Rewind to April when Kyle & I went to the NSRA Western State Nationals car show in Bakersfield, California. We always love going to the NSRA shows and we wanted to have Tracy, Royce & AJ bring their cars to a show because we thought they'd love it too. Fast forward to June where everyone has agreed to come as well as Mat and my sister, Caitie!
Sunday, June 20
We had a barbeque at our house to plan out the final details of our up-coming vacation. We got all of the details worked out so on Wednesday we could hit the road and get-going!
Monday, June 21
We helped Tracy & Royce pick up a trailer from our good friend Bruce so that Royce could pull the Corvair behind his truck to Pueblo. (The Corvair is air-cooled and would overheat too easily to make the whole drive, so he decided to trailer it to be safe.)
Tuesday, June 22
We helped Tracy & Royce load the Corvair on the trailer and then we went shopping to find a few last minute things we needed for the trip! I had trouble falling asleep Tuesday night because I was so excited to go on vacation!
Wednesday, June 23
We all worked half days and then met at our house at 2 so we could drop the dogs off at my parent's house and pick up Caitie around 3.
The dogs were excited to go on a trip!
(They were bummed when we left them at my parents though)
We hit the road and got through the construction in Utah County without incidence (phew! That was the first hurdle of our journey.) We stopped in Spanish Fork and had a late lunch where we almost lost the front fender of the Mustang (it took our horn and AJ's to finally make the lady look behind her while she backed up!)
The drive was pretty through the rest of Utah and into Colorado. We got to Grand Junction and decide we could make it another hour or so. I called ahead to Parachute (then next decent sized town) and reserved some rooms. It wasn't the greatest hotel (our TV didn't work, the bathroom door didn't exactly shut and the shower was either pressure or heat, but not both) but all we wanted was a bed at that point. It was definitely an experience!
Some pics of the drive
Thursday, June 24
We woke up early and had a small snack (the hotel offered some cereal, mini muffins and mini bagels for breakfast) and hit the road.
We made a quick stop at Starbucks to keep Caitie & AJ alert and found a bird nested in their sign:
We made a quick stop at Starbucks to keep Caitie & AJ alert and found a bird nested in their sign:
The drive through the mountains was gorgeous! There was some breath-taking scenery along the route and some cool tunnels too.
No Name City!
We stopped in Vail to fuel up and ate breakfast at McDonalds.
Through some of the mountain passes we separated from each other and pulled off at a scenic outlook to catch up with one another. We had fun taking some pictures up there.
Having fun
One of the summits
(elevation 10,603!)
Having fun
The Mustang
Caitie braiding my hair (so it will quit whipping me in the face)
The next leg of the journey involved going up to an elevation of over 11,000 feet and the Eisenhower tunnel which is the longest tunnel in the US (1.6 miles) and is also the highest point of the interstate system.
(elevation 11,158)
We continued on the road and I took more pictures of the great scenery and a few of the cars traveling.
We got into Denver and found a public school to park Royce's truck and trailer in for a while. Then we went to the capital; I jumped out of the car and Kyle & AJ circled the block so I could take pictures of the cars in front of the capital.
Next we parked and headed to the Denver Mint for our scheduled tour at noon. We couldn't take much into the mint with us besides wallets so pictures of the mint were hard to get, but Tracy got a few as we drove by.
The mint was so cool. It was so interesting to see all of the processes they go through to make coins. They also talked about the dollar coin series that is featuring all of the presidents and the latest series of quarters that is featuring national parks and monuments. They also took us into the old mint and the architecture there was so interesting. It was actually modeled after a building in Florence and it was awesome.
It was really warm in Denver and the cars had been running since 6 and then we took them through traffic in downtown Denver, so AJ's car had trouble starting back up. The boys were able to get it running within a few minutes and we hit the road again.
It was really warm in Denver and the cars had been running since 6 and then we took them through traffic in downtown Denver, so AJ's car had trouble starting back up. The boys were able to get it running within a few minutes and we hit the road again.
When we got to Pueblo, we checked into the hotel. Because they were the host hotel for the event we got souvenir room keys with the car-show logo on them and car-shaped sugar cookies when we checked in! We also had to pick up our registration packets for the car show.
The Hotel
Arriving at the hotel
At Registration
The next item of business was unloading the Corvair from the trailer and parking the trailer by Marc & Ruth's motor home. Then we gathered up and headed to the welcoming barbeque.
The food was great but I was so hot and tired from such a long day in the car that I didn't really enjoy it too much because I was starting to feel sick. We headed back to the hotel so I could lay down for a bit and then went swimming in the pool. We may be adults, but when we go swimming we play like kids! We play all the silly pool games from when we were kids, but have tons of fun!
The food was great but I was so hot and tired from such a long day in the car that I didn't really enjoy it too much because I was starting to feel sick. We headed back to the hotel so I could lay down for a bit and then went swimming in the pool. We may be adults, but when we go swimming we play like kids! We play all the silly pool games from when we were kids, but have tons of fun!
Friday, June 25
Let the show begin! We woke up, had a quick breakfast at the Carl's Jr. across the street.
The boys headed to the fairgrounds to park the cars while Caitie, Tracy & I went to get coffee for Caitie and AJ. Along the way we found these cool paintings along a canal that runs behind the train station.
The boys headed to the fairgrounds to park the cars while Caitie, Tracy & I went to get coffee for Caitie and AJ. Along the way we found these cool paintings along a canal that runs behind the train station.
After parking at the fairgrounds, we started walking through the cars. Every now and then we would walk through the vendor building to get out of the heat because it was air-conditioned. The high in Pueblo on Friday was 101 degrees, so we did anything we could to beat the heat.
We cooked an early lunch of hot dogs at Marc & Ruth's and then the boys headed to their safety inspection shift and the girls headed to the Ladies' Tea. The tea was nice, mostly because it was in an air conditioned building and we got to sit and chat for a while. We also made dishcloth angels. I was the only one who attempted to make one, and it turned out pretty decent.
We walked through Women's World which is vendors that are geared toward the ladies at the show. The boys had a hot day going around the fairgrounds to find cars to safety inspect so it was nice to find a shady spot and watch cars leave the fairgrounds in the afternoon.
At the show:
Cooling off
We cooked an early lunch of hot dogs at Marc & Ruth's and then the boys headed to their safety inspection shift and the girls headed to the Ladies' Tea. The tea was nice, mostly because it was in an air conditioned building and we got to sit and chat for a while. We also made dishcloth angels. I was the only one who attempted to make one, and it turned out pretty decent.
We walked through Women's World which is vendors that are geared toward the ladies at the show. The boys had a hot day going around the fairgrounds to find cars to safety inspect so it was nice to find a shady spot and watch cars leave the fairgrounds in the afternoon.
We all went back to the hotel and showered. We couldn't agree on where to eat so we finally asked the concierge at the front desk. "Go down this way, turn onto 4th street and part way down the street you'll see a shamrock. You'll love it." Love it was an understatement. It was the best little Irish Pub ever! It was called the Shamrock Brewing Company. The food was exceptional, the drinks were great and the company was fantastic! I don't think I can ever forget that night! I had fish and chips (best I've ever had!) and Kyle had a steak with Irish champ (mashed potatoes).
It was a top night. One of the best nights out ever. The meal was one of those meals that was so good, you don't even care what the price was because it was completely worth it!
We decided to go down to this river walk area we kept hearing about. It was so cool; it's an area where a river runs through town and they've captured it and turned it into a serene little place surround by gardens, walkways and various businesses. We even went on a boat ride with Captain Cody. It was a great end to a great day.
Saturday, June 26
Saturday at the show has the Streets of Rods section with different feature categories of cars. One of the categories is the 29 and Below category for participants under 29 years of age with a car at the show. That would include all of us, so we entered. We also entered the Pavement Pounders category for cars that are driven hard and driven far.
We split up for the first part of the morning because Kyle had to find a car to pick for an award. He was paired with an NSRA state rep from Texas who couldn't walk around the fairgrounds very easily, so he let Kyle find the pick and report back to him. He had to pick a late model car ('49 or newer) and we found this 1967 El Camino that drove to the show from Kansas!
We met up with the group later in the day to walk around the vendors and walk around the cars. It was a long day so we found a shady spot again in the afternoon to just watch the cars leave the fairgrounds.
At the vendors
I fell asleep
We ran back to the hotel for a quick shower and then back to Marc & Ruth's so we could cook dinner. We had grilled Italian chicken, pasta salad, and green salad. It was a simple dinner, but after eating out quite a bit, it was delicious and perfect. We stayed and talked for a while and then head back to the hotel for some more swimming since it was our last night in town. We are total goof balls when we all get in the pool.
Sunday, June 27
We had to get up early and pack because we had to load the cars and check-out before we headed to the show for the day. The boys & Caitie went to get the daily caffeine fix (AJ & Caitie are much happier after they've had their coffee). Tracy & I went to Marc & Ruth's to help cook breakfast. We made pancakes, biscuits, 2 kinds of sausage, bacon, and had some pastries. It was delicious!
At the show
The Utah NSRA Safety Team
Our young safety team was famous by the end of the weekend! People would stop us and say "are you that young safety team from Utah?" They even took our pictures for Street Scene magazine!
The awards started in the early afternoon so after loading the Corvair, we found a shady spot to sit and watch awards. Both Kyle and Marc had awards to present.
Once awards were over, we said our goodbyes and hit the road. We hit torrential rain, but it only lasted 10-20 minutes and warmed right back up.
(Good thing we applied rain-x!)
About an hour into our journey home, our GPS died. We called back to Tracy & Royce and had them find the nearest store in their GPS so we could buy a new one. (Just before this trip, we almost bought an upgrade package for our GPS and I'm glad we didn't because we just spent that much money on a new one). After that little glitch, we hit the road again.
We stopped in Gunnison for dinner at this great little pizza place. We decided that we could all make it another hour to Montrose and stop for the night. We didn't realize that the drive would be in the dark, on steep, windy roads. We made it to another interesting room, but a bed was all we needed. We woke up early and got going to do most of the drive out of the heat.
The mustang with some other mustangs in Gunnison
The drive home was pretty uneventful, just long and hot. We made it to my parents around 2:30. We dropped off Caitie and picked up our dogs. They were very excited to see us.
Another summit
(elevation 11,312!)
We got home, unpacked the car (kinda), sorted laundry and showered. It was so great to shower in my own shower and lay on my own couch. What a great vacation!!!!
Some Memorable Moments: Captain Cody, the Shamrock Brewing Company, chugging up some of the canyons in 3rd gear, the dolphin in the pool, silly pool contests, getting ice, bagged ice, ribbed for her pleasure, waddling in Walmart, sweating in the Mustang, plugging the leaks in the Mustang when it rains hard, killing our GPS, and many more!
I can't wait to do it all again in October at the NSRA Golden State Nationals in Sacramento, California!
(Thanks to everyone who went on the trip for sharing their pictures!)
(Thanks to everyone who went on the trip for sharing their pictures!)
Wow, that sounds like it was a ton of fun!! and I loved the pictures!!!
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