2015 DENVER/FRONT RANGE ROADMEET - MAY 30, 2015

[oscar]

My car's low gear (just labeled "L") is shit under most circumstances since it basically wants to slow me down to 20 MPH whenever I go into it even if that means revving at 4000+ RPM.

Believe me, you won't want to go any faster than 20mph, either uphill or downhill. So long as your engine can handle the revs, your CVT's "low gear" sounds sufficient.

[Dougtone]

For the meet attendees who may be flying into Denver and would need to rent a car, I figured that I would alert you that I've found a good deal on a rental from Budget. I'm staying in Colorado (and New Mexico) for 6 days and was able to get a rental for a full size sedan for $111 before taxes.

[jpi]

That is cheap! I have a rental booked for this trip that is a little more then that for a week but then again, it is at a Hertz here in town, not at an airport.

[getemngo]

This might be a long shot, but is anyone able to give me a lift to Fort Collins as soon as the meet is over on Saturday? I'm trying to cram everything into this weekend and visit a couple friends.

Of course, I will reimburse for gas, and A.J. will be giving me a lift from Fort Collins back to Michigan on Sunday morning.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

This might be a long shot, but is anyone able to give me a lift to Fort Collins as soon as the meet is over on Saturday? I'm trying to cram everything into this weekend and visit a couple friends.

Of course, I will reimburse for gas, and A.J. will be giving me a lift from Fort Collins back to Michigan on Sunday morning.

I don't see why I wouldn't be able to do this. Plus it gives me an excuse to geek a bit more.

[getemngo]

I don't see why I wouldn't be able to do this. Plus it gives me an excuse to geek a bit more.

Looks like we're taking this discussion to Facebook.

[corco]

Hi there! Please try to confirm your attendance for me by tomorrow. So far I have everybody who RSVPed on Facebook, Oscar, and Winkler.

[J N Winkler]

Just to confirm (doubly?) that I will be there--I haven't booked lodging yet, but have rearranged my obligations so I can be away.  I have also polished and waxed my car to give myself a fighting chance of cleaning off all the bugs I will doubtless accumulate between Wichita and Denver.

[corco]

Since the weather gods are laughing at us and having it snow on Mt. Evans in late May, despite very little snow all winter, and the highway is still closed, the meet has been substantially revised. Here it is as of today:

http://www.corcohighways.org/FRONTRANGEMEET2.pdf

This is more or less what I originally scouted back in February, and I think it should work well.

[oscar]

The revised itinerary has us returning to Golden very late in the day, and will be even later once the usual delays (construction, traffic and otherwise) are added, given how much territory it will cover. Since I need to leave the Denver area really, really early the following morning, I will be particularly antsy about any delays that develop. So I suggest trimming back the itinerary.

Two possibilities:

-- cut out entirely the stop in Gilman, which is a long stop for something not really road-related

-- make the stop at the Eisenhower Tunnel really brief, especially if we're running late -- I just drove through there yesterday (on my way to Utah, where I am now), there isn't a whole lot to see there.

One other thought -- Loveland Pass is a good, scenic substitute for Mt. Evans. But it will likely be chilly (I froze my ass off at the lower-elevation Vail Pass rest area yesterday afternoon, shorts and flip-flops didn't cut it). My impression is that CDOT works really hard to keep the Loveland Pass road open, since it's needed for truck traffic not allowed in the Eisenhower Tunnels (hazmat, overheight, etc.), but we should double-check that including any chain requirements.

[J N Winkler]

Is there a way to check the opening status of the Mt. Evans Highway in real time?  The only news stories I have been able to find that say it won't open in time for the Memorial Day just past are all dated May 20.

Personally, I prefer the itinerary that has Mt. Evans.  The alternate has some pretty sweet consolation prizes, but will result in some people attending the meet (myself included) driving back and forth on various lengths of I-70 three or more times.

Edit:  Found the COTrip.org page.  The alert is seven days old, but still hasn't been cleared, so it has to be presumed current.  If a choice has to be made between Gilman and the Eisenhower Tunnel, I would jettison the tunnel, because it has too great a police presence for us to sightsee casually.

[oscar]

If a choice has to be made between Gilman and the Eisenhower Tunnel, I would jettison the tunnel, because it has too great a police presence for us to sightsee casually.

I'd be concerned that the police might order our group to vacate the brake check area, to make room for trucks that might need it to do brake checks, and proceed through the tunnel. If that happens, you don't want our group to be scattered all over the tunnel portal area, unable to quickly return to our vehicles.

Is there a way to check the opening status of the Mt. Evans Highway in real time?  The only news stories I have been able to find that say it won't open in time for the Memorial Day just past are all dated May 20..

Someone could call the Echo Lake Lodge at the foot of Mt. Evans, at (303) 567-2138. The lodge is probably pissed off about losing business from summit visitors last weekend, and should have the latest scoop on when the summit road will reopen.

I might call myself, post-meet, to see if the gift shop will be open during my third pass through the Denver area late next week, so I can restock on Mt. Evans souvenirs even if I can't revisit the summit this year.

[J N Winkler]

I'd be concerned that the police might order our group to vacate the brake check area, to make room for trucks that might need it to do brake checks, and proceed through the tunnel. If that happens, you don't want our group to be scattered all over the tunnel portal area, unable to quickly return to our vehicles.

I suspect they would send someone out to ask what we were doing simply because they are present on site and actually getting out of vehicles to look at the infrastructure, as opposed to simply using it, is considered unusual behavior.  The Eisenhower Tunnel is sufficiently well known even to non-roadgeeks that it would not surprise me to discover that they have a protocol for moving sightseers on.

There are a few tunnels on the Colorado state highway system where I would have no qualms about parking in a maintenance depot or on a length of bypassed highway and then working over the tunnel inside and out, including looking at the emergency exits.  (I have done this for a snowshed and a recently opened tunnel on US 160 over Wolf Creek Pass.)  However, the Eisenhower Tunnel is a bit too heavily trafficked to fall into this category.

Someone could call the Echo Lake Lodge at the foot of Mt. Evans, at (303) 567-2138. The lodge is probably pissed off about losing business from summit visitors last weekend, and should have the latest scoop on when the summit road will reopen.

They have an info email address, and I have sent email to it, just to see what (if anything) comes back.

[J N Winkler]

Heard back from Echo Lake Lodge:

Jonathan,

The latest information that we have is that road to Mt.Evans will not be opening until late June. They have been unable to plow due to all of the snow. Also, they are reinforcing the road by Lincoln lake and until the snow is removed, they are unable to begin that work. You can call us anytime and see if we have anymore information 3035672138, but that's the latest information that we have.

Let's hope the weather starts cooperating.

Dustin Day
Restaurant Manager
Echo Lake Lodge

So Mt. Evans is definitely out for us.

[Brandon]

So are we switching from the Golden Diner to the Spot Bar & Grille?

[hbelkins]

A six-hour meet tour? No offense to the planner, but now I'm glad I can't come. That's waaaaay too long for my taste and my (im)patience level. I am fidgety anytime the tour goes over three hours, and I start getting that way past the two-hour mark.

[J N Winkler]

Personally, I don't think the projected length of the tour is prohibitive, but I would suggest thinking about comfort and caffeine stops and perhaps taking along some snack food.  The length of I-70 we will be covering seems to have just one rest area, at Shrine Pass, a bit west of Vail Pass.

The driving tour for the July 2013 Wichita meet (which I developed, though I was not the primary organizer) came in at just about three hours all told, and there was an unplanned mad dash for a vending machine at an apartment building near the Mack Bridge because the day turned out to be much hotter than expected (108° F, if memory serves).

[corco]

So are we switching from the Golden Diner to the Spot Bar & Grille?

Yes, that is locked in.

[Alps]

So are we switching from the Golden Diner to the Spot Bar & Grille?

Yes, that is locked in.

Well, I'm glad someone posted that here... seriously dude

[oscar]

A six-hour meet tour? No offense to the planner, but now I'm glad I can't come. That's waaaaay too long for my taste and my (im)patience level. I am fidgety anytime the tour goes over three hours, and I start getting that way past the two-hour mark.

The seven-hour length of the tour wouldn't normally bother me. In this case, though, it collides with my need to leave Denver for phase II of my trip right around the crack of dawn on Sunday, so I'd like to grab some dinner by 7:30pm (with my evening meds a half-hour before then) and be in bed no later than 9pm. Plus, the part of the meet tour that really prolongs the tour is a visit to a ghost town, which is of really marginal interest to me. I'm tempted to drive my own car on the tour so I can peel away right after Loveland Pass (which I've done before, but I wouldn't mind doing again). Or perhaps if the Red Cliff Arch Bridge visit could be moved before the Gilman ghost town visit, I could peel away after the bridge, skipping the ghost town and also not stopping at the very familiar (for me) Eisenhower Tunnels.

FWIW, Steve's New York City meet had a challenging day 1 itinerary (focused on the five boroughs -- we spent day 2 in New Jersey), which I had thought was maybe a little ambitious. But we finished up almost on time, before 7pm so people could attend evening activities of their choice (for most, a minor league baseball game). 7pm seems the ideal time to wrap up a meet tour, even if sunset is later, so that people can have dinner at a more or less normal time, and also have time for evening social events of their choosing.

Personally, I don't think the projected length of the tour is prohibitive, but I would suggest thinking about comfort and caffeine stops and perhaps taking along some snack food.  The length of I-70 we will be covering seems to have just one rest area, at Shrine Pass, a bit west of Vail Pass.

There are more rest areas, and other bathroom and snack purchase opportunities, than that.  Many of the "rest areas" are local visitor information centers, with restrooms in separate buildings that stay open after the rest of the centers close. They don't always have the usual easy-off easy-return feature of conventional rest areas (one infuriating one, you have to go through three roundabouts to get from the westbound freeway, and the same three to get back), but so long as you can hold it in that long they'll do the job. And there are quite a few restaurants along I-70, too.

[corco]

Good news, then! I had been talking with another attendee over Facebook, wish is where the Gilman idea came in. I apparently misinterpreted the comment - Gilman is not actually open to the public but there is a place to step out and view it, which would Am significantly shorten the need for the stop.

Generally, I apologize for this- I left to hit the road before it was announced that Mt Evans wouldn't be open, believing that after the winter Colorado had there was no way it would not be open. That was my bad for making that assumption. In the meantime, I've been trying to almost entirely rebuild the meet while traveling otherwise.

My intention is to make this right though - I have much of the day today to look at where we can make changes to fix the length of the tour and revise accordingly. Plan on a third meet tour draft sometime tonight.

[corco]

Here is my thought right now, copied from facebook:
Sorry to jerk folks around - soliciting feedback on an idea in light of Evans being closed and Red Cliff Arch being so far out. Would this meet tour be more preferable?

1. Lunch at Spot Diner
2. I-70 viaduct
3. Head via Morrison and Evergreen to I-70
4. Loveland Pass
5. Idaho Spgs pony truss
6. Abandoned tunnel no. 4
7. Mt Lookout

This would be a lot less driving and should shave a couple hours off the meet tour. I'm familiar with all the stood except the viaduct, but will drive under and find a spot this evening.

Let me know if this would be preferable to pursue and we can do that. I'll have time to rewrite the meet tour today.

[J N Winkler]

I generally support this.  It has fewer moving parts, it is less vulnerable to unplanned delays, and it cuts deadheading on I-70 for me.  It looks a bit short, but I imagine it will fill the afternoon when all is said and done.  I can probably scoop both Gilman and Red Cliff on my way to Glenwood Springs.

I'm not going to be able to contribute further comments for about nine or ten hours starting now since I have to start my drive to Denver (in fact, I am running slightly late).

[hbelkins]

The driving tour for the July 2013 Wichita meet (which I developed, though I was not the primary organizer) came in at just about three hours all told, and there was an unplanned mad dash for a vending machine at an apartment building near the Mack Bridge because the day turned out to be much hotter than expected (108° F, if memory serves).

Yeah, I'm glad I saw that machine. I think it was a Pepsi machine, but at that point I was so parched I didn't really care. And I think I downed two Diet Whatevers in pretty short order.

[hbelkins]

FWIW, Steve's New York City meet had a challenging day 1 itinerary (focused on the five boroughs -- we spent day 2 in New Jersey), which I had thought was maybe a little ambitious. But we finished up almost on time, before 7pm so people could attend evening activities of their choice (for most, a minor league baseball game). 7pm seems the ideal time to wrap up a meet tour, even if sunset is later, so that people can have dinner at a more or less normal time, and also have time for evening social events of their choosing.

If it's a multi-day meet, then a longer itinerary generally works OK, especially if there are group social plans following. For single-day meets that I've attended, I usually have my departure planned at the end of the meet and have a motel reservation in another city. The later the tour goes, the later I am at getting to my destination -- well this was the case back when I could attend meets.