DURANGO
— Dozens of vintage sports and race cars rumbled through downtown
Durango on Thursday as part of The Colorado Grand, an annual 1,000-mile
Western Slope charity tour.
The
exact route and stops vary each year, but the tour traditionally begins
and ends in Vail; it last visited Durango in 2009. Thursday’s itinerary
involved a complete loop around the scenic San Juan Skyway. Drivers left
Telluride in the morning and passed through Ridgway, Ouray and
Silverton before making a pit stop in Durango. From here, they continued
to Mancos, Dolores, Rico and finally Telluride again.
On
the lawn outside the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad,
Durango Elks Lodge 507 prepared a lunch of sandwich wraps and antipasto
salad for the drivers and their entourage. The nonprofit Elks Lodge was
selected by Bob Kunkel, executive director of the Durango Business
Improvement District, to receive two monetary donations from the tour: a
$5,000 scholarship for a 2013 Durango High School graduate to be
determined and $6,000 (less the cost of the lunch) that the lodge
intends to spend on basic supplies for vulnerable war veterans. Those
include meals, toiletries, clothing for job interviews and travel
vouchers, said fundraising organizer Lori Rundquist.
Costumed
waitresses from the nearby Diamond Belle Saloon and women in classic
Victorian garb strolled the block between Fifth and Sixth streets to
give the visitors an “Old West” welcome.
“Whenever they want a little ambience, they call us up,” said Eliane Viner.
Tennessee
native Tom Smith was the first driver to arrive at the train depot.
Despite driving a sleek silver 1952 Aston Martin with bright red leather
seats that most car enthusiasts could only dream of, Smith was in awe
and downright giddy about the vehicles following behind him.
“These are some really, really special cars here. I’ve seen cars this week that I’ve only ever seen in magazines,” he said.
Soon
enough, 89 other classics joined. Ferraris and Allards, Austin-Healeys
and Jaguars drew gawking stares from bystanders as they rolled into
parking spaces. Some were alumni of the historic Circuit de la Sarthe
racing course in Le Mans, France, as their owners were proud to note.
Receiving
special acclaim this year was the Shelby Cobra, the “little car, big
engine” icon celebrating its 50th anniversary. Organizers bent the rules
to accommodate the Cobras because the tour normally accepts only models
manufactured before 1960.
The
cars, most of them rare collector items and normally immaculately kept,
were splattered with mud and water spots from traversing several
mountain passes in inclement weather.
Drivers
were grateful for the warm temperatures and sunny skies, having spent
Wednesday pummeled by heavy rain. More than half the cars were open-top
and, unlike modern convertibles, lacked motorized roof panels that could
be closed at the touch of a button. Drivers had no choice but to put on
raincoats and forge ahead.
“It was
a deluge (Wednesday),” said Brian Murray, participating in his 18th
Grand. “I had a half inch of standing water on the floor, and my
headlights were filled up with rain. But they’re still working for now.”
The
late car collector and racer Robert D. Sutherland founded The Colorado
Grand in 1989. In the last 24 years, the tour has donated a cumulative
$3.3 million to small nonprofits such as the Elks Lodge, as well as the
Colorado State Patrol, an agency with which Sutherland had a close
relationship.
Since 2001, the tour
also has supported a foundation, affiliated with the University of
Colorado-Boulder’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, that
offers affordable, sliding-scale treatment for bipolar patients.
Sutherland suffered from the disorder before his death in 1999.
“It’s great fun to drive on the open road, enjoy your car and support a good cause at the same time,” Murray said.
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