CSCSC Christmas Party. December 21st, 2002, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Hope and Gary Thompson hosted a great Christmas party at their home in Falcon.
Hope is a decorator par-excellence! Not one square inch of their beautiful home was spared from Santas, Angels, Ornaments, Trees,
and of course FOOD! Hope even had an ornament of a Corvette driving around in a circle, hanging on her tree.
CSCSC members attending were: Gracie and Alex Chan, Paul and Rita Thompson, Bruce and Nancy Miller, Dan and Priscilla Samento, Jerry and Becky Perez, and, Marty and Nancy Christensen. To complete the party, the Thompson’s invited all neighbors within about 5 square miles, and they all showed up. Unfortunately, only two Corvettes adorned the driveway (Dan and Bruce).
Everyone brought a dish of some sort. There were dips, cheeses, crackers, chips, shrimp, various salads, and a cooler full of drinks. Hope and Gary carved a ham for sandwiches, and Alex and Gracie brought a 3-layer Chocolate cake. No one went home hungry!
Hope and Gary write:
“You are all very welcome. I do love to have people over. Especially at Christmas time since I go a little overboard on the interior
decorations. It is nice to share it with others and let others appreciate it as much as I do. Gary and I want to wish you all a very
Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. See you all next year.
SCCC Color Run, September 29th, 2002.
At the invitation of the Southern Colorado Corvette Club (SCCC),
our non-club (CSCSC), joined them for a wonderful run through the back roads to Cripple Creek. Special thanks goes to Tom Carleo,
President, and Richard Campbell, Secretary/Treasurer, for their organizational skills, and invitation.
We staged in part, at Al Serra Sunday morning at 8:00am, heading down I-25 to I-15 with 9 cars in the caravan. We picked up 3 more cars at the entrance to I-15, bringing us up to 12 cars. The gooseberry Patch was our interim destination, with breakfast being devoured between 9 and 10 AM. We picked up 2 more cars at breakfast, and a covey of Harley's. One nearly ran over me, only to discover it was Uncle Bud. He sold his Corvette, and is waiting for the right time to acquire a new Z06.
So now we're 14 cars strong and feeling pretty mighty heading down the road to hook up with the SCCC guys at the Penrose Post Office. Then I get a call on my cell phone from Steve Olsen (from Denver), who's on I-15, and not sure where he's going, or, going to end up? He arrives bringing our total to 15 cars, which might possibly be a record turn-out? The SCCC is no where in sight, and by 10:15am we're beginning to think they left without us? WRONG.
From the south we start seeing Corvettes approaching, LOTS of Corvettes. The count begins but all of us run out of both fingers and toes. When this club does something, they do it right! They had 33 cars, plus our 15, which brought the caravan total to 48 Corvettes. They held a raffle at the Post Office for a 50th Corvette Hat, and a shirt, Dan Miller wins the shirt, and we're off to Canon City for, if you can believe, a potty break? Picture if you can, 48 Corvettes, and about about 70 people, pulling into a quiet city park, all wanting to potty? It was easily a 30 minute stop! Those in the park thought they were being invaded!
Back onto Hwy 50, through Canon City with the prison on the right, and zooming past Skyline drive, finally open road and a chance to get on-it a bit, but suddenly we turn-off on Hwy-9, and some awesome back roads with bunches of pick-ups. That was OK, as the scenery was well worth the slow down. Then a turn on to Hwy-67 for our final approach to Cripple Creek, arriving from the "back end", with street parking pre-arranged. We were a bit concerned that with 48 cars, we'd all fit, but we did. All along this route people in cars, and people on the streets, stopped and turned to watch us drive by. It was a time for feeling really special, and loving it!
Congratulations to Steve Wiess (Queballz), and Becky Perez, who both returned as winners from Cripple Creek.
Thanks to Dan Miller for these pictures, and thanks to Nancy Miller for these pictures.
- Bruce Miller Paint Chip Repair Seminar, Al Serra Chevrolet, September 28th, 2002.
Promptly at 1:00 on Saturday, September 28th, 2002, Frank
Blustein met about 15 members of the Colorado Springs Corvette Social Club at Al Serra Chevrolet to demonstrate how
to fix those nasty little chips we all get from rocks when we drive our cars around.
Pictures
John Elway Chevrolet Car Show - September 21st, 2002, Denver, Colorado
Dan Miller, Joe Joseph and I met at Al Serra at 9:00
and caravanned to Denver to the John Elway Corvette Show. Joe was going to look at a 50th Anniversary Corvette in Castle
Rock, so he left us there. On the way up, we passed about four miles worth of Motorcycles, Fire Trucks and Ambulances
that were going to the Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs. They were preceeded by about 15 vehicles and about
five or six followed up the group at the rear. They had traffic backed up fro at least ten miles in back of them.
Glad we weren't going south. God Bless the Firefighters, the DO deserve to have their day for the great job that
they do for all of us.
When Dan and I got to John Elway, most of the cars were already there. The oldest one I saw was a 1955 convertible, perfect condition as far as I could tell. I've now seen a 53, 54 and 55 Corvette in person. Neat cars, but I'm glad I own a C5. Dan took lots of pictures of some of the really interesting cars. There was a Calloway Twin Turbo and a Demon Motorsports TWIN Supercharged C5 at the show as well as lots of customs, blowers sticking out of the hoods and all. I still like the Mag Red convertible with the seats that look like checkered flags, I don't care how many times I see it. There were a few more C5's that had engine treatments (American Flag Fuel Rail Covers, Chrome everything) done to them that at past cars shows. It really dresses up the engine compartment, but boy, that stuff is REALLY expensive.
Joh Elway served up Hot Dogs and Hamburgers with bottled water, while DTR Corvette Club furnished coffee and doughnuts, muffins and all kinds of cookies for both breakfast and lunch. Everyone that went received a door prize. It was a perfect day for a First Day of Fall Car show and we all enjoyed it.
Page 1 of Pictures by Dan Miller Purifoy Chevrolet Car Show - September 7th, 2002, Ft. Lupton, Colorado
The NVADER needed a wax job before the Purifoy show, so I
spent about 4 hours Friday evening getting it done. I left Canon City at 6am Saturday morning and headed north
on I-25. I had called Purifoy Chevrolet for directions earlier in the day Friday, and was told to drive north on
I-25 to Highway 52 exit, then right on Highway 52. This was supposed to take me right in to Ft. Lupton. As I was
motoring thru Denver who do I see ahead of me at about I-25 and I-70?? Tony Cenedella in his Quicksilver
Convertible, top down, soaking up the morning sun. Just ahead of Tony was Steve Olsen in his Navy blue Coupe.
They exited I-25, but it wasn't on Highway 52, I figured, hell they must know where they're going, so I followed.
Right into TONS of construction!!! There was this mega-streetsweeper in the opposite lane stirring
up this enormous cloud of dust and grit. I guess its a good thing I waxed the NVADER!!!
We finally made it into Ft Lupton where Dan Miller was already waiting. We each paid $5.00 for an all-u-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast which also included milk and O.J. After breakfast I left in search of a car wash, as the NVADER was filthy. After finding a local coin-op I toweled the NVADER dry (NO MORE WATER BLADES!!!!) and headed back to line up for the parade.
The parade didn't cause me too much overheating problems, but Dan Miller told me he actually ran his heater in an attempt to cool his car down!!!! Damn, Dan!!! It was 92 degrees outside!!!!!! Although everyone else in the parade route had their windows rolled down I left my dark tinted windows rolled up (and A/C on!!) for the maximum "stealth" look...And it paid off, tons of spectators actually pointing to the NVADER (Yeah, Im proud!!!). After dodging copeous amounts of horse crap during the parade route we headed west to Dacomo for the show and BBQ. The show amounted to no more than parking the cars in three different parking lots and walking around checking the cars out. Kind of like the Grocery Warehouse show. The BBQ was very good. $5.00 included all you can eat BBQ pork, beans, cole slaw and bread, as well as a Purifoy T-shirt. One hell of a deal!!! We enjoyed the BBQ, a few Barley-pops as well as a live band playing at the BBQ place (the drummer sucked!!) and great conversation, as well as a very cute waitress in short shorts!!!
After eats and conversation we walked around checking out the various cars on display. Then we headed our seperate ways. It was a fun day. Pictures
- Dan Samento Dan Samento's BBQ - August 24th, 2002
Alex and Grace Chan, Dan Miller,
Wes, Kayla and Christy Turner, and Karen and I all met at Al Serra Chevrolet at 5:00 on Saturday
afternoon to caravan to Dan's BBQ in Canon City. New member Don Adams came by just to meet everyone,
but couldn't join us for the BBQ. I apparently didn't read the part about bringing
a side dish, which I was severly chastised for by Karen. I, however, DID remember to bring chairs
and when I mentioned that to the rest of the group, I discovered that nobody had remembered to
bring extra chairs. Dan Miller graciously volunteered to go back to his house and retrieve a few
for the BBQ. Since Jim and Dee Morasky were going to meet us at the Safeway on 115, we told Dan to
just meet us there and we'd caravan from the Safeway.
Promptly at 5:15, we left Al Serra, and by the time we got onto the freeway, we had lost Wes Turner and family (might it be because they weren't driving the Corvette?). We didn't see them again until we got to Canon City, but I guess it was because Wes (said!) he was looking at a trailer to take his Corvette on when he goes to Alabama. After we picked up Jim and Dee Morasky at the Safeway, we headed down 115 towards Canon City. There was a fair bit of slow-moving traffic, but it made for a nice drive. We managed to get out in front of most of it just about the time one of Colorado's finest State Trooper's had stopped a truck going the opposite direction. He was JUST getting out of his car when we drove past him (55 mph) and as I went by, I waved at him. He waved back, but the look on his face said, "Damn! If I'd just have waited five more minutes, I'd have FOUR CORVETTES to write up." The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful except for the wrong turn I made on Whipple (about a block from Dan's house). As I was turning around, lo and behold, there was Gary and Hope Thompson in their SUV. They had arrived in Canon City about the same time we did and saw us all turn on 7th St., so they followed us to Dan's house.
The exciting part of the evening was just about to happen. I drove about a half yard past Dan's driveway, so we all needed to back up to park in it. We were all pretty bunched up, so I signalled Jim "how-close-can-I-get-to-Alex's car" Morasky (who was right behind me) to pull into the driveway. Jim "honest-I-didn't-see-Alex's-car" Morasky started to back up, but unbeknownst to Jim "the sun-was-in-my-eyes" Morasky, Alex had pulled over to the side of the road. Alex couldn't park all the way to the side and had about half of his car sticking out in the street. I watched in my rear-view mirror as Jim "he-was-in-my-blind-spot" Morasky backed up, getting closer and closer to Alex's car. About the time I realized Jim "blind-as-a-bat" Morasky didn't see Alex's car, horns started to blare and I saw Dee "Oh-My-Gawd" Morasky turning pale and yelling at Jim "still-had-two-inches-to-spare" Morasky to stop. Luckily, Jim "to-close-for-comfort" Morasky stopped in time and we all got parked in the driveway.
Dan and Pricilla welcomed all of us to their beautifully restored Victorian style house where there was an ice-cold keg of Budweiser Lite and sodas waiting for everyone. Apparently Pricilla had put 7:00 on the flyers she put up at her work as the time to arrive. Rick and Wendy Sinchak, and Brian Sinchak were already there when we all arrived. Dan had told us to arrive at 6:30 so there was about a half-hour where the members of the CSCSC were the only guests. At about 7:00 pm Bob and Vicki Helsley joined the BBQ at Dan's house. It was quite pleasant with the temperature about 78 degrees. After the rest of the guests started to arrive, Dan put on burgers, brats and hot dogs and Dan's friend put on country-style pork ribs that had been in the smoker all day. The ribs needed a little more cooking so the put them on the grill and finished cooking. Man, were they good! Nice smokey flavor and very tender. We all ate to our hearts content and visited with everyone until about 10:00 when we all left to go back to the Springs.
We all thank Dan and Pricilla for hosting one of the best BBQ's that we've been to, and hope to return the favor some time.
Pictures
- Walt Jenkins
Daniel’s Chevrolet Appreciation Show – August 17, 2002 August 8th to August 11th, 2002 Vettes On The Rockies. Back to the beginning. Seven cars assembled at the GOG visitor center on Saturday morning. Ready for the run were:
Dan Miller and his son John, Rick and Brian Sinchak, Bruce and Nancy Miller, Hope Thompson
and Charity Smith (twin sisters) later dubbed, “Double Trouble”, Al Hotchkiss, and
Dan Samento. Dan Miller and his son left us in Woodland Park, but rejoined us Sunday morning for
breakfast. Bob and Vicki Helsley, and Jerry and Becky Perez, hooked up with us later that evening in
Frisco. Walt Jenkins, Will Savage, and Steve Olsen entered their cars Sunday morning after Walt led
a caravan of four more corvettes piloted by Will Savage, Paul Thompson and Jim Morasky from Monument
to Frisco. The BEST is yet to come After a spirited 100+ mph blast across Southpark, the caravan
stopped in Hartzel to chat and regroup. The Sinchak Brothers, as it was learned, have a condo in
Breckenridge and knew the area quite well. As such, they led the caravan into the Breckenridge
Brewery for lunch. Parking was difficult, but these guys were out in the various lots with cell phones,
making sure everyone had a place to park. Double Trouble found their own spot directly in front of an
establishment with 20 minute parking, and took 2 spaces?? A girl thing? From lunch, it was on to the
hotels to get checked in, cleaned up, rest a bit, and get ready for Hope’s party in her room
at 5:00PM. Didn’t Happen! About 4:00PM the phone rang in our room, which woke both Nancy and myself from a deep
“nap”. It was Marty Christensen calling from the lobby, saying he and his wife Nancy, Dan Samento,
and Brian Sinchak, were in the bar having a drink, and where the Hell were we? We quickly hustled down,
only to learn all the plans for a party in Hope’s room had changed. The Condo happening. Rick and Brian Sinchak invited ALL of
us to their condo for dinner, and a car wash. Dan Samento provided a map as to how to get there,
telling us it was really easy? I got lost, and so did Bob and Vicky. I called Brian to get the “real
directions”, and while making a left turn in 3rd gear, through a signal
with an oncoming 18-wheeler, my cell phone rang. It was Jerry and Becky Perez asking if we were headed
up to Hope’s room for the party. Chaos is part of any event, and all arrived safely after stopping at
the local Safeway for steaks. Brian was the cook, doing sautéed mushrooms, onions, salad, and awesome potatoes. Rick was
“Mr. Bar-B-Que”, trying to balance requests for “rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, and well-done,
for 11 people, all with different steak thickness’. Check out the pictures of the condo, and these
guys cooking. It was a monumental effort, and we all offer our greatest appreciation!! Sunday Show-And-Shine. After a buffet breakfast at the Holiday Inn, where Bob Helsley kept asking, “Tell me again why we’re up
this early?”, we headed for the Main Street display area, arriving about 7:20AM. Actually Double Trouble
arrived twice (another girl thing), having left their registration packet for the show in their room.
It’s hard to look great, AND remember important stuff, all at the same time? Did I mention that Hope is
a DOD Program Manager <grin>. We all (almost) parked next to each other, with Hope and Charity parking directly
across from us. Dan (Samento) immediately started dusting and polishing, while ‘Double Trouble’ put
T-Shirts, flags, banners, living room chairs on the sidewalk, and displayed Corvette
memorabilia in their trunk. They even had “glitter” to put on the asphalt to reflect the wheels.
These girls were serious competitors! I thought when the judges came by, they were
going to go topless? (Didn’t happen, damn!) The show concluded about 2:00PM, and all sunburned participants began their trek
back home. Again, congratulations to Rick Sinchak for winning his class, and
taking home the gold! The warnings regarding traffic, at least for Hwy 9 and Hwy 24, were ill founded.
My run was 2 hours and 20 minutes, as compared to 4+ hours last year. The
roads have apparently been greatly improved, thank you Woodland Park!
We had a fair turnout for the Daniel’s Chevrolet
Appreciation Show. Dan Samento, Walt Jenkins, Alex (don’t take my picture) Chan, Jim Morasky, Jerry Perez,
Wes Turner and Dan Miller. The cars were separated into 5 classes and a first and second place trophy was
awarded in each class. Our guys didn’t bring home any trophies, but we cleaned up on the door prizes.
Free hotdogs and soda were provided. The hotdogs weren’t that great as Alex can attest to, so we ordered pizza
from Domino’s. Dan Samento brought his canopy and it came in handy later on in the afternoon when we started to
bake in the sun. Thanks Dan! It was a little windy, but better to have wind than rain or both for a Corvette show.
Walt Jenkins supervised Alex cleaning his car and everyone else pointed out the places he missed. Double-Trouble
didn’t show, but they must have ran out of time since Charity had to go back home. It was a fun day for a
Corvette show. Life is good, but it is even better in a Corvette.
Picture links provided by Dan Miller:
Daniel’s 1 of 3
Daniel’s 2 of 3
Daniel’s 3 of 3
- Dan Miller
As Dr. Steven Covey says, “Start with the End in mind”. CSCSC had TEN cars entered in Vettes on the Rockies
show-and-shine competition on Sunday. Rick Sinchak won in the “F” class (1984-1988), with his white 1985 NOS
equipped C4 coupe. Our non-club is now
officially on the books!! Great job Rick! (His brother Brian calls him an “anal cleaner”.)
July 21st, 2002 Wild Horse Brunch Drive and Dine.
Today’s gathering was another awesome Drive ‘N Dine, organized
by our own Dan Samento. Dan not only found a new place to Dine, but got the restaurant to open on Sunday, just for our group.
You’d think he was a Cop or something? Talk about OPEN parking!!
Although many of our events are similar, and often use the same routes, they never fail to provide new and exciting experiences. For example, this was the first time I ever passed the World Arena doing over 90 MPH. Nancy quietly said, “Do you know how fast you’re going”? I did, and also realized that 35 over the posted limit would probably draw jail time. Joe Drew was bringing up the rear, and was probably doing over 100 trying to catch up with the group after slowing to get through the construction area at Motor City. Way to go Joe! Then there was the guy in the RAM 1500 pulling a trailer, who decided to pass our lead Corvette Gene Meek), up hill, with on coming traffic. No one died, but I suspect some of us needed to do laundry when we got home.
We left Al Serra at 10:00 AM with 12 cars, stopping at the Safeway to pick up Steve (Queballz). A normal stop on our way down Hwy 115, but today’s stop was anything but Normal. Gene Meek remained in the lead, exiting the Safeway parking lot, via the Entrance? This was a new feature for the caravan, requiring a wide right hand turn, after avoiding the concrete structure which provided an easy entrance to the parking lot – from the opposite direction? The on-ramp for Hwy-115 was now on the other side of the street, with a cement divider in the middle of the road. We drove to the first signal, making a U-turn where the sign said, NO-U-TURN - Another new feature for the caravan. When the light turned red, oncoming cars saw the error of our ways, and continued to wave us through, knowing we wanted to stay together. Would have been a perfect “opportunity” for the Police Car just down the street, who fortunately wasn’t paying attention. If quotas existed, he might have been able to retire?
Brunch was very good, served as a buffet. The price was $18.95 each, and Hope won an award for eating the entire salad bar. Entrées included Brisket of Beef in gravy with fresh mushrooms, prime rib, potatoes, deserts, beverages, and a few things I can’t remember. No one left hungry, especially Marty Christensen who’s wife Nancy told me he was heading for 4th’s when we started to leave? I thought it unusual that Dan headed for the Springs, rather than back to Canon City. Then it dawned on me – Priscilla had accompanied Dan for our Brunch, and the Citadel shopping center was not that far away. Dan not only organized this event, but also picked up the tip. Probably less expensive than Priscilla (just kidding).
Wonder what Dan might have in mind next time – a tour of the Canon City Jail perhaps, or maybe we caravan behind his patrol car some evening? Now THAT would be different! Pictures
- Bruce Miller July 6th, 2002 Roosters
By informal invitation, Dan Samento invited CSCSC to drop
by Rooster's in Canon City, where he was playing in the band - "37 Rounds". Dan plays drums, and doesn't sing as far as I could
tell. Jeff, the lead singer is a show all by himself. Friday night was the initial date, but hail in the Springs prevented those of us who
still have brains, from venturing forth. Saturday was a different story. Nancy and I joined Dee and Jim Morasky, arriving at Roosters
about 9:00 PM. Roosters is a "S" kicking bar, no frills, with Security constantly on the watch. Prisilla was there to backup Dan if a
fight broke out. What a blast!! The band was way beyond our expectations. Can't wait to do it again, it was really fun.
Pictures
June 29th, 2002 Drive and Dine.
13 Corvettes gathered at Van Briggles Pottery on 21st street and
Route 24 on a perfect Colorado Saturday morning. After discussing the route with everyone, we left at 9:30 for the first leg of
the trip. Bruce Miller took some pictures of the group going West on 24 which are included on the picture page (thanks Bruce!).
When I looked back as we were leaving Van Briggles, the whole group seemed to be glued together as we went up Ute Pass. What a
sight to see on a perfect Saturday morning! As we travelled up Ute Pass to Woodland Park, we seemed to all be in the left lane
for some reason and I'm pretty sure that the folks we happened to pass were surprised at the caravan and the way we were able
to "hang" in the turns. Hope said that the Suburban we passed pulled off the road after we all went by. Imagine being passed
by 13 shiny Corvettes in the "twisties" of Ute Pass!. When we pulled into Woodland Park at the Donut Mill, and
everyone got out to chat, I was amazed that there seemed to be great big smiles on everyone's faces. Most of us got a
drink and a donut and hung out until about 10:30 or so when our new member, Bob Ashida, pulled up in his very red ZR-1. Everyone
said hello and chatted a bit and then we were off to Hartzel. I asked Dan Samento if he would be so kind as to take up the
"Tail-End-Charlie" position to ensure that nobody got left behind or had any trouble. He graciously accepted (Dan isn't known for
being last at anything!) and it is good that he did.
About the time we made it to to Lake George, I got a call from Dan who said they had just gotten into Florissant because they somehow got behind Ma and Pa Kettle and couldn't manage to get around them. We pulled over at the top of Wilkerson Pass and waited for them to catch up. We didn't have to wait long, and then we were off across South Park to Hartzel where we stopped for a break and more conversation.
We left Hartzel about 11:30 and took Route 9 south towards Canon City. "Spirited" driving ensued and
before I knew it we were stopped at the entrance to Skyline Drive. Again for some reason, everyone that pulled up had big smiles
on their faces. I guess that happens when you realize what a fantastic car Chevrolet has created in the Corvette.
I asked Dan to take us over Skyline Drive as a couple of folks decided
that Skyline Drive was too much for them and we were going to meet them at the park (I didn't know where it was...). We made it
over the Skyline Drive route and back to meet the others at the park. As we were leaving, Dan had arranged a Police Escort from
the park to the BBQ place! WAY TO GO DAN! First time I didn't have to worry about running stoplights and getting a ticket. We
ended the trip at the BBQ place (south on 9th street and it is on the left about two miles South) where the owner had roped off
most of the parking lot for us to park in. He had also set up tables, chairs and canopies for us. What a wonderful reception
Canon City gave us. We all ate REALLY GOOD BBQ, chatted for awhile and then all went our separate ways.
Mark Forbes, Jim Morasky, Bob Ashida and myself all left about the same time and went up 115 to
Colorado Springs. Due to the last "chat" I had with one of our CSP Troopers, we all took it pretty easy on the way home. After
I got back home. I received an email from Hope who thanked me for leading the trip and said that she gotten pretty "burnt" on
the trip. As I looked back at today, I remembered that I had remarked to Rick Sinchack that he looked pretty "burnt" too. Hope
you both don't peel too badly... Pictures
- Walt Jenkins
June 22nd, 2002: Stars and Stripes Tour, Colorado Springs to Raton, New Mexico leg.
The Tour arrived at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center
about 3:30PM, with 23 cars in the caravan from Denver, and another 11+ cars locally. A bunch of clubs were represented,
including CSCSC, CSCC, and the Looking Glass Club, plus others I didn't record (sorry). Non-members included: Uncle Bud,
Alex Chan, Hope Thompson, Steve Weiss, Nancy and myself, Walt and Karen Jenkins, Steve Olsen, Jerry and Becky Perez.
Dave Harrison joined the tour in Castle Rock, but alternator and power steering problems took him out at Lakespur.
Jimmy Linn from the CSCC Club toured with us in a gorgeous 1998 Pace Car Convertible.
The flag was passed to Bruce and Nancy Miller at Garden of the Gods, passed then to
Steve (Queballz) in Fountain, from Steve to Uncle Bud in Pinon where we all had dinner at a truck stop. [Nancy and I returned
home from Pinon, so I lost track of subsequent passes, and need some help filling in the blanks.] Hope
carried the flag crossing the border from Colorado to Raton, NM., then returned home. We believe Isaac carried the flag from
Raton, to Albuquerque, for the hand-off to the east bound group.
Our thanks to Isaac Rodriguez, Colorado Coordinator, without who's commitment to this tour
Colorado would not have participated. Pictures
- Bruce Miller
June 8th, 2002: Burt Chevrolet Car Show.
I stayed up till about 1:00 am cleaning the NVADER and had it on the trailer in the
garage with NFORCR, my Z-71 4x4. Both were spit shined and under cover, awaiting the morning daybreak to
begin the 120 mile trek to Denver. I got about 4 hours sleep and left Canon City at about 5:30 am to arrive at
Burt Chevrolet at 7:30 am. The folks at Burt gave me a nice place to set up my canopy and soon the NVADER was in place under it.
About two hours later Bruce Miller showed up to snap a few pics and socialize. Bruce didn't "enter" his red coupe in the event, but Steve Olsen
showed up and entered his blue coupe. The three of us socialized and during the day several fellow CSCSC non-members stopped by to say hi,
including Becky and Jerry Perez who made the trip all the way from Trinidad. Tony Cenedella from Denver, showed up in his new quicksilver
convertible. Bruce only lasted two hours before the high temperature got the best of him and he headed south to COS. Steve and I enjoyed the
free hotdogs and bottled water, as well as ice cream for dessert. Although it was a terribly hot day we had a great time. The show ended at about
3pm and Steve helped me load the NVADER on the trailer and two hours later I was back home in good 'ole Canon city. Pictures
- Dan Samento
June 1st, 2002: Abbey Car Show.
The morning was about as perfect as a Colorado Spring morning could be. Karen and I drove down to
Canon City to meet up with Dan Samento and any other CSCSC members that were going to do the Abbey Car Show. There were about
a hundred or so cars, mostly older Hot Rods and Customs. Our little group had five Corvettes and one 4x4 Pickup. We mostly sat
around relaxing and every once in a while got up to brush off any dirt or junk that fell from the sky that happened to fall
on our cars. Dan brought his canopy and instead of parking his car under it, he let the CSCSC members retreat from the sun
under it. What a nice guy! Each of us won a door prize, but I think I got the best one (The Bladder Buster 2000!). There were
several folks that stopped by to chat that one or another of us knew (Mostly Dan though... he seems to know everyone in town).
It was a very nice, relaxing day for all of us! After we left the car show, we stopped off at a Mexican Restaurant in Canon
City that Dan knew. Very good! It is in between 10th and 11th on Main (one block North of Highway 50). On the way back from
Canon City, I had the opportunity to have a chat with one of our State Troopers. Very nice guy, he decided that I didn't need
a ticket that day and let me off with an admonition to SLOW DOWN....
Pictures
May 27th, 2002 to May 28th, 2002: Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour.
For those of us that read Hot Rod Magazine and love hot cars, this is the thing to do. My brother
and I decided to go on the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour several months ago and this is the story of that trip.
We left Colorado Springs on Thursday morning about 10:00 am thinking that the trip to Lincoln, Nebraska would only take five or six hours. It seems that I missed the second page of the trip directions and when we got to the Nebraska border, we discovered that we only had another 300 miles to go before we reached our destination. No matter, the day was beautiful, the 'Vette was running perfectly, and the tunes from the Bose were great. When we reached Lincoln, we first found out where Speedway Motors was so we wouldn't drive around Lincoln trying to find it the next day. The directions were spot-on and we found it without any problems. Off to the hotel and dinner.
The next morning we got up at 6:00 am, found breakfast, then went in search of a car wash to get the car cleaned up after the trip. The bugs washed off pretty easily since I had several coats of Zaino on the car. A little rubbing to get the stubborn bugs and tar off, and viola! a beautiful car again. We drove over to Speedway Motors to get a good spot before registration. They had a parking lot where everyone was parking, so I picked a spot behind two Cobras. I noticed that one of the Cobras was from Colorado, so I started talking to the driver. Turns out he was from Denver and he and his buddy had driven up the night before (no roof, and rain the night before... BRRRRR). Registration finally opened, and about the time I got up to the window, it started raining. It rained on and off the whole day, but there were a few hours when it wasn't raining and we went around and saw the cars, watched the Dyno runs, and looked at more cars. Towards the evening, Speedway Motors opened up their brand-new museum to the Hot Rod Power Tour participants. What a place! They even have their own metal shop and we saw them turning aluminum cylinders into what looked like parts for fuel logs. Bill Smith (Speedway Motors owner) has been around Hot Rods and been involved in racing since the 1930's (and has the posters to prove it!). He has been very successful and build his business around hot rodding and Street Rods. He has a marvelous collection of engines, lakers, race cars and a few "others". His display of engines is incredible, everything from a 4 cylinder Model A engine up to and including a (one-of-a-kind?) V16 Chevrolet engine. Dinner was provided by Speedway Motors and after we ate, we went back to the hotel, cleaned up the car (rain!) and went to bed.
The next morning we got up (you guessed it, 6:00 am) got breakfast and went over to get in line for the "Tour". We thought we would be pretty far up in the front of the line, but when we got there, there were already several hundred cars lined up. We got in line behind a Dodge Viper and waited for the start. 10:00 am rolled around and we finally got moving, took a perfect drive down through Nebraska farm country and into Missouri. Hooked up to I-29 and arrived in Kansas City about 2:30 pm. I was fortunate enough to pick a parking spot next to a couple from Ontario and their 1965 Corvette Convertible (427/450 hp!). He had been on the 2000 Power Tour with a 2000 C5 and had just picked up the 1965 Vette a few weeks before. It had been restored perfectly and he looked like he was having a great time with it. After the car show, we headed back to the hotel and after about two hours, we heard the roar of engines and smelled burning rubber. You guessed it, they were having a burn-out contest in the parking lot! The "participants" cooled their jets after about 15 minutes of this and we all got some sleep.
The next morning we were to meet in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Wal-Mart graciously provided coffee and giant muffins for breakfast. My brother and I walked around the parking lot and marvelled at all the cars that were there that we didn't see the day before. Of note was a 1949 Cadillac with a Northstar V8 and 2000 Corvette running gear that parked next to us. Look for that one to be on Hot Rod TV (Sept. 2002). We all left at about 10:00 am and took highway 50 across Missouri. This road dips and winds through Missouri farm land and goes through quite a few little towns. Most of the little towns had groups of people that waved at the passing "Tour" vehicles as we went through. Nice feeling!
We arrived in St. Louis at about 2:30 pm and pretty much took over the parking lot of a giant Hotel complex. I don't believe they were expcting 1200 cars to show up as the parking for those on the "Tour" was pretty bad. I almost got to get the 'Vette up on the chassis dyno, but they ran out of time just before I got there. Oh well, maybe next year.
That was the last day for our part of the tour, as both my brother and I had jobs that wanted us
back. The trip back was pretty uneventful (watch out for the potholes east of St. Louis!). All in all, the trip was pretty good. We met a
lot of nice people and I can't say I heard a discouraging word the whole time. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, I sure did.
Pictures
- Walt Jenkins
May 18th, 2002: The Abbey Car Show.
For those of you who could not make it to the car show in Canon City today, you missed a great show and a beautiful sunny day.
Alex, Steve and myself met at Safeway in the morning and caravanned down to Canon City. We went the speed limit the whole way (right),
well that's my story and I'm stickin to it. When we arrived our intention was just to park and look at the cars but on the spur of the moment we
(I) decided we would get a better parking spot if we just entered and parked in the show. It worked out perfect because we were parked right by
Dan who was already there in all his glory with his canopy shielding his NVADER from the sun and his Corvette Racing flags up so no one
would get too close. What an awesome stereo he has in that Black Beauty. But, his tires were dirty. Anyway, Dan polished and polished and
polished his car until Steve and Alex volunteered to help out (see photo) and Dan just supervised. Alex tried to get me to clean his car up but I was
too busy cleaning up my own (like it was really dirty) and shining up my tires. Steve just kept on trying to trade cars with me or sell mine for $15.
He got no takers since they found out that the trunk was an additional $42,000. We had a fun time and I hope we can do it again soon.
Pictures.
Save the Corvette Wave, Hope
May 11th, 2002: Colorado Springs
Corvette Club Fun In The Sun Car Show.
Saturday, May 11th, 2002 promised to be a perfect day for a car show, and it didn't
dissapoint. I headed out to the Corvette Center in Motor City an arrived at 8:00. Who was already there shining up his
car? Our one-an-only Dan Samento and his "NVADER" Black on Black Coupe. I pulled in and parked the 'Vette and started
the final clean-up process when Dan moved his car next to mine. I spent the next hour and a half cleaning
all the little nooks and crannies where dirt hides (Can't have a dirty car!) and when I was done, sat down and took
a break. Dan, who had arrived at 7:00 am with his car on a trailer, and had already spent an hour cleaning his
car up before I arrived, didn't finish until 10:30 when the judges said that we had to stop cleaning. This about
killed Dan... Anyway, we chatted with the other club members that showed up to lend us support. The guys that
showed up were Alex Chan, Bruce Miller, Mark Forbes, Jerry Pera (all the way from Trinidad!) and a few others I've
forgotten (sorry...). At the judging, Dan walked away with First Place in wash and shine for C5's, and I got First
Place in Concours for C5's. Not a bad showing! Pictures
May 4th, 2002: Al Serra Dealer
Appreciation Show.
Bruce Miller says we had approximately 40 Corvettes attend the show, 24 or 25 actually on the pad and the rest sprinkled
around the parking lot. Many, many thanks to Bruce and Al Serra for making this the best show yet!
Pictures.
April 21st, 2002: Another Drive
and Dine.
24 of us drove 12 Corvettes (and one Suburban) down to the Gooseberry Patch in Penrose.
A georgous day and a wonderful drive.
Pictures.
February 1st, 2002: Joe's Crab
Shack.
Quay McCormick called for a dinner gathering on Friday, February 1, at Joe's Crab Shack on Academy. No one had
met Quay before, so we all turned out to see who was sending all the emails
. Quay turned out to be a "she", driving a cool '92 C4
Convertible.
Towards the end of the evening, we decided that it was Bill's "birthday". We got the Joe's Crab Shack staff
to get Bill up and embarrass himself. Don't know who got the better of whom.
In attendance were:
Quay McCormick and Joe McCormick, Bill and Ellen Smith, Uncle Bud and Brinda Yates, Bruce and Nancy Miller,
Walt and Karen Jenkins, Steve "Queballz" Weiss, Gary King and Debbie Steils.
Pictures.