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My wife and I just returned from a 4910 mile road trip in our 2010 Torch Red convertible. Top down all the way except for a couple days at the end of the trip. We used 195.1 gallons of fuel, for an average of 25.2 mpg. We ran at Warp speed throughout and encountered no problems with the vette or the highway patrols.
I potted the entire route using Garmin Basecamp on my desktop computer, and downloaded it into my Garmin GPS, so there was no need of any maps. I did however get maps from AAA so my wife could see where she was as we traveled. The nice part about plotting the route, you can use any roads on the map, and it doesn’t force you to an interstate.
Our stops were in Dodge City, KS, Durango CO, Ouray CO, Telluride CO, Bryce Canyon City UT, Barstow CA, Manteca, CA, Barstow CA, Phoenix, AZ, Albuquerque, NM, Oklahoma City, OK, St. Louis, MO.
We started in St. Louis, then to Dodge City Ks. The following day to Durango CO, then the next day up the “Mllion Dollar Highway” (550) to Silverton and Ouray. Spent the night in Ouray at the Beaumont Hotel, a Victorian era hotel with 11 rooms. Then we went to Telluride and spent the next day seeing the town and Mountain Village.
Side note, we got caught in a downpour with the top down outside Telluride. Normally not a problem with the top down if you go fast enough, but we were behind a slow 18 wheeler, and no place to pull off to put the top up. I was wishing for a newer model vette that would allow me to raise the top while moving. It wasn’t the only rainstorm we hit, but we did get a little wet. Then on to Bryce Canyon, UT to spend the night. We spent the next day touring Bryce Canyon National Park, which is fantastic.
The following day we left for Barstow CA, on the way, we passed through Zion NP in Utah, a truly impressive bunch of rocks. It hit 119 degrees in the Mojave Desert, and even though we had the air conditioning on, we put the top up when we had to sit in a miles long traffic jam on I-15 between Las Vegas and California, for an “agricultural inspection”
From Barstow,we cruised up the east side of the Sierra Nevada Range, and entered Yosemite NP on Hwy 120, which had only opened a few weeks ago, due to snow. Passed through Yosemite, and on to Manteca, CA to stay with some friends.
We visited the town of Locke, a Chinese settlement. Originally it had 600 residents, but now just about 50.
We also visited the Patriot Jets Exhibition Team hanger in Byron, CA. This is a group of 7 Czech T39? Jets which they fly in formation at exhibitions. They have ex Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and Canadian Snowbirds? pilots. They also have a couple of MIGS and Saberliners.
On the return trip, I had planned on going down Hwy 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, but it is closed due to landslides and a bridge is out. So, we took Hwy 25 down the middle of the Coast Range, and from Hollister to Hwy 198 it is a fun two lane road. Then we took another good 2 lane (Hwy 58) from Santa Margarita to Buttonwillow. We ended back in Barstow for the evening. The next day we made Phoenix, and stayed with my cousin for a few days, visited the Aquarium and the Art Museum.
Coming home it was all interstate (a bit boring) from Phoenix to Albuquerque to OKC to St. Louis. The last two days we had the top up because of rain, but that’s not so bad, we could hear the radio better.
This was our 6th long trip to the west, generally we visit Seattle where my daughter lives, but that would have made the trip a week longer, so we are flying there this summer. Some of the trips were in my C5, some in my C6, all with the top down. "See the USA in your Chevrolet" as the old commercial said. Corvettes were made for road trips.
Here’s some pics
Route
Silverton
To Ouray
Beaumont Hotel
Our Room If you get to Ouray, by all means stay at the Beaumont.
Lobby
To Telluride
Utah
Colorado river near lake Powell
Bryce canyon, NP
Zion NP
Hwy 120 east of Yosemite, still snow around
Yosemite
You can see the smoke from the local forest fires.
I live in Columbia, MO and made a similar trip (the Colorado and Utah portion) last year. I had the top down and enjoyed every bit of sunburn I got during the trip. Ouray and the area is so cool. A mountain trip in the vert is the best ever. Thank you for sharing.
Fantastic pictures and trip! My wife and I have been to those parks...just not in our C6, only rental cars=our loss. A lot of people always want to see the world, which is nice, but never take the time to see all the great places, points of interest, and spectacular scenery we have here in the good old USA. Maybe its just priorities.
Great photos. You went past my tiny little hometown west of Dodge City on Highway 50. The next time you're out west on I-40 you should stop at the La Posada hotel in Winslow, Az. You'll come back later I assure you. Thanks for the post
I sit here full of envy and jealously reading your adventure. With a little market help, I'm 10 years out from being able to escape the office permanently and embarking on these types of adventures.
Until then, thank you for the post. I spent the last 10 minutes mentally escaping from work living vicariously through your trip.
Looks like fun. I have never made it out thru Utah or further west and look forward to it someday....
I have been in all the western states multiple times and the two best locations are Utah and the Pacific Coast Highway. Make your "someday" happen, you will enjoy it.
07-31-2017, 06:14 PM
4910 mile Road Trip
