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Monday morning, a set of new front tires in Louisville, KY, sights are set, Westward Ho!
Traversing the southern end of Indiana and Illinois, the weather is great!
Sunshine, partly cloudy skies and good roads, I hope to make up time. I'm supposed to be in Vail tonight visiting relatives, but that's not going to happen. Vail is over 1000 miles away! Traffic is suddenly stopped on the interstate. A big rig got his tires caught in the soft shoulder and has jackknifed. 30 minutes later, back on the open road.
The further west, the land starts to flatten and trees become scarce. Salinas, Kansas is where I will call home tonight. Pulling into the Motel, there is an '87 and '03 Anniversary Corvette in the parking lot. My ZO6 makes 3 Corvettes, more than I've seen all day!
Tuesday afternoon I arrive in Vail, only long enough to say hello. The lost day of waiting for tires has me making time while the sunshine's.
From Vail, I head up Hwy 131 to Steamboat Springs and then over Rabbit Ears to Saratoga, WY. Great road! Beautiful scenery!
A couple of close calls with deer at dusk. This is one of the two reasons I have refused to drive after dark! The other reason is tire casings. I spend the night in Saratoga at the Wolf. The Wolf has the best prime rib! Jason is my waiter and I ask him about the availability of rooms. There are a few small Victorian styled rooms upstairs. I ask about parking for the ALL 50 Corvette.
Jason's face lights up and proceeds to tell me about his '56 Chevy Business Special, which is featured on the cover of the Motel flyer. Dad has a '65 Fuelie!
Commenting that it would be fun to get a picture, Jason borrows my cell phone and calls his dad. Arrangements are made to meet out front tomorrow morning.
The ALL 50 is filthy, waking up early, I head to the car wash for a quick once over. Clean enough for the pictures, however there is an approaching storm. Possibility of SNOW!
Doug Campbell and family have owned the Wolf for four years. A native to Wyoming, he had meet a girl from San Diego and got married and raised a family, finally moving back to Wyoming. He was a Civil Engineer working on Caltrans Projects, so, we had a lot in common.
Saying goodbye, I head south for Encampment. As long as I'm in the neighborhood, I want to say hello to some friends, Lloyd, John and Ron.
Heading north towards Rawlins, my goal is to take Route 191 south through Flaming Gorge. A winter storm is on the way with high winds and blowing snow.
Flaming Gorge has got to be beautiful; however I can't see it due to the snow squalls and 50 mph plus winds! Fortunately, the snow is not sticking to the pavement.
Route 191 is a beautiful road that I look forward to taking again some other day. Stopping in Price, Utah, the rain has let up, but the wind is still blowing. Getting a motel, I walk across the large parking lot to a restaurant. With the cutting wind, I'm freezing!
Thursday morning, I wake up to the sound of rain. I'm thinking how fortunate I am not to have snow. Turning on the TV, I get a Salt Lake station. They are e talking about the bad weather and all the accidents. The weather prediction is for 10-12" of snow, expected in the central mountains of Utah around Price!
Looking out the window, the rain has turned to large flakes of snow and in 15 minutes the ZO6 is covered white. Quickly packing, I hit the road, but not before topping off with fuel. Fortunately, the snow is not sticking to the pavement. 30 miles south I am out of the snow. I realize I still have to climb up the passes to get to Salinas Utah and I-15.
The interstate must have been icy earlier. The gravel is coming up hitting the car. Its worse having to pass the big rigs. Once west of Salina, the road dries and the sun comes out.
The rest of the day is uneventful as I head north of Las Vegas for a business meeting.
Friday morning, a car wash is in the parking lot of the motel. So, taking this opportunity, I wash the Vette. It is filthy from yesterday's journey and I don't want the grime to bake in the projected 90 degree heat of the day.
Pulling into La Mesa, CA, I stop at Bob Stahl Chevrolet to get service done on the car. Fortunately, on this Friday afternoon, they have time to check the front alignment. The left wheel was out of camber and the right had a toe in. I guess that is not too much to expect.
After all, this trip has been 5400+ miles and the car now has over 34,000 miles.
Oh, what a Journey!
All50
Ray
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