Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/721869
September / October 2016 35 Play SLIDESHOW 2 hours out and 2.5 hours back. We even took a detour to Skyline Drive. Picture a tightrope of a road dancing along the thin crest of cliffs on both sides. Words and video can't do it justice. After Skyline, we put the hammer down and made it to the Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge is an expansion bridge extending 1,260 ft. side to side. The bottom of the gorge is 1,053 ft. straight down. The park ranger closed the bridge temporarily so 40+ Porsches could parade across and then parade back. It was the oddest feeling, driving your car while feeling the bridge sway up and down, left and right beneath your wheels. Once we were back on terra firma, we began the winding road home, all-be-it not quite as quick as Kansas City Fun-Runs. The pace may not have been quick, but the drive was beautiful. Saturday was going to be another full day drive to St. Elmo's Ghost Town and back. (Est. 5 hours) The plan was to take some spooky pictures with our shiny new Porsches contrasting against the crumbling background of the ghost town. It was not meant to be. The thought of spending another full day, followed by an eight-hour day back to Kansas City sounded like a little too much seat time. A leg stretching exploration of Manitou Springs and Old Town Colorado City were in order, a.k.a shopping. The ladies were thrilled! I don't know what is more taxing, five hours driving or five hours of following our women from shop to shop to shop. Their ability to marvel at each new boutique, candle store, T-shirt emporium, and jeweler is a wonder to behold. The men were left winded. Each of us were struggling to find park benches in which to sit and wait on, hoping not to have to carry yet another souvenir bag. That evening brought the farewell banquet. A slide show played photos of cars, drives, and funny moments over the last few days, as we filed in to save seats. Our guest speaker for the evening was Denis Hovington from the PCA National Office. Being the Controller / Director of Finance, he gave us some unique insight to the growth of PCA, financial stability, and the diversity of the club. The events festivities ended later that evening with door prizes and thank-yous all around for all the volunteers. The Alpine Mountain Region really did go all out. They provided three days of driving events (half-day options or full-day options for each day), organizing lunches and dinners, a gymkhana, a show-n-shine and even closed state parks for us to drive through. Thank you AMR for a wonderful weekend getaway. Now, what's next? The Red River Region in Arkansas has their Palooza in November. That event is only 221 miles away. I wonder what the guys at breakfast will say about that? - STAN Photos by Stan Thorne & Fred Quintana