First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

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Byron510
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by Byron510 »

Damn, you got something special there Keith. My wife is loving, supportive and does an awesome job in our relationship. But if I asked her to drive me to my car at 4am so that I could go drive my car, she'd likely tell me where to go! :-D

Have fun in the morning guys, look forward to living it vicariously when you return. I'll go back out and continue digging holes in the back yard now that it's cooled off a bit.

Byron
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because the opposite never works.
Chickenman
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by Chickenman »

funwithmonkeys wrote:20 after 6?? Does that mean I can sleep an extra hour?
I wish I could sleep another hour...... Had problems with Alternator but fixed now. Just got in from the T.D. and washing the car. It's 1:37 AM... OMG!!

Well I'll set the alarm for 4:00 AM and see what happens.

Edit: Can someone PM me their Cell Phone number. I'll Text if I can't get by on 2.5 hours of sleep... Had a nap this afternoon so " might " be OK.

Richard
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bertvorgon
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by bertvorgon »

I'm seeing a pattern here Richard..take car apart the NIGHT before a drive.....work till all hours....problems....no sleep.... :shock:

It's 3:33 here right now, moon is up, coffee is brewing, it's about 19C on my porch.

I left my cell in the Infinity, which is safely parked where my Datsun was at work, so I will be no help in the communication dept.

If your late...we are heading down I-5 to exit 250 to #11 Chukanut DRive...follow that to #20 highway, right to Oak Harbour/Desolation Sound....Fort Casey
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Chucka ... 9df1ce3be5
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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bertvorgon
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by bertvorgon »

Morning Norm,

How's that coffee going down?
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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funwithmonkeys
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by funwithmonkeys »

I'm just getting ready to eat then find some coffee...of course there isn't enough for even a cup here.
If no one from the future comes back to stop you from doing it then how bad of a decision can it really be?
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bertvorgon
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by bertvorgon »

Oh,,,that's sad...nothing happens here till the coffee is procured. I have some of my wife's wonderful oatmeal cookies for breky', that can sustain me for awhile.
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
Chickenman
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by Chickenman »

Sorry... I'm going to have to bail guys. Just not enough sleep.

Rock Auto sent me the wrong amperage alternator. 50 amp instead of 60 amp. Grrrrr!! Decided to use old alternator. Old alternator blew up on way to Mission. Call to BCAA, car no fit on flat deck. Charge up battery as best we could, drive back with no lights with BCAA truck following. Nuts!! Throw in new alternator, etc, etc etc.. no sleep.
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bertvorgon
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by bertvorgon »

And we have only had how many months to fix this since the Pemberton Drive.......

Sorry that happened Richard, better here than at Fort Casey.....

I checked...JUNE 7 :lol:
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
Chickenman
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Joined: 06 Sep 2010 15:10
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by Chickenman »

Yeah... I know . But I've been working on the Z since Wednesday. In my defense I've had to do some stuff on the Audi and Strata business has tied me up. Not so easy working on the cars in this heat either. Haven't driven the Z very much since Pemberton and was really looking forward to this. Damn!!

But better relatively close to home than in the USA..... Hmmm there's a thought. Car has broken down twice while in or headed to USA. Maybe it doesn't like it down there??
Idoxlr8
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by Idoxlr8 »

Ok I'll go first.

In an unintentional display of American patriot colors Red, white and blue Datsuns descended on Chukanut drive before the sun had time to come over the horizon.

In a word...Fantastic!
No border waits....no traffic and twisties to die for.
As always, Mr Vorgen led the way, pacing the mini train at velocities that we will call.....time efficient :mrgreen:

The Fort was great. Never knew it existed until today and a highly recommended stop if anyone is on Whidby. Those guns have to be seen to be appreciated.

Thanks for the trip Keith and Norm, had a great time.

Dean.
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funwithmonkeys
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by funwithmonkeys »

I have to agree that was a fantastic drive, being on that twisty road with no other cars around....you couldn't ask for better. Keeping up with Keith through on that tight twisty road and staying with him when he would shoot off kept a smile on my face all morning. It was great to feel what these new tires of mine can really do. I will have some video of it as soon as I can edit it down to a reasonable size. I have over an hour of it at the moment. I do have pictures though.
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If no one from the future comes back to stop you from doing it then how bad of a decision can it really be?
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funwithmonkeys
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by funwithmonkeys »

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If no one from the future comes back to stop you from doing it then how bad of a decision can it really be?
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funwithmonkeys
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by funwithmonkeys »

.....and lastly my favorite.
510's under the gun.jpg
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If no one from the future comes back to stop you from doing it then how bad of a decision can it really be?
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bertvorgon
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

Post by bertvorgon »

Sorry if a few of the pictures are blurry, the sensor in my camera just drives me crazy in slight, low light conditions.

I have also attached a video link to a quick film of a 10" disappearing gun firing.

Nice pictures Norm!

Fort Casey Drive

"We should phone the police, Honey!"

Little did I know as I quietly rolled my 510 out of my daughters garage at 5:10 A.M., that the neighbors' were up, behind my Kate's house. Kate said that they could see that it was an older couple, but really did almost phone the police. There had been some thefts from the area, so everyone was one guard, good thing I guess. I could tell my car is quieter with that small muffler on it, as I did not wake up Kate when I lit it off.

Norm was already at the Campbell Valley store and within ten minutes of me being there, Dean rolled in, right on time. There was NO ONE at the Border, we blew through in 5 minutes.

What a morning it was, sun just coming up, temperature was perfect and with my new radiator, it was likely having trouble getting the motor up to temp. There was zip for traffic on the stretch to Bellingham and before we knew it, we were onto Chukanut Drive.

I had forgotten how narrow the Chukanut is..JUST two lanes wide and narrow ones at that. There is NO room to drop a wheel off or be off line at all. And, wonder of wonder, we had the WHOLE thing to ourselves, not a car. Three big smiles this morning as we carved up some good sections, stopping for one photo op. Norm bought the next generation of Yoko's from the 048's, and it is the first time I have had someone on my bumper whose car I could tell turned in like mine. GRIP IS GOOD!
Before we knew it, we were spit out onto the flat prairie, where golden fields of hay were just catching the morning sun, with a straight road ahead of us that went for ten miles. Zip for traffic again.
After a twenty second transit on I-5, we were heading West out to Desolation Sound and Oak Harbour. Another straight road, smooth and long, had us cruising along at 105 KMH, which is what most of the down trip was averaged out at with no traffic.

After about half an hour we turned left to head south, now getting onto a wonderful scenic secondary road, with great vistas in the morning sun. Wow, it is really nice down here.
At the Campbell Valley store, Norm had the glazed look of someone who was coffee deprived, Dean looked way to fresh for that time of the morning, and I could just plain use some MORE coffee, so we had agreed to find a small shop to grab some breakfast. We were so early that traffic appeared to not be an issue.

I quickly pulled over at the entrance to the Widbey Island airbase, to do a photo op with the two jets mounted there, a massive symbol of American military might to me. I had a friend who flew out of there back in the 70's, taught me how to adjust Datsun valves. Just down the road we entered a sleepy Oak Harbour, where the sidewalks were still rolled up. I scanned ahead, looking for something open, finally spotting a small looking little place that advertised pancakes and waffles. After a quick u-turn we were loading up on coffee and other sundries. This place too was an homage to the American Military inside, something we do not see the likes of in Canada. I have never seen so many ball caps from so many ships in my life.

Soon we were zipping on down the road again, finally coming into the Desolation Sound Park. I stopped just at the bridge that has the tide rip through underneath it, stunningly beautiful. We took some pictures and marveled again at the lack of traffic. Little did we know how lucky we were to be early....this is a DESTINATION spot!
Some great rolling hills greeted us after the Park, at a couple of spots following right along the beach. I had my GPS with me, so I could see our route no problem, making a right turn that headed out to Fort Casey, again a neat road with some sharp right angle corners on it. A small spit of land took us out to the Fort and up into the parking area.
To say the Fort was beyond cool is an understatement. Bunkers everywhere, and of course the feature for me was the 10" guns. They poured a lot of concrete here for a long time. When you step back and look at the design, both for hiding and safety, it really is amazing. The guns were called "disappearing", as they rocked BACK AND DOWN, below the revetment edge, after firing. They could be reloaded every 53 seconds by a practiced gun crew. The angle of the concrete at the fronts would help deflect any incoming shell. The bunkers were all angled inside, so keep any stray shot deflecting. Each gun had its own elevator to bring up the cordite and shell, so if there was an accident, only that one area would be affected. There we some cool spotting towers and range finding turrets. Hopefully the pictures will give you a sense of it. I guess we wandered around there for at least and hour, then walked up, past a very tame deer, to the lighthouse. Again, a beautiful piece of period architecture. It is the interpretive center, but it did not open till eleven, far past how long we were going to stay. We were early enough to the park initially that there was no one there, nice for picture taking.

Time to re-trace our route, where we now begin to see how lucky we were earlier, lots of traffic. The Desolation Sound bridge was lined with people and cars parked all along the road! Norm and Dean needed a splash of fuel, so we hit the local Arco station. I ended up doing the trip on a tank and I have no idea how much I have left.

The Prairie route back was smooth, basically stayed at 100 KMH again and then the Chuckanut was slower, but, the woman ahead of me at least kept a steady pace in her BMW, so it was not frustratingly bad. Norm was able to get onto the Internet when we got back to I-5, to check border waits. They were long at the main ones and it said ten minutes for Aldergrove, my go to crossing most times anyhow. Norm and I tuned up a guy in a WRX/STI Subaru through one of the big roundabouts, as it looked like he wanted to show us how well his car worked...NOT. He at least gave me the thumbs up.

There was NO ONE at the Aldergrove crossing, how crazy was that?! We all stopped after the Border and said our goodbyes, a wonderful drive for sure, could not have been better or well timed.

Thanks for coming out guys, we will do this again.
August 3, 2015

ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUmkb_g7cx4
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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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bertvorgon
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Re: First summer drive to Fort Casey, via Chuckanut drive

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"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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