Road Trip USA – by an Aussie Ford man in a Ford car!

[5thFordWA]

Posted the first album on the Mondeo forum recently, as our rental car was a Ford Fusion, the USA version of the Mondeo.
In September 2016 my wife and I had a great drive across Northern USA and into Canada in a Fusion Titanium rental car. Basically we drove across from Seattle to Boston, mainly via Interstate Route 90, with detours to Yellowstone National Park, Indianapolis, Detroit (Dearborn) then a huge detour Northwards to Prince Edward Island, with a 2 day drive back down to Boston to drop off the rental car. A fantastic road trip for a Ford man. Thought some of you might like a few of our photos, the album in the first link is specially selected for the Fusion pics, from the hundreds we took on the 8,600km road trip (in 23 days).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qgHCkiYWKu10o0oi2
Note the photos are titled with a brief description (click on the pic for full screen).

Detailed photo albums (in the order we drove through):

Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks, Wyoming.
https://goo.gl/photos/D5CWtGVJDnnR95TQ9
Two days drive from Seattle we reach Yellowstone NP, there for 2 days including Grand Teton NP, and exit Yellowstone via the Beartooth Pass, a winding road climb to 10900 ft, the Ford Fusion was great to drive on that road.

John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum, Waterloo, Iowa.
https://goo.gl/photos/kmrKetC2SZaoWGaD8
This happened to be on our route – why not stay overnight in Waterloo, Iowa?

Indianapolis Speedway & Hall of Fame Museum
https://goo.gl/photos/BLGhx1afHqc5AosYA
Made sure we got there on a day we could do a lap in a tour bus. A great museum.

The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Detroit.
https://goo.gl/photos/x9Dh4RmAaC4Txgsb6
Only had one day here, needs at least 2 days. We did the Ford Rouge plant factory tour, where they assemble the F150 – the aluminium bodied model we don’t see in Australia. Then the Henry Ford Museum – not just cars, but aircraft and general USA history. A bit of a bucket list for me was the Le Mans winning GT Mk4 on display.

Greenfield Village at Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn.
https://goo.gl/photos/9JZQ5Ccwc8y3LQCU8
This little known place is fantastic. On 80 acres, from 1929 Henry Ford began collecting significant historical buildings from around the USA, and relocating them all into this village. The Wright brothers home, Thomas Edison’s laboratory, are examples. We sat on a park bench with Model T’s driving people around the streets.

Anne of Green Gables – Prince Edward Island.
https://goo.gl/photos/QWpP3EmHhY1LNyuS9
This might be for the ladies of the family. It was my wife’s life-long destination – the home of Anne of Green Gables. PEI is a long way from anywhere, but a great drive to get there. Of course, the books are fiction, but based on the authors life on PEI, and the places in the books are real.

Some other observations about the trip:

Car-type comments:
Seattle - lots of older, less well kept cars in the city, notably many Subarus all the way across Washington state, they have a good reputation in the winter, and Toyotas everywhere. Very few luxury cars spotted. Was told that as we headed East we would see more US made cars and that was correct, especially once we got across to Illinois and Michigan. After we returned to the West coast in Vancouver, North of the border, was amazed to see so many newish Mercs, BMWs and Porsches, at least around the city. (We flew back from Boston to Vancouver after the road trip).

Fuel Octane ratings - first time I pulled up for fuel (see photo), had to think a bit about what to put in a turbo car, as 91 was the highest octane. Was assured that was OK, and later checked myself (Google) and found a cross-ref chart in which 91 (US) is approx 96RON (Aust) so was relieved with that. Did see 93 at one stop. Note the octane rating method in the photo, just above the octane number.

Roads - I am happy cruising on highways, and the Interstate 90 route has 80 MPH (about 130 km/hr) limits in Montana and Wyoming, but mostly about same as Aust with 60-65 MPH limits.
There was a fantastic drive out of the North-East entrance of Yellowstone NP, high winding road climbing to over 10,000 ft through the Beartooth Pass, and then descending back down to the road heading towards Billings.

Rules - before I left I checked for different rules, the main ones being 4-way Stop signs (lovely), and stopping for School buses, much like we do for Melbourne trams - but also if you are coming the other way! Also that you are required to move to the outside lane when passing an emergency vehicle stopped in the emergency lane on highways. Not to mention, of course, the first time driving on the "other" side - in at the deep end, I picked up the car in downtown Seattle.

If you read this far – thanks – and hope you enjoyed the photos.