Corvettes roar into Spokane Valley with sights set on Kentucky

One, two or a handful of shiny Corvettes may have popped into drivers’ views on their Thursday afternoon commute on Interstate 90.

Well over 100 Corvette drivers were finishing a long day of travel from the Seattle and Portland areas, with a pitstop in the Tri-Cities for lunch, before filling the parking spaces of the Mirabeau Park Hotel in Spokane Valley.

The final destination is Bowling Green, Kentucky, home to the National Corvette Museum and the assembly plant where the sports cars are made.

Every five years, drivers hop in their new and old Corvettes and proceed to the Bluegrass State as part of the Pacific Northwest Caravan. About 20 other caravans of Corvette drivers from across the country do the same, all merging into Bowling Green to celebrate the museum’s anniversary.

For the Pacific Northwest Caravan, the weeklong journey to Kentucky started Thursday in Sandy, Oregon, and Issaquah, Washington. They will arrive Wednesday in Bowling Green for three days of Corvette festivities for the museum’s 30th anniversary.

The procession, which breaks up at times because of traffic lights, semitrucks or other disruptions, started with a total of about 150 in Sandy and Issaquah, said John Elegant, who is making his 27th trip to the museum, including six caravan trips.

By the time the Pacific Northwest Corvette fleet leaves Wyoming, they’ll have about 375 Corvettes on the road, or close to 700 drivers and passengers, said John Warren, caravan captain.

Corvettes trickled into the Mirabeau Park Hotel late Thursday afternoon.

Co-captains Elegant and his wife, Ann, pulled into the parking lot in their blue 2023 Corvette ZO6, which Elegant sarcastically called an “only 190 mph car.”

He said he only drives super fast on the race track, though.

“I’m a sane driver on the street,” he said.

Elegant, 77, led the caravan from Sandy, Oregon, about a 55-mile drive from their St. Helens, Oregon, home.

He said driving, seeing the country and meeting new people who have never been part of the caravan keep him driving to the museum.

“Our idea of fun is to get in and go somewhere new and see some scenery,” he said.

Elegant and Steve Weigel, a 76-year-old from Monroe, Washington, looked forward to driving the Beartooth Scenic Highway in Montana.

Weigel, driving a 2024 Corvette E-Ray, had never driven on the Montana highway before. It was also his first caravan trip, but he said he won’t make it all the way to Kentucky.

Instead, he’ll turn around in Missouri because he needs to return home for cancer treatment.

“I’m looking forward to just being out every day driving with as many Corvettes as we can,” said Weigel, who was driving with his daughter.

It was also Bill Ruch’s first caravan trek. He said he wanted to get out of town, which is Oak Harbor, Washington, and away from work to meet people, see the country and visit family.

Ruch drove a yellow 2004 Corvette Convertible with his wife.

“I sit in front of a computer 24/7 just about, and I just wanted to get away,” Ruch said.

Warren and his wife, Patty Haas, led the Issaquah caravan in their white 2020 Corvette C8 Generation.

“It’s a modern, high-tech car,” Warren said. “It’s very nice to drive and real fun to drive.”

Warren, who lives with his wife in Grants Pass, Oregon, said any Corvette is eligible to make the trip to Kentucky. Elegant said one driver is taking a 1962 Corvette on the journey.

Warren said the drivers stop at Chevrolet dealerships, which provide them meals, along the way.

He said the drive is a fabulous way to see the country and meet new Corvette friends at the dealership breakfasts and lunches.

The caravan only goes to Kentucky, so drivers are responsible for getting themselves back to the West Coast. Warren said he and his wife will spend about one week in the Rocky Mountains, like in Durango, Colorado, on their way home.

Warren, who is making his third straight caravan trip, said Corvettes are simply a joy to drive.

“They’re just a kick in the butt to drive and makes you feel kind of young at heart,” he said. “My wife and I are both 72 and it makes us feel like we’re about 52.”

His license plate reads, “4EVR39.”