$102k '65 Convertible 396/425 1129 Corvettes Rated

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1962 GULF OIL CORVETTE$1.5.Reeord-Setter

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StrikingCorvette GoldBeing behind the wheel for over 5,000 miles and sun:ounded by otherCorvette owners is a first-rate experience

by Bob House

Bloomington Gold Tours make a lot of sense, if youthink about it. After all, everybody has to driveto St. Charles for the June show, so why not keepgoing?

Last summer I tested my particular Corvette's dura-bility (and my wife's faith) when we took our 306,000-mile 1984model on a 5,300-mile road trip from our homein Midland, Michigan, down to Flagstaff, Arizona, forthe Bloomington Gold Summer Tour.

Our 1984 was the oldest Corvette on the tour andalso had the most miles (no surprises there). When weleft home we had 306,824.2 miles on the odometer-somuch for first-year quality control problems.

There were three Corvettes from Arizona, two fromPennsylvania, and one each from California, Florida,Texas, and Illinois. There were two 2008s, two 2007s

18 Corvette Markot FALL 2008 www.vottomarkotcom

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Climbing out of Durango

(one Indy 500 Pace Car model), and one each from 2005, 2002, 2001, 2000, and 1993.The 2002 was modified and equipped with a supercharger. This was the Californiacar, of course.

The tour owners are Dwayne and Cindy Bublitz of Flagstaff, and they were wellorganized. The schedule for each day listed meal times (most were provided), de-parture times, exact turn-by-turn directions, time for pit stops, and arrival times atdestinations. And we were expected where we ended up each day, with traffic conesblocking parking spaces for our cars at each place.

The second-largest man-made lake in the countryOur first day took us a relaxed 139miles from Flagstaff to the scenic Lake Powell

National Recreation Area near Page, AZ. Lake Powell is the second largest man-madelake in the U.S. and known for its sandstone cliffs and blue water. In all, it's 186mileslong, with 96 canyons and almost 2,000 miles of coastline.

The second day, we traveled 222 miles from Lake Powell to Cortez, CO, whichis considered the gateway to the amazing Mesa Verde National Park. On the way to

~ortez, we stopped at Four Corners, the only place in the U.S. where four states meet.: resistedtheurgeto parkmyCorvettewitha wheel in eachstate.WealsostoppedatKayenta, AZ, notable for the highest gas price on the trip: $4.30 a gallon. I wonder if:'11think back fondly on that price one day.

Next day we headed to Durango, CO, after a stop at Mesa Verde, which is trulya place to visit. This is where the Native American cliff-dwellers took up residenceabout a thousand years ago, in intricate homes hollowed out of the overhanging sand-stone cliffs.

In Durango, we stayed at the elegant and rustic 1898General Palmer Hotel, namedforthe founder of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The local Durango and Silverton'Jarrow Gauge was part of the D&RG and was built through the San Juan Mountainsm 1881-82 when the area was being opened up for mining.

Riding on the Durango & Silverton RailroadNext day we had took a ride on the Durango & Silverton Railroad behind a narrow-

gauge 1920sBaldwin steam engine from Durango to Silverton. We had great seats onthe right-hand side for the best views. After two nights in Durango, we drove 120miles(0 Telluride via Silverton and Ouray.

US-550 from Silverton to Ouray is known as the "Million-Dollar Highway," sonamed because it cost that much permileto build inthe 1950s.Ifirstheardof it in 1960after a friend drove it inhis '57 Corvette. It has been on myto-do list ever since. Think rollercoaster ups and downs and multiplehairpin turns-a Corvette driver'sdream. Fortunately, I remembered

DetailsDwayne & Cindy BublitzBloomington Gold Tours

928.527'vETT (8388)www.BloomingtonGoldTours.com

that "D" is overdrive in myoid automatic transmissionand a downshift to "3" meant I could use engine brakingand spare my brake pads. We spent our final night in theHotel Telluride, another multi-star lodging.

Total miles driven: 5,322.4. Total gallons of gaso-line purchased: 235.64. Actual average miles per gal-lon: 22.6 (the mileage gauge in the instrument panel isnot and never has been accurate). I added a half-quartof oil every 750 miles (not unreasonable for an engineso long in the tooth). My coolant temperature stayed at200 to 210 degrees, and the oil temperature at 250 to260, except on the "Million-Dollar Highway," where Iobserved 267.

I must admit those C5s and C6s looked mighty fine.Is it time to put my 1984 to sleep? Not yet; I'm think-ing it still has a big finish left in it. My expectations forthe Bloomington Gold Tour were high, but they wereexceeded. Being behind the wheel for over 5,000 milesand surrounded by other Corvette owners was a first-rate experience.

Three tours are planned for 2009-two in Juneand one in August. The first begins in St. Charles atthe Bloomington Gold Corvette Show and runs June27-July 3, with stops at Road America Racetrack andDoor County, Wisconsin, and ends at Mackinac Island,Michigan. The other two are in Arizona on June 4-6and August 2-8 and focus on the Grand Canyon. 8

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Next stop, Lake Powell

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