Palms to Pines Gimmick Rally
The 2020 Parade Gimmick Rally will head to the mountains, following the 67-mile spectacular “Palms to Pines National Scenic Byway” that stretches from Palm Desert to Banning.
Your journey will take you from deserts to forests, see incredible and endless views, discover charming hamlets and unique destinations, and drive curve after curve on what many enthusiasts proclaim as one of the best driving roads in the country. And our Gimmick Rallymaster will, as always, keep you guessing!
“The Palms to Pines Gimmick Rally” will have a number of optional stops along the way, including the charming and tiny mile-high hamlet of Idyllwild, CA in the San Jacinto Mountains, where unique shops, restaurants, bakery, coffee house will tempt you to take a break. This rally is family-friendly and has at least one unique stop that will please the kids, or the kids-at-heart!
You may enter this rally in a rental car or tow vehicle, if you are unable to bring your Porsche on the Rally. You will also select the class in which you will compete: the 2-Person Class or the 2-Plus Passengers Class. So, if you have more than 2 seats, bring your friends!
Gimmick Rally History:
Looking back, the first Parade Gimmick Rally was held 15 years ago at the 50th Porsche Parade in Hershey, PA. It was a new Parade event, inspired by the success of the fun, low-key Gimmick Rallies held across PCA at the regional level. That first route traveled through the Lancaster Amish countryside with multiple-choice questions to answer. From 2006 to 2009, local regions hosted the Parade Gimmick Rallies, with a variety of styles, themes and scenic countryside – from coastal San Diego to the rarefied air of Colorado.
Since 2010, Gimmick Rallies have been organized with an eye to highlighting local history, unique attractions, scenic drives and the overall flavor of each Parade location – including suggested stops along the way for something that you might not otherwise see or experience anywhere else. The “gimmicks” have generally been developed by something unique about the route and its possibilities that “inspires” the Rallymaster…. and that changes every year. Just like a box of chocolates... you never know what you’re going to get!
2019 was the Fort Lauderdale inspired “Spring Break Gimmick Rally” that featured 7 classic local destinations – entrants chose a minimum of 6 to visit, bringing back answers to questions at each stop, including Florida cool locations like the Elbo Room on Fort Lauderdale Beach, the Swap Shop, Jaxson’s Ice Cream, Butterfly World and the iconic Champion Porsche dealership.
2018’s “Get Your Kicks on Route 66!” rally featured many iconic and historic Missouri locations, such as the Wagon Wheel Motel, where the task was to match vintage postcard images with their current appearance.
2017 was the infamous “Doozy of a Floozy” Poker Rally, crossing the border from Spokane into Idaho’s silver mining town of Wallace; over Dobson Pass, and with a fabulous cast of characters right out of the famous saloons and bordellos. This one will be hard to forget!
2016’s “Covered Bridge Selfie Rally” featured 16 covered bridges marked on a map. Entrants had to plot their own route with the lowest total mileage and prove they found each bridge by taking a selfie.
2015 in French Lick, Indiana we ran “The Rally for the Roses” with a horseracing theme, searching for clues and finding scavenger items at the Kentucky Derby museum and scenic surrounding towns.
2014’s Monterey scenery was incredible – both inland and along the coast, and rallyists had the choice of driving either one of the routes, or both, for the overall trophy.
2103 saw Porsches going forwards or backwards around Michigan’s Mission Peninsula, passing each other every which way, with a unique selection of photos to identify along the way.
2012’s Salt Lake gimmick was all about the numbers - speed limit, caution and grade signs – adding and subtracting your way through the gorgeous mountain passes.
2011’s route traveled from Savannah to and through the unique Low Country and southern charm of South Carolina, with an eye for the signs.
2010 St. Charles rally followed the Lincoln Highway through Illinois using a Jeopardy-themed Q and A.
Ellen Beck
Parade Gimmick Rally Rallymaster
ebeck944@comcast.net
