Welcome to OPEN ROADS 2002
June 18th Follow the Santa Fe Trail
Another 7.30 start. Already cloudless skies and blazing sun. Travel with Julian, Clive and Michael Orrit. Pass several huge cattle feedlots. One had 11,000 cattle!!! There are more cattle fed and processed in this state of Kansas than anywhere in the world. You can smell them before you see them. A hurricane force crosswind is blowing - very uncomfortable. I have to try and re-arrange my headgear and keep up with Julian at the same time. Another minor detail is keeping the car on the road with one hand. I succeed in changing my glasses for my goggles and feel much happier. The roads stretch as far as the eye can see. A bend is a big event. After 130 miles we leave KANSAS and enter COLORADO. Peter takes over driving. My head feels it has been blown off.
We are travelling the old Santa Fe Trail.
More trees are appearing and more greenery in general. We stop off to do the tourist thing at Bent's Fort and find a little gem of a guide. It is the best guided tour I think I have experienced. He is the doctor in the fort in 1846 and talks us through all the happenings of the time as though it was the present.
He offers to cleanse our blood of morbid things by 'bleeding'. His little knife has two blades, one for humans and one for horses. He must remember which is which because his horses are valuable! We thoroughly enjoy the tour of this uniquely preserved adobe (mud) built trading post
Another 7.30 start. Already cloudless skies and blazing sun. Travel with Julian, Clive and Michael Orrit. Pass several huge cattle feedlots. One had 11,000 cattle!!! There are more cattle fed and processed in this state of Kansas than anywhere in the world. You can smell them before you see them. A hurricane force crosswind is blowing - very uncomfortable. I have to try and re-arrange my headgear and keep up with Julian at the same time. Another minor detail is keeping the car on the road with one hand. I succeed in changing my glasses for my goggles and feel much happier. The roads stretch as far as the eye can see. A bend is a big event. After 130 miles we leave KANSAS and enter COLORADO. Peter takes over driving. My head feels it has been blown off.
We are travelling the old Santa Fe Trail.
More trees are appearing and more greenery in general. We stop off to do the tourist thing at Bent's Fort and find a little gem of a guide. It is the best guided tour I think I have experienced. He is the doctor in the fort in 1846 and talks us through all the happenings of the time as though it was the present.
He offers to cleanse our blood of morbid things by 'bleeding'. His little knife has two blades, one for humans and one for horses. He must remember which is which because his horses are valuable! We thoroughly enjoy the tour of this uniquely preserved adobe (mud) built trading post
We press on. The altitude is slowly increasing. We pass a sign saying 4052 Feet asl. A distant glimpse of Mountains, or is it a mirage. No, gradually the Rockies are appearing . We reach Colorado Springs, the famous ski area and get our first glimpse of Pike's Peak, the highest hill climb in the world. Awsome. Read to-morrows despatches to hear what happens. We are concerned at the reports of major fires in the area and will have to wait and see how the situation is to-morrow. The Hayman fire is burning North of route 24 which is the one we take to Pikes Peak. Fingers crossed!
June 19th Pike's Peak to Monarch Pass
Fortunately some overnight rain saved the day for us and Pike's Peak remained open. Later, on route 24 we pass one of the sites where all the firefighters are gathered. I have just read The Horse Whisperer's latest novel about the Smoke Jumpers, people who parachute out of planes ahead of fires to try to create breaks. It makes the novel all the more real seeing the devastation caused by these fires. One of the water dipersing planes crashed yesterday killing all three on board. So far 160,000 acres have been destroyed and many people have lost there homes in the Hayman fire, Colorado, just North of where we are travelling.
Enough of doom and gloom.
We are all champing at the bit awaiting breakfast. The motel will not open up to serve a minute before seven. We all grab a mouthful and set off with varying degrees of anticipation of the impending climb. Julian has his nomex racing boots on, Peter is all excited and Pam and I are terrified. No guard rails they say. Well, I coped with that on the Around the World rally but there was a large amount of adrenalin involved then. We arrive at the start - it says 10 mph maximum! It is only 7.30 a.m. and not many people around so we can ignore that. We have 19 miles to cover and climb from 5,000 feet to over 14,000 feet. Five Healeys are attempting it. Julian sets off like a rocket, we follow more sedately. The story of the tortoise and the hair springs to mind. Higher and higher, the tarmac turns to gravel, the hairpins get tighter, the gaurd rails are absent. We pass Steve Byers at about 9,000 feet and round a bend there is Julian stopped. He waives us on. Clive, in the 1948 Westland is breathing up our exhaust. Peter suggests we let him past, I suggest we will earn Pam's undying gratitude if we don't!
We cruise on to the top without any problems. Never before have I stood above the clouds like this. The four Healeys arrive safe and we go into the cafe for a coffee. Shortly after Julian appears. His Healey throws a wobbly at 11,000 feet and says that unless he gets rid of some weight she has no intention of going any further. After a short discussion with her, Julian duly chucks his navigator out and she agrees to continue. Poor Lawrence is left to hoof it up the last 3,000 feet. He misreads the sign saying 14 miles as 14,000 feet and thinks he is nearly there. A kindly Park Ranger spots him and he makes it to the top before Julian.
Fortunately some overnight rain saved the day for us and Pike's Peak remained open. Later, on route 24 we pass one of the sites where all the firefighters are gathered. I have just read The Horse Whisperer's latest novel about the Smoke Jumpers, people who parachute out of planes ahead of fires to try to create breaks. It makes the novel all the more real seeing the devastation caused by these fires. One of the water dipersing planes crashed yesterday killing all three on board. So far 160,000 acres have been destroyed and many people have lost there homes in the Hayman fire, Colorado, just North of where we are travelling.
Enough of doom and gloom.
We are all champing at the bit awaiting breakfast. The motel will not open up to serve a minute before seven. We all grab a mouthful and set off with varying degrees of anticipation of the impending climb. Julian has his nomex racing boots on, Peter is all excited and Pam and I are terrified. No guard rails they say. Well, I coped with that on the Around the World rally but there was a large amount of adrenalin involved then. We arrive at the start - it says 10 mph maximum! It is only 7.30 a.m. and not many people around so we can ignore that. We have 19 miles to cover and climb from 5,000 feet to over 14,000 feet. Five Healeys are attempting it. Julian sets off like a rocket, we follow more sedately. The story of the tortoise and the hair springs to mind. Higher and higher, the tarmac turns to gravel, the hairpins get tighter, the gaurd rails are absent. We pass Steve Byers at about 9,000 feet and round a bend there is Julian stopped. He waives us on. Clive, in the 1948 Westland is breathing up our exhaust. Peter suggests we let him past, I suggest we will earn Pam's undying gratitude if we don't!
We cruise on to the top without any problems. Never before have I stood above the clouds like this. The four Healeys arrive safe and we go into the cafe for a coffee. Shortly after Julian appears. His Healey throws a wobbly at 11,000 feet and says that unless he gets rid of some weight she has no intention of going any further. After a short discussion with her, Julian duly chucks his navigator out and she agrees to continue. Poor Lawrence is left to hoof it up the last 3,000 feet. He misreads the sign saying 14 miles as 14,000 feet and thinks he is nearly there. A kindly Park Ranger spots him and he makes it to the top before Julian.
Everyone feels a little lightheaded - is it the elation or the elavation?
The cars that reach the top are the three from the U.K., Steve Byers and Michael Orrit's.
The journey down is magical and we stop for some photo calls.
The cars that reach the top are the three from the U.K., Steve Byers and Michael Orrit's.
The journey down is magical and we stop for some photo calls.
The delights of the day are not finished. We push on to Monarchs Pass at 11,300 feet and stop for lunch.
For the first time I get the three U.K. Healeys together for a photocall. The descent takes us along Elk Lake and into very different scenery, more desert like with Temperatures to match. Arrive very hot, dusty and tired in Grand Junction, Colorado.
For the first time I get the three U.K. Healeys together for a photocall. The descent takes us along Elk Lake and into very different scenery, more desert like with Temperatures to match. Arrive very hot, dusty and tired in Grand Junction, Colorado.