I'll be taking a drive into the mountains this Saturday (8/21) in order to get out of the house and take a break from my wife's visiting grandmother. Anybody who's up for a last-minute drive is free to join me.

I'm thinking about taking 36 up into Estes Park, and most likely going through Rocky Mountain National Park (there's an entrance fee here but it's well worth it) and continuing down through Grand Lake and Winter Park before catching I-70 back into Denver. I'm not really looking for a collaborative planning effort here (like I mentioned, I'm just trying to get out of the house,) but any Denver-area 350Z-ers who would like to join me for a fun, relaxing drive are welcome to come. This won't really be a hair-raising canyon run, but there may be a stretch or two to open it up. My main goals are to get out of the house and spend some time in the great outdoors.

I'll be leaving early (probably around 7:30) but if anyone wants to come out, we can meet at the scenic overlook on Highway 36 (just north of the Louisville exit) at 7:30 am. I know it's early, but I hate fighting traffic in the mountains, and I've learned that you've really got to be on the road by 8 to avoid much traffic on the drive up to Estes.

If anyone can make it, that's great. If not, no worries. I'm sure we'll be having another group drive here before too long.

Gary

 

Gary,
I'd love to join you but my son and I are heading up to Red Lodge, MT to drive the Beartooth Highway. It's a great drive. I've done it the bike many times, want to do it in the Z before they hose up the road.
Have a good drive and we'll probably see you at 2nd Creek.

Craig

 

Gary- I'm going to have to send my regrets on this one. Packing up the racecar is proving to be quite the project. One engine is disassembled, so making sure I properly inventory and send all the parts is a chore. I'm selling the car in an effort to race a 350Z in the future and will be leaving for NY in about 10 days!

 

dk, you look strong (dominating again???) in the Fall 2004 issue. Had to axe the stero challenge, ran out of room. The fall issue is off press and will be going out in the mail on Monday (8/23/04).

It's a keeper. BTW, do you have a subscription?

Bob

 

Can't make it Gary... working this weekend, but I'm free this coming Mon - Wed, hmmm???!!!

 

Man, I wish I had known about you guys and this site sooner. I just bought my Z last week and took her out for a spin today. I'm in Colorado Springs; went up to Woodland park, Deckers, caught 285 back to Denver and then 25 south back home. This is just an awesome car and I'm glad to see there are other enthusiasts in the area and on-line. Are any of you affilliated with the ZCCC? I'm curious about the perks and benefits of being a member, as well as being involve in the occasional outtings... Maybe I'll be able to hook up with some of you in the future???

Joel

 

Joel- Welcome to the group. We have organized mountain drives, high-performance driving education/track days and just informal get-togethers. Yes, some of us are also ZCCC members and we'd be happy to discuss their events as well. Take a look around at all the posts on the SW forums section and I think you'll get a pretty good idea about past and upcoming events. We'll look forward to meeting you sometime this year!

Gary- Hope you had a nice drive today. Post a few thoughts and impressions when you get a chance!

 

Hey Joel, greetings from Larkspur. Take 105 north and stop in. BTW, bring your MC or Visa, can't let you leave until you sign up with Sport Z Magazine.

Bob

 

I had a great solo run yesterday. Not much traffic on the way up to Estes, but it got a bit heavier once I got into the Park. Fortunately I was able to take advantage of some of the passing zones on Trail Ridge Road up towards the top to get around some of the slower traffic.

Once at the top, I stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center for a walk and a look around. While there, a guy in a Mustang that had been behind for a bit of the drive pulled up and mentioned how good the Z looked pulling out and passing folks above the tree line. Too bad there are no pics of that! Trail Ridge can be a really fun road when there's not much traffic. I did encounter a few sketchy areas of bumpy pavement where the car can get tossed about a bit at speed. Nothing too bad, but something to remember for next time.

I continued down through Grand Lake for lunch (where I saw Joe's favorite candy shop) before heading through Winter Park, over Berthoud Pass (which was MUCH more heavily patrolled than I ever remember seeing it) and back into Denver on I-70.

Overall, it was a good drive. Too bad nobody else could make it, but I kind of expected that with the last-minute notice.

Craig - hope you're enjoying the Montana drive...it sounds like a blast!

David - hope you were able to make some headway on getting the GT-5 ready to depart in order to make way for the GT-2 350Z!

Don - what's the deal with this work schedule?!?! Hopefully we can get another weekend drive scheduled here before the end of the season with enough notice for you to take the weekend off.

Bob - I'm looking forward to the new issue. You'll have to come out for another event soon and meet all the new guys.

Joel - Welcome to the group. Like dkmura mentioned, we've got a pretty active group here involved in lots of different things. Several of us are members of the ZCCC and take advantage of their track days (there's one coming up on September 11th,) but we do lots more stuff (including our own track days) outside of that group. In my opinion, the 2 best things about the Z-car club are the track days and the discount list (which you can find at www.zccc.org.) Watch the Southwest regional forum for notice of our upcoming 350Z drives/track days/gatherings/etc.

Gary

 

Thank you for the warm welcome - all of you. Bob you got yourself a deal with the subscription. I'll read up on the trips you have planned and let you know which ones I can attend. Thanks once again - I'll be in touch.

 

Jgray, welcome to the board... and I do hope we see you out at Second Creek on the 11th of next month.

Cheers!

 

Had a great time running the Beartooth this past weekend. Made three trips over the pass and a trip over the Chief joseph Highway into Cody. They are some super roads. Had a friendly contest between me and a couple of motorcycles. The lead bike was a fellow from Austria. When we talked at the end of the run he congratulated me on a fine drive and a fine car. He said it was a pleasure to see a car driven properly on such a road. Considering his backround and what he was riding, I took it as a real compliment. The Z was great and smiles were plenty at the end of the day.

 

here is another pic:

 

The last one:

 

Wow! Those roads look spooky! Was there much dirt from run-off? The altimeter shot is neat too. Looks like it was an enjoyable ride.

 

No, the roads were in great condition. The section you're looking at were traversed at speeds between 80 - 100mph except, of course, for the switchbacks. Those were a little slower. Great road, lots of fun!!!!

 

Dang.... when did you go Craig? Man, I would have loved to come along... that stuff is beautiful!!!

 

The previous pic and this one are from the Chief Joseph Highway. It runs from Cody to the Beartooth Highway. They are just great roads. They are the closest I've found to typical Alpine roads. I could drive these things all day.

 

Don,
I was in RedLodge , MT. The roads are Beartooth Highway and Chief Joseph Highway. They are from Red Lodge to Cooke City and Cody, WY

 

Here are a couple more of the west side of Beartooth. Hope you like them!