Well, better late than never, but I'm finally getting a chance to sort through my pictures and post them up. About six months ago, I told the ladyfriend that I was going to book a flight to Denver and go to the Hill Climb this year. Never one to pass up a vacation, she suggested she come too and we take the following week off and travel around Colorado while we were there. In for a penny, in for a pound. So with the flights booked and a hotel booked, we figured out a basic route that would circle the state and allow us to see a great number of things. This isn't a travel site, so I won't bore you with all of our destination and 600 photos of the scenery and views, but I will overload you with car pictures that I took, both at the Hill Climb, and in the week following... (Photos will be thumbnails for thread space. Click the images for full size pictures). As we stopped at the gas station just before Central City, this was the first hotrod of the trip. I have a thing for 33/34 coupes, so I was smitten. We got to the hotel, but were early for check in, so we decided to wander around a bit. Almost immediately, we ran into @ModelAPunk and his new bride, who were at the Hill Climb on their honeymoon. In between chatting, I did manage to snap a few more pictures on the phone. About this time, we headed back to the hotel to check in, and I decided to grab my (new to me) DSLR and practice taking photos on something other than my iPhone... It was at about this time that my camera ran out of memory. No big deal, I'll just switch out my little 1gb stick for my big 64gb stick... Nope, left that at home on the computer table. Damn! And Central City being the size that it is, I couldn't find a single store in town that had memory sticks for sale for my camera. I was pretty disappointed, as I was looking forward to having a camera with a few more features to catch the cars on Saturday. There's always next year. C'est La Vie...
Due to the border crossing, and our early morning flight, we'd only gotten 3 hours of sleep on Thursday night, so by this point, the galpal was ready for a nap. So back to the room to drop off the camera, and a nap for her while I kept exploring. The old iPhone snapped a few more pictures Friday night before we met up with friends for dinner. Saturday, I was up at dawn, ready to make the most of the day. Breakfast and coffee, checked out some of the cars parked on the street and in the pits, and listened to the drivers meeting... Finally the Chevrolet T33 and the Odd Rod rolled out to stage! And with a drop of the flag, the racing was on! The combination of the high altitude and @ModelAPunk's little four banger gave me plenty of time to snap pictures as they went by, but the speed didn't matter. You can tell by the look on their faces that they were having a blast on their honeymoon! Most of the day continued in this fashion. Beautiful weather and drivers making as many, or as few runs up the hill as they wanted.
There was a few swap meet spaces at the bottom of the hill and while I have an Edmund 2x2 for my Olds, I tried to get this guy to part with the water neck off of his. I considered buying the whole thing and then selling the intake, but his price was double what I had recently paid for mine. The racing continues... And as the racing wrapped up for the day, I wandered back down to check out the cars parked on the street. And that's all she, or rather, I, wrote for Saturday.
Oh man, just listen to our little banger purr! Hahaha! We had such a blast! I still think we were the loudest car there, who needs baffles!? Haha! Damn that altitude though, going from under 1,000 ft at home in Buffalo NY to almost 9,000 ft above sea level definitely effected that carb! And of course I forgot my Stromberg jet tool... Good thing for all the great people in the pits, was able to track one down and swap them out! Can't wait to make the car even better for Future Hill Climbs! Definitely will be going back! Thanks for the Great photos @Speedy Canuck ! Always good to see you guys and catch up!
Keep the photos coming. I was staged first up the hill after the Odd Rod I was the 'test dummy' or so says Troy...he should know
Sunday was pretty low key. A little later wake up, some breakfast, and a wander over to the pits to see who was still around. Sunday was the Peak to Peak run, so there were a few cars, but most everyone had cleared out either Saturday night or first thing Sunday morning. The crew was there breaking down everything that was set up for the pits and the race. There were a few cars hanging around though, ready to go get some pancakes. After loading up the truck and saying goodbye to Maggie and Steve, the gal and I set off around noon for Vail and then on to Aspen. At some point on the Sunday afternoon, I spotted this parked under a tree. (I will say, some of these pictures are from a distance, as I didn't trespass onto anyones property. All pictures were taken from the road. On Monday, while making the drive from Aspen to Telluride, this caught my eye as we passed a driveway in the valley. I had to loop back for a second look. And then later that same day... We made it to Telluride about dusk and quickly got our tent set up at the campground. Then it was into town to find dinner and check out this Scout. Nothing car worth to see on the 19th, as we spent the day at Mesa Verde. However, on the 20th, we took the steam train from Durango up to Silverton. It's a 45 mile one way run up into the mountains that certainly did not disappoint. Beautiful scenery from the train, an old mining town in its turn of the century restored glory, and old cars to boot. A very full, but extremely worth while day. (If you're ever in the Durango area, make sure to check out the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Rail Road!)
You went right by my house in Hermosa. Glad you had a good time on the train. Silverton is a great little town. We do a lot of Christmas shopping when the town shuts down for winter and the stores have everything marked down fifty to seventy five percent off.
On Thursday the 21st, we stopped at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. As we rolled into the visitor centre parking lot, the place was filled with old (mostly stock) cars! Lauren and I went and checked out the visitor centre, and freshened up, but when we came back out, they were all gone. However, as we drove down to the parking lot near the dunes, we found a congregation! It turns out that the Colorado chapter of the Chevrolet Club of America were out for a run, and just so happened to pick the Dunes as a meeting spot. I got to chat with a few of the owners before hiking the Dunes. Our final few days in Colorado didn't offer us much in the way of old cars or old machinery. We travelled from the Dunes over to Colorado Springs to drive Pikes Peak and check out the Red Rocks. We spent our final day in Denver before flying out. All in all, it was an amazing trip filled with breathtaking scenery and plenty of great old cars. I certainly had a blast, and will be back to Colorado again! Hopefully next year, I'll have a bigger memory card to capture the Hill Climb 2018. And while it's off topic, I'll leave you with one final picture of our trusty steed, that carted us up and down more elevation changes than I care to count!
x2 on the Durango to Silverton railroad. When I rode it was in the days before digital cameras. I shot 17 rolls of 35mm film that day. Highly recommend anyone ride it if you get to the vicinity. Thanx for the pix and letting us flatlanders participate; if only vicariously. The valedictorian of my high school class (of 1969) lives in Central City. I asked her if she enjoyed the Hill Climb last year and her response was something like she "couldn't care less about old cars", even though her father rebuilt an XKE Jag while we were in school. Too bad for her.
Absolutely man, great to see you too! And fun was the name of the game, that's all that matters. Silverton was a great little town. I was surprised how busy it was, given that tourism seems to be the only industry. There were 4 bangers, flatheads and some OHV motors. I believe the cut off is 1954, so no SBC's but I saw some early Olds motors, a nailhead, etc. At first I thought that an event like the Hill Climb might be a welcome influx of cash into such a small town, but judging by the number of casinos and dispensaries there, I'm sure the town does just fine. Whether she cares about old cars or not, I'm glad the town is welcoming.
The Jalopy Journal
