Smog Dog
Enthusiast
We just returned Oct. 22 from a great driving adventure which started Sept. 15. We hooked up with some of our Motor City pals at the home of Ralph Gilles, where he was hosting a barbecue lunch as part of the Illinois VCA's Vipers Invade Niagara. That event was a blast, and was the reason we didn't start the trip right after Labor Day Leaving Niagara, our goal was to revisit some of our favorite places in the western USA, see lots of new places, and surprise our son on his birthday in Redington Beach (Tampa), Florida.
We traveled west on I-70, stopping in Columbia, MO and Golden, CO. An early storm dumped a foot of snow that night in the mountains just west of Denver, resulting in a route change for us. We headed south on I-25 into New Mexico the next morning, and stayed in Durango, CO. It was an eventful day...we saw our first Viper (other than those associated with Niagara), a red RT-10 pulling a small red trailer. We got a dime sized stone chip in the windshield and the low tire indicator apeared on the instrument panel. Wow!
After airing up the tire in Durango, we had dinner and much needed cocktails at a very nice Italian restaurant called Mama's Boy, and waited for morning. I had AAA come to the motel and air up the totally flat tire, while I called around looking for a tire shop with the equipment to make the repair without ruining the wheel. While we were fixing things that morning, we took care of the windshield chip. We also called Calchrome and ordered 2 rear PS-2's to be installed while in California later in the trip. We visited Mesa Verde that afternoon, and stayed in Cortez, CO.
The next 3 days were spent driving some very scenic Utah roads, and visiting Arches, Brice and Zion National Parks. If you have not been to Utah-Go! After leaving Zion, we took a leisurely drive to Las Vegas, cruising through the Valley of Fire State Park. We got a great parking spot at the Bellagio and enjoyed fine dining, etc. for 2 nights.
The next stop was Carson City, where we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant I have visited several times on previous trips. The following morning we drove around the western side of Lake Tahoe, on our way to the Marin Headlands at the Golden Gate Bridge. There are spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate, San Francisco and the Bay. It's a great place to picnic with wine, bread and cheese. We stayed until dusk, and spent the night in Santa Rosa.
The next few days were spent in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, visiting a few of our favorite wineries and driving though the redwood forest on Rt 128. We left Ft. Bragg and spent 2 days driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway. We enjoyed 17 Miles Drive, and spent a night in San Simeon. The Hearst Castle was spectacular!
The next morning we had an appointment at Calchrome, in Valencia, to get the new tires. They were great people to deal with and had absolutely state of the art equipment to do the work. We had 22,200 miles on the Viper at that time, and still a little tread left on the rear.
Next points of interest were Sedona, the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest in AZ. Most of the sight seeing was done for this trip. We traveled across I-40, with Memphis as a destination a few days later.
After a couple days visiting my sister in Memphis, we headed for New Orleans. I had called ahead and made reservations at the Hilton Riverside---one of the few places with a spacious parking deck that will allow you to park your own car.
Final destinations were Redington Beach, Flagler Beach on A1A and Jacksonville. At Jacksonville, we saw a black RT-10 on a Land Rover dealer's used car lot. It was only the second Viper we were to see on the trip.
As we were nearing home, I watched the trip odometer go from 9999.9 to 0.0. It automatically reset itself. Our total distance traveled was 10,045 miles, in 36 days. The car was photographed by others everywhere we went. During the last few weeks, I kidded my wife about having to handcuff her to the Viper when we passed major airports to keep her in the car. Cost of the trip was about a buck a mile-- not counting depreciation of the car.
The memories? Priceless!
Arches National Park, Utah
Alexander Valley, Silver Oak Cellars
Redwoods on California SR 128
Seventeen Mile Drive
New rear tires at Calchrome
Bourbon Street
On A1A at Flagler Beach, Florida
Bill
We traveled west on I-70, stopping in Columbia, MO and Golden, CO. An early storm dumped a foot of snow that night in the mountains just west of Denver, resulting in a route change for us. We headed south on I-25 into New Mexico the next morning, and stayed in Durango, CO. It was an eventful day...we saw our first Viper (other than those associated with Niagara), a red RT-10 pulling a small red trailer. We got a dime sized stone chip in the windshield and the low tire indicator apeared on the instrument panel. Wow!
After airing up the tire in Durango, we had dinner and much needed cocktails at a very nice Italian restaurant called Mama's Boy, and waited for morning. I had AAA come to the motel and air up the totally flat tire, while I called around looking for a tire shop with the equipment to make the repair without ruining the wheel. While we were fixing things that morning, we took care of the windshield chip. We also called Calchrome and ordered 2 rear PS-2's to be installed while in California later in the trip. We visited Mesa Verde that afternoon, and stayed in Cortez, CO.
The next 3 days were spent driving some very scenic Utah roads, and visiting Arches, Brice and Zion National Parks. If you have not been to Utah-Go! After leaving Zion, we took a leisurely drive to Las Vegas, cruising through the Valley of Fire State Park. We got a great parking spot at the Bellagio and enjoyed fine dining, etc. for 2 nights.
The next stop was Carson City, where we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant I have visited several times on previous trips. The following morning we drove around the western side of Lake Tahoe, on our way to the Marin Headlands at the Golden Gate Bridge. There are spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate, San Francisco and the Bay. It's a great place to picnic with wine, bread and cheese. We stayed until dusk, and spent the night in Santa Rosa.
The next few days were spent in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, visiting a few of our favorite wineries and driving though the redwood forest on Rt 128. We left Ft. Bragg and spent 2 days driving south on the Pacific Coast Highway. We enjoyed 17 Miles Drive, and spent a night in San Simeon. The Hearst Castle was spectacular!
The next morning we had an appointment at Calchrome, in Valencia, to get the new tires. They were great people to deal with and had absolutely state of the art equipment to do the work. We had 22,200 miles on the Viper at that time, and still a little tread left on the rear.
Next points of interest were Sedona, the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest in AZ. Most of the sight seeing was done for this trip. We traveled across I-40, with Memphis as a destination a few days later.
After a couple days visiting my sister in Memphis, we headed for New Orleans. I had called ahead and made reservations at the Hilton Riverside---one of the few places with a spacious parking deck that will allow you to park your own car.
Final destinations were Redington Beach, Flagler Beach on A1A and Jacksonville. At Jacksonville, we saw a black RT-10 on a Land Rover dealer's used car lot. It was only the second Viper we were to see on the trip.
As we were nearing home, I watched the trip odometer go from 9999.9 to 0.0. It automatically reset itself. Our total distance traveled was 10,045 miles, in 36 days. The car was photographed by others everywhere we went. During the last few weeks, I kidded my wife about having to handcuff her to the Viper when we passed major airports to keep her in the car. Cost of the trip was about a buck a mile-- not counting depreciation of the car.
The memories? Priceless!
Arches National Park, Utah
Alexander Valley, Silver Oak Cellars
Redwoods on California SR 128
Seventeen Mile Drive
New rear tires at Calchrome
Bourbon Street
On A1A at Flagler Beach, Florida
Bill
