Some thoughts during my last trip west...Last year - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

edog · 01-23-2011, 11:03 AM

From Va, to Nm and back. WKD FIRE goes on a long cruise!!!

For those looking to make the trip for C5Fest, here are some thoughts from my drive last year. The meeting up and hanging out was one of the best memories!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We took the Camaro across country, and loved it!

We left on the 28th of July. It was dark, but wanted to make it out of the city areas of VA before rush hour. The Camaro was loaded to the gills, and just a small amount in the cabin (loaded on the girls in the back seat of course), LOL
The night was pretty uneventful. No major traffic, very smooth sailing. All of a sudden the light blanked out at 75mph. I hear the wife saying "what did I do"? How do I get them back on? I tell her to turn on the high beams. She then stated she was trying to turn down the console lights, and everything went black. I had her turn the lights back on (lol), and we kept cruising. Laughed a little, and posted in a different thread. Stopped in Wythe VA for the night. No complaints from comfort from anyone.

Up the next day and drove from Wythe Va to Fort Smith AR. No major issues. Very pretty scenery. Most of it very close to Va. In Arkansas I got a nail in the rear tire. Met Billy Hail at the tire repair shop. He drives a SC 2010 Camaro as well. It was all chromed and pretty. He stated he had just won the LSX shootout. He patched the tire and got me on the road. He is out in nowhere, but I am glad he was there. I was not looking forward to using the fix a flat. Everything would have needed to come out of the back. That would have sucked. Mental note...Pull fix a flat and compressor out before filling trunk for long trips. Stayed in Ft. Smith that night, then in the morning on the road again to Albequerque Nm.

The views are beautiful when you start getting into texas and NM. Stretches of land as far as the eyes can see. Trees as we know them disappear from the landscape and the vegetation gets really tight to the ground. One of the most beautiful things is watching mother nature. You see all the storms around you. Torrential downpours and lightning off in the distance captures your attention and amazes you. No issues on the drive. We have been in the car for 18 hours now. Not a peep from the back seat about comfort. Wife and I are good in the front. We stop in Amarillo Tx to the greatest steak house. 72oz steak is free if you can eat it in one hour with all the fixins. 48 dollars if you can't. I was waiting to see if anyone was going to sit at the six tables with the timers above them. No one took the challenge while we were there. I was happy with my 12oz steak meal. I finished it all in under one hour. LOL

After 26 hours of driving we pulled into Albuquerque. I started talking to the Camaro5 group in the SW to set up a meeting point with them. Ivan helped me out a great deal as well helping me get my tires replaced due to the nail in Arkansas. Thank you once again Ivan.

We were in Albuquerque for two weeks. We travelled numerous places (White Sands NM, Hatch NM, Santa Fe, Old Towne albuquerque, Manitou Springs Co, Carlsbad NM, Eunice Tx, Dallas Tx) while we were there and on our way back.

I loved the trip. I am very glad I took the Camaro. The only downside was when returning. We had to ship a few boxes in order to get everything back. We picked up 40 pounds of green chilis in Hatch Nm, and it required two coolers. Note...Do not placed dry ice in trunk without venting cabin through airvents or windows. It does not take long for the gasses to get your heart racing. Those closest to the trunk will start showing the signs of passing out first. We caught it quick enough, and got the car aired out.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful. It was nice pulling back into arkansas, and seeing the trees again. Many gorgeous views and sunsets. If you have not travelled across country before, it comes highly recommended. The next time (C5Fest2), I hope I get a chance to go more north across the rocky mountains. We almost went, but changed plans at the last minute.

I had a great time going to the car show with the southwest group in Albuquerque. We met up a offsite location, cruised, and raped the highways for a spell, then lined up and had a great time talking. I wish I had more time to hang out with them. I was shocked, and those in lower elevations will be happy to know. The higher the elevation, the harder it is to get faster times in the 1/4. I was talking to one of them with dual turbos. He said he does 13.2 in the 1/4 due to the elevation. He has a smoking ride, but I told him he needed to move to the coast. He would have a great time at the track.

All in all we put 5836 miles on the Camaro. We purchased new tires (upgraded the rear from Pirelli 27540r20, to continental extreme contact all season 29540r20) and I like them at the new size.

Here are some pics. from different areas. Those who are eco friendly would be happy to see all the wind farms in the west. I would love to see the east coast adopt their thinking in this area.

pictures: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102447
http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93250

LWM · 01-23-2011, 09:42 PM

Great post Ernie..................sounded like you had a great trip. Looking forward to April!

SILVERHAWK · 01-24-2011, 05:08 AM

Great post. Friends and I always talked about traveling cross country when we graduated from college years ago, but we never did. We were all broke and it would not have been in Camaros for sure. The photos are awesome!! Wishing now that I could go to the Fest, but its not gonna happen at least not this year.

Bill Dillow · 01-24-2011, 05:36 PM

My Daily Prayer... Dear Lord, Please grant me the strength to deal with all the people who are going to PISS me off today...Amen
"A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true one will be sitting next to you saying "Man, that was FUN

Great quote!

SILVERHAWK · 01-25-2011, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Dillow

My Daily Prayer... Dear Lord, Please grant me the strength to deal with all the people who are going to PISS me off today...Amen
"A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true one will be sitting next to you saying "Man, that was FUN

Great quote!

Thanks , I have the top one on a T shirt gets me alot of laughs
"I need/want that shirt!!"

01-23-2011, 11:03 AM	#1
edog Drives: 2010 2SS/RS IOM Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: F'BURG VA Posts: 3,828 View My Garage	Some thoughts during my last trip west...Last year From Va, to Nm and back. WKD FIRE goes on a long cruise!!! For those looking to make the trip for C5Fest, here are some thoughts from my drive last year. The meeting up and hanging out was one of the best memories! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We took the Camaro across country, and loved it! We left on the 28th of July. It was dark, but wanted to make it out of the city areas of VA before rush hour. The Camaro was loaded to the gills, and just a small amount in the cabin (loaded on the girls in the back seat of course), LOL The night was pretty uneventful. No major traffic, very smooth sailing. All of a sudden the light blanked out at 75mph. I hear the wife saying "what did I do"? How do I get them back on? I tell her to turn on the high beams. She then stated she was trying to turn down the console lights, and everything went black. I had her turn the lights back on (lol), and we kept cruising. Laughed a little, and posted in a different thread. Stopped in Wythe VA for the night. No complaints from comfort from anyone. Up the next day and drove from Wythe Va to Fort Smith AR. No major issues. Very pretty scenery. Most of it very close to Va. In Arkansas I got a nail in the rear tire. Met Billy Hail at the tire repair shop. He drives a SC 2010 Camaro as well. It was all chromed and pretty. He stated he had just won the LSX shootout. He patched the tire and got me on the road. He is out in nowhere, but I am glad he was there. I was not looking forward to using the fix a flat. Everything would have needed to come out of the back. That would have sucked. Mental note...Pull fix a flat and compressor out before filling trunk for long trips. Stayed in Ft. Smith that night, then in the morning on the road again to Albequerque Nm. The views are beautiful when you start getting into texas and NM. Stretches of land as far as the eyes can see. Trees as we know them disappear from the landscape and the vegetation gets really tight to the ground. One of the most beautiful things is watching mother nature. You see all the storms around you. Torrential downpours and lightning off in the distance captures your attention and amazes you. No issues on the drive. We have been in the car for 18 hours now. Not a peep from the back seat about comfort. Wife and I are good in the front. We stop in Amarillo Tx to the greatest steak house. 72oz steak is free if you can eat it in one hour with all the fixins. 48 dollars if you can't. I was waiting to see if anyone was going to sit at the six tables with the timers above them. No one took the challenge while we were there. I was happy with my 12oz steak meal. I finished it all in under one hour. LOL After 26 hours of driving we pulled into Albuquerque. I started talking to the Camaro5 group in the SW to set up a meeting point with them. Ivan helped me out a great deal as well helping me get my tires replaced due to the nail in Arkansas. Thank you once again Ivan. We were in Albuquerque for two weeks. We travelled numerous places (White Sands NM, Hatch NM, Santa Fe, Old Towne albuquerque, Manitou Springs Co, Carlsbad NM, Eunice Tx, Dallas Tx) while we were there and on our way back. I loved the trip. I am very glad I took the Camaro. The only downside was when returning. We had to ship a few boxes in order to get everything back. We picked up 40 pounds of green chilis in Hatch Nm, and it required two coolers. Note...Do not placed dry ice in trunk without venting cabin through airvents or windows. It does not take long for the gasses to get your heart racing. Those closest to the trunk will start showing the signs of passing out first. We caught it quick enough, and got the car aired out. The rest of the trip home was uneventful. It was nice pulling back into arkansas, and seeing the trees again. Many gorgeous views and sunsets. If you have not travelled across country before, it comes highly recommended. The next time (C5Fest2), I hope I get a chance to go more north across the rocky mountains. We almost went, but changed plans at the last minute. I had a great time going to the car show with the southwest group in Albuquerque. We met up a offsite location, cruised, and raped the highways for a spell, then lined up and had a great time talking. I wish I had more time to hang out with them. I was shocked, and those in lower elevations will be happy to know. The higher the elevation, the harder it is to get faster times in the 1/4. I was talking to one of them with dual turbos. He said he does 13.2 in the 1/4 due to the elevation. He has a smoking ride, but I told him he needed to move to the coast. He would have a great time at the track. All in all we put 5836 miles on the Camaro. We purchased new tires (upgraded the rear from Pirelli 27540r20, to continental extreme contact all season 29540r20) and I like them at the new size. Here are some pics. from different areas. Those who are eco friendly would be happy to see all the wind farms in the west. I would love to see the east coast adopt their thinking in this area. pictures: http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102447 http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93250 __________________ Update...Build in process, Forged Rods, Pistons and rings, Johnson Lifters, NOVI1500 ECS SC, 13lb boost or more, LS3 Conversion 114/228/241 COMP CAM, Frostbite 4 row Aluminum radiator, 6L80 built, Circle D 6L80 PRO SERIES MULTI 258MM 2D, Stock 3.45 gears, 1-7/8 American Racing Headers w/HF cat, X-Pipe, Lingenfelter dual fuel pump, E-85 flex sensor, ATI super damper pulley, Ported TB, 160 therm, Trans cooler, Pedder's sways/end links/sub frame bushings, BMR trailing arms & toe rods, Coil overs. HP/TQ pending

01-24-2011, 05:08 AM	#3
SILVERHAWK Drives: 2011 2SS/RS, '22 Silverado Z71 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: The First State Posts: 3,112	Great post. Friends and I always talked about traveling cross country when we graduated from college years ago, but we never did. We were all broke and it would not have been in Camaros for sure. The photos are awesome!! Wishing now that I could go to the Fest, but its not gonna happen at least not this year. __________________

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01-23-2011, 09:42 PM	#2
LWM Drives: #54 ZL 550 CGM Camaro 2SS/RS,GIF Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Posts: 520	Great post Ernie..................sounded like you had a great trip. Looking forward to April!

01-24-2011, 05:36 PM	#4
Bill Dillow Drives: 2005 2500HD DuraMax, 2010 SS/RS Bla Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: WV Posts: 79	My Daily Prayer... Dear Lord, Please grant me the strength to deal with all the people who are going to PISS me off today...Amen "A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true one will be sitting next to you saying "Man, that was FUN Great quote!