At one of the SFCC meetings Cheryl Nielsen, our Chips editor, asked me to write an article for the Chips to review the Corvette trip to California taken by a few SFCC members this past August. Since the trip lasted eighteen days I will break it down into 4-5 day sections. Following is a recap of Day 1-4. I know there are many small groups that take similar trips and would encourage you to share your story with everyone who reads the Chips.
As I sat down to write a recap of a Corvette trip to California a few song titles came to mind. “California Dreamin”, “See the USA in your Chevrolet”, and “Memories are Made of This”, are a few that help summarize the trip.
About ten years ago Colleen & I flew to a meeting in Palm Springs. We decided to rent a car and spend a three-day weekend driving up the coast to San Francisco. The trip was great but the rental car didn’t do justice to the roads and three days was entirely too short. On the flight home we started dreaming about doing that trip again with two major changes. We would spend enough time to savor all that the west coast has to offer, and we would do it in a Corvette. Fast forward to 2010 when we shared our dream with a few SFCC members. Instantly several expressed that they would like to take a similar trip and soon after, the planning started. Fast forward again to August 11, 2011, when six Corvettes departed Sioux Falls for the eighteen day “Left Coast Power Tour”. I’m sure everyone understands the “Left Coast” part of the name, but the “Power Tour” portion may have some readers guessing. The combined horsepower of the one ZR-1, two ZO-6’s, two Grand Sports (with headers & tune jobs), and a stock C-5 was 3003 HP in addition to some really great sounding exhaust systems. All the cars had CB radios to help make traveling easier and keep the group together, but the only “Rule” we had was to arrive safely at the motel on the same day as the reservation. If anyone had a site to see or a relative to visit along the way, “do it and we’ll see you at the motel”. Although CB’s are old technology they are a helpful tool once you learn our own special lingo like, AIS, clear after the red SUV, debris on the left, I’ll block, switch, we’ve got a rabbit, etc. That’s a story for another time.
AUGUST 11: Depart Sioux Falls, destination FT Morgan. CO about 600 miles.
Nordstrom’s, deWit’s, Larson’s, Olson’s, Rolling’s and Skiles’s headed west on I-90 to Murdo and took HWY 83 south to I-80 and then on to FT. Morgan. The highlight of our first day on the road was sharing the road with hundreds of Harley’s traveling to and from Sturgis. We followed two Harley’s from Texas for about an hour who apparently felt the posted speed limit was only a suggestion. In a short 600 miles we were sipping on a cool beverage and enjoying our evening meal.
AUGUST 12: Destination: Richfield, UT. About 540 miles
Utah desert scenery
We left Ft Morgan at about 8 AM to avoid the Denver rush hour, headed west on I-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel and stopped in Vail for a little sightseeing and shopping. Marc does a little skiing, so he knew where to find the best Bloody Marys, so the guys sampled while the ladies shopped. For the remainder of the trip we used that Bloody Mary as the standard to which no other compared. We picked up subs, traveled until we found a scenic overlook for our noon picnic. That scenic overlook was dwarfed by the scenery offered by the Rocky Mountains, Glenwood Canyon, and the colorful treeless rock formations of Utah. The CB chattered with frequent reports of 104 degree outside temps, and frequent comparisons of the Corvette’s water & oil temps that were always in the safe range. America’s Sports Car is truly an engineering marvel offering great mileage, creature comfort, performance and handling.
Utah rock formations
August 13: Destination Barstow, CA: About 540 miles without scenic routes.
Hoover Dam from the new bridge
Today’s drive included stops at the new bridge (Mike O’Callaghan-Mike Tilman Memorial Bridge) at Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Route 66 and the Mojave Desert. We headed west on I-70 to I-15 and headed south toward Las Vegas and Hoover Dam. Since we wanted to see the USA and enjoy the beauty Mother Nature created we exited I-15 and took back roads along Lake Mead (Mother Nature had a little help, aka, Hoover Dam). What a contrast with rugged desert hills on one side and Lake Mead on the other side of the road. Miles of NV 169 were lined by a woven wire fence about one foot tall which was built to prevent the endangered desert turtle from being hit by cars. We spent a couple of hours sightseeing at the Colorado River Bridge which is often called Americas Newest Wonder. It opened for traffic in October of 2010, is 2000 feet long and is supported by a 1060 foot concrete arch. From Hoover Dam we headed south on NV 95 and hooked up with a section of the storied Route 66, which was in very poor condition, which meant speeds of 50-60mph, as it travels along the Mojave Desert. Earlier in the day we were traveling on test sections of the interstate with posted speed limits of 80 mph with more beautiful rock formations similar to those in the five National Parks that dot the southern Utah landscape. Arches, Canyon land, Bryce, Capitol Reef, and Zion National Parks could be the foundation of another Corvette trip someday. We exited RT 66 and headed for Barstow, CA on I-40 where we were greeted with outstanding hospitality by the owner of the Country Inn & Suites. The owner then directed us to our roped off special parking area and joined us for our happy hour to share her views on hospitality, local history, local attractions, the CA wine industry, the economy and politics. She set the hospitality bar high, but we were continually impressed by the top quality service and hospitality we received throughout the entire trip.
August 14: Destination San Luis Obispo, CA About 270 miles
Some, who are reading this may be asking, why not fly to CA and rent Corvettes to drive up the coast. You could fly in one day versus driving for three days. I agree, one day of hassles and unpleasant memories or three days full of fun and pleasant memories made my decision clear. Standing between Barstow and San Luis Obispo is a series of mountain ranges. We had another choice to make, take the interstate system around the mountains and through LA or take the less travel two lane roads through the mountains. Two lane roads through mountains usually have more corners and Corvettes like corners, another clear choice. When I looked at the map, I noticed that HWY 58 crosses a vast area with no towns. No towns on a map usually means wide open spaces a commodity not usually associated with CA. Many motorcycle riders and sports car drivers have heard of the Tail of the Dragon in the Blue Ridge Mountains of KY & NC. It’s 318 corners in 11 miles. HWY 58 can most accurately be described as a Texas sized Tail of the Dragon. It is 70 miles of high plains ranch country with too many curves to count, constant hills, and straight sections. (aka corners, apexes, elevation changes, and straightaways). When we hit the first set of curves I was following a sport bike with CA plates, who, by watching the way he down shifted, braked late and leaned hard, must have been familiar with the road. I thought I might try to keep pace with him and after exiting the second set of curves; I checked my rear view mirror and saw it was full of Corvettes ready for more. Seventy miles later we pulled into a gas station expecting to get a little grief for my spirited Sunday drive. All I heard was “WOW”, “let’s do that again”, “that’s a Corvette road”, and a few other comments including words used more frequently in bars and at race tracks. The idea of driving it again was a good one, but we had an appointment at the J Lohr Winery. Marie Nordstrom and Jolene Lohr are sisters and the Nordstrom’s were gracious enough to line up a very special two day tour of nearly every aspect of the wine making business with Jerry & Jolene Lohr as our hosts. When we arrive we were welcomed by Jerry & Jolene, given a brief overview, toured the equipment and buildings used to process grapes all the way to the temperature controlled barrel room where the wine ages to the perfect time to enjoy it. We experienced a barrel room tasting, during which Jerry used a thief to extract the wine directly from the barrels for the tasting experience.
Jerry Lohr serving wine using the thief
We ended the evening with an excellent meal prepared and served at the winery. J Lohr shared his knowledge of how to enjoy wine more by pairing the proper wine with the appropriate courses served at any meal. “Memories are Made of This”
Vettes at the Vineyard
