Beautiful Colorado Welcomes you!
Posted on Jun 26th, 2009 at 7:14 am by team
And we welcome being in beautiful Colorado!
What a wonderful day it was. We rolled out of Cheyenne, WY at around 8am. Rick Williamson guided us to Route 210 west and we were on the open road with 170 miles to go until Steamboat Springs, CO (Thank you for everything, Rick!). We could not stop talking about the fresh high country air and the scenery was more beautiful by the minute. We saw baby antelopes, cowboys herding cattle and wild flowers all day along with. We are definitely west!
The above perspective is coming from inside the Maxwell. Meanwhile…Bengt, Ted, and Jonathan, our unsung film crew, were off getting malled by mosquitos from Cheyenne all the way to Steamboat Springs. Em and I are told to pretend they aren’t there as they climb on bridges, hide in cornfields, and scale steep embankments. Ignoring them is never easy, however, today it was an impossibility with the swarms of mosquitos! At one point one would film and the other would be swatting the skeeters off the other. High comedy to watch. Horrible to deal with head to toe bites. Hang in there guys! Sorry about the roaring laughter.
We felt like we flew to Laramie! Since we were making such good time, a coffee stop was in order. It was great fun to visit a drive through espresso bar with Babbs. Here we were able to get gas, feed Kaisa, chat and bid farewell to our friends, Pat Johnson and Karen Davidson. Pat and Karen met us at the hotel this morning to see us off and joined the ride to Laramie. They drove all the way from Arvado, CO. It was fun having them and their pup Chewy out there with us for a few hours. Thank you for all the pictures ladies!
As we were approaching the Wyoming/Colorado border we were told of a mysterious “old car” on the road that had not caught up with us yet. Shortly there after we were joined by Rich’s good friends Con Fletcher and Eva Morrison riding in their beautiful 1915 Pierce Arrow, Model 66.
Rich and Margaret Anderson (right) with Con Fletcher and Eva Morrison enjoying lunch in Walden, CO
After a relaxing lunch for the team and some oil and gas for Babbs, we hit the road.
Over the last couple days Emily and I have talked a bit about the upcoming elevation and we are a little nervous about the descents. This morning Em had her daily pep talk from Tim (AKA Coach) and he informed her that he made a few tweaks to the emergency brake and she needed to start testing it on some of the less steep grades to get a feel for braking that way.
We definitely took on some good hills today. Muddy Pass was an exciting landmark of the afternoon. The pass straddles the continental divide along the boundary between Jackson and Grand counties in Northern Colorado. All of a sudden we were at 8772 ft! Go Babbs, GO!
Onward and upwards to Rabbit Ears Pass. After we reached the eastern summit we realized where the name Rabbit Ears comes from. There are two summits. The east summit stands at 9,426 and the west at 9400. Babbs rallied the climbing and Emily ROCKED the descent. The western descent has a steep grade of seven percent for seven miles, and there seemed to be heavy rush hour traffic. It was a little frightening.
The entire teams hearts were in their throats. We were confident that Tim and Rich had prepped Babbs enough to make it, but the modern cars, recreational vehicles and trucks made it full of challenges.
Moving at an average of 35 miles an hour for 2 weeks has definitely given us a different perspective on things. Mainly makes us think about why people need to move so darn fast all the time. 
It was a great pleasure to see the car performing so well, meet the team and follow you to Laramie. Want you to know we really admire the courage, endurance and commitment ALL of you are showing to make this fantastic journey possible. Chewey really enjoyed getting out, sniffing the wild flowers and watching Babbs whiz by! Wish we could follow you on out to San Fran, but we know you’ll make it with flying colors. Be Safe!!
Pat & Karen
Pat Johnson, Karen Davidson & Chewey on June 26th, 2009 at 8:49 am #
Hey girls remember to adjust the carburetor at the higher elevations, this is something I had to do on a cross country road trip coming out of the Rockies …where is the carburetor on a Maxwell? You can do it rock on!
nancy b (and the gal500) on June 26th, 2009 at 10:01 am #
Wow! I saw your story on our local news station, and I just struck me after reading today’s entry that you have a team who help you with the car (tips on braking etc.) Alice’s original crew did not. But in any case how courageous it was for them and for you and your crew as well!
Welcome the challenges and show em’ what you are made of! Congratulations and welcome to Colorado!
Kristi Lewis on June 26th, 2009 at 11:12 am #
Welcome to beautiful Colorado!!! The drive down Rabbit Ears Pass is one of the most breath taking views in all of our state, as it spans the beautiful Yampa Valley. Just wanted to point out that the two huge out-croppings of rock, high at the summit of Rabbit Ears Pass look like “rabbit’s ears”, thus the name for the pass. Hope you didn’t miss seeing them:) What an exciting adventure you’re experiencing. There are a lot of woman (and men) who would love to be making that trip with you. My family came to Colorado by horse drawn wagons and by train in the late 1800’s…my how things have changed. God speed as you continue on your trip.
Maryel Brown Shurtz on June 26th, 2009 at 11:13 am #
We’re anxiously awaiting your arrival in Sacramento!
We would very much like to drive with you into San Francisco!
Dan on June 26th, 2009 at 12:55 pm #
Go Go Go Ladies! I live in Colorado and his is the first I heard of your trip and I think it is fantastic!
Ann on June 26th, 2009 at 2:31 pm #
Just read about you on 9News.com, a local Denver station. Must say I’m totally green with envy at your adventure! What a way to do a road trip! I’ll be keeping up with you from this point forward….just sorry I didn’t know to get started sooner! Travel mercies for the remainder of your trip and thanks for the kind words re: CO! It is a beautiful state, isn’t it?
glo gaines on June 26th, 2009 at 2:57 pm #
So glad you have made it to Colorado! Had heard of Babbs acting up again and wondered what you had decided. You have a wonderful team and many well wishers that are pushing you forward. You just have to make the entire drive! My brother lives in Colorado and we had planned on joining you again in Cheyenne with he and his wife until both of our cars had problems. Anyway I know you two, Babbs and the team will make it. Just remember to rush those “hills” and drive safely.
Jenny Washburn
Jenny Washburn on June 26th, 2009 at 7:19 pm #
Congratulations women! I am so proud to have been able to hop in the car with you. Earlier someone made a comment that the original drive didn’t have support. Alice had support! She was sponsored by Maxwell and ran into problems regularly. She did a lot on her own, but her car wasn’t 100 years old either. ;) Way to rise above the set backs. I think Alice is riding with you now.
cecily on June 26th, 2009 at 7:27 pm #
Welcome to Colorado! I just read about your trip via 9news.com (a Denver news channel) and I must say I think it sounds fantastic! I hope you’re having a great time – it sure sounds like it…and I hope that the altitude doesn’t affect you too much :)
Best of luck, stay safe and happy travels!
Erica on June 26th, 2009 at 7:32 pm #
Being an avid antique car buff I was amazed today to see a ‘09 Maxwell parked about a block from my house in Dinosaur Colo. I HAD to stop and check it out. I was aware of Alice’s original trip, but hadn’t heard a thing about Emily’s Centennial trip. The crew was in great spirits: possibly from getting the Rockies behind them, and the car looked great. A neighbor stopped by in his Model A to look at “Babs”, and it was fun comparing how much progress had been made in the 2 decades between the two cars. The Maxwell was huge compared to the “A”. A major rainstorm came through shortly after the group’s departure, and I hope Emily and all made it to Vernal without getting too wet. There are still a couple of major climbs for them on the Victory between here and Salt Lake, and then “America’s Lonliest Hiway” but I have faith they’ll pull it off.
Looking forward to reading how the rest of the trip goes.
Best wishes
Gary and family
Gary on June 26th, 2009 at 10:17 pm #
Heard about your story on the news today – and wished I’d had known sooner, as we were in Grand County at the same time. I’m so excited for you and your adventure, enjoy and be safe. I trust the Rockies treated you well dring your visit.
Will be keeping up with your story as you make your way further West! Go Babs Go!
Be safe and God speed.
Kimer, Bruce and Collin
Kimer on June 27th, 2009 at 9:55 pm #
I’m really happy I had the opportunity today to catch up on your adventures so far, and am greatly relieved to know you made it safely thorough the Rockies. I’m certainly grateful you have such a good team riding with you.
As “cecily on June 26″ pointed out, Alice R. had the support of Maxwell but she wasn’t driving a 100-year-old car either. Whew, hadn’t thought of that before; maybe Babbs will have a new career opportunity endorsing vitamins?
Stay safe,
Karen M (Bellevue, WA)
Karen Morisset on June 29th, 2009 at 12:37 pm #