American Woman Motorscene

Oldsmobile Aurora Challenge

By: Jody Ness

Wanderlust, a love of fine automobiles, and a keen sense of adventure brought Canadian couple Dorothy Pigott and Branko Brkovitch together. Twenty years and 26 vehicles later, they're still traveling the world, looking for new challenges. When they read about last year's Aurora Vacation Challenge--a zany, two-week sightseeing adventure/road rally around Europe they immediately contacted organizer Garry Sowerby, President of Odyssey International Limited in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to find out about this year's program.

Pigott and Brkovitch were so excited after talking with Sowerby, they paid the entry fee of $3900 and signed up without knowing much else other than they would be one of 10 international couples participating in the Challenge. They knew the plan was to depart Detroit on September 21, 1995 in a brand new Oldsmobile Aurora (loaned by General Motors Corporation) and arrive in Los Angeles October 6. But as far as the route was concerned, who knew?

The goal was to see which team could "out-vacation" the others while driving over some 3000 to 4000 miles of highways and byways across the U.S. in search of the obvious, the unusual and the bizarre. Since there was no official route, teams would be judged on how much of the country they "experienced." With a suggested list of over 200 activities along the way, each team could customize their particular vacation-adventure. Armed with a road atlas and an instant camera, each team would compete for points based on documented evidence of their accomplishments. Checkpoints at the end of each leg of the adventure-drive would take the form of celebratory gourmet dinner parties all supporting the "Wild American West" theme.

The adventure began with a get together of the 10 challenger teams, including

Team Canada:

Pigott and Brkovitch.

Team India:

Saloo and Neena Choudhury, an experienced team, set a world record for driving around the world in less than 39 days.

Team Guatamala:

Willy Contreras, a competitive biathlete, and his wife, Lupe, who operates a preschool, have the energy, enthusiasm and drive to be formidable challengers.

Team Reunion:

Yves Martin, a chiropractor on tiny Reunion Island located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar. His navigator and partner is Carmel Belliveau, a dietician at the local hospital.

Team Mexico City:

Delia Vargas Nieto, a psycho-therapist, and her partner, Fernando Sterling, engineer and Formula Atlantic race-car driver, could be the team to beat.

Team Turkey:

Marih Gungor is a partner in a public relations firm in Istanbul. Her husband, Bulent, works in architecture, often renovating old Turkish palaces.

Team Tuva:

Tuva is a little known country in central Asia. Her representatives are Kongar-ool Ondar and his wife, Lyubov. A music teacher, Kongar-ool is a celebrity, having won the International Festival of Throat Singing in 1992.

Team Israel:

Tamar Slonim, a clothing designer, is accompanied by her partner Nadav Libes, an aerospace engineer.

Team Cuernavaca:

Jorge Jaso is a rubber manufacturer and Beatrize Tena is a homemaker in the capital city of Morelos in south-central Mexico.

Team Poland:

This team is comprised of artist and classical pianist Maria Nawratil Maheau and explorer-geographer, long-distance driver Yurek Adamuszek.

From Detroit, the tems began the first leg of this fun-filled rally. Following the somewhat cryptic instructions, the teams arrived at the first destination. The White Gull Inn in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. The agenda for the evening's festivaities included sharing tales of getting lost, tackiest souvenir shopping and true confessions about speeding tickets. To this point, Team Turkey led the last category with one ticket worth $419!

In Leg Two, Challengers searched for treasure throughout North and South Dakota and Wyoming. Paradise Guest Ranch in Buffalo, Wy., was the end of this leg, where Challengers enjoyed a welcomed day off. The teams took the opportunity to experience horse-power of a different kind and went trail riding on horseback through the beautiful Big Horn Mountains. Riding, roping, hiking, fishing and full-contact square dancing with real cowboys all served as subjects of hilarity as the competitors regaled each other with their travel stories by the campfire.

During the introductory briefing meeting, Sowerby had explained that Challengers would be marked on their daily logbooks and he hinted that adoption of an apporopriate theme running throughout might be good for bonus points. It would appear at this point that the theme chosen by Team Mexico City was to interview as many state troopers as possible. Apparently four conversations with the local constabulary in one day would hold the record for he balance of the Challenge.

As if we needed another excuse to party, this night just happened to be public relations specialist Kathy DeLorenzo's birthday. As a testament to the international flavor of the festivities, she was serenaded "Happy Birthday" in no less than seven languages! And all of us shared in a special gift to Kathy from Kongar-ool Ondar. He treated us to a 15-minute mini-concert of his unique art. A cross between native chant and an acapella human imitation of a Scottish bagpipe solo, his gift of music was truly exceptional.

Leg Three had Challengers battling a snowstorm in Grand Teton National Park, slaloming around deer and buffalo and looking for Yogi Bear in Jellystone (alias Yellowstone) National Park. Team Guatamala and I managed to score points for racing dune-buggies across the sand-dunes near St. Anthony, Idaho, with a David Hasselhoff look-alike. Meanwhile, Teams India and Mexico City sought points by driving on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats, where automotive speed records are set. A true car enthusiast, Saloo Choudhury exclaimed, "I've found Mecca!" On a slightly more subdued tack, Team Reunion visited the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City and witnessed the celebrated Mormon Tabernacle Choir in rehearsal. Always in search of coveted bonus points for activities and sights not already on the suggested list (in other words, we were lost again), Team Guatamala and I staged a gunfight in Johnson Canyon on the set used to film such great westerns as Gunsmoke, Westward the Women and Death Valley Days.

Traversing Utah gave Challengers the opportunity to really enjoy the sophistication of the Aurora cars. Cruise control and the trip-planning console were the most appreciated features of the sport/ luxury automobile on this long stretch of driving. I particularly enjoyed the smooth ride and excellent gas mileage (24 mpg) that I experienced with "Gus" (so nicknamed as a result of the letters on his Michigan license plate). Equipped with Michelin MXV4 "Energizer" tires, Gus just kept going and going until we all made it safe and sound to the beautiful and awe-inspiring North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Virtually all Challengers agreed that the best route to Scottsdale the next prescribed checkpoint (read party stop), must be through mysterious, spiritual Sedona via the Oak Creek Canyon road. A real driver's road. Absolutely breathtaking scenery inspired Team Turkey to shoot an entire roll of video footage with Marih half out of the sunroof while Bulent drove.

Team Reunion earned more bonus points for doing a census at the King Gold Mine. Way up a series of switchback turns in the hills near Jerome, Ariz., it's now a ghost town boasting a population of seven, including Buzz the sawmill operator, three peacocks and an overly friendly donkey named Jasper.

The stage concluded at the magnificent Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, where a truly memorable dinner party featured outrageous stories of daring-do and driving expertise. One driver proudly bragged that he had actually been able to keep pace with the Formula Atlantic racer from Team Mexico, only to find out to his embarrassment that it was actually Fernando's partner Delia who had been driving!

Yves Martin of Team Reunion protested the apparent double standards in U.S. traffic law enforcement, as he confessed to three speeding tickets while his partner, Carmel Belliveau, had escaped with only a warning.

The final stages took Challengers through Las Vegas, Nev., and on to the Awards Banquet at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, Calif.

Was there an actual winner of this "bubble gum rally with a twist?" You bet. With over 6700 miles logged, 69 attractions visited, and nine wild cards, Team Reunion took the honors. On the final leg alone, it took in 15 of the 16 suggested activities. For its wild car, Team Reunion members Yves and Carmel even managed to get married in Las Vegas. Team Israel taking advantage of exceptional design skills, was awarded "Best Log Book." While no team went away empty-handed, it should be noted that Team India was judged to have had the "Best Vacation." And it was no surprise that Willy and Lupe Contreras of Guatamala hands down won the Mr. and Mrs. Congeniality prize.

The conclusion of the 1995 Aurora Vacation Challenge took place at the famous Beverly Hills Hotel where competitors sadly turned in their car keys and instant cameras and hugged and kissed fellow Challengers who only two weeks previously had been strangers. Over cries of "au revoir, eh," Team Canada reminisced about the highlights of their trip: the scenery in Zion Canyon and the moving experience it shared at the site of Custer's Last Stand. When asked if he would recommend the Challenge to others. Brkovitch replied, "Absolutely. It's a fabulous adventure experience." He advised with a wink, however, that next time he might choose a navigator who was more of a morning person.

Meanwhile, other teams already were pressing Sowerby for details of next year's adventure.