This year's Red Carpet Tour was so much fun. It was titled "Hunting for fun in Cle Elum". Cle Elum is a small town in Eastern Washington, just over Snoqualmie Pass. Troy and I were in charge of the "getting there" tour. Our main objective was to find backroads, that allowed the old cars to do between 45-50mph all the way to Cle Elum. Troy and I spent a few trips, we had to wait until the snow melted, trying to find just the perfect route. With a couple of suggestions from other club members, we found the perfect tour route. Since this was just the small tour, we only had to worry about a dozen cars or so. Much more easy to manage. Most of the time we were able to keep everyone in sight. Which is a big deal when leading a tour. People don't like getting lost, and we've found they don't like reading their maps either! They simply want to follow and enjoy. :) I have to admit, I do too.
Our drive began in the Cascade foothills and snaked up between E & W bound of I-90. We immediately ran into unexpected traffice due to I-90 being down a lane because of maintenance. It was literally bumper-to-bumper and a lot of our group was beginning to have problems with their cars overheating. We fortunately got through that mess before anything major happened.
The exit we took to begin the tourc is called Asahel Curtis and the old-timers loved it! The road was shaded by thick evergreen forest and smelled of dry pine needles...that has to be my favorite smell ever! It was much needed relief after sitting on the highway sweltering for 45 minutes. After we were over the pass, we were forced to make our way back on the interstate a couple of times because we pass by Lake Kechless, with no alternite routes. That is very frightening. We tried our best to stay together and let people go around us. Let me tell you, semi trucks flying by at 70mph while you are driving in an antique car is very intimidating. We finally pulled in to Lake Easton and unpacked our picnic lunches. Everyone was ready for a break.
After lunch we finished our tour, which was amazingly beautiful. The weather was perfect. Sunny with a slight breeze. We drove our way into Cle Elum to our lodge, unpacked and wiped down the cars and rested before dinner.
Dinner was provided at the Teanaway Grange. They cooked us a wonderful meal of homemade lasagna, salad and shortcake. It was delicious and the view from this place was incredible. It sits on a knoll overlooking the Teanaway Valley. The sun was setting and the view of the sprinklers on the fields was gorgeous. The old cars, in all of their glory, were spiffed up and shining in the setting sun. I would love to go back.
The next day of the tour took us through Salmon le Sac. This was a beautiful drive through campsites, old cemetaries and through the historic town of Roslyn. We were headed back to the park for lunch when our truck died. We had run out of gas! The gas guage was stuck at 3/4 of a tank for the longes time and we paid no attention. Troy one the booby prize at the very end of the tour for this! Luckily the rear car stopped to see if we needed help. Debbie drove Troy into town to buy a gas can and gas. That evening we enjoyed another trip to the park. This time we walked. The BBQ we had was so good. We played pin the tale on the moose for fun and games. It was really fun to see all of the old-timers blind folded trying to pin the tale. ..needless to say there was a bit of cheating going on. We had such fun!
The next day took us to Yakima Canyon. This drive reminded me a lot of Idaho. It was sunny and beautiful. One of the cars broke down at the bottom of the canyon and Troy and I thought we were going to have to two him into town. You can see in this picture what it takes to get things fixed...at least five heads under the hood and just as many opinions on what it takes to get it done. We never did get to finish this tour. We spent two hours working on Jim's car and then hightailed it back to the lodge.
The evening dinner was at the Cle Elum Senior Center. Boy, what a beautiful facility. They sure know how to welcome guests. Their event coordinator did the napkins and the whole bit. The evening was full of laughter and fun. Eric drove over from Seattle and joined us.
Here a picture of Friday's tour stop. Troy and I went for a walk, and I kid you not, 15 minutes later everyone was gone! This perimeter of this lot was completely full when we left. Where did everybody go????
My favorite car....
Our ride...
The end. I am already excited about next year. Victoria, B.C. here we come!
Canyon at Sunset...turning purple
Canyon at Sunset...turning purple
