Back in June 2017, we took our RV into the Colorado Rockies and unexpectedly met up with a special friend of mine from high school the day she was hosting a rally for the Rocky Mountain Porsche 356 Club. Before we knew it, Mark and I had each hopped into a cute little roadster.
We arrived in Colorado just in time to participate in a Porsche 356 rally.
We started in Georgetown, Colorado, and once the group of twelve colorful vintage sports cars had gathered, we were off on a beautiful day of driving west of Denver through some of Colorado’s best mountain scenery.
Colorful little roadsters ready for a ride!
We did a big loop through some of Colorado’s most breathtaking scenery, starting in Georgetown.
Our planned route would take us over four of Colorado’s big mountain passes: Loveland Pass, Vail Pass, Tennessee Pass and Fremont Pass. Almost as soon as we hit the highway, the snowcapped mountain peaks began to frame every view.
Happy drivers take their vintage Porsches for a ride.
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Beautiful scenery!
The Porsche 356 is a sweet little car that was made from 1948 to 1965. It has two seats up front and a tiny seat in the back. We switched our seating around a few times, and my favorite spot was that little back seat where I had a view of the mountains in every direction.
I had a great view in all directions from the back seat.
In June the mountains were still covered in snow.
The best view was out the back, and I just snapped away with the camera while Mark rode in another car and talked with the driver about all things Porsche for a very happy few hours.
What a place for a Saturday drive!
It was a glorious late June day and the snow glistened in the bright, warm sun. We weren’t the only ones out enjoying the gorgeous roads and mountains scenery. A cyclist crested Loveland Pass just as we did.
It was a lot easier to get to the top of this pass in a Porsche!
The snow was still surprisingly thick on the mountains, and at one point we even saw skiers zooming downhill at a ski resort. It was a blast to sit in the back seat and watch the line of Porsches snaking around all the curves behind us.
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At one point we all parked and got out to stretch our legs and enjoy the views. The mountains were lovely, but I got a kick out of seeing the back sides of all the Porshce 356s lined up in the parking area!!
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When we got back out on the road again, I was reminded of some of the really fun experiences we’ve had with sports cars out on the open road during our RV travels.
One of the best was the Idaho’s Sun Valley Road Rally, which takes place around the third weekend in July each year. We were fortunate to see the second edition of the Sun Valley Road Rally in 2009 when four members of a family each raced the family Porsche down a straight stretch of the Sawtooth Scenic Byway, achieving higher and higher speeds. The son won the day with a top speed of 188 mph.
We saw it again in 2014 when a fleet of Bugatti Veyrons entered the race. One hit a top speed of 246 mph! A cute 81 year old woman raced her Corvette too, reaching a peak speed of 166 while the loudspeakers played “Little Old Lady of Pasadena.” When she hopped out of her Corvette after she finished, she turned around and her T-shirt said, “Go Granny Go!”
This fun Porsche rally brought back memories of other exotic car events on the open road.
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At one point our group of Porsche 356s had to stop and refuel.
How fun to see all the Porsches taking turns at the gas station.
But soon we were out on the road again, winding our way through majestic mountain views.
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A few years ago, we saw the amazing Nevada Open Road Challenge which is held each May. Sports car enthusiasts from all over brought some of the most exotic looking racing cars to Ely, Nevada, to race against the clock on 90 miles of back roads to Las Vegas.
Big mountains. Little Porsche!
Just like the Sun Valley Road Rally, spectators are allowed to mingle with the drivers in the Nevada Open Road Challenge. What a thrill it was to see the drivers get suited up and take off in that race.
It turned out that there are lots of opportunities for people to volunteer and help with the Nevada Open Road Challenge, and we talked with some of the folks about what a good time they had being a part of such an unusual car race.
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Near the end of our beautiful ride through Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, all the Porsches parked in a line for some photo ops. We were delighted to capture these colorful cars all in a row, and the owners proudly posed next to their cars for another round of pics.
A rainbow of pretty Porsches.
More Porsches join them.
Classy class photo!
I can’t think of a better way to get an overview of the magnificence of Colorado’s mountain scenery than to hop in the back of a friend’s convertible Porsche 356 and drive all around the state for a day. What luck!
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But even if you don’t have a friend who has restored a vintage Porsche to take you on an exquisite ride, this part of Colorado is stunning no matter what vehicle you’re in. A map of the route is below in the reference links.
We never know where our travels will take us!
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The Porsche 356 Rally Route:
- The Loop: Loveland Pass – Vail Pass – Tennessee Pass – Fremont Pass – Interactive Google Maps
Other cool car rallies & races – Model A’s in Maine, sports car races in Sun Valley & Nevada, and Porsches in San Diego:
- Sturgis Motorcycle Rally – Wild and Free in South Dakota’s Black Hills!
- Acadia National Park – Alluring Beauty on the Maine Coast
- Sun Valley Road Rally – Go Granny Go!
- Nevada Open Road Challenge – A NEED for SPEED!
- San Diego’s Shelter Island – A Lively Waterfront!
More stories from our RV trips to Colorado:
- Sheep May Safely Graze (in the Mountains with Dogs!)
- Hartman Rocks – A Different View of Colorado near Gunnison
- Creede, CO – Mining History & Championships + 4th of July!
- Buena Vista Colorado – What a Place for an RV Breakdown!
- Rocky Mountain National Park & Trail Ridge Road: RV? Dog??
- Lake Granby Colorado RV Trip – A Summer Beach Vacation!
- Remote RV Camping: Antero Reservoir & Blue River Colorado
- Burro Days! Burro Races, Llamas & Outhouses in Fairplay CO
- Crested Butte – Wildflower Capital of Colorado!
- Silver Thread Scenic Byway in Colorado – Fire in the Sky!
- Telluride Gondola Ride in Colorado – FREE and Dog Friendly!
- Rocky Mountain High: Alpine Beauty in Colorado + Trout Lake!
- Where All News is Good News – At the Saguache Crescent in CO
- Lakes and Light in Wyoming and Colorado
- Cowboy Poetry Gatherings in Durango, Colorado, and Alpine, Texas!
- Brilliant Fall Foliage + Snow in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado
- Colorado’s San Juan Skyway – An RV Trip in Dazzling Fall Color!
- San Juan Mountains Colorado – And then it Snowed!
- RV Trip on Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway – Ouray to Silverton
- Ouray – Finding the COLOR in Colorado on an RV Trip!
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO – Steep and Deep!
- Romance at Maroon Bells Colorado!
- Colorado GOLD – A Fall Foliage Photography Workshop
- Ridgway, CO – Peak fall foliage on the Dallas Divide – WOW!!
- Colorado National Monument & Fruita CO – Red Rocks, Cycling & Wine!
- Mesa Verde National Park, CO – Life on the Edge with the Ancients
Our most recent posts:
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What glorious country for an open-air convertible ride – in the back-seat 🙂 As a VW addict, can’t help but wonder if there are similar “vintage bug” rallies !!!
It was an ideal day in every way. There are rallies for various kinds of cars all over the place, and I’m sure there are vintage VW clubs. We saw a wonderful VW Microbus gathering at Lake Havasu, Arizona, and posted our pics and story about it here and here.
Looks beautiful, especially in a convertible Porsche! That snow with the sunny day must have made for a beautiful and perfect ride!
It was an incredible drive, Pete, with absolutely picture perfect conditions!!