The Southwest Section of the National Corvette Caravan traces its ancestry back to the first National Caravan in 1994.
It draws caravaners from Southern California, Southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona, southwestern Utah, and Hawaii. And, yes, Southwest has had Hawaiian Corvetters ship their cars to L.A. harbor on a RO/RO ship, then fly in, pick up their cars, and join the event. The number of Corvettes that have joined the Southwest Section has varied from about 150 to as many as 220.
The “Southwest Caravan Organizing Team,” in existence since late 2002, is responsible for planning, organizing, and leading 200-250 cars on the Southwest Section’s fifth trip to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
August 21Southwest Section Caravaners come from portions of four states in the southwestern U.S.
Two of America’s largest Corvette markets are served by the Southwest Section. Image: Google
Maps and Southwest Caravan Organizing Team
The Team
The 2024 Southwest Caravan Organizing Team is headed by Section Captain Bill Herold who was a participant and sponsor of the 2019 Caravan. Bill and his wife, Viola, reside in Thousand Oaks, California. They own a 2023 Z06 Hard Top Convertible and are members of Red Line Corvettes in Thousand Oaks. Capt. Herold works in the electronic parts sales business.
July 17th, 2021: Discussing plans for 2024 at Cars-and-Coffee in Thousand Oaks, left-to-right,
are: Capt. Herold, Cmdr. Megowan and Cmdr. Halverson. Image: Carl Sheffer.
Other Organizing Team Members are:
Commander Hib Halverson, Section XO (’03, ’09, ’14 Captain, ’19 XO)
Commander Tony Megowan, Route Book Project Director, (’09, ’14 Team Member, ’19 Captain)
Commander Paula Megowan, Section CFO (’09, ’14, ’19 CFO)
Commander Doug Campbell,
Commander Loretta Campbell
Commander Lawrence Pittman
Feeder Caravans
Several Feeder Caravans of 10 to 40 cars are being organized in areas of Southern California. They
will travel to Pasadena, California for Caravan Kick-Off Night at the Westin Hotel in Pasadena.
Organizing these Feeders are:
Lieutenant Janet Cherry, Orange County Local Leader
Lieutenant Alex Best, San Diego Local leader
Lieutenant Gail Carson, San Diego Local Leader
Additional Feeder Caravans may be announced in the future.
The Trip
For 2024 the Southwest Caravan Organizing Team will use an improved version of the route used in 2019.
August 22, 2024: The Southwest Corvette Caravan on Angeles Crest Highway. Image: Sandy
Halverson.
Day 1: August 22, 2024- After a morning departure from the Pasadena Elks Lodge, we’ll head into the San Gabriel Mountains north of L.A. to drive CA State Route 2, the famed “Angeles Crest Highway.” Known as “ACH” to local performance car enthusiasts, it winds eastbound through the scenic Angeles National Forest. In ’19, we ran a short section of SR2. In ’24 the Caravan will drive all of ACH, from its junction with I-210 in La Cañada to its terminus in Phelan, southwest of Victorville. From there, Southwest will continue to the “The M Resort, Casino and Spa” south of the Vegas Strip. The “M,” at the junction of I-15 and NV State Route 164 in Henderson, will be the Caravan’s first overnight.
Day 2: August 23, 2023- After departing the “M”, the Caravan will stop at the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch to visit the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School famed for its Corvette performance driving courses. After that, the Caravan will continue north on I-15 and US 89 to its second overnight stop Bryce Canyon City, Utah. With a population of only 291, virtually the entire town is taken up by famed “Ruby’s Inn” a 2300-acre resort complex that will be the Southwest Caravan’s second overnight stop, located at 7600-ft. adjacent to the north entrance of Bryce Canyon National Park, Its cooler climate will be a welcome change after two days driving across the desert.
Day 3: August 24, 2023- The Southwest Section will stage for departure at Ruby’s Inn then drive north of US 89, then turn east on I-70. The high point of Day Three will be the 107-mile stretch of I-70 through the Fishlake
National Forest, over 7900-ft Emigrant Pass, and across the high desert of the San Rafael Swell. It’s one of the most desolate stretches of the Interstate system. Between Salina and Green River, you won’t find a single gas station, convenience store, or food service. It’s 107 miles of nothing but rest stops, scenic overlooks, and a few exits. I-70 in Utah is a rare Interstate that doesn’t pass through any major cities. There is no longer stretch of Interstate without services than the one between Salina and Green River. The Caravan’s third overnight will be at Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The town is famous for its hot springs, rich in old west history, a haven for outdoor sports enthusiasts, and the gateway to spectacular Glenwood Canyon.
Day 4: August 25, 2024- Caravanners will see magnificent scenery as the SW Section tours I-70 in Glenwood Canyon then crosses the Rocky Mountains. We’ll drive over 10,662-ft Vail Pass and, 25 miles later, go through
the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel. Running under the Continental Divide, it is the longest mountain tunnel (1.7 miles) and the highest point (11,158 feet) on the Interstate Highway System. Caravaners will continue on I-70, down the slopes of the Front Range, through Denver to an overnight that will split between the towns of Goodland and Colby, Kansas..
Day 5: August 26, 2024- SW will use the same route as 2019: I-70 from Goodland/Colby to Kansas City Missouri. Tentative plans are a visit to Kansas Speedway, one of NASCAR’s “mile-and-a-half” tracks and home of a
Cup Series’ 400-mi race.
August 27, 2019: The best part of Corvettes in Cape is the massive Corvette “Shine-and-Show”.
The City of Cape Girardeau closes Main Street in its river-front downtown area. In 2019, nearly 800
Corvettes, were parked on both sides of the street. Image: Sandy Halverson.
Day 6: August 27, 2024- The Southwest Corvette Caravan will visit Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and the “Corvettes in Cape” event staged by the city’s Visitor’s Bureau and the Corvette Club of Southeastern Missouri. In 2014
and 2019, “Corvettes in Cape” drew the SW Section, three other Sections, and local Corvette enthusiasts from the surrounding area. In ’19 there were just under 800 Corvettes at “Cape G” and, in 2024, four Caravan Sections, Arizona/New Mexico, Kansas/Missouri, Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle, and Southwest are expected in Cape G.
Day 7: August 28, 2023- Southwest will stage for departure at a shopping mall then leave Cape G and, roll through the southeast corner of Missouri, extreme southern Illinois, and then into Kentucky. The Southwest Section of the 2024 National Corvette Caravan will arrive at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green later that afternoon
Southwest Section Registration
Registration for the Southwest Section is open. Participants should download the fillable pdf at the
bottom of the page then: key in their information, print the form, mail it, and a check for the registration
fee to the address at the bottom of the form.
Pre-Runs: Five so far
“PreRun” trips are a key part of how the Southwest Caravan Organizing Team ensures a safe and pleasing experience for all Caravaners. PreRuns for the 2024 Caravan began in February 2022 when Section Captain Bill Herold dispatched XO Halverson on a two-day recon into southern Nevada. PreRun1 inspected streets, parking structures, and outlying parking lots at The M Resort, all of which will be used by Southwest Caravaners when they arrive at the end of the first day and depart on day two.
2012 ZO6 is XO Halverson’s “Blue Bullet” which also was a pre-run car during 2104 planning, the
Lead Car for the 2014 Caravan, and a prerunner during the run-up to the 2019 Caravan. Image
Southwest eNews Staff.
Additionally, Halverson drove Nevada State Route 160 which runs between Las Vegas and the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. In 2021, it was under construction and there were numerous delays due trucks pulling two 45-foot dump trailers and making 20 mph at best uphill–all that would make caravanning unpleasant. Fortunately, Halverson found the construction complete. SR160 is now four lanes and has a 70-mph limit.
The three-day PreRun2 took place in early April 2022. Led by Captain Herold, three of the Organizing Team’s Corvettes, left the departure staging site in Pasadena, CA, and tested alternate routes for Caravaners who would rather not drive Angeles Crest Highway on Day One of the Caravan. After that they continued to Las Vegas to try out rooms at the “M”.
April 3, 2022: On PreRun2, at a turnout west of the junction of the SR2 and SR138 near Phelan
CA, standing behind Cmd Campbell’s C8, Capt. Bill Herold views a distant part of the highway
with binoculars while conferring with Campbell about a location for a possible Caravan reform. Image
Southwest eNews Staff.
The next day, Organizing Team members met with the staff at the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School to discuss a proposed event at that facility. That afternoon, the group drove possible routes from Spring Mountain back to I-15.
PreRun3 was a visit to Arches National Park in early July 2022 led by Captain Herold. The Southwest Organizing Team’s original plan for Day Three of the ’24 Caravan was to end with a drive through the Park’s stunning scenery. Unfortunately, the National Park Service was unwilling to have a caravan of 250 cars touring the 36-mile loop through the Arches Park, so plans for the visit were scrapped. With the demise of an Arches side trip, the overnight originally set for Grand Junction CO was moved 90 miles east to Glenwood Springs CO.
August 11, 2022: on PreRun4, XO Halverson’s “Blue Bullet” sits at a Cal Trans maintenance facility
at Dawson Saddle, the highest point on the 62-mile scenic drive on CA SR2 through the Angeles
National Forest. Image Southwest eNews Staff.
In mid-July, 20022, PreRun4 surveyed the full length of SR2, Angeles Crest Highway, through the Angeles National Forest. There was controversy among Organizing Team members over the amount of time it would take to run the full length of ACH at Caravan speed and whether or not the route has adequate restrooms. The Team once again sent out XO Halverson in his ’12 ZO6 to drive ACH at the 40-mph average appropriate for Caravaning on a mountain highway. Halverson reported that the time required to drive the proposed route is not excessive and there are numerous restroom stops, but the Section’s run over SR2 is still tentative.
Multiple heavy rain storms in early 2023 damaged SR2 such that it has been closed since the storms, remains closed at the time this article was posted, and will remain closed at least until the
end of summer 2023. The Southwest Organizing Team plans an additional PreRu trip to determine if the highway can be used as a Caravan route.
PreRun5 was an early May “reconnaissance in force” of Glenwood Springs CO. Captain Herold passed on the trip due to family obligations so all six of the Team’s Caravan Commanders visited the town that is famous for hot springs and being the gateway to scenic Glenwood Canyon through which the Caravan will drive on the fourth day of the trip.
PreRun4 surveyed the full length of SR2 over the Angeles National Forest. There was some controversy among Organizing Team members over the amount of time it would take to run the full length of the Angeles Crest Highway at Caravan speed and whether or not the route has adequate restrooms. The Team once again sent out XO Halverson in the “Blue Bullet” to drive the entire length at the 40-mph average appropriate for Caravaning on a mountain highway. Halverson reported that the time required to drive the proposed route is not excessive and there are numerous restroom stops.
May 7, 2023: Weather affected PreRun5 leaving the greater L.A. area and, on the return trip,
leaving western Colorado on the trip home. This image was taken just west of Glenwood Springs on
the fourth day of the trip. Image: Southwest eNews Staff
May 6, 2023: PreRun5 Breakfast meeting at the Glenwood Springs Village Inn. L to R: Cmd.
Pitman, Rosemary Pitman, Cmd. Campbell x2, Tourism Director Linda Langer of “Visit Glenwood
Springs” and XO Halverson. Image: Southwest eNews Staff.
Led by Section XO Hib Halverson, Commanders Tony Megowan, Paula Megowan, Doug Campbell, Loretta Campbell and Lawrence Pittman, met with the Glenwood Springs Police Department and “Visit Glenwood Springs,” the town’s tourism promotional organization. The PreRun5 group visited hotel properties, tried out some restaurants, inspected three different locations to use for Caravan departure staging and visited some of the stores and shops on downtown Glenwood Springs’ famed Grand Avenue. Bottom line is that Glenwood Springs will be a great choice for a Caravan overnight stop. In fact, it’s a cool place to vacay for a long weekend or even a whole week because of all the available outdoor activities and old west historic locations. Also, foodies and shopaholics will find lots to do in the town.
Sponsors
A Caravan section the size of Southwest depends on supportive sponsors to enable the Organizing Team to stage an event appropriate for its Caravaners. The first sponsor to step up for 2024 was Corvette parts and accessories vendor Zip Products which has supported the Southwest Section for 15 years. Club Glove USA, a manufacturer of premium luggage for automotive road trip use has also become a Southwest Section Sponsor. Recently, Ghost Shield Film, a full-service Corvette detailing and paint protection film installation shop in Newberry Park came on board as a SW Section sponsor.
Believe it or not, all this Club Glove luggage will fit in a C8’s front and rear compartments.
Southwest eNews Staff.
Ghost Shield’s team of car care professionals can make a Southwest Caravaner’s Corvette
look like a show winner with Xpel PPF, ceramic coating, even a full car wrap, and…they’ll do it for
20% off! Image Ghost Shield Film. Image: Ghost Shield Firm.
The Southwest Section offers a variety of sponsorship opportunities for businesses and individuals. The Southwest Caravan eNews goes out to a list of over 500 Corvette owners in its region every two to three weeks. The Southwest Section is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ 919416625640194.
In early summer of 2024, the Southwest Section will publish its “Route Book” which is a four-color, 8 X 11 book of route instructions, maps, and feature articles. It will be distributed the night before departure. In the “Route Book,” the Southwest Section will offer advertising space from business-card size to full pages. The “Route Book” is another outstanding marketing opportunity for Corvette-related business because 500 Corvette Caravaners will continually read that book for the seven days they are on the Caravan. Lastly, the Southwest Caravan Organizing Team is looking for a presenting sponsor for the Southwest Caravan. For additional information on sponsorship opportunities contact Section Captain Bill Herold at the email address or phone number listed in the “Information” section below.
The 2024 Southwest Caravan’s Stadium Blanket. Image: Integrated Impression.
The Southwest Organizing Team also offers its “Patron” program. Each person who donates $100 or more to the Team becomes a “Patron” and will be listed on the Sponsor’s page of the “Route Book”. Also, as part of Southwest’s “Blankee Benefit,” every Patron will receive one of the Southwest Section’s coveted “stadium blankets” which displays the SW Caravan logo and the names of all the overnight stops. Those interested in becoming a Caravan Patron should contact Section XO Halverson at the email address or phone number listed in the “Information” section below.
More Information
Want to know more? We have the Southwest Corvette Caravan eNews, a tradition going back to 2002. If you want to be an eNews subscriber, send email to SWeNews@netmotive.net and simply type “subscribe” in the subject field and list your full name in the body of the email. Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/919416625640194
Finally, you can email or call members of the Southwest Caravan Organizing Team for information.
Capt. Bill Herold: swcaravancaptain@gmail.com Phone: 805 402 7490
Cmd. Tony Megowan: tmegowan@outlook.com Phone: 805 659 5056
Cmd. Doug Campbell: zo6devilcar@gmail.com Phone: 805 766 4606
Cmd. Loretta Campbell: lorettaecampbell@gmail.com Phone: 805 258 1004
Cmd. Lawrence Pitman: pitmanlaw@aol.com Phone: 805 341 6644
Cmd. Hib Halverson: SWsectionXO@netmotive.net Phone: 805 685 6865
For information on the Orange County Feeder Caravan: Lt. Janet Cherry: wuwublu@gmail.com
For information on the San Diego Feeder Caravan: Lt. Alex Best: Los-snoreniosLos-snorenios@gmail.com OR Lt. Gail Carson: mrs.c425@hotmail.com
eNews
2024 eNews Issue 1
2024 eNews Issue 2
2024 eNews Issue 3
2024 eNews Issue 4
2024 eNews Issue 5
2024 eNews Issue 6
2024 eNews Issue 7
2024 eNews Issue 8
2024 Southwest Caravan Registration Form