The December car of the month is owned by the Davis County Sheriff’s Office in Utah. This 2008 SKY Redline is primarily a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) car which was sold to the Davis County Sheriff’s Office by Saturn of Riverdale in Riverdale, Utah for 1 penny.  Local businesses donated the markings and the lights. Its primary function is as a DARE car. But it has a siren and all the lights it needs to perform as a police cruiser. Deputy Archibald is the lucky deputy that gets to drive it around during his shift. Deputy Archibald was gracious enough to come out on his own time to hang out with the Salt Lake Roadsters for the Davis Applied Technology Center car show.  If you think your SKY draws a crowd you should see the crowd that shows up when one has lights and sirens. 

We would like to thank the Davis County D.A.R.E. Officer for bringing his car to the DATC car show last week.  All of us and many at the show were excited to see a sky police cruiser.

They are planning on coming to our next car show at the Burger Stop on October 22^nd.

Nebo Loop Scenic Byway

This byway crosses the Uinta National Forest between the cities of Nephi and Payson. It climbs to over 9,000 feet in elevation and provides breathtaking views of Utah valley, the Wasatch Mountains and 11,928-foot Mount Nebo, the tallest mountain in the Wasatch Range.

The Nebo Loop Byway is a photographer's dream with many overlooks and wildlife viewing opportunities. The brilliant fall foliage of the Uinta National Forest is hard to match anywhere in the nation.

Along the byway, numerous campgrounds, trail systems and popular horseback riding areas are available for exploration. A unique scenic feature is the Devil’s Kitchen Geologic Interest Site with picnic facilities, a paved trail and observation deck. The spectacular red color of this amphitheater, with its many spires reminiscent of Bryce, is a brilliant contrast to the mountain greenery surrounding it. The eroded sandstone formation’s startling red color adds contrast to the mountain greenery found through the rest of the byway.

The Payson Lakes Recreation Area, 12 miles south of Payson, offers hiking on paved trails, improved picnic areas, camping and excellent fishing. This byway also provides backcountry trail access into the Mount Nebo Wilderness Area.

The 38-mile byway takes about 1½ hours to complete. It is closed in the winter.

Ticket to Telluride, the heading just shouted excitement. Seems the New Mexico Chapter had this great idea for a regional meet, and what a great idea it turned out to be. Cars from 5 states descended on the town of Durango Colorado.

Dave & Val met Angie and Me on Friday morning at the Target in Layton. The cars were all shinned up and the passengers were excited to be off. We headed south on I-15 to exit 258 where we then changed course and began a southeastern route along US-6. A quick stop in Price for lunch at Wendy's and we were off again.The road was wide open. Little traffic hindered us as we traveled through the scenic country in the heart of Utah. Before we knew it the landscape began to change slightly red.  

We pulled into Moab and stopped for gas, and other necessities. A tourist from Sweden was taking photos of the cars as we exited the store. She told us her friend back home would be so jealous she had seen the cars. Click away happy tourist.....we get to drive these babies!!!

As we turned east out of Monticello, in the far distance could be seen the snow covered peaks of the San Juan Mountain range. Dave continued to navigate our way there via his GPS. And a great navigator he turned out to be. We pulled into Durango at 5:17. With help from Dave's GPS we went straight to the Travel Lodge, with dinner on the schedule at 6:00, the ladies had just enough time to freshen up.

At the motel several Sky's and Solstices sat awaiting our company. People from Colorado, and New Mexico were already there. Ron and Sharon's black Sky with the matching trailer was sure an eye catcher from the road. They had traveled from Boise to be there. Also eye catching was Ken and Diana's "cool" solstice.

The Arizona crew showed up and it was off to dinner at "Steamworks Brewery" in downtown Durango. Once here we all got better acquainted.

Saturday, arrived and James Walker, who planned the event, escorted us to breakfast at Kennebec Cafe in Hesperus. Dave, Val, Angie and I shared the table with Ann and Joe from the New Mexico Chapter. The food was great and the conversation better.After breakfast we gathered for some photos and conversation before heading out 18 cars headed to Telluride.

Once in Telluride, we discovered there was no where to park due to the Blues and brews festival. So we continued to Ouray where we did some shopping and had a bite to eat. This is the starting point for the Million Dollar Highway. What a ride, and a view. James joked earlier that the ride would be a blast for the driver, not so much for the passenger who would be looking down 1000 foot drop offs. Those passengers in Solstices grew an appreciation for the grab bar, that is lacking in the Sky's.

Once over the pass, we stopped for another short break in Silverton. Angie and Val did a little shopping in this Victorian era town. The final leg of the trip then took us back to Durango. Once back in town we all headed to dinner at a Texas bar-b-que choke and puke?.My sandwich was good, but Dave stated the ribs looked better than they tasted. Others in the group also were disappointed. James invited all to his home in Farmington New Mexico for breakfast. Most took up the invitation the next morning including us. The Walkers were great hosts and Debbie said to me if anyone left hungry it was there own fault. I can't imagine anyone did.

The black Solstice and midnight blue Sky then embarked on the journey home. We saw 4 states that day, as we had begun in Colorado, and then went through New Mexico and Arizona, finally traversing almost the entire State of Utah to get home. We meet some great people, and saw some fine looking cars (not to mention magnificent country). This trip epitomized the reason I purchased Elvira in the first place. 

The morning began cool and crisp with blue skies. Two Skys and a Solstice headed south toward Boulder Mountain, Utah. Veering off from Spanish Fork Canyon passing the old town of Thistle, we took Highway 89 to the scenic byways of Utah. We followed "89" to Ephraim, Manti, Gunnison and on to Salina. Along the way we enjoyed perfect temperatures, blue skies and the occasional aroma of livestock. Traffic was almost non-existent and we were able to cruise along with speed and still enjoy the ride.

We stopped in Salina at MOM's Cafe for small town diner food. While the locals enjoyed looking at the cars we enjoyed the meal. Proceeding toward Torrey we made a turn to highway 24/12 and headed to Boulder. The scenery was spectacular. Arriving at the Boulder Mountain Lodge we checked in and took a quick drive south of Boulder. Driving along the narrow two lane road with 500 foot drops on each side was both thrilling and beautiful. We probably would have traveled faster had we not had so many scenic overlooks to stop and view.

Returning to the Lodge we enjoyed a leisurely hour of good conversation and wine on our patio overlooking the Burr Trail before going to dinner at the Hell's Backbone Grill. Outstanding food was followed by a relaxing soak in the hot tub before a quiet night's sleep. The next morning we ate a hearty breakfast and headed down the 20 miles of paved road on the Burr Trail. Soaring cliffs, narrow canyons and steep drops were everywhere on the drive. We cruised almost alone in shadows from the cliffs and sun peeking around corners. Returning to highway 12 we traveled to Bryce Canyon and then headed to Panguitch and I-15 for the journey home. Truly, a drive through spectacular vistas, great company and perfect weather. These roads and this scenery were what these cars were made to do.