A few of the El Paso Fiero nuts set off for the Gunnison Car Show on Thursday. We were determined to get there and back in our 23 plus year old cars with little or no problems. We had a little overheat problem with Frizlefrak's 86 but after a tstat and rad cap change plus a couple "on the road burping" sessions, we seemed to have fixed the issue! I am very happy to report that after 4 days and nearly 1600 miles, the 3 El Paso Fiero's did fantastic! The trip was excellent, the Car Show was outstanding and the scenery was awesome! My only complaint is that I had to come back to El Paso! I really did not want to leave. We were short on time and the group voted on spending the most part of Saturday seeing some sights instead of entering our cars in the big show. Next year, we will plan for a few extra days so we can participate in the Saturday show. Friday night was a "Street Show" that we were a part of. It was great fun. The town of Gunnison closed down several blocks of Main Street and around 100 cars of all makes and types filled the street! We met up with the Colorado Fiero group and spent the evening looking at all the cars and talking Fiero's. It was the highlight of the trip for me! I wish I could do that every Friday night! I have a ton of pics and will try and post them here in this thread. Here's a start!
Leaving El Paso!
At the Border Check Station! "Are you a US Citizen?"
Ugly Desert Scape!
My Co Pilot?
Road testing "TXGOOD's" arm rest/cupholder! - Love it!
North New Mexico road construction:
The Veteran!
Rick 88's first big road trip for the Mera!
Frizlefrak shaking out the bugs on his 86 GT - wishing he had an ice cold Fat Tire!
Ooooo - Pine trees!
Gas stop in Poncha Springs:
Completely unplanned - while we were in Poncha Springs getting fuel, Christine and Kevin pulled in for a splash!
Then it was West on 50 toward Gunnison over Monarch Pass!
More later!
Pat
IP: Logged
02:33 AM
PFF
System Bot
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
Nice pics! I'm glad you guys enjoyed your trip to the mountains of Colorado.....sorry I missed seeing you. I was there Saturday for the show, but didn't stay overnight. Next year I'll plan on doing the whole weekend again.
IP: Logged
09:03 PM
Aug 24th, 2011
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
I have a lot more pics - was hoping to have them downloaded and posted last night but my Wife decided that we needed to head for Idaho a day early. I spent most of last night and all day today DRIVING - another 1032.7 miles! Over 2600 in the last 5 days behind the windshield! I'll try to get them posted in the next few days.
I wanted to thnk Robert, Christine, Kevin and the rest of the Colorado Fiero folks plus the car club that hosted the car show and the town of Gunnison for treating us so well. We had a great time and I am already planning next year!
More later!
Pat
IP: Logged
01:04 AM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
Pat, these pictures make me wonder why we stay in Texas. -Joe
I heard that Joe! We looked at some real estate publications - once you read a few of those, you will understand why we don't live there. I think a "loft" - one room - 400 square feet was like 289k! Some 1 bedroom condos were in the 500k range. As beautiful as it is, it is very expensive - and the thought of 6 to 8 feet of snow is a deal killer for me! I like sitting out on the porch on the 1st of January in my shorts far more than shoveling snow so I can get the car out of the garage.
IP: Logged
11:24 PM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
Sunday morning, on our way back to Gunnison to meet up with Rick for our drive home, I stopped on Monarch Summit to get some pics. These are some of my favoroite Fiero pics yet. Monarch Summit is 11,312 feet. As I said, the Fiero is a little "piggy" at this altitude - I had the same problem - I did not have much "power" either! If you ever get the chance to tour Colorado, take the time to stop and see the sights - it's truley breathtaking! Enjoy.
A lonely Bambi!
We decided to take an alternate route going back - change of scenery - we took route 114 from Gunnison to Seguache - 70 miles of some of the greatest country I have had the pleasure to drive my Fiero through. When we got to the other end, we wanted to turn around and run through it again.
Some where South of Alamosa, we ran into these 2 Triumph TR8's - you just don't see these around any more - especially 2 of them that looked to be exact twins, same color, etc. We ran with these 2 cars for about 50 miles. It was a fun trip!
The rest of the trip from Santa Fe back to El Paso is pretty boring - all interstate and not much scenery. Somewhere around Truth or Consequences New Mexico, my son Chris was driving when a Badger ran across the Interstate in front of us. He did try his best to miss the little critter (including honking the horn?) but failed and hit the Badger with the left front tire! Fiero 1, Badger 0. Really glad it was not an Elk!
I'm planning the next Fiero adventure - hoping I can get to the Rukus in a month! The stars need to line up just right for it to happen but I'm planning on it. Although the company was great, the scenery was awesome, the food was wonderful and the car show was a blast, the thing I enjoyed the most was the "trip". There is some great sense of accomplishment when you can take a 23 plus year old car on a 1600 mile road trip with very little issues. Even more so when there are 3 - or more!
Pat
[This message has been edited by katatak (edited 08-24-2011).]
IP: Logged
11:49 PM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
Wow you guys got some good pics, it was a great trip, it was nice meeting everyone, I am glad everyone had a good time and look forward to next year, I hope we get more Fiero's next year. I am going to plan some Fiero only stuff for the trip next year, maybe start the event a few days earlier so we can spend more time cruising around and seeing the sites and getting to know each other and have a nice relaxing time with all the Fiero folks.
We stayed an extra day and took the boat tour into the Black Canyon and it was awesome. Here are a few pics I will post more later, PIP would not let me upload them because they are too big and I do not have the time to down size them all so here are a few and the rest can be seen here. http://s920.photobucket.com...on%202011/?start=all
IP: Logged
12:49 AM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
My wife and I had a great time on this trip. We enjoyed the company, and the scenery! Our little cars drew quite a lot of attention, and got us there and back just fine. This is the first long trip for my Fiero and I am very proud of it, as well as Dan and Pat's cars too.
Christine and Kevin from Mile High Fiero's were excellent hosts. Maybe next time we can spend a few more days there!
IP: Logged
05:59 PM
PFF
System Bot
Frizlefrak Member
Posts: 2921 From: El Paso, Texas Registered: Aug 2003
Definitely. Wish we'd had a bit more time on this trip, but we all had to get back to work on Monday. Next year we'll come up a few days earlier and get some activities in. I love Colorado.
IP: Logged
08:23 PM
josef644 Member
Posts: 6939 From: Dickinson, Texas USA Registered: Nov 2006
Gunnison , Wolf Creek Pass, Durango, Silverton, Gunnison. All day long, but this trip can not be beat, anywhere in the USA. We used to do this on motorcycels in the mid 80's. Got cought up there at Wolf Creek pass in the snow once.
IP: Logged
08:46 PM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
Gunnison , Wolf Creek Pass, Durango, Silverton, Gunnison. All day long, but this trip can not be beat, anywhere in the USA. We used to do this on motorcycels in the mid 80's. Got cought up there at Wolf Creek pass in the snow once.
I'm up in South East Idaho right now - headed back to El Paso on Saturday AM. I usually drive through Moab to Cortez then down through Shiprock to Gallup then I-40 to I-25. Driving up on Monday / Tuesday we ran into a lot of road construction so we are planning another route back. New route will take me South out of Grand Junction through Montrose and plan on ending up in New Mexico somewhere South of Durango - Silverton is on the list as well. It might take me 3 days to get home!
IP: Logged
10:50 PM
Christine Member
Posts: 1052 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: Jan 2003
Yes the area is awesome, I live in Colorado and the southwest mountains area is my favorite, it is great in the late spring, summer and early fall, but you do not want to live there in the winter it is very cold. Unless you are a big time skier or boarder the winter is very rough. I rode my motor cycle to Pagosa Springs and Durango too, we went in June and it did snow on us on Wolf Creek pass to.
the averages shown on the weather page are averages, so it does get colder than -10, too cold for me and most people, so if anyone is thinking of moving into that area do yourself a favor and visit in January and then see how you feel about it. But there are a lot of other nice areas in Colorado to live that are not near that cold. I am already looking forward to next year’s trip. I will be sure to start a Gunnison Trip thread a few months before the event so everyone will have time to make plans.
IP: Logged
11:10 PM
blakeinspace Member
Posts: 5923 From: Fort Worth, Texas Registered: Dec 2001
Yes the area is awesome, I live in Colorado and the southwest mountains area is my favorite, it is great in the late spring, summer and early fall, but you do not want to live there in the winter it is very cold. Unless you are a big time skier or boarder the winter is very rough. I rode my motor cycle to Pagosa Springs and Durango too, we went in June and it did snow on us on Wolf Creek pass to.
the averages shown on the weather page are averages, so it does get colder than -10, too cold for me and most people, so if anyone is thinking of moving into that area do yourself a favor and visit in January and then see how you feel about it. But there are a lot of other nice areas in Colorado to live that are not near that cold. I am already looking forward to next year’s trip. I will be sure to start a Gunnison Trip thread a few months before the event so everyone will have time to make plans.
Nice area to visit in the summer, but any place that is "minus" whatever degrees in the winter is too cold for me!
I really like living in the desert southwest, and there are two great forests in southern New Mexico less than two hours away. On is the Gila National Forest between Hillsboro and Silver City, and the other is Lincoln National Forest, between Ruidoso and Cloudcroft. Both have great roads for Fiero's too. I read that Crested Butte is one off the coldest areas in the country during the winter! Definitely a summer only place to visit for me.
IP: Logged
06:17 PM
PFF
System Bot
Aug 29th, 2011
Mera_Cop Member
Posts: 32 From: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Registered: Apr 2011
Although the company was great, the scenery was awesome, the food was wonderful and the car show was a blast, the thing I enjoyed the most was the "trip". There is some great sense of accomplishment when you can take a 23 plus year old car on a 1600 mile road trip with very little issues. Even more so when there are 3 - or more!
Pat
Great pics and looks like you had a wonderful time. I agree whole heartedly agree with the above statement. Would love to do something just like this but, getting several Fiero owners together and doing a trip like this takes a lot of planning and everyone being on the same sheet of music. Schedules have to be coordinated and let's face it, this kind of trip is one that takes fluid cash to go on. Most of my Fiero friends can't do something like this. I'm jealous, wish I could have been there also. Maybe next time. Thanks for posting pics of your adventure.
------------------ Ron
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 08-29-2011).]
IP: Logged
11:29 AM
Frizlefrak Member
Posts: 2921 From: El Paso, Texas Registered: Aug 2003
Great pics and looks like you had a wonderful time. I agree whole heartedly agree with the above statement. Would love to do something just like this but, getting several Fiero owners together and doing a trip like this takes a lot of planning and everyone being on the same sheet of music. Schedules have to be coordinated and let's face it, this kind of trip is one that takes fluid cash to go on. Most of my Fiero friends can't do something like this. I'm jealous, wish I could have been there also. Maybe next time. Thanks for posting pics of your adventure.
True on all of the above.....planning, cash, etc.....but the memories will last a lifetime.
IP: Logged
01:07 PM
Rick 88 Member
Posts: 3914 From: El Paso, TX. Registered: Aug 2001
The El Paso Fiero guys have taken short trip toghether as a group, but this trip, and a previous trip to San Antonio for Katatak and Frizlefrak have been the longest. For me the Gunnison trip was a shakedown test for my Mera. All in all my car did well except for a rear tire imbalance problem that limited me to under 80. If I had not had my tires "rebalanced" for the trip, I would not have had that problem.........
IP: Logged
01:22 PM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
Last Monday, I found myself heading back in the same direction - moving my youngest son to SE Idaho for College. The trip up from El Paso was fast - shortest route possible and unfortuantely was not driving my Formula. We decided that the trip back would be for sight seeing so we planned a route that would keep us off the interstate and on the 2 lane back roads for about 95% of the trip. Now before anyone says something about this trip not being Fiero related, while I was in Pocatello Idaho, I spotted 4 Fiero's - 3 of which appeared to be non runners / parled for a while and one that was getting gas. In addition, The entire trip was dedicated to "spotting" Fiero's! We traveled a total of 2388 miles and only spotted the 4 in Idaho!
Anyway, the trip up was in my Wife's new Chevy Cruze and my son was driving his 99 S Blazer. When we first bought the Cruze, I was not really impressed - but the Wife liked it so that's how it went. I have to say that after spending all this time in the car, I am pleasantly surprized by the Cruze. We averaged 36.7 mpg and in some areas, I witnessed averages of 39 plus! It is comfortable, drives great and is all around a great car. Having said that, I will not be getting back in it anytime soon!
If you ever find yourself in the South West corner of Colorado, the following route is a must see/drive. The sscenery is with out a boubt, the most awesome I have ever seen and I have been all over this country. Going South from Grand Junction, we went through Montrose then South to Ouray on route 550. We stayed in Ridgway CO Saturday night - Eat at the "True Grit" Saloon - excellent food and atmosphere - lots of Western Film history too. Out of Ouray - still on 550 South we traveled up and over Red Mountain Pass. We spent about 3 hours in this area between Ouray and SIlverton - unbelievable area. Lots of mining history and railroad history. I could spend a month there. From Silverton, we went to Durango then to Pagosa Springs then to Chama, NM and then into Santa Fe, NM. Instead of hitting Interstate 25 South, we hit NM 14 through Madrid (Wild Hogs / Del Fuego's movie fame) and wound our way through the NM 2 lanes all the way over to Corona NM where we caught NM 54 all the way to El Paso - 1288 miles! It was another great drive and I am definitely going to be spending more time in South West Colorado.
Definitely. Wish we'd had a bit more time on this trip, but we all had to get back to work on Monday. Next year we'll come up a few days earlier and get some activities in. I love Colorado. 
Definitely a summer only place to visit for me.
I agree whole heartedly agree with the above statement. Would love to do something just like this but, getting several Fiero owners together and doing a trip like this takes a lot of planning and everyone being on the same sheet of music. Schedules have to be coordinated and let's face it, this kind of trip is one that takes fluid cash to go on. Most of my Fiero friends can't do something like this. I'm jealous, wish I could have been there also. Maybe next time. Thanks for posting pics of your adventure.
for the trip, I would not have had that problem.........
