Date:         Wed, 22 May 1996 09:34:00 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Maher, Steve (SD-MS)" <SMAHER@gi.com>
Subject:      RE: Vanagon/Eurovan rentals in Colorado?


>I'll be flying out to Colorado in the beginning of August and will need to
>rent a car for an all too brief driving tour of the state - 10 days only 
:-(
>
>Does anyone know of a livery that handles Vanagons or Eurovans. I need a 
lot
>of headroom, and don't find enough in most vehicles, other than a Volvo or
>full-size pickup.
>
>We will either fly into Denver and go from there, take a shuttle flight to
>Durango and start in the bottom left corner of the map.  Any suggestions
>would be appreciated.


Don't know any VW-rental places around there, aside from the obvious ploy
of calling dealers in the local towns. If they don't rent VW Vans 
themselves,
they probably know who does, if anybody does.

But... don't miss Rocky Mountain National Park, in the north-central part
of the state. Take Hwy 34 east from Loveland and stay on it forever. Bring
a camera and a LOT of film-- you'll be glad you did.

Then go south thru Heeney to Summit County, and picnic on the shores of
Lake Dillon. Catch it during a Hobie Cat regatta-- a zillion sails, no
two colors alike. Got a bicycle? Bike trails exist from Dillon to Frisco
to Copper Mountain and Breckenridge, and all the way to Vail via Vail
Pass (elev. 11,000 ft) for those in Olympic condition. (Dillon to Frisco
to Breck is fairly flat, a nice ride, and ends at an ice cream shop in
Breck!)

While in Dillon, if you have time, Drive thru the Keystone ski area to the
ex-town of Montezuma. From there, ask directions to Como Pass. It's an
unpaved road over the continental divide to Denver, that follows the first
narrow-gauge railroad to enter Summit County from the east plains. The
original train station is still up there from the 1800's-- roof caved in
but the native-stone walls still standing. It's in fairly good shape,
easily drivable by an ordinary car, and duck soup for a VW Van.


When done there, head east from Dillon on I-70. Check out the narrow-gauge
railroad yard in Silver Plume, and the operating narrow-gauge line just
down the hill in Georgetown. Then a little farther down the interstate to
Dumont and Downieville, and hang a right on the Mt. Evans road. This will
take you past Echo Lake and up to the top of 14000+ Mt. Evans, site of the
worlds highest paved road, all the way to where a restaurant used to be
at the top. Actually, "paved" is something of an exaggeration for this road.
Park in the parking lot and walk up the short trail in the rocks to the 
east.
See what's on the other side, about 100 yards from the parking lot.

When I lived in Dillon and the B-case SP engine in my '69 bus finally split
in half, I replaced it with a '74 bug engine bought from a wreck in Dumont.
The maiden voyage was to the top of Mt. Evans, for no particular reason.
Three quarters of the way up, a flock of mountain goats jumped from the
cliff to the right of the road, to the steep downslope on the left, right
in front of the windshield. Way cool.
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 Steve Maher     smaher@gi.com    '80 V6anagon    '66 Mustang Coupevertible
 http://www.wp.com/IrishMafia         "Gun control means using both hands!"