Winterfest~2005

March 18-20, 2005

Winterfest 2005 for the Rocky Mountain Region officially kicked off with a dinner in Golden, Colorado at the Outback Steakhouse on Friday, March 18th. Rocky Mountain Regional Director Roger Linkey introduced Mike Chessnoe, president of SCOA to the group in attendance. Mike also had his two children, Taylor (12) and Nicole (10) in tow and had arrived a couple days earlier.

And having arrived early Mike had time for some instructions and the finer tips on how to wash a car. And then graciously vacuumed the carpet in my garage that I park my Saleen on. Could we get some feedback on how many other Saleen owners park their car on a carpet, to prove I'm not the only one?

Saturday morning, the group headed up to Winter Park to spend a great day of snowmobiling in the heart of Colorado's Rocky Mountain's and on the Continental Divide. The area is surrounded by 12,000 to 13,000 foot peaks, in the Arapaho National Forest. Other event options were; sleigh rides, tubing, and of course skiing.

After our morning buffet breakfast at a nearby Chalet, we mounted our Polaris' and spent the first half of the day on a "Guided Tour", where we learned a great deal of the area history during the railroad days and the gold mining towns in the area, and some of the unique characters that lived in the area. Pictured to the right is our gang at the top of Ptarmigan Point, looking down into Corona Bowl - we were above the tree line (+11,000 ft. above sea level) and it was very cold, but we could see for miles and miles. After the guided tour we had lunch in Winter Park at a local pub. The buffalo burgers were a big hit.

After lunch we then headed out again on an "Unguided Tour" afternoon of fun. Snowmobiles aren't as fast as cars, but we did more than our share of racing and "gettin' some air." Oh yes, we have to mention there was a personal injury that resulted with some blood loss by one of the Members, not to be mentioned here. But that story will have to wait to be told during an evening of alcohol to be really appreciated. One of our members even took some time to pan for gold in a tiny half-frozen mountain stream and did come up with some gold flakes. The rest of us were drag racing & let'm loose in the Devil's Thumb Park & Hour Glass Meadow.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but very hungry. We made our way back over Berthoud pass to the old and historic town of Georgetown, where we all shared appetizers & all had great meals. Our evening was also filled with local live entertainment, at the Raven Hill Mining Company Restaurant.

Sunday brunch at the Country Café in Golden, Colorado (home of Coors beer) wrapped up Winterfest.

Please click any of the images below for the full size image.