4th of July Colorado Drive
While this was officially only a 4-day tour through Colorado with our brethren from the Southwest Aston Martin Club (AMOC) ending in a 4th of July celebration in Estes Park, we had to drive 1,600 miles of back roads through Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons to get there. So, all-in-all, this was a 12-day sojourn for us.
We finished our first day in Missoula and capped day two in Red Lodge, just above the Beartooth. Missoula included dinner at a restaurant pub with serve yourself beer. Your bill was based upon how much you poured. Despite my skepticism, it surprised me by turning out to be a great value. On Day 2 we enjoyed a trek through Jackson Hole, reportedly now with the most expensive real estate in all the U.S. It included a great lunch at the rustic but sophisticated Sidewinder Bar while we wondered how all the ski bums and college dropouts could survive there. But, with tourist supported jobs they seemed to manage.
On Day 3 the goal was to drive the Beartooth and reach Yellowstone’s Canyon Lodge in time for our 6:30 dinner reservation. All went well until we zigged onto the Chief Joseph Byway instead of zagging to stay on the Bear. By the time we realized what we had done, we were clear down to Cody, WY. Now we had time to make up. While doing it, I happened to wave at a couple of state troopers by the side of the road while passing a car at 107! There’s a story there… you can read more about it in my post “Troopers & Tickets – My Top Ten.”
One of them caught up to me when I stopped for gas. He was polite, but he wondered how fast I was going. Naturally, I was appropriately vague. He merely asked me to be careful. I said I would – and what else would I say? We did make it to dinner – just a wee but late….
The Chief Joseph Byway, although unintended, was still a great, beautiful detour with just one gorgeous view after another.
Whether it was inside Yellowstone, along the Chief Joseph Byway or the Beartooth Highway, the view was always filled with incredible scenes. Our drive was twice as long as we anticipated, but in the end our detour was well worthwhile. The restaurant at the lodge held our table for us and we ended the day with a very nice dinner before retiring to our humble but very comfortable cabin.
The Byway commemorates the route taken by the Nez Perce in 1877 as they fled Yellowstone and the US Cavalry in an attempt to make it to Canada.
It’s a bit surprising to understand the Grand Tetons National Park is right next to Yellowstone. You literally drive out of Yellowstone into Grand Teton. The scale of everything is big out here. Even though we’re now in Wyoming, you remember and come to understand why they call Montana “Big Sky Country;” the sky seems high and wide and deep. It’s an amazing feeling.
Yellowstone on day two started with Old Faithful and a tour of the mineral hot springs. The pools are hot, bubbling and full of strong smells and minerals providing spectacular colors but rendering everything close by a dead zone. And don’t fall in – it will kill you!
As you might imagine, Yellowstone is a whole trip unto itself. We only spent two days here, but boy was it beautiful. There is one thing I continue to not understand, however – how people have the nerve (and stupidity) to think a buffalo is a passive creature and can be approached with little to no caution. Then there are those who venture into the chigger-laden tall grasses in short sleeves and shorts, even laying down in those pastures! Knowing they were going to be itching in a few hours, we got a good laugh out of that.
From Yellowstone, down through Grand Teton and Jackson Hole, we finally make it to the real starting point of our Colorado Tour with the AMOC group. Meeting up at the historic Cliff House at Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs we have a nice dinner, driver meeting and group car wash (there were an awful lot of bugs to clear off) before heading out bright and early the next morning at 8:15. We try to gather at the Garden of the Gods only to be turned away at 9 am because the parking lot is already full! So, on we go to Decker’s Road Overlook off SR 67 and then to Pine Valley Ranch Park. There are twenty-some Astons on this trip, the oldest being Eric and Sue Jefferies’ 1936 Speed Model Type C coming all the way from South Carolina! Very impressive.
After a night at Crested Butte we hit the road at 7:45 am for Black Canyon National Park, lunch at Remington’s in Montrose and then on to the Viceroy Hotel in Snowmass. It was another perfect day of driving. While meandering through the Black Canyon campgrounds I came upon a young teenage boy who was oblivious to me, stealthily watching a young deer not 3 feet away. Nearly invisible in the brush, I had no idea either of them were there until his sudden silent presence startled me. I almost jumped when I saw them, so surprised I was the boy could get so close.
Thirteen of our 20-some Astons at Remingtons in Montrose for Lunch 
Just another roadside scene
Over the first 3 days we cross the continental divide twice and are constantly driving at altitudes between 8,000 and almost 12,000 feet. Airplane pilots are required to wear oxygen masks above 10,000 feet, so you know this is up there.
After leaving the fabulous Viceroy Hotel in Snowmass, we head for Aspen, Berthoud Pass at the Continental Divide and on to Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky Mountain tops out at 12,003 feet, which we climbed to from the parking lot. From the park we run over Independence Pass and drive by or through a myriad of other famous ski areas, including Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mtn, and Winter Park.
Day 3 ends in Estes Park, a wonderful resort town that houses the famous, if overrated, Stanley Hotel. Their claims to fame (to which they appear to heavily depend) are having been founded in 1909 and been the place where Steven King’s movie, “The Shining” was filmed. While we found the hotel service wanting, the town was eclectic and fun. We had a super dinner at the Seasoned Bistro the evening we arrived, then spent the fourth wandering around town. We finished with a group dinner at the Twin Owls, where we got a ring side seat to a bull elk feasting on domestic green grass just outside next to our cars. Estes Park put on a great fireworks show over the lake to finish our tour with a fitting exclamation point.
Elk grazing next to the road 
Driving through Rock Mtn Natl Park 
The Continental Divide at 11,307 feet 
The view from Berthoud Pass
Independence Pass 
Cresting Berthoud Pass 
Enjoying the view
Our own version of the red, white and blue with the Stanley Hotel in the background
The drive home was uneventful as we needed to rush back to reality. That really doesn’t sound right, does it? Well, nevertheless, that was our fate for the moment. A fantastic trip with a great group of car people. The Great West never ceases to amaze us with its treasure trove of wondrous adventures. I can’t wait to find the next one!
