Seems that the list of attendees is growing! The more the merrier!
Being a resident of the area, I can answer any questions you may have....
(1) The trip up the Mt Evans road is quite spectacular, especially if you have never done it before. It used to be a free road untill about 4 or 5 years ago, now there is a entrance fee. (10 bucks).
The road climbs from Echo lake (hwy 103) to the top of Mt Evans, 14, 216' in elevation. If you get altitude sickness, this is not the place to be! It is the highest paved road in the US.
Drawbacks: The $10 entrance fee. (ten bucks will buy 5 pints of draft beer!
). Depending how early of a start we get, determines how much of a tourist traffic jam we find ourselves in! It is no fun to be stuck behind some slow moving tourista from Louisiana in a 50' motor home with a death grip on the steering wheel
. The earlier we start, the better!
(2) After decending the road down from Mt. Evans, we end up back on Hwy 103. This road runs all the way from Bergen Park, to Idaho Springs (about 35 miles total). From the junction of the Mt Evans road to Idaho Springs, it is about 22 miles to town. Hwy 103 is a great road with many twisties (one of my favorite motorcycle roads )
, and many scenic overlook turnouts. It is a nice drive to Idaho Springs. Once in Idaho Springs, I thought we could have some foamy refreshments at a beer and wine pub in town. "Ten Day Jacks" has over 50 varieties of beer, and definitely has the coldest brew in town. The pub is located in the middle of town, right at the city parking lots. There are plenty of shops and "trinket" stores in this historic town. The original Beaujos Pizza is next door.
There will be an annual car show in town on the day we will be there. Lots of classic, high performance, and show cars will be on display. This is a freebe, and well worth a look!
(3) Central City/Blackhawk...
There are two ways to get there from Idaho Springs; (sorry, no buses). The preferred way the locals go is the "Oh My God" road thru Virginia Canyon. It is only 8.5 miles from town to Central, past old mine ruins, with spectacular views. For the most part it is not paved, but is very well maintained. The other route is back on I-70 to Hwy119. This is the long way; about 18 miles, with lots of traffic and cops, but not as dusty as the locals road.....
(4) There are plenty of motels of varying quality and rates in Idaho Springs, most located at the east end of town, about 1 mile from downtown. The Hot Springs resort is walking distance. They have hot springs pools, mud caves, saunas etc if you are into that sort of thing. They also have hotel and motel rooms. There are a limited # of rooms in Central/Blackhawk, but tend to be expensive and fill up fast on weekends. More rooms are available in Georgetown, about 10 miles west of Idaho Springs.
(5) For discussion....
What does everyone think of including a "poker run" with our gathering? My independant Subaru shop (Wings Stuff, Denver)has offered a wheel bearing job (one bearing and labor) and a "droopy visor" fix as prizes. (Check out my visors for fix results!
). Mabey John would donate a night at his hotel as a prize!
. I'm sure "ten Day Jacks" would donate a gift certifcate as a prize. Poker runs are alot of fun; I have done several on my motorcycle. We could have 5 or 7 "checkpoints" to draw cards, with the final card to be drawn at Ten Day Jacks.
John has generously offered rooms at his hotel for those who might want accomodations. The price is more than a bargain! The hotel is located at the tech center in Denver, I'm sure it is very nice.
Are there enough people interested in meeting at Johns hotel Friday night/ Saturday morning, and begin a poker run from there?
There are lots of good restaurants in the tech center area for a Friday night gathering....I'm sure John can fill us in.
This will be a good time!