The Caravan to the 25th Anniversary of the NCM was the highlight of 2019. What a great vacation with so many friends and new acquaintances. This is a brief description of our caravan which is a NCM sponsored event every five years. .so many places to review and so much to say in addition to The National Corvette Museum is such a special place.
Our Caravan. Thanks to the NCM for sponsoring such an excellent vacation.
* Friday - August 23: Meet and Greet Phoenix and Tucson participants in Phoenix, AZ. We will depart at 8 AM Friday morning from the Bass Pro parking lot in Phoenix/ Mesa. We will caravan along US-60 to Show Low, AZ for lunch and fuel. We will travel through the Very Large Array radio telescope on our way to Socorro, NM. Our evening hotel is the Crowne Plaza in Albuquerque. This hotel has multiple restaurants including their fine Ranchers Club of New Mexico, Stone Street and Cantina Lounge. Breakfast is included Saturday morning before we depart from their parking lot.
* Saturday – August 24: I will lead our Caravan departing from the Crowne Plaza hotel in Albuquerque along I-25 south to San Antonio, NM where we will turn east on US-380. Our drive will pass the volcanic Valley of Fires and some beautiful mountain roads to the Cattle Barron in Ruidoso, NM for lunch.. Following lunch we will travel on US-70 and NM-244 to Cloudcroft, NM for a little shopping, for Indian souvenirs, jewelry or a cold drink at the Western Bar & Cafe. Continuing from Cloudcroft we will travel to the Hampton Inn & Suites in Artesia, NM. An evening dinner is planned at the Adobe Rose Restaurant. A buffet style breakfast is included at the hotel.
* Sunday – August 25: We will depart from the host hotel east along US-82 driving by the 100,000 barrel per day Navajo Refinery and through a portion of the Permian Basin oil field to Hobbs, NM for a light lunch provided by Permian Chevrolet Buick GMC and Cadillac. We will then travel to Midland TX and tour the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum. The museum will provide a group rate. There are many interesting exhibits as well as a collection of Jim Hall’s Chaparral race cars. The Chaparral cars won world championships with a lot of help from Zora Duntov and Chevrolet. Our plan is to continue through the largest Texas wind farm to the Hilton Garden Inn in Abilene, TX for the evening. There are many fine restaurants near the hotel.
* Monday – August 26: We will have a leisurely drive to the Marriott Hotel and Golf Club at Champions Circle across from Texas Motor Speedway. Dinner is available at the hotel or in nearby Roanoke, TX. Our afternoon plans include meeting a portion of the South Texas Caravan and an optional drive along pit road and winner’s circle at the TMS. A two and half lap ride in the track “van” is included, a fee is required for the pit road and winner’s circle drive and the track “van”.
* Tuesday – August 27: We will depart from TMS after a meet and greet with the Lone Star Corvette Club and South Texas participants with a parade lap of TMS. We will plan a lunch and fuel stop in New Boston, TX. Afterward we will continue to Little Rock, AR for the evening meet and greet event with the Arkansas Caravan and additional participants from the South Texas Caravan at Bale Chevrolet. Our Evening host hotel is the Embassy Suites near Bale Chevrolet. A cooked to order breakfast is included.
* Wednesday – August 28: We will depart from the Embassy Suites to Bale Chevrolet where we will join the Arkansas Caravan. We will have a police escort from Bale along I-630 for our final caravan to Bowling Green. We will plan a lunch and fuel stop in Wolfchase, TN which is an east suburb of Memphis. After lunch we will continue to Bowling Green. We do not have any blocked hotel rooms; however, the NCM is assisting finding rooms in BG. There are many new hotels which have opened so rooms will become available as over blocked rooms are released. Additional rooms are available in surrounding towns. The NCM is providing assistance finding a room in Bowling Green.
So much fun and so many places to visit during my 2019 vacation and cheers from the Maker's Mark distillery as one of our day trips from the NCM.