10/19 TPW Check in station!!!

[baclarsen]

Originally Posted by ArkySS

turned over 20k this week since 10/31/09!

Yikes Man !!!!

[ArkySS]

Daily Driver!

[rallyyellow]

10,101 miles as of today I've enjoyed every tenth of each mile haha

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by baclarsen

4000 miles

Hey brad, what up? Its been a long time since you've gotten on...

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by AK Mike

I got mine changed before we went on the trip. Big treat yesterday, my friend with a black SS had installed the GM axle-back and she let me take it for a drive; sounds deeper than the factory but only a tiny bit louder (if that!) at cruise. There's a bit of a drone only if you lug the engine a little and it goes away instantly when you downshift or run the rpm up over 1200 or so; very nice! I think I need a pair!

Hey Mike, So are you back from your trip yet? I would love to see some pics of your car while you were on that trip (with that awesome camera of yours), that's if you dont mind posting...how many miles do you have now?

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by ArkySS

4,000 miles....seriously.....turned over 20k this week since 10/31/09!

Dang! thats crazy...Im guessing you have the most miles on your car from our whole group...

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by rallyyellow

10,101 miles as of today I've enjoyed every tenth of each mile haha

Dang! you too? I have like half of that...lol...so what's new with you Hector?

[onlyhonda]

Good morning and HELLO!!!!! It has been a while since I checked in.......sorry! I haven't forgotten ya'll, just been busy and haven't had a chance to stop in. My baby is still doing great and turning heads like crazy. I have 4,800 miles on her now.......and she has been my daily driver since Feb. Hope I haven't missed too much while I was gone!

[AK Mike]

Originally Posted by baclarsen

Howdy Mike, How was the trip?
Brad

Dang, I guess I just got wrapped up in work/daily life and didn't even do a trip report!! My bad.

This was a combination work/vacation/family trip and we'd been planning it for quite some time...purchasing the Camaro was only a piece of the big plan and it all worked out very nicely.

My plan was to leave Juneau in early June on the ferry to Bellingham, WA and drive to Park City, UT where I had a three day work conference. Wife planned on flying into Salt Lake City the day before the conference ended.

I put WKDBAD on the ferry on the 8th of June; they were running late and we ended up boarding at 0430 in the morning. Off to Sitka and beautiful day! I took quite a few pictures. We headed to Petersburg later in the day after a short stop in Sitka and the sunset was spectacular! I met a really interesting character riding a Harley solo from Daytona Beach to Fairbanks and returning...he was 72 years old and a pretty cool dude! We drank a few beers at the bar and exchanged contact info in case he ever got back to Alaska or I ever get back to Daytona.

I was worried about getting door dings on the ferry and put my car cover on...got my first ding anyway...oh well, at least that's over with! We landed in Ketchikan the next afternoon and had some time to kill while we changed boats, so we got to drive around Ketchikan a bit (nope, didn't see another Camaro there!). Loaded back up and I got a great parking space with nobody on either side!

We arrived in Bellingham on the 11th in the morning and I jetted out to I-5 south and blasted through the Seattle traffic; my first stop was in Lacy, WA to pick up a couple folding deck chairs at Cabela's...yes, they fit in the Camaro ! (We tried them first!). I saw a green Camaro at a dealership lot on the way south and black one in Longview where I stopped to visit my nephew. I thought I was going to experience my first conversation with the police in Longview; he stuck to my bumper all the way through town but didn't pull me over...that was OK as I was packing and just don't like getting cuffed if he decided he'd need to 'disable' my .45 (had that happen before...). Off to Portland and some serious gridlock. I snuck through downtown and thought I'd avoid the worst of it, but not so sure I did. Saw another Camaro, yellow w/GFX on the freeway but didn't catch him. Overnight with a friend in Portland and had a good dinner/conversation.

I got up early and drove along the Columbia River in very nice weather. Saw a blue Camaro in the westbound lane that morning. I finally had to close the sunroof and turn on the air as I'm not very tolerant of any temperatures much over 75...don't laugh, I'm Alaskan!! I drove through Pendleton and hit the curves in the hills east of town at 75+...they were marked at 45, but the Camaro stuck quite well and I had a blast! It was fun, finally getting to use 6th gear! I overnighted at my niece's in-laws near Homedale with more great food/conversation.

Scooted out early (around 0530) and drove through Boise and on down to Park City. I seemed to be running just behind some weather as the road was occasionally wet. I hit one really nice open stretch with no traffic and opened the car up...wow, this is really fun!! I got to Park City early in the afternoon and checked into the hotel, then cruised around town a bit.

A couple days of meetings and I ran back into Salt Lake to pick up the wife and saw another IOM parked at the airport. We drove out to Jordanelle Reservoir the next day and did some boating...did I mention that I have a really great job? Off to Jackson, WY the next day and we drove by Flaming Gorge; again, great weather! On to Jackson and spent too much on a hotel room (darn tourist towns...) and went out to eat some barbecued buffalo.

We drove up to Yellowstone the next morning and did the tourist thing. Stayed overnite at the historic Old Faithful Inn and took lots of pictures (will post separately). Met another Camaro5 dude w/Synergy Green and saw a yellow Camaro also...we were all three in the same parking lot and the tourists seemed to spend more time looking at the cars than they did the geysers! One guy proposed to my wife at Mammoth (think maybe he was more interested in the car than her, but you never know! ...good thing she didn't show him a picture of the boat!).

On up to Missoula the next day and overnited there. The driving has been a blast and the weather is holding for us! Even the desert is green as they've gotten a wet spring...lots of antelope and mule deer around. We hit Sandpoint, ID the next night and splurged a little on a nice hotel with patio doors opening up right on the lake; very nice and a great restaurant!

From Sandpoint, we drove to Priest Lake ID for a three-day family reunion; my Dad turns 80 this month and Mom is 78, so we thought it's time to get us all together...42 total with the out-laws, kids, grandkids and great grandkids...what fun! I took most all of 'em for rides and cranked it up for a few, especially my Mom who smiled and said, "You haven't calmed down a bit in over 50 years, have you Mike?". We quit giving rides around dusk as the deer came out on the road and we even saw a moose. Very nice area and we had a super cabin.

From Priest Lake, we drove to Winthrop, WA and spent the rest of our cash on a room/food at the Sun Mountain Lodge. All I can say is, Wow. Nice place and by far the best meal I've had for a very long time. It would be worth the trip just to stay & eat there. The next morning we had the best drive of all, the mountains from Winthrop to Seedro Wooley are incredibly spectacular and the road was made for Camaros (or vice versa!). We got to Bellingham and loaded up on the ferry for the 3-day ride home.

It was a great trip, one that I'd do again in a heartbeat. Not cheap, we probably spent $6K with the ferry, hotels, food, etc. plus the airline tickets, but worth a lifetime of memories. We got positive comments on the car nearly everytime we stopped and one of my wife's favorite comments after I notice another car, "Hey look, there's a vette!" and she replies, "And he's saying, hey look, there's a Camaro!" We laugh and pretend we're better than him. The car performed great although we killed every bug in six states...guess the bugs can't resist Camaros either! A few rock chips (minor) and the previously mentioned door ding but the very best part of all: I DIDN'T GET A SINGLE TICKET! ...and I admit to exceeding the posted limit...once or twice...maybe more....

Pictures to follow! Mike

[AK Mike]

#1 Loaded on the ferry to Ketchikan.
#2 Kozian Reef, Peril Strait
#3 Sunset over Admiralty Island, Alaska
#4 Columbia River Gorge
#5 Deserted pull off above the Columbia River east of Portland
#6 Small lake northeast of Park City UT and significant other
#7 Flaming Gorge UT
#8 Yellowstone buffalo
#9 Old Faithful, Yellowstone

[AK Mike]

Total mileage was just over 3,000 road miles and about 1800 on the ferry.
#1 North Yellowstone
#2 Mammoth Hot Springs
#3 Highway 20, west of Winthrop, WA
#4 More Highway 20

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by AK Mike

Total mileage was just over 3,000 road miles and about 1800 on the ferry.
#1 North Yellowstone
#2 Mammoth Hot Springs
#3 Highway 20, west of Winthrop, WA
#4 More Highway 20

OMG! those are some sweet pics you got there mike...

[Sevn86]

Originally Posted by onlyhonda

Good morning and HELLO!!!!! It has been a while since I checked in.......sorry! I haven't forgotten ya'll, just been busy and haven't had a chance to stop in. My baby is still doing great and turning heads like crazy. I have 4,800 miles on her now.......and she has been my daily driver since Feb. Hope I haven't missed too much while I was gone!

Im glad to hear you've been doing good...I thought you forgot about us...lol I know the Punkins have...haven't heard from them in ages...

[Sevn86]

Happy Friday Everyone!