Snowbimmer, I absolutely love these posts and hope you continue tripping and posting them. Your pictures are very well composed and always a delight - what camera are you using for all those great landscapes?
The wife and I broke the new M850 in traveling from Washington, D.C. up and around the eastern seaboard and then to Niagara Canada. We found the car well suited to the two week, 3500 mile road trip too.