ZR-1 Corvette Road Trip to the Southwest and San Diego

[QB93Z]

Originally Posted by XfireZ51

Jim,

Always an excellent journal and great pics of ur trip.
Apologies if you have done this at some other point, but would u layout what u plan on for contingencies, ie mechanical breakdowns, especially on such a long trip. What do u pack for tools?

For this trip, we did not make any special contingency plans. Most of the trip will be in areas with satisfactory road assistance (call AAA), so we are confident that if we break down we will get transport to a developed area and do the repairs.


I carry complete set of tools and diagnostic equipment. I use the space below the carpet in the cargo area behind the passenger seat for my spares and tool storage. For the 1995 style, I remove the jack, wrap it in plastic, and stow it in the spare tire. Then I remove the styrofoam padding and the plastic bucket to make more room.


For spares this trip I have:
alternator
fuel pump
idler pulley
3/8'' coolant hose
plenum gasket set
serpentine belt
ignition coil


For tools, I have all the tools I need to install the spares I have. I have verified that I can pull a plenum in a parking lot several times while helping other ZR-1 owners.


For this trip I added a multi-meter, a 12 vdc test probe, jumper wires, fuse jumpers, and spare connectors and terminals.


And of course, I have my faithful Fuel Pump Jumper that has gotten me running three times now.


Jim

[gbrtng]

In the LA area be sure to see the Peterson Museum, the Nethercutt Museum and the Reagan Library. The Miller race track is near Tooele UT, but I don't know if any cars remain in the museum ... since Larry Miller's death several years ago the track has changed hands. Use your google machine ...

[QB93Z]

Day 7: Monday was our first chance to sightsee and stay in the same lodging for a second day. We drove about 40 miles west to Natural Bridges National Monument. In the picture is Army Man, our Road Trip Companion since the Alaska Trip:



Natural Bridge is a single canyon area with 3 stone natural bridges and several ancient ruins. There is a loop road that provides access to all of the sites and several trail heads. Our visit in early May and early on a Monday provided the opportunity to visit with no crowds:



The first site is Sipapu Bridge. We took a short hike to get good view of the stone bridge:














Along the way we explored the trees and flowers:



to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

All of the trails are well marked and in excellent condition. We enjoyed the chance to stretch our legs after a lot of driving. The landscapes throughout the park were stunning.




The Horse Collar Ruins are the remain of lodging, Kivas, and storage buildings made of stone masonry. Native American people built and occupied many such sites throughout the American Southwest from 9,000 to 700 years. The building were probably used by many different farming groups over the years:












to be continued......

[QB93Z]

On the trial to one of the bridges, we spotted another ruin:








Owachomo Bridge is the highest and most dramatic. There is a path to the canyon floor under the bridge:





Look carefully to find me:



to be continued......

[QB93Z]

Natural Bridges National Monument was one of the most interesting and enjoyable parks that we have visited. The facilities allowed us to explore and visit a wide range of natural and man-made features. Although it is not as well known as some of the "big" national parks, I rate it high on my must-see list.


Leaving Natural Bridges, we drove north west to the Colorado River and the north end of Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, near the "town" of Hite, UT.


Lyndi and I have driven all over the United States and Canada. No place has impressed us as much as the landscape and beauty of the Fry Canyon area of Utah. There is no formal designation as a Park and the area is not marked or documented. It is hard to find the words to describe the reaction we had driving UT-95 to Hite, UT.





The trip was about 50 miles of well maintained road. There were more stunning sights than I can describe:




The pictures don't capture the scale of the formations of mesas and canyons we drove through. This scene shows a mesa that is hundreds of feet above the terrain and canyons hundreds of feet deep:














to be continued...

[QB93Z]

The water level in Lake Powell is very low right now. After the mountain snow fall melts and the Colorado River delivers the water, the lake will cover the currently exposed area:





We drove south on the west side of Lake Powell, heading for the "town" of Bullfrog:



We got to see some of the free range cattle that are set loose to graze on the sparse vegetation:






to be continued....

[QB93Z]

At Bullfrog, we boarded the Halls Crossing Ferry to get back to the east side of the Colorado River:







We visited the Marina at Halls Crossing and checked out the boats.








We drove back to Blanding, UT on the Bicentennial Highway:







We saw some more cattle and some new calves:








We did have to negotiate our passage:






Jim

[QB93Z]

On Day 8, we left Blanding,UT and drove first to the Needles Area of Canyonlands National Park. The Needles area is the southern portion of Canyonlands. The day started out cloudy, but improved and we enjoyed sunshine for some of the day. The road to the park went north and then west. At the early hour there was very little traffic:



As we approached the park, we saw more and more of the large "monuments" or buttes:





We enjoyed the dramatic rock formations. The park allows excellent access to climb and explore the rocks:



While we were getting back into the Z after a rock climb, we were joined by a large bird who seemed intent on getting in the car until I talked him out of it:





to be continued.....

[QB93Z]

More rock pictures:








After exploring we stopped at Campsite #24:





Another interesting feature to view was the remains of an ancient grain storage building. Several of these storage areas, built about 700 years ago, have been discovered, but no dwellings:





More pictures of rocks:





to be continued.....