[gdwriter]

Hoover, Betty and I are heading out tomorrow afternoon to join up with a tour group that's touring Nevada, Southern Oregon and Northern California. I don't have time to do the entire tour, but am doing the stops in Klamath Falls, OR, Crater Lake National Park and Grants Pass, OR.

I have friends from Arizona that are doing the entire tour; they told me about it during my trip to Phoenix in January, and I thought it would be fun to do. They've done it with their '64 Impala SS, but this year, they're bringing a '48 Ford that's been restored to look like a mild custom, but is pretty modern underneath.

I went to Crater Lake last summer, but because of wildfires in California and winds blowing from the south, it was very hazy. But the Crater Lake itself is amazing. The bluest water I've ever seen.

I think I'll have Internet access at my hotels in Klamath Falls and Grants Pass, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to post pictures. But if not, I'll post them when I get home. I think there's going to be a car show tomorrow night.

There's about 75 cars (I think on the tour). The Web site is Nevada-Rides.com, but whoever programmed it set it up so the links only work on Internet Explorer on a PC. :rant2:

This will be my first road trip with the GPS I bought last month. I've only been to Crater Lake once before and have driven through Grants Pass a couple of times, so this isn't an entirely familiar trip. So it should be a good test for the Chicago road trip.

 

[Jesda]

Nice! Never been to that part of OR. I usually come up the coast through Coos Bay.

 

[billc83]

Looks like a fun trip! I drove I-5 south through Grant's Pass on my way to New Mexico; I don't remember it being too eventful, though. We stopped for gas and a photo op next to an old horse-drawn carriage. There was a museum within walking distance but we were trying to make good time.

All the best.

 

[gdwriter]

There will be some mountain passes heading back up I-5 from Grants Pass, and it's scenic country, so it'll be a nice drive. I haven't been that far south in a few years, and I've never been to Klamath Falls, so this will be mostly uncharted territory. Good workout for the GPS.

 

[dirt_cheap_fleetwood]

Good workout for the GPS.

Real men read maps.

 

[gdwriter]

Real men read maps.

Oh I know how to read a map. It's just handy for going into unfamiliar areas, especially when there aren't close up/detail maps of the city you're in. I also like to see the distance and time remaining and ETA.

It will definitely be worth having in Chicago. Mine has a traffic alert and can reroute you if needed.

 

[dirt_cheap_fleetwood]

I'm just givin you a hard time. Without a GPS I would not have found my way to the dragstrip last year.

 

[Rodya234]

Real men can find their way around with just a compass, and don't use roads. :lol:

 

[hueterm]

Take lots of pics and post them!

 

[billc83]

A real men doesn't even need a compass. Just give him a sextant and a knife...

 

[gdwriter]

Take lots of pics and post them!

I took around 160 today, most of them at the car show at our hotel in Klamath Falls. For faster posting (for me) and viewing (for you), I've uploaded them to Facebook, and you can view them here.

Betty performed flawlessly on the 200+ mile drive from Corvallis to Klamath Falls. I filled up about halfway there and my gas mileage was 12.37. That includes ~40 miles on I-5 cruising at 65-70. On my second tank, from Oakridge to Klamath Falls, I got 13.0, crusing anywhere from 55 to 65 depending on traffic ahead of me. And I was running the A/C the entire way.

Fortunately there are frequent passing lanes so I could easily get past the pokey motorhomes and semis. In a couple of cases, I had to really move it to get past a couple of other vehicles before the passing lane ended and I would be doing 75-80 MPH. With just the two-speed Powerglide, Betty is running around 3,000 RPM at 65 MPH and 3,400 at 70, so the gas mileage isn't bad all things considered.

Hoover, of course, was thrilled to go on a road trip. He already suspected something was up when he saw me get out my duffle bag and the electric cooler last night, and when he saw the green cooler I use for his water on a road trip, he knew and got all excited. Filling his cooler with ice and water is one of the last things I do when we're going somewhere, because I know he knows.

Hoover had a big smile on his face all the way down to Klamath Falls, and he peridically would rest his chin on my shoulder on the drive. He loved meeting all the people and a few other dogs at the show tonight and is now sacked out on one of the beds in our hotel room.

Anyway, here are some of the highlights from the trip:

My GPS set-up, which was very handy. It was funny to see how many of these vintage cars had GPS mounts in their windshields.

Hoover and Betty at the Shilo Inn in Klamath Falls, which hosted tonight's show.

Itty Bitty Betty with the original Matchbox car and OSU mascot Benny Beaver, who is traveling the world.

Here is one very happy dog.

'65 Corvette Sting Ray

For Chad, a '73 Eldorado convertible

8.2 litres (500 cubic inches) of Detroit power

 

[gdwriter]

More pictures:

Impalas were well-represented on this cruise. There were six including Betty, a '61 convertible with a 348 big block, '62 and '63 sport coupes, a '65 SS and a '68 Custom coupe.

Two rare Pontiacs. A '61 Catalina bubbletop with a dual-quad 421 and 8-lug wheels and a '69 Firebird Trans Am.

 

[gdwriter]

Finally, a gorgeous '56 Coupe de Ville.

One more. This is the '48 Ford my friends from Phoenix drove up in. It looks stock from the outside, but it has a Chevy crate motor and updated suspension, A/C, etc.

Tomorrow is Crater Lake and Grants Pass. No car show tomorrow night, but I should have some pictures from the trip to post.

 

[dirt_cheap_fleetwood]

Looks like you had a great time Gary. I feel better about myself now knowing that you got worse mileage on the highway than I get in the city.

 

[eldorado99]

Beautiful colour on the '56 Coupe DeVille!! Looks like my kind of car show. Thank you for the pics Gary.

 

[Aron9000]

That 56 Coupe Deville is just bitchin:leghump::worship::worship:

The 54-56 Cadillacs are my all time favorite Caddys from a design/styling standpoint. Very clean, tasteful lines. They made a statement, but it wasn't so over the top/excessive/onstentatious as the later Caddys(which I also love for being so over the top/slightly ridiculous)

 

[hueterm]

Great pics! On your FB pics of Betty, what is the Chevy logoed "box" under the dashboard area?

 

[gdwriter]

Arrived in Grants Pass just ahead of the thunderstorms:

Will post pictures from today's trip to Crater Lake later tonight. Heading out for dinner now.

 

[gdwriter]

Great pics! On your FB pics of Betty, what is the Chevy logoed "box" under the dashboard area?

It was originally a tissue dispenser, a popular dealer accessory that swung out from under the dash with a thin box of Kleenex inside.

Mine, however, hides a modern stereo system that I can plug my iPod into:

The factory radio still works (or it did), but it's only AM. I wanted to keep the dash original and none of the aftermarket radios that are designed for these cars look original. It was my idea to cut the tissue dispenser around the stereo mount and put a hinge on the front for access, but it took a friend who likes to make things to actually do it.

 

[orconn]

It was originally a tissue dispenser, a popular dealer accessory that swung out from under the dash with a thin box of Kleenex inside.

Mine, however, hides a modern stereo system that I can plug my iPod into:

The factory radio still works (or it did), but it's only AM. I wanted to keep the dash original and none of the aftermarket radios that are designed for these cars look original. It was my idea to cut the tissue dispenser around the stereo mount and put a hinge on the front for access, but it took a friend who likes to make things to actually do it.

Great adaptation using the Kleenex dispenser to hide the more modern sound components. I like to keep things "original" looking in my cars so can appreciate your solution to a common problem.