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We started the day in a small town called Ouray, Ouray only has a population of 1,000. was really quiet and just what we wanted after spending a few days in the city of Denver. did i mention how incredible to drive into town was?  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We got up early to hit the road hard. To be swiftly stopped in our tracks.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr yep, thats right. the road out of town was closed, the only road to get to where we needed to be. unless we wanted to drive almost all the way back to colorado springs we had no option than to wait it out. we got told that they was not sure when the road was to be opened, there was lots of snow on the road and the plows where clearing it. We was told to come back in around 2 hours. now, there wasn't really much to do in the small quiet town or Ouray but we made the most of it, and it was such an incredible day to just walk around this small town, chat to locals and just see what quiet American town living would be like.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr Ouray has the nickname "the Switzerland of America" because of the high mountains rising on three and a half sides of town. The town was named after Chief Ouray of the Ute Indians, a local tribe. Originally established by miners looking for silver and gold, Ouray had more than thirty active mines in 1875.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr There was one petrol station in town, i think they sold me some dirty fuel as the e30 was running like sh!t for a while after this, wouldnt let it dampen the mood or ruin the roads that laid ahead. We headed back up to where the road was previously closed and alas, this was our view.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr no more closed road!! time to hit the 550. There is around 40 accidents a year resulting in around 7 deaths annually. this was a dangerous road but it was certainly a drive i wanted to do. We took it steady, stopped when we wanted to do and just enjoyed the road ahead. Which is exactly what a road trip is for. There are many legends about how the highway got its name. Some say it was named for the million-dollar views. Others claim the nickname stuck after would-be road-trippers claimed they wouldn’t drive the highway for a million dollars. But the name actually came from a planning meeting in the 1920s where, while discussing rebuilding the highway between Ouray and Silverton, someone at the meeting remarked that the project would cost a million dollars — an incredible sum for such a short span of road construction at the time. Once construction was complete, the name stuck, and the Million Dollar Highway was born.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr we found the snow and at the peak of the mountains, i really needed to pee, i did not have adequate footwear and i was scarred something was going to attack and eat me when i had my meat out.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr fresh snow with just animal tracks  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr After a quick snowball fight and a little walk around we hopped back in the car to try and find some form of life.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr I wanted to top up the car with some good fuel and see if it solved the running issues, thankfully it did, grabbed some snacks and drinks for the rest of the drive. time to get out of the cold and follow the 550 all the way into New Mexico, Albuquerque.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr |
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That's all for now, let me know if you are happy with the new updates and your favorite part so far.
i will get some more uploads for you later.
(i want your interaction)
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Looks a good trip, really enjoying the narrative ...
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Looks a good trip, really enjoying the narrative ... thank you sir, i will keep up the journey and the facts for you. |
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as we pulled into Albuquerque i met up with my good friend Matthew Jet, Matt has a red early model e30 but much much nicer than mine. We met him and a couple of his friends for some food and planned our stay in Albuquerque.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We gave the e30 its first bath since we left LA! poor girl was kind of grimy to say the least.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr The e30 had the wrong ICV and airbox. Matt had an early model 325e parts car that he kindly let me have the airbox and a new ICV. was nice to have it all correct in the engine bay. We hung around for the day and headed back to the hotel as we had a very early rise the next day, 4am wake up, long before the sun was up. Thankfully our time in Albuquerque was in line with the Albuquerque balloon fiesta. Which is the largest balloon event in the world, and also, it is the most photographed event in the world. (apparently)  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We grabbed ourselves some of the New Mexico famous breakfast burritos. which where delicious and a cup of coffee and walked around the festival. I am certainly not a hot air balloon enthusiast but it was certainly interesting to experience.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We left the balloon festival around 9/10 and headed across town as Matt told me a small cars and coffee gathering was going on.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr it was nice to see and park with equally as clean and powerful cars as our mighty e30 325e.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr i really really liked this SS!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr wouldn't say no to the GT3 either, equally as nice of a car to drive across the USA in.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We hung out for the rest of the day and got an early night because we got up so early we was quite drained of energy. The next day we got up when we got up and there was this place Nicholl wanted to go check out, TinkerTown.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr It took Ross Ward over 40 years to carve, collect, and lovingly construct what is now Tinkertown Museum. His miniature wood-carved figures were first part of a traveling exhibit, driven to county fairs and carnivals in the 1960s and ’70s. Today over 50,000 glass bottles form rambling walls that surround a 22-room museum. Wagon wheels, old fashioned store fronts, and wacky western memorabilia make Tinkertown’s exterior as much as a museum as the wonders within.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr This is crazy that there was a boat in the Tinkertown Museum that has found its way from Maldon, Essex all the way to the centre of the USA in New Mexico. I grew up not far from Maldon and i now currently live in one of the neighboring towns to Maldon!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr And have a read of this and have a little think about it.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We went to Rudys to get some BBQ and that ended our time in NM, next stop... TEXAS!!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr |
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It was time to leave New Mexico. There was still a little bit of route 66 that i wanted to hit up before we was unable to anymore as old route 66 now starts heading north and our destination was South East.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr As we drove off from Albuquerque we passed through Santa Rosa, We drove along and i found this strange monument so we had to pull in and stop, and then under further investigation it ended up being a small auto museum.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr wouldn't mind taking that Camaro for a spin up old route 66, who's coming with me on that one?? After the Auto Museum we cruised the old strip and stopped off at a few locations for some pictures and grab some snacks.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr That evening we are staying at a hotel in Amarillo, Texas. On route to the hotel we stumbled on a few old cars stuck in the dirt.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We got to the Cadillac Ranch quite late, the sun was setting and not to mention it was around -2 degrees C. It was cold to say the least! oh, have i mentioned the e30 doesn't have any heating.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  by ben walsh, on Flickr We got to our hotel and the hotel receptionist asked us our dinner plans and he advised that there was a big steak house down the road and he could arrange a "texas limo" to take us there courtesy of the hotel. they have an arrangement with said steak house. was i going to turn down this gesture. absolutely not!!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr honestly, wouldn't have expected anything less. LOVED IT! for once i didn't have to drive so i took advantage and got myself a wooden block of beer.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr and some steak, ive had better, ive had worse. all round great night though!!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr back in the long horned stretched Cadillac and off we went back to the hotel. |
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I have really enjoyed your trip so far - having lived here for coming up on 30 years now I tend to take some of this stuff for granted. Seeing it all through your eyes, fresh and new, has given me a new appreciation for it all again.
I have recently been thinking of getting the station wagon in shape so that I can do a 30th anniversary trip - this thread has made me all the more keen to do so. Thanks.
Keep the updates coming.
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mylittletony
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,419
Club RR Member Number: 84
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I've been there!!! Was 2005 but I'm fairly sure some of the cars are the same. Awesome trip pal, making me want to go back very badly! |
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Really enjoyed the updates, thanks for taking the time.
For some reason, I'm hungry now!
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thanks for all the replies guys, it does mean a lot! VW thanks man, got a lot more to update you all on, its scary to think this is only about half way through the journey!! wildrover you should 100% get out and drive, what part of the states are you currently living in? mylittletony thats crazy! hope this brought back some fond memories, what was you doing in that area? georgeb tell me about it, i'm always hungry it seems, food over here just doesn't quite hit the same as over there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am about to go outside and do some work on the car, unfortunately its not on the e30  depressingly enough, tomorrow, August 4th, we where meant to be flying back to California to do a 3 week road trip. damn Covid! |
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jmsheahan
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 689
Club RR Member Number: 121
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Just read from start to current - what an AWESOME read, trip looks so much fun, and that E30, what a trooper! Keep the updates coming  |
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been reading this on and off at work when i can. it has become my favourite serialisation. looks like you and your good lady have done a once in a lifetime road trip in a fantastic little car. pics are superb and make me feel i am there watching. buckled in for next instalment.
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jmsheahan & hairdoo thank you guys so much, it really means a lot that everyone is enjoying this and the updates. i will keep them coming for you all. It truly was a once in a lifetime trip and i am so glad that we took the risk to do it. now, we have slipped into Texas, but we are going to carry on driving East and view what OKC has to offer.
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thomfr
Part of things
Trying to assemble the Duett again..
Posts: 694
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Great trip!
We did a part of it in 2008 (in a Fourrunner ;-( ). Seeing NYC flying over to LA, via HW 1 to SF, Brice, Zion, Yosimite, Vegas etc. Would love to go back.
Loving your posts.
Thom
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73' Alfa Giulia Super
64' Volvo Duett
65' Volvo Duett
67' Volvo Amazon 123GT
09' Ford Focus 1.8
20' VW ID4
71' Benelli Motorella
65' Cyrus Speciaal
The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys
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Cool seeing this from someone else’s eyes, I was born and raised in the USand live in Ohio. I don’t think we all appreciate how cool this piece of land really is.
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Amarillo, TX was just an over night stay, on our way out from the hotel to our next destination Oklahoma City I spotted another car museum, after giving the wife the look, she granted permission that we could go look around some more old cars. Bills Backyard Classics, Amarillo  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr what do you guys think, a mural like the above but on the back of the e30??  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr This 500 SLC just oozes class!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr Now, Bill had an incredible collection, but i would say, he did have a little too much, he had around 3 large barns absolutely packed to the brim, as you can see in the photos, it was really hard to walk around the cars let alone take photos of them. anyway, it was time to hit the road again, we wanted to go find ourselves a bite to eat and also see what the town of Amarillo had to offer.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  by ben walsh, on Flickr and we found our answer, sweet F all. so onwards and upwards, time to find some food.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr We had a chance to hit up some more of old route 66, i figured why not go see what we could go and explore.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr This looked like an awesome old antique store, look at all them signs!! unfortunately, no one was around as i would have loved what was inside the actual shop. did find some awesome BBQ though!!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr And with our belly's full and another full tank in the e30 it was time to get back on the road and get to Oklahoma City.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr lock the doors, don't stop and keep on driving. Looks like a scene out of the walking dead. so we just kept on truckin' There really isn't much to see in OKC but when you're in the 405... it would be rude not to stop in on a couple of places of interest. This place doesn't really need much commentary or introduction, i am sure you all know of this madhouse.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr i was tempted to put a slip in but, i didnt want to put them all to shame to be honest.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr was pretty cool to see the FarmBird. We also headed across town to see Midwest Street Cars, but the gates where closed....  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr Anyway, it was time to head south back to Texas, next destination: Dallas! |
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WE had 3 days planned for Dallas, first on the list of places to go check out, Gas Monkey Garage.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr This guy knows how to do his marketing and lay out his store and just all the merchandise that you can buy. He was currently in the process of building his showroom around the corner for his car collection.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr that was on the inside of the store, it was a rather wet and miserable day so there was unfortunately not much going on outside.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr now, it was heading for lunch time, and you should all know what that means. When in Texas, we BBQ and Gas Monkey had the bar and grill just around the corner. Richard was actually in there when we went in for lunch but i wasn't going to bother him whilst he was eating. I mean, he didn't want to bother me when i was eating!  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr i really really want some grits right now. and there was one other shop after lunch that i wanted to go check out!! |
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The next shop on the list was of course, Arc Light Fab.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr for those of you who don't know, this is Aaron Kauffman's shop.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr i think he was expecting us.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr It was really awesome to stand around and chat shop with Aaron for quite a while, he gave us a personal tour of the shop and all his projects. He is such a busy guy but was so genuinely and didn't rush us and just took his time. It was so clear how much passion he had with every vehicle and object in his shop. We stood around talking, explained our trip, where we have been and where we are going, he seemed so interested and even gave us some tips on some places we should go visit. Super cool. A friend of mine bumped into him a year later and mentioned about the English couple that drove across America in an e30 and he genuinely remembered us and asked how we where doing, was really nice to know he actually remembered us as i am sure many people go through his doors on a daily basis. Aaron loved the e30 and was trying to convince me to leave the e30 with him so he could 2J swap it, unfortunately the bank account said no.  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr  Untitled by ben walsh, on Flickr |
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This just gets better and better!
All hail the Kauffmeister
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