I showed in the other travel threads, Alaska is absolutely gigantic. This picture was taken already past Wasilla, already 90 minutes or so into the drive, with another six hours to go, just to get partway into the state.





Long drive times don't even account for construction, which is sure part of the summer, with reduced available time during the year to get work done.

Most of the drive is done on Alaska Highway 3, known as the Parks highway. For years I thought this was because it goes right by Denali National and State Parks, but it was named for George Parks, one of the governors of Alaska before it became a state.





This is a very common sight on highways, as tourists commonly fly into either Anchorage or Fairbanks, and rent chunky RV's to drive off into the wild.





Next up on the way north is the small town of Talkeetna, which requires a half hour detour each way, from the highway. Just prior to Talkeetna is this beautiful viewpoint to see Denali.

What... you can't see it there? Well, neither can I. As I'll talk about later, Denali is so big, that it creates its own weather. Some additional clouds in the area, even at high altitude, just meant that Denali wasn't going to be seen today. But don't worry... the weather forecast is looking very promising for the next few days, and I'm planning on really touring Denali on the drive back.





Talkeetna is an awesome little "kitchy" town. Very popular with tourists, wanting to experience Alaska and buy chotchkies to remember their vacation. Lots of little shops selling furs, art, moose antler goods, and what not. A couple of microbreweries that make some pretty good, and popular brews. And there's an annual jazz festival that's fun, at least when COVID isn't messing everything up.





A look down a side alley. Talkeetna is also traditionally known as a huge jumping off place for Denali activities, including popular flightseeing. You can even hire a bush pilot to land you right onto a Denali glacier if you like, for extra experience fun.

The "Sheldon" there refers to Don Sheldon. Alaska reveres its long-time historical residents, and Don Sheldon is almost god-like up here, one of the first legendary Alaskan bush pilots. That was one of his company's original aircraft hangars.

As for the other things in the picture... when's the last time you saw an actual payphone?





I ducked in a little cafe bar, and had a local cider with caribou chili for lunch. Many foods up here can be made with local meats like caribou, moose, bear, reindeer, or whatever, to make it more exotic. Tastes yummy too.





Back on the road, I always got a kick out of this abandoned building on a random spot by the highway. Out in the middle of nowhere. It's reportedly an old hotel that just never got the business working.





Blueberry picking is a pretty popular thing here in the last half of summer. Right on the side of the highway, or off in the bush.

The landscape changes some over the course of the highway, from open marshy plains, to any number of small lakes, to forest, mountains, and open bluffs.














"Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn" is another popular place that tourists get a giggle out of.








I decided to put BMW Assist to the test again. When I got close enough to Fairbanks to get back in cell service range, I told the car to call BMW Assist, and asked for a recommendation of a good restaurant in Fairbanks, Alaska. Perhaps Italian food.

Sure enough, even in the middle of Alaska, the good people at BMW Assist came up with a good, open, popular rated restaurant. Within 5 minutes or so, I had directions transmitted straight to my car's GPS system, and I was on my way.

Whereas Anchorage is a "big" city with a northern feel, Fairbanks is a bit more of a frontier town. In a state almost the size of a third of the entire lower 48, there's only 730,000 people in the whole state. More than half, 400,000 of those, are in the greater Anchorage area. Only 32,000 in Fairbanks.

Great little classic Triumph in the parking lot, surrounded by the other usual Alaskan cars, Subaru Outbacks, and ATV's.





On recommendation by the server, I got the lasagna, and a glass of Chianti. Not bad. But certainly not great. I wouldn't expect authentic Italian excellence in Fairbanks, Alaska, so it was good enough for a meal.

And it was off to the cabin to crash for the night.





Fitting for the middle of Alaska (and not wanting to go big bucks on fancy hotel rooms that had low availability), I got a "dry cabin" in woods outside of Fairbanks.

Yes, that's what you think it is there, an outhouse.








Quite nice inside! More than I could have hoped for, as a cabin way off the grid in the Alaskan wild.

Certainly everything I needed and more just for little old me. The school bus seats on the side were a great little accent, complete with seatbelts and all.





For those wondering why there's a sink in a "dry cabin" and how that works, well, here ya go. There's electricity to the cabin, which means you can have appliances and most things in a kitchen. Water is brought inside in an Igloo or purchased water jug, and the bucket below the sink just catches all waste and has to be emptied out periodically. No faucet.

Sometimes it's just not in people's budget to dig a well, or the soil or water table just isn't suited for it, so no running water. Even some full-time houses are set up like this throughout the state. Only a couple of cities in the state have an actual city water system.





This kind of setup isn't terribly uncommon out in the Alaska bush. Using an outhouse isn't the worst thing in the world, but it does get old after time, particularly having to get dressed just to go to the bathroom, even in the summer, much less the winter.

Just getting started here. We got several days of travel and fun coming up with the BMW! Most certainly some awesome pictures coming too.

What an amazing adventure with your car. I love how you tell the story and joy you get from the trip. THIS is what living is all about. Nice!!!!

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by Mr.blue

Looks like an awesome trip, pictures are very nice but I still can't get over that cabin, that is what I call roughing it! Lol! Just kidding, I've slept on the ground as a young Soldier. Thanks for sharing.

You and me both, my Blue brother! Sometimes in situations I'll remind myself that it could be infinitely worse, and at least I'm not getting shot at again.

[Mr.blue]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

You and me both, my Blue brother! Sometimes in situations I'll remind myself that it could be infinitely worse, and at least I'm not getting shot at again.

Amen to that!

[Wild Blue]

Day 5: The Great One

Total Trip Mileage: 1,778


Today is a very special and unique day. Again, Denali has just one road, that only goes partially in the park. Past the 15 mile mark, private vehicles are prohibited, and you have to buy a tour on a school bus that takes you as far as 90 miles in.

Every year, Denali hosts a "road lottery". If you're picked, you can drive your own car on the private road, on one of 3 days at the end of the season. Unfortunately, as the road lottery days are in late September, the weather is typically cloudy with some rain. So even though I've won the lottery a couple times, and driven the full road before, I've never seen the scenery on a clear day, which makes all the difference, and is usually the determining factor whether you see the mountain at all.

I've seen Denali many times, as it's visible all the way from Anchorage on a clear blue day. And I've flown over it before, with gorgeous views from the air. But have never gotten close to it on the ground on a clear day.

And a clear day in Denali is a very special thing. Denali, at 20,310' is the tallest mountain on the North American continent. It's so big, that even on a clear day in the area, it generates its own weather and can cloud up the park.

Yesterday, I was turned away at the 15 mile checkpoint as expected. On my way back out of the park, on a whim I stopped at the park HQ. Caught a ranger just as he was leaving work, walking back to his cabin. I asked if I could request an exception at the HQ, due to my disability, and extreme difficulty getting on a bus.

He replied "well, nobody's at work here due to COVID." But turns out, he's a supervisor, and promised me he'd arrange a vehicle pass for me in the morning. I was ecstatic.

So I can't emphasize enough how much of a special, unique circumstance is today. Clear blue skies as I wake up, not a cloud to be seen. Just happened to run into a senior park ranger, that was generous to grant me a private vehicle pass, which NEVER happens. So this truly is a one-in-a-lifetime experience, which I will likely never be able to duplicate.





So I drove back to the park from Cantwell, picked up my vehicle pass, and this time, approaching the 15 mile checkpoint, Denali poked its head up for the first time from the mountains.

Even though I had been at the same spot yesterday, with great weather, there had been just enough of a few clouds near the mountains, to obscure Denali in yesterday's pics.

It was stunning. I wish the 2-dimensional pictures could do justice to the awesome sight. With proportion and context, the massive size of Denali was readily apparent, and so impressive. And this was just a sneak peek.





I felt like quite the VIP, flashing the special vehicle pass at the 15 mile public checkpoint, and driving further. The road became packed dirt for the rest of the way, with not another person in sight for dozens of minutes at a time, before one of the tour school busses would pass.

Just a few miles in, was a beautiful ridge to take the first pictures of the X7 with Denali. Visitors on tour busses don't get to stop for views and pictures whenever they want, much less pics with their car.








The was plenty of scenic views throughout the drive, even when the landscape terrain blocked direct views of Denali.





The road started to climb up a valley into the mountain sides.





This picture made me a little nervous. As the morning moved on, you could see that some clouds started to appear above the mountain tops, and in front of Denali. I REALLY REALLY wanted a clear view of Denali, so I pressed on, hoping to get deep in the park for the best views, before more clouds came up.

You can only drive 90 miles into the park. But with 25 to 35 mph speed limits, stops for busses to pass, stops for wildlife, and stops for pictures, it can easily take 4 hours or more EACH WAY just to drive those 90 miles. And you don't want to rush and miss things!











One of the sporty spots as the road carved around the sides of the mountains.





Back at ground level. Can you spot the moose in the river bed there?








I'm not a wildlife expert, but I think that's an adolescent caribou there, with antlers that haven't grown to full size yet.








And then there she was. I arrived at "Stony Dome", 63 miles on the road into the park, for what is potentially the best accessible view from a road, without backpacking deep into the bush.

It was beyond gorgeous. Absolutely overwhelming. I was overcome with emotion, seeing such natural beauty, and was able to have a nice moment to myself, without another human anywhere in sight.

Some more about Denali. At 20,310' tall, it is the tallest mountain in all of North America. While other mountains on Earth are taller, like Mount Everest, they also start with their bases at much higher elevations. So Denali is the tallest mountain in the world, from above-sea level base, to peak. (note that Mauna Kea in Hawaii is the tallest mountain in the world from base to peak, if you include below the ocean)

Denali, in Native Alaskan languages, means "The big one", or "Tall one", or "mountain big". We Alaskans commonly call it "The Great One". And great it is.

As I mentioned, Denali is so big, that it creates its own weather. Many Denali visitors are disappointed, to spend lots of money on a grand Alaskan vacation, and not get to see the mountain. Even on a clear blue day, the mountain can make clouds around it just as you see here in my pictures, so even these beautiful pictures aren't with true "perfect" weather. It's said that only 10% of visitors get to see Denali completely clear of any clouds.

Thankfully, I at least got these pictures at the beginning of the clouds coming in for the afternoon, as you'll see in the upcoming pictures. I'm just overly happy with these pictures, which I consider among the best of any of my road trips so far.

Every year, many people attempt summit climbs of Denali, and reportedly, 58% of them make it. Unfortunately, a couple of people die every year as well, trying.








A few more miles down the road brings you to the Eielson park Visitor's Center (which is closed due to COVID), with more lovely views, including the glacier flowing in front of Denali. As you can see, the clouds are starting to roll in.

I continued to press on.





More lovely pictures on the way to the end of the road in Kantishna, where there's nothing except a couple of exclusive private lodges.

So it was time to turn around and drive the 4+ hours back.





Some of the most famous pictures of Denali are from Reflection Pond, near the end of the road. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, there were too many clouds swarming around the mountain to really view it well. So here's a stock photo from the internet. Pretty cool.














And then on the way back, I suddenly came to a roadblock, saying "Road Closed" on the only road back to the park exit. A worker came over, and said they had just closed the road to do maintenance for 90 minutes.

So, already a long day and with a long drive home still ahead of me, I had to kill 90 minutes.

Note on the above picture, you can see that the road dust had accumulated on my back window into a thick layer, with spots occasionally blowing off in the wind.





At least I was at a little rest stop area with some views and bathrooms and such. This bench showed the racks of the bigger wildlife in the area--moose, reindeer, caribou, and dall sheep.





Sure enough, a caribou wandered down the road.

I killed a good portion of the closure time trying out my new camera drone. I'll upload videos over the next few days.

Road open, I continued back.








Sporty road! A worker told me it drops 6" every day, requiring constant maintenance.

Caribou walking off the side of the road as I slowly pass by in that video.








Just past the original 15 mile public checkpoint and back onto pavement, a caribou had decided to hang out in the middle of the road, bringing everything to a standstill.

Video below shows him having some fun shaking his massive head, and a view of the area. Make sure you view it fullscreen to appreciate it.

Then out of the park, it was still another 4 hours home. Along the way, an essential absolutely must-do mandatory stop is Miller's Market, near Willow, Alaska. Nothing tops off the end of an awesome Denali, Arctic Circle, and more, road trip, than some Miller's ice cream on the way home.

It was an incredibly long day, about 13.5 hours from leaving lodging, to getting back to the house. Tons of driving, nearly all of that in the car, on very difficult roads. But it was oh-so-worth-it.

Today alone may have been the most epic of any of my road trips. Again, I can't emphasize enough how special the circumstances were, that nobody every gets to experience like that. Truly awesome.

I'll upload some more videos over the next few days.

[x7bmw23]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Ah, no, I've gotten in the habit on these trips to fully lower the car every time I park for a picture. Think the car just looks more aggressive, but no big thing if I forget, or as happened later in the trip, the height adjustment didn't work. And sure, it's easier to get in and out, too.

It's looks boss fully lowered like that on 22's. The main reason I bought mine was for this reason. I fully lower mine when I get out each time as well. It makes me wanna puke when I see suv sitting up too high like that unless they're going off road. It looks like yours was actually lower than the lowest stock setting in a couple of the pictures. I thought you might have added some lowering links or something. But the beautiful thing is that when you turn the key and start driving it automatically gets you back to a comfortable ride height. Thx for sharing the experience.

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by x7bmw23

It's looks boss fully lowered like that on 22's. The main reason I bought mine was for this reason. I fully lower mine when I get out each time as well. It makes me wanna puke when I see suv sitting up too high like that unless they're going off road. It looks like yours was actually lower than the lowest stock setting in a couple of the pictures. I thought you might have added some lowering links or something. But the beautiful thing is that when you turn the key and start driving it automatically gets you back to a comfortable ride height. Thx for sharing the experience.

Ah yes, I forgot to mention that part for those who are unfamiliar with the X7 adjustable height suspension. There are 6 height settings, 5 of which are selectable by the driver using the lever selector by the shifter. The middle position is default. I think 5 of the 6 positions are restricted to certain speed ranges.

For example, the lowest entry height setting, which you see in many of my pictures, is only selectable when the car is stopped. I use this entry position as a disabled person to help me get in and out of the car more easily. It's also very handy for loading/unloading cargo from the car.

In addition, when selecting the "sport" driving mode, the car automatically lowers itself one setting from the default middle position.

When stopped, as soon as you start driving, the car will automatically return the suspension height to the default middle, if it was selected otherwise.

The #1 feature I would like BMW to implement, is a driver-selectable option for the car to automatically move the suspension height to a user-selected setting (e.g. for me, the lowest entry height) every time the ignition is switched off. Other manufacturers offer this.

[x7bmw23]

Originally Posted by Wild Blue

Ah yes, I forgot to mention that part for those who are unfamiliar with the X7 adjustable height suspension. There are 6 height settings, 5 of which are selectable by the driver using the lever selector by the shifter. The middle position is default. I think 5 of the 6 positions are restricted to certain speed ranges.

For example, the lowest entry height setting, which you see in many of my pictures, is only selectable when the car is stopped. I use this entry position as a disabled person to help me get in and out of the car more easily. It's also very handy for loading/unloading cargo from the car.

In addition, when selecting the "sport" driving mode, the car automatically lowers itself one setting from the default middle position.

When stopped, as soon as you start driving, the car will automatically return the suspension height to the default middle, if it was selected otherwise.

The #1 feature I would like BMW to implement, is a driver-selectable option for the car to automatically move the suspension height to a user-selected setting (e.g. for me, the lowest entry height) every time the ignition is switched off. Other manufacturers offer this.

I would like to see it automatically lower to its lowest height when it's placed in park as well. Every time I park, I hit the switch and my wife opens the door and interrupts the cycle

I have my ECO mode set for the sport height as well while on the freeway.

I stopped for gas the other day and dropped it down and a guy at the pump across from me asked me when I got out "did your truck just drop down like that when you parked." He thought it was soooo cool that it did that. It's barely noticeable from sport to lowest setting but from comfort mode to lowest setting, you can really feel the roller coaster ride of front then back air releasing from the bags but it's rather time consuming. I ha e to tell my wife do not open the door until I tell you to ….lol. I HATE walking back to my vehicle and it's sitting all high up in the air! I thought I was the only owner that does that.

Crazy thing is that you can change out the links and make it sit lower than the BMW factory lowest setting. I ordered the links but returned them before installing because I didn't want to attempt the install and mess something up. It looks really clean at the factory lowest setting. Anything lower would look too gangsta

[mckman]

Thanks for another great trip report. I think I have read them all (your cross-country adventure took me the better part of an evening).

You truly had an amazing day! I am envious both of your clear views of Denali and the pass you received to drive your private vehicle in the park. Congrats!!

I have only once caught a glimpse of Denali through the ever present cloud cover. Maybe on my next visit....

[Wild Blue]

Finally got around to extracting the pics and vids from my new drone. DJI Mini 2 model, was a special at Costco. Unfortunately, I'm still new to this drone thing. Takes some different skills than flying a real plane, particularly when trying to get the good video pans to go along with the drone movement.

Most of these done while I was stopped at the checkpoint for an hour and a half, halfway in Denali Park, waiting while the road was closed for maintenance.

Pics first, then Youtube vids.

[Wild Blue]

Did I break the road? Geez, I just drove this thing. I think this spot is why it was closed for 1.5 hours when I was there:
https://weather.com/news/climate/vid...as-denali-park

[real q]

Thanks for sharing the trip, I enjoyed reading the report last night. Beautiful photos, amazing scenery. I just came back from Iceland after long driving days, also very beautiful landscape there. We had Landscruiser Prado (similar to 4Runner in US) rental, it is a very capable truck but I do feel our X7 would have made the trip even more special.

[snowbimmer]

Truly spectacular trip @Wild Blue. Your Denali Cover Pic is epic. I'm so jealous. Plus all your national park pics. I can't believe your luck inside the Park.

Thanks for sharing. Well done, man.

I just dropped a new 4,200 mile trip through the Rockies on the F90 forum.
https://f90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1865068

Can't match your Denali shot, but I think I did ok.

Keep on keepin' on....................

[Fatandre]

How is the car after all this gravel driving? Chips or any marks?

[dmanb2b]

Feel like we haven't heard from @Wild Blue in a while. Hope all is well!

[Wild Blue]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

Truly spectacular trip @Wild Blue. Your Denali Cover Pic is epic. I'm so jealous. Plus all your national park pics. I can't believe your luck inside the Park.

Thanks for sharing. Well done, man.

I just dropped a new 4,200 mile trip through the Rockies on the F90 forum.
https://f90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1865068

Can't match your Denali shot, but I think I did ok.

Keep on keepin' on....................

Much thanks, my friend. I will most definitely check out your latest. And I will be posting a new road trip shortly! My last one of this year

Originally Posted by Fatandre

How is the car after all this gravel driving? Chips or any marks?

Virtually none! I made absolutely the right choice to have the car wrapped and coated by Extreme Colors Auto Spa in South Carolina, straight from the factory Performance Center Delivery. Since then, over 11,000 miles across the whole country, and several way back-road Alaskan wilderness adventures. And there's only 2 tiny nicks I can find, where a rock had impacted with enough force to penetrate the PPF and cause a little nick. The car is still 99.9% brand new!

Originally Posted by dmanb2b

Feel like we haven't heard from @Wild Blue in a while. Hope all is well!

Yeah, no worries. I think we all go through phases here where we don't check in as much. Again, new road trip coming soon!

[snowbimmer]

Glad to hear. Looking forward to it.