April 10, 2010 Mulholland Snake and Tuna Serpent Meet & Drive
It was great to meet y'all today. Weather was cloudy and cool, ideal for top down drive. The sun came up after lunch in time for another 3 legs of driving with geology hike, hike to Chumash tribe kitchen and hike to check on 12 million year old fossils.
My thanks to SantaMonicaSLK32 (Bill) for being the main pathfinder and guide for the different driving episodes and being our geology and fossil expert, and some Universal Studios narrative on Malibu Canyon. Another thank you to LynxFx (Jason) for being the pathfinder for some parts of the drive. And also appreciate the E-3C capabilities of SweetSLK and LynxFX. Moreover, commendations to V6SLK and Durkatlon for joining us (coming from Lompoc and San Diego).
My apologies to Ruby (SweetSLK's mate) and to Alicia (my mate) for not giving a good indication that the drives involve a fair number of twisties (pretzel-type). Quite sorry for the nausea and in Ruby's case -- some regurgitation of stomach contents.
Overall a pleasant and great day to meet people, and enjoy each other for great conversation about SLK's and other topics, and testing the driving capabilities of the SLK.
Piccies to follow. Also post your thoughts and photos too.
I had so much fun today on the drive, lunch and short hikes! I love my little old SLK on its own merits, but being able to get together every month or two with so many other SLK owners in socal really makes me glad I added an SLK to my stable.
By the end of the drive we had some smoking brakes and lots of smiles. I know my smile will last for days at least.
This was a twisty route, sorry it was hard on the passengers.
I hope the geology hikes and Chumash bedrock mortars added a little to the experience. It was fun to me to show you guys a side of the Los Angeles area you wouldn't see every day.
Here are a couple more pics of our SLKs parked along Saddle Peak Road, near the top of Saddle Peak, for the hike on the Fossil Ridge Trail. Its a shame it was hazy, or one of the pics would have had a great ocean and city view backdrop.
Thanks to the pathfinders and Bill especially for putting in the fun little excursions. Tuna Canyon was about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. Fantastic!
Edit: Oh, LynxFX has posted a vid of him doing this canyon before. This gives a good impression of the speed of the run and was of course done in the same red SLK350 as he was driving today.
Durk was early at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Fountain Valley. He already had breakfast when we got there at 9:30AM. We did miss Marcele. Note the cloudy skies.
Some photos from the Santa Monica waypoint:
V8SLK with the gloss black three-pointed star. As expressed by many, the black chrome gives it a "classy, high-end and aristocratic" look.
Spring flowers and a lovely R171, esp when it has E-3C capabilities
Meeting up with car no. 9 (lucky #) -- V6SLK, and after the first leg
The school drop-off point was a good spot to have all 9 vehicles in a dedicated parking space.
Some images of the first stop with geology lessons and Hollywood history: where scenes for M*A*S*H and others were shot (Universal Studios tour can never top this one).
Notice the cloudy skies starting to clear, and some bikers.
Pathfinder and guide was the lead car (black SLK32 AMG). We missed you Tslick
1) The OC Waypoint: David88Keys, Durkatlon, etyu.
2) The Santa Monica Waypoint. We had 8 cars there.
3) The school parking lot. V6SLK joined us here.
4) Malibu Canyon State Park.
5) Lunch @ Neptune's Net.
6) Neptune's Net.
7) The beach opposite Neptune's Net.
8) Views!
1) The Fossil Ridge Trail
2) Really cool shell fossils.
3) With the shell still visible
4) Las Flores Canyon
5) Jason's ride and Alicia showing she withstood all the punishing twisties!
Chumash kitchen: actually a large rock where they grind and mill nuts into flour (our honorable guide stated so). Notice the round depressions or holes where the chefs did their work, one can see 5 in the photo.
Rest stop and before hike to the Fossil Ridge Trail.
It was a treat to see the SmartTop and shorty-antenna work while still on a ledge on the trail. I couldn't judge how far the distance was, I'll leave that to the experts. It worked from this distance as pictured. One can see the trunk/boot lid opening on the last vehicle (red arrow) and surprising a nearby biker.
photo courtesy of SantaMonicaSLK32AMG
There were 7 cars left after lunch. V6SLK and LeeAnn sort-of had to leave early to return to Lompoc due to time constraints plus I think they missed one of the turns. SweetSLk and Ruby left after lunch (actually Ruby didn't have lunch with us. Let's just say she was not feeling well. Hope you are better by this time Ruby).
Another self-explanatory piccie:
Fossil photos at 3 different sites along the trail, they are roughly 12-13 million years old (per our honorable geologist-guide ):
View of the canyon and where not to buy real-estate because of unstable ground:
On the way back I hobbled into a gas station about 10 miles from home, with "0 mi" on my range indicator. That could've ended badly .
I wonder why the mpg wasn't as efficient as before?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Durkatlon
.....Alicia showing she withstood all the punishing twisties!
I was giving her many praises for being a trooper. She actually wanted to go home after lunch.
You don't see the bruises on my right arm (just kidding ) and didn't hear her comments while we were driving. One of the more interesting one is: "I feel so sick I could throw up!" As I didn't want her to mess up the interior of the vehicle , I handed her one of this:
I carry a few in the vehicle. It's actually multipurpose and can be used also when the the urinary bladder is too full to wait and may be used by both male and female species. Sprinkle enough silica granules (found in electronic packing material sometimes or medicine bottles) and the liquid becomes like a gel and is less prone to be spilled
Great pics guys! Thanks for sharing them. I forgot to take any pics of the fossils, so I'll borrow yours...its not every day you get to see ocean bottom fossils at more than 2500 feet above sea level
Great pictures looks like a nice group. Did you have 9 cars total? Thanks for posting up all the pictures! Someone should be a 'point person' and add Southern California to the SLK Clubs.
Great pictures looks like a nice group. Did you have 9 cars total? Thanks for posting up all the pictures! Someone should be a 'point person' and add Southern California to the SLK Clubs.
We had 9 vehicles: 2 R170's and 7 R171's.
Well there's Tslick (retired) and always a good pathfinder, and he also is in touch with AMG PL.
There's also Cyberdrakon who is young and energetic.
1. If you have an automatic or the 7G transmission, were you able to limit its highest gear to no.4? If you had a manual transmission, were you fully occupied?
2. How many times did you feel the ABS while braking hard?
3. Did you hear your tires squeaking or squealing under strain?
2008 Mercedes Benz SLK 55 AMG (R171.473)
April 10, 2010 Mulholland Snake and Tuna Serpent Meet & Drive
2002 Mercedes Benz SLK 32 AMG
Mustang Convertible
2006 Mercedes Benz SLK350
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)
) and didn't hear her comments while we were driving. One of the more interesting one is: "I feel so sick I could throw up!" As I didn't want her to mess up the interior of the vehicle , I handed her one of this:
Test Mule Vehicle
