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We planned to depart on June 22nd and return July 3rd, which was one week after attending the Ron Fellows Corvette Driving School at Spring Mountain Resort & Raceway. Being that we were driving in a brand new convertible, we had to be smart about how we pack for the trip. The key was soft luggage and backpacks. So my wife and I each had one duffel bag and a backpack for the trip. We did a test pack and had absolutely zero trouble fitting everything we needed for the 12 day trip.
The other part of the planning was the route & accommodations. Once we figured out our general route (see below), I started to share it with others and folks here on the forums. From there our trip blossomed into something great. For example, Beartooth Pass Highway and Glacier National Park Going to the Sun Road where not even in the cards. Originally, I was going to drive from San Francisco to Seattle up the coast and then take Interstate 5 all the way back home. Maybe a 6 day trip. Once I started plotting it, I said, “why not cut over to Yellowstone since we have never been”. Then the trip started to grow and form.
Once we flushed out the details of the route, we had to make another choice. Where we going to do it clock wise or counter clock wise? The thought was to go the direction that offered the best weather conditions. If it was gloomy on the California Coast…then go counter clock wise. But we then realized that that type of flexibility would not work with the National Parks we wanted to hit. Accommodations book up quickly this time of the year. So we decided to do the loop counter clock wise and make the first part of the trip (the National Parks portion of the trip) more scheduled and the second part was freestyle (no reservations).
Day 1 - "I felt like my vacation started at that exact moment when I pushed the button to put the top down on the Corvette"
We had the car packed the evening before and all of our clothes laid out for the first day. We left the Bay Area Friday morning at 8:30 am to begin our journey. We stopped at the Olive Pit in Corning, CA for early lunch. Yummy goodness all locally sourced food.
After lunch we made our way to Lassen National Park. The elevation change was 8,500 feet. I will say that the Corvette handled steep mountain climbs like it was nothing. In my Toyota Tacoma, I normally don’t look forward to a lot of hills, but I found myself throughout the trip always looking forward to the steep climbs on the roadway.
There wasn’t many people at Lassen and the weather was 75 degrees. Pulling up to the park entrance, showing our national park annual pass and putting the top down at the same time was a feel good experience. I felt like my vacation started at that exact moment when I pushed the button to put the top down on the Corvette. We did not plan to do much other than drive through and take a few pics. It was a nice drive with minimal cars, perfect weather and many smiles.
Once we left Lassen National Park, we headed to Burney Falls, CA. Please know that my Wife nor I ever been to any of the stops we made on our entire trip. So this was brand new to our eyes. We have been wanting to go to Burney Falls for a couple of years, but we have never made the 3 hour drive north to enjoy it. I will say that this stop is worthy if you are within a 150 mile radius of this place. A true hidden gem. If you would show someone the video or picture below and ask them to tell you where this is on the globe, they would probably tell you something like Kauai or some topical island in the middle of the South Pacific…not in Northern California.
After leaving Burney Falls, we headed north to continue in this perfect weather that now reached 78 degrees. We had Mount Shasta in our view some way shape or form for the next 3 hours. It is a very dominate peak in Northern California that can be seem from many miles away. We laughed about it as the mountain was with us almost all the way to Klamath Falls, Oregon where we stopped for the first night at 6:00 pm. We had dinner at Wubba’s BBQ Shack.
Day 2 - "It was like watching your first born go on a date for the first time"
We were heading to Crater National Park around 8:00 am on a Saturday morning. It was a nice drive and approximately 60 degrees and sunny. There were not many folks on the road and at the park. Once we got to the park, we put the top down and drove around the lake. The winds were calm, but not dead calm to where you could see reflects in the lake. However, the Deep Blue Colors on Crater Lake looks like they were invented just for that lake when they decided what deep blue was going to look like. On my Uniden R3, I had it so the elevation was always on display. We were about 6,000 feet most of the way around the lake and they still had snow. We stopped at various places around the lake on “Rim Road”, which allows you to circle the lake. It was a calming effect when looking the lake with minimal people at the park.
After leaving Crater Lake, we headed north to Bend, Oregon for lunch and to see my Brother’s house, which we have never been to since be moved to Bend from California in 1991. The lunch stop included picking up the new pint sized Garmin Inreach Mini at REI. For lunch we ate at the Flatbread Neapolitan Pizzeria. Bend was a very beautiful city with the snowcapped mountains as a backdrop. I can see why people want to relocate to Bend.
Bridge to my brothers property
Once we left Bend, we knew we had a long stretch to Boise, Idaho where we were going to sleep for the night. It was a nice spirited drive in Eastern Oregon with nice roads, no traffic and perfect weather.
Once we arrived in Boise at our hotel, I did something I have never done before with my Corvette…Valet It. It was the only way to park at the hotel. I put it in Valet Mode and gave the keys to the attendant. It was like watching your first born go on a date for the first time. He stalled 3 times and made the tires chirp twice. I asked the guy if he was okay after he stalled the first time. The second time I asked if he needed help. He said he was okay…and that it was just a lot of power. Needless to say, it all worked out fine.
Day 3 - "AVOID WINDSHIELD DAMAGE"
We started our day at 9:00 am and were headed to Crater of the Moon National Preserve. Lunch was at a very small hole in the wall in the middle of nowhere along Highway 20 outside of Mountain Home, Idaho. I recommend stopping there for some food. Get the burger.
Highway 20 was recommended by a form member and it did not disappoint until I almost died. The road drove along the mountain range and a beautiful view as far as the eye can see.
Before getting to Crater of the Moon National Park, where was probably a 10 mile stretch of roadwork. The phase of the project they were on was they just dropped 10 miles worth of gravel. For the first mile or two it was a road with slight gravel. Then it got worse and worse. I did not know how long the gravel part would be so we kept going. At about the 3 mile mark we started to see signs that said AVOID WINDSHIELD DAMAGE. I made sure I was not following close by, but the other cars coming from the other direction on the two land road were not as sensitive to gravel as the Corvette. I was driving about 30 miles per hour at most. So it took about 30 minutes of gravel to get through it all. Millions of pebbles flying everywhere. Looking out the rear view mirror, it looked like a rock festival with gravel flying everywhere from the massive Grand Sport tires.
Needless to say, we made it through with no damage. I used the Performance Data Recorder as a Dash Cam for the entire trip. With my 256 GB reformatted Micro SD card I had 6,380 minutes of footage.
Once we got to Crater of the Moon National Preserve we decided on something. My Wife was collecting pins for all the places we were going. I decided I was going to collect patches and put them in the trunk on the partition. I plan to affix them via Velcro. They will tell a story of all the places this Corvette has been. We took a couple of small hikes and we did one cave which was pretty cool. The place looks like you are on the moon. So much so, that NASA used the park as a training ground many years ago in the 60’s to practice being on the moon. I learned that they were recently denied at being a National Park, but I they have their act together and it an easy park to explore. Excellent roads and a nice loop to see all the stuff.
Volcano
Inside the cave, which was about a 1,000 feet walk under ground
Once we left Crater of the Moon we were headed to Jackson, Wyoming. Eastern Idaho was truly something to see. We passed by the Atomic National Museum. I guess it was the first place they tested an Atomic Bomb. We decided not to stop there off of Highway 20, but it was worth noting that it was out there. If you are into that stuff, it might be worth a stop. We crossed over the Grand Teton Mountains into Jackson Hole and this was the part of the trip I was really looking forward to. We planned to stand two full days in this area.
Day 4 - "the Grand Teton Range might top all of the National Parks we visited in terms of the views"
We started around 7:00 am to head Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Park. When I first decided to go to Yellowstone, I never heard of Grand Teton National Park. I will say this, the Grand Teton Range might top all of the National Parks we visited in terms of the views. The weather was in the low 60’s in the morning and warming up to upper 70’s in the afternoon. So it was topless the entire day with clear skies and no traffic. Our plan was to do the outside part of the Grand Teton National Park on Highway 191 and then the lower loop of Yellowstone. We used an app called Gypsy for both Grand Teton & Yellowstone. That app coupled with a convertible made this a wonderous portion of the trip. If you are doing a road trip to a national park, you should spend the $4.99 to get this guy in your car. It is GPS based and does not require cell coverage. As we drove, it talked us there what to see, what to do and even made some food recommendations. Watch the video to get a taste of what is was like:
We did not see much wildlife at Grand Teton, but the views made purchasing a Convertible Corvette. I actually felt a little bad for folks that did not get to experience the parks topless.
After the morning session driving through a portion of the Grand Teton’s, we continued north on Highways 191 to America’s First National Park, Yellowstone. The only traffic we faced on the trip was at the South Entrance to Yellowstone National Park. It was about 11:00 am and we had to wait about 10 minutes to get into the park. After that, we had no more traffic.
We hit the lower loop in a counter clock wise direction so that Old Faithful was the great finally of the day. This was based on the Gypsy App recommendation. Doing it that way allowed us to avoid a lot of traffic. Everyone went straight to Old Faithful. Here are some pics from the afternoon.
Coming back from Yellowstone driving through the Grand Teton, we had our first up-close wildlife experience. I won’t spoil it, so here is the link to watch it. The PDR recorded it also, but this was from my Wife’s iPhone.
As you can see, these things are absolutely huge. For dinner back in Jackson we ate a Pinky G’s Pizzeria, which was one of the few places that were open at 10:00 pm. We made it a full day, so the pizza tasted a little better.
Day 5 - "When we looked at the road on the NAV system it looked like twisted spaghetti and it tasted like yummy goodness"
We started our day at 6:30 am and planned on going to the inner loop of the Grand Teton National Park which is closer to the range. After that, head to the upper loop of Yellowstone and Beartooth Pass via the Beartooth Highway 212.
Leaving early has its advantages. The Grand Teton National Park was like it was reserved just for us. It was more of the same…but not the same if that makes sense. The views were endless and it was still beautiful. The weather was perfect all day with temps starting again in the low 60’s, then reaching the low 70’s and sunny skies. So that means going topless.
I even let the wifey drive for a few miles in the park. She was happy.
This part of the day on the Northeast side of Yellowstone offered the most wildlife for the entire trip. Mostly Bison. We saw some crazy lady get out of her car as some Bison were crossing the road and they surrounded her. It could have ended bad, but she was lucky. Driving through Lamar Valley in Yellowstone gave you perspective as to what it looked like before we showed up and made it into a National Park. The Gypsy app was our companion who seemed like he was in the car with us for the last two days. We gave him a name. We called him Uncle Bob. After leaving Yellowstone, it seemed like we lost a passenger.
However, what we gained was Beartooth Pass. There was not many people on the road and the pass was clear and open. When we looked at the road on the NAV system it looked like twisted spaghetti and it tasted like yummy goodness. The roads where in good condition and the views were unaltered. At the top of Beartooth Pass it was windy and cold as expected. They were still snow skiing/snowboarding in the middle of the summer.
Coming down the mountain into Montana we realized how beautiful Montana was. We stopped in Red Lodge, Montana and my wife did a little shopping and we had probably our best meal of the trip. We at a fairly new place called Prerogative Kitchen. Everything was good.
Leaving Red Lodge we had a great spirited drive along highway 78. This was a rural two landed road with nobody on it. Towards the end of that road before getting on Interstate 90, we had rain for about 30 minutes. I put the car in weather mode for the first time and it worked like a champ with the oversized Grand Sport Michelin Pilot Sport tires. Based on what I learned at the Ron Fellows Corvette Driving School, I did not hesitate putting into Weather mode.
We ended up staying the night at The Lark in Bozeman, Montana. A swanky little hotel with a very popular food truck permanently bedded in the parking lot. If you want ice cream or milkshakes in the college town, you show up here.
Day 6 - "The drive to Glacier from Bozeman explained why it is known as Big Sky Country"
Based on a conversation we struck up from a local in Bozeman, Montana, we decided to alter our route on our way to Glacier National Park. He said drive alone Flathead lake along Highway 35 and I am glad we did. During this trip we were comparing the cost of real estate to where we live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We kept saying, we might find a second home during this trip and around Flathead Lake we saw some really nice homes on the lake at a fraction of the cost compared to the Bay. The drive to Glacier from Bozeman explained why it is known as Big Sky Country. However, driving along Interstate 90 between Bozeman and Missoula, Montana we got hit by a rock on the windshield. Yes…it was loud and it cracked. We were about 40 minutes outside of Missoula and we got an appointment at Safelite just as we pulled into town. They were able to repair the chip and I felt did a great job. Now the question is, “do I get the windshield replaced”. I think I might drive with it damaged, because they did a great job fixing it.
When we got to Glacier National Park it was 5:30 pm I was happy because we got the window repaired and the weather was stellar. The plan was to turn on Uncle Bob (Gypsy App) and drive the Going to the Sun from West to East (sun at our backs and driving on the cliff side). The weather was flawless. And there was hardly anyone in the park going in that direction. With the sun setting it made for great views and we saw our first Moose. He was too far away to get a good picture with the iPhone. We took our time going through the park along the Going to the Sun Road. The nice thing was that 4 days prior, the road was completely open. When we departed from San Francisco, Logan Pass was still closed. So it was a blessing to have it open while we were enroute there.
When we got to the top of Logan Pass at 7:30 pm the vistor center was closed, but that did not bother us. We loved that not maybe people were on the road. To put it into perspective, we did not need to pullover to the little pull outs to stop and take pics. We just stopped in the middle of the road because nobody was behind us.
We ended up staying in Browning, Montana.
Day 7 - "How did your CORVETTE handle all the POT HOLES??"
We slept in and made our way back to Glacier National Park via the Many Glacier Road entrance. Warning, Many Glacier Road is like driving in Baghdad. When I pulled up to the National Park Entrance gate, the Park Ranger said, “how did your Corvette handle all of those potholes?” The road leading up to that entrance is maintained by the Blackfoot Indians.
We were headed to Iceberg Lake to hike the Iceberg Lake Trail (4.5 hours). It was a long hike but moderate. The reward was an untouched lake with icebergs floating. We also saw 2 cubs and 1 mama Grizzly Bear who was at a distance. We had lunch at the lodge back where the trailhead began. Not much driving on the Corvette, but there were some suspect roads. A small portion of Highway 89 was rough with a fair amount of gravel, but after that road in Idaho…this was nothing.
Day 8 - "One of the things I did each night was clean the bugs off the front bumper with a damp cloth and then my Griot Speed Shine"
We had some decisions to make. The plan was to drive back through Glacier National Park via the Going to the Sun Road at Sunrise, but Mother Nature had other plans. A storm was coming and I did not want to be on that road with low temps and potential rain/snow. So we left and went south of the park via Highway 2. The road was nice. We hit some weather as expected for about 40 minutes, then it was clear for the rest of the day.
This day was mostly a travel to Spokane, Washington. It was a nice scenic drive, but nothing was planned. This was the last day we had a reservation of some sort. This was the freestyle portion of the trip, so we booked the night before or day of via my iPhone. We ended up driving around Spokane because we never been before and we were there before sunset. We drove a road called 9 mile road that follows a river for some spirited driving. Spokane seemed nice. The town was alive because their 3 on 3 basketball tournament was kicking off that weekend and many of the downtown streets were closed to traffic.
One of the things I did each night was clean the bugs off the front bumper with a damp cloth and then my Griot Speed Shine. I also, I would dust off the car with my California duster and dust off the rims. I have the CarboTech Brake Pads, so they never got really bad. I stopped at two manual car washes and used the pressure washer to clean the car twice during the trip. I would dry it then us the Griot Speed Shine. It would take me about 15 minutes each night to clean up the car. It made it more enjoyable and the car looked great for the entire trip. Also, when I got home, it was not 4,000 + miles of bugs, brake dust and dirt. Yes, we drove more than the 3,405 plan.
Day 9 - "It was like they were in their own little world"
We decided to head to Mount Rainier National Park. It was a nice drive and some great curves. My Uniden R3 got a workout. It picked up about 10 state patrols who were pulling people over. Mount Rainier was a nice drive however, just before we entered the park and large group of clouds moved in and hid the mountain. We were able to see it while approaching, but when we got to the top, the mountain was not viewable. They head the nicest visitor center (paradise visitor center) than any of the previous parks.
After leaving the park we drove to Astoria, Oregon. We had dinner downtown and the weather was just like the movie the Goonies. Nice little town. It was like they were in the own little world. This was going to be the last time we saw any gloomy weather.
Day 10 - "I had to put my Ron Fellows training to work"
We had the chance to explore the town and see all the Goonies spots. We also went to the Astoria Column and took the 164 steps to the top of the tower. It put Astoria in perspective. My wife found a Goonies Never Die Patch.
On Top of the Tower
The Tower - 164 Steps
From here we started our journey south. The plan was to take the coast Highway 101 all the way home (which we did). The Oregon Coastline was very diverse. The southern part I liked better than the northern part from a Corvette point. We stopped in Tillamook at the Tillamook Creamy. It was like Disneyland for cheese, shakes, ice cream or 4 cheese pepperoni pizza. It was too crowded so we didn’t get anything to eat there. But I recommend folks to make a stop there during the week and enjoy it as a destinations.
We were making better time than we planned going down the coast of Oregon so we decided to cut one day out of the trip and make it a 11 day trip versus 12. We upped our planned mileage on the trip by 700 miles. We decided to stay in Crescent City, CA as our last night on the trip.
Day 11 - "Biggest trees in the world"
We woke up early to hit the road. Great weather all the way home. We make some nice stops and really got a chances to drive some of the best routes on the West Coast. We stopped at the Founders Grove along the Avenue of the Giants. Avenue of the Giants is a 33 mile stretch of road that follows Highway 101, which has some of the biggest trees in the world.
Our last planned stop was Legget where Highway 1 and 101 meet. This is also one of the spots where you can drive thru the tree. Well, when they took my $10 they failed to tell me that a Corvette Grand Sport can fit. While we didn’t get to drive thru it, I took a pic to make it look like we did.
Summary
I really enjoyed the opportunity to “break-in” my first Corvette and spend quality time with my Wife. We ended up doing 4,174 miles (see pic below). We only had a couple of patches of weather. Otherwise is was topless weather the entire trip. I saw a lot of great things and learn a few more things about my 2019 Grand Sport Convertible.
Top 10 things I learned about the Corvette:
1. The car produces a lot of natural heat in the main cabin
2. Very comfortable for both my Wife and I
3. The Yeti 30 oz Tumbler worked really well in the “shallow” up holders. Never had one issue.
4. Having the PDR always on is a smart way to drive the country
5. Trunk space was more than enough
6. Stealth Mode is great on those long roads
7. Apple CarPlay needs help. The maps are not as good as the competition and I hate when the car starts and it just randomly starts playing music.
8. It gets a lot of looks and comments
9. The car does not like gravel roads
10. Doing the trip in a convertible is the only way.
Blurry, but it was 5,555 miles going 55 in 5th gear with cruise control set to 55 play channel 5 on XM 50's on 5
Final Stats. I did not use the cylinder deactivation feature during the trip.
All the patches this 2019 Corvette has collected. I am going to stick them with Velcro inside the trunk on the partition.
Last edited by Carlos Thomas; 09-06-2018 at 11:04 AM.
These are some of the BEST photos I've seen here, or elsewhere !!!!!!! REALLY enjoyed seeing your trip. Sounds like a great time. Grand Teton pics were my overall favorite ones......
Hey first real day on here and first post I seen. Great pictures brother! Wow, loved the scenery and the vette, enjoying life and that's great! Cheers!
Last edited by Billy Redford; 07-09-2018 at 10:28 PM.
By far, one of the best post trip reports I have seen on the forum. Thanks for taking the time to share with us. Looks like a great trip, except for those gravel roads in Idaho.
Great trip. You went through some of my favorite spots. Good call on the route change through the east side of Flathead lake! The drive up the Swan Valley would have been another great option.
I've been on this forum for 5 years and that was a phenomenal post - one of the best I've ever come across. So much so, that the wife & I just might mimic that trip. Great drive and beautiful scenery! I brake for tater tots and that pork chop looked like a winner, too.
Wow! I must say yours is the best trip report I can recall ever reading. The commentary and the accompanying pictures made it feel like we along for the ride, simply outstanding. And speaking of pictures, the photography was ....picture perfect.
i am so sorry you encountered gravel on highway 20 given the fact I had recommended you travel that road out of Idaho Falls. I had traveled it a few months earlier and there was absolutely no road work in fact the entire road was fairly new so I’m surprised they were doing any work on it. As an aside the place you passed was “Atomic City”. It was the first city completely powered by nuclear power. The big nuclear research facility (Idaho National Engineering Laboratory) is still operational. It employs about 10,000 they do nuclear reactor research there and train navy personal on nuclear powered engines for naval vessels.
BTW, your wife’s smile while driving is priceless. I wish I could get my wife to drive ours but she absolutely refuses.
When you left Astoria to head down the Oregon coast you must have crossed the bay bridge into Warrenton. I hope you honked as you drove past on 101 because you were very close to my house!
Thank you for taking the time to share the marvelous pictures and tale.
i am so sorry you encountered gravel on highway 20 given the fact I had recommended you travel that road out of Idaho Falls.
I thought about you as I was driving on that road and I didn't even know you. But it felt like I did. My Wife was making wise cracks like, "Are you going to tell your forum buddies about this road??" Outside of that several mile part of gravel, it was a really nice route. Here is the video. I also added into the main post for first time readers. This video is considered rated R by the Corvette Forum.
When you left Astoria to head down the Oregon coast you must have crossed the bay bridge into Warrenton. I hope you honked as you drove past on 101 because you were very close to my house!
I did cross that bridge. I know this because that is where I got gas. Costco. Enough gas to get me down the entire coast without the need for fuel. One thing my Wife and I noticed was the unique bridges in Oregon along HWY 101.
I also added a video of the Gypsy App to give folks a taste of what it is like. We just got in the Grand Teton National Park and he was giving us the run down on his recommend hikes.
Awesome trip and you drove around my old stomping ground, We moved to Bend Oregon in the late 70's from California, I worked on Mt Bachelor for a couple years, Bend is a great place as long as you have money, it's hard to make money there so had to leave
07-09-2018, 09:11 PM
4,172 Miles & 11 Days in 2019 Grand Sport Vert M7
My Wife was making wise cracks like, "Are you going to tell your forum buddies about this road??" Outside of that several mile part of gravel, it was a really nice route. Here is the video. I also added into the main post for first time readers. This video is considered rated R by the Corvette Forum.
