When we all last got together we decided on a date to take a drive to Durango from the Denver area. The dates that were chosen seemed to work with most people. Hopefully everyone else can join as well. I know for me it is still up in the air as I have to see how bad or good I am doing in the Club Clash series at Bandimere. If I am doing crappy then I am Durango bound.

We will leave the morning of Friday June 27 and drive to Durango taking our time to see the scenery and partake in any photo oportunities. We will then enjoy the Durango and surrounding area on Saturday the 28th and then return home through Pagosa Springs and over Wolf Creek Pass back to Denver on the 29th.

I am being very brief as to what we can or will do while we are in Durango because I'm sure everyone is open to suggestions. Kohlersc is from the area and is sure to have many suggestions including maybe some lodging recomendations.

So mark your calenders for the dates and request days off of work now so that we can all make this one of the most memorable drives ever. We all wanted to see if we could get this event to have the highest car turnout ever.

Post your feedback here.

Brian

 

That sounds good to me. I'm looking forward to getting away. Durango is a great area and there are some excellent roads to play on.
My Z is in the shop right now waiting for two new front tires (feathering) and a new mass air sensor. The old one went belly-up and the car would not run above 2500 rpm in any gear including neutral. Empire is replacing the sensor under warranty even though I have a CAI installed. No questions or hesitation about replacing the tires either. I love it when things go the way they're supposed to.

 

I'm in, and looking forward to it.

 

I am definately in. Brian check your dates. You have the right dates in the Subject the 25-27th. We will leave Friday morning the 25th and come back the 27th.

Basic travel plan I would suggest is an early morning start time. Probably about 9am or so. Should take about 6 hours to get down to Durango.

Route wise I would suggest that on the way down we take I-70 over to Copper Mountain and then take the highway up over Climax (where the bicycle race was last year for those that did that trip) to Leadville. Continue down to Monte Vista and then down to Poncha Springs. From there turn West and head through the Gunnison Canyon. Take that over and turn south to Ouray where we can then enjoy some really beautiful scenery and driving....Over Red mountain pass to Silverton, then over Coalbank and Molas pass into Durango.

On the way back we could take US160 East over Wolf Creek Pass then turn north to head though the gunbarrel and north over Poncha Pass. This will return us to a 20 mile streach we took on the way down, but we can continue on US285 over to Fairplay and Kenosha Pass instead of the farther North route we came in on.

Basically the only bit we will drive on twice is the 20 mile or so streach between Johnson's Village and Poncha Springs.

We may want to allow 7 hours for the drive as I do it in about 5 and a half but typically make 0 stops. If we want to stop at a couple places either for refreshments, sight seeing, or gas it would slow us a bit.

I will try to work on some hotel locations and prices so you all can know what to expect. As for activities, there is a casino close by in Ignacio just 20 miles from Durango, Rafting season should be in full swing, some excellent sightseeing around, and activities including a very nice Alpine Slide up at Purgatory about 35 miles north of Durango (which we would pass on the way down). Not to mention a great Main Street and pleanty of excellent dining including Tequila's an excellent mexican food place (since we always manage mexican at some point on a trip).

 

That route sounds agreeable to me. Some nice roads in both directions and that will put us into Denver on 285 instead of I-70 or I-25, both of which should be absolute nightmares on a Sunday afternoon. We could meet at the Park-n-Ride at Morrison road exit. 8:30 should give rush hour traffic time to clear the area and us a half hour to get under way at 9:00am.
I'm looking forward to the weekend with some good food, good drinks and new friends.

 

Just a headsup... June 26th is the Pike's Peak Rally, and I know a few are planning to go... a backup date perhaps?

 

As with any date you pick for a particular event, unfortunately not everyone will be able to attend. We set this date because at the last group get together it seemed to work for everyone in attendence except for possibly myself. We also thought that it was picked far enough in advance that it would give people time to plan for it. If everyone wanted to change the date in order to accomadate everyone else I don't have a problem with that, except this seemed to be the most logical for everyone due to busy summer schedules.
Sorry to have a conflict Peter, hopefully you'll be able to join us.

Brian

 

Now that we're just over 3 weeks from the drive, I think it's time resurrect this thread, get a finalized list of who's going, and finish the planning.

Anyone have any preferences on where to stay down there?

 

Brian,

Yes, summer plans are difficult to project, especially when we are such a diverse and geographically separate bunch. Your idea was right on the mark! Unfortuanetly I won't be able to attend (much to my disapointment) as my summer vacation this year is from 10-26 June.

Take lots of pics!!!

 

Gary, I was just thinking of resurrecting this thread today, thanks for beating me to the punch.

I have ideas on where we could stay, however I think it would be wise for us first to see how many people are planning on going. Once we know a number, we can work on getting a group rate for some rooms.

I have some contacts at some hotels down there we have sold equipment to and would like to try them to see if I can score us some deals. Daryl may also have some ideas as well.

I will e-mail this to the group to try and get everyone's attention a little sooner as well.

Brian

 

awsome I'll see if I can come along, never been to Durango! Does anyone have an idea of the motel rates over there?

 

Does anyone that is going have an open passenger seat? And feel like sharing it with my sister? She would like to come down as well and my girlfriend is already accompanying me.

 

Darrell,

I was beginning to think you may have fallen off the planet, we haven't heard from you in so long.

I may have an open seat, but not for sure yet. I will let you know, but it may be a last minute decision.

Are you going for sure Darrell?

Brian

 

Yes I am going for sure regardless of anything else happening.

Sorry about the lack of posts. Two weddings in a three week span and being best man at one of them has just got me running around like crazy.

I am going. My sister will end up driving down one way or another so if someone would like her company with them great, if not she can follow us down.

 

I found out yesterday that I may not be able to go on this drive.

My boss has decided that next Thursday afternoon and Friday would be a great day to have company wide meetings in his office in Glennwood Springs. Told me if I was a smart guy I would change my vacation day to a different day. I'd like to tell him to F-off. I will keep everyone posted as to what happens.

On another topic, I was unable to secure special prices for hotel rooms in Durango. If anyone has any other ideas you should let everyone know, but we just may have to end up reserving something on the net or when you all get there in person.

Again, sorry about the bad news, if I am unable to attend I hope you all have a great time.

Brian

 

Bzzzt. Wrong answer...try again. That bites, but I guess we all have to keep the bossman happy if we want to be able to afford even gas these days, let along mods and everything else that goes along with owning a Z. Hopefully your boss will change his mind.

But if you'll already be out there on Friday, I wonder if you could drive down and meet us in the Durango area that night or even on Saturday; I don't think it's too far from Glenwood Springs to Durango. It would really suck if you're unable to come out after you've done so much to help set this thing up.

Aso, I'll take a quick look at hotel prices down there and see what I find.

 

Gary,

That never even crossed my mind, I will look into that. Right now I am still trying to weazel my way out of going up there for the meetings

I just wish like hell that I would just have never changed employers. The grass is not always greener on the other side, let me tell you. It's now brown as hell and I hate it. This guy is a total ***, but then who doesn't think that of their boss. If anyone knows of any openings in a technical repair sort of trade let me know as I am looking.

Sorry to get off topic, but I will let everyone know what ends up happening and what my plans are.

Gary............I know I found plenty of places to stay on the net, just not sure what price ranges everyone wanted to stay within. Perhaps everyone could chime in with their .02, seemed like most places were at least $100/night. I wish I could have gotten a deal somewhere.

Brian

 

This is a summer tourist area and prices reflect the demand. If that's where we want to go we just have to grin and bear it. You could try looking in Cortez for something cheaper. It's not that far away and they have some decent places there. It doesn't have quite the "style" of Durango but I've stayed in worse places. Just a thought.

 

The prices are ok with me, I don't mind paying it. I just didn't want others to think they were to high.

On another note, I am still working with the tyrant I work for to get that day off. I should know something by Tuesday.

Brian

 

So what's the story with this weekend, everyone? If Mudd's tyrant of a boss won't allow him to make it, that will only leave 3 of us...I think we all thought that somehow we'd have a few more than that, especially considering the size of our drives last year.

Do we still want to do this, or should we scale back a bit, try to make a day-drive to somewhere closer on Saturday, and attempt the Durango thing again later in the summer when we may be able to get more participation? It's frustrating to contemplate that, but I think we all want to make sure that we maximize the number of Z cars on the road together for a major trip like this. Any thoughts?

Gary