High-dollar roadsters bring big bucks to Encampment

"This is the art of the car," said Community Liaison for the Colorado Grand, Eddie O'Brien summing up the automobile side of the tour that made its way from Steamboat Springs, Colo. to Encampment last Wednesday, but there is a serious charitable component too.

The Colorado Grand is an automobile tour for exclusive, high-end, vintage sports cars that began 27 years ago. This is the second time they have crossed the state line into the Upper North Platte Valley.

The lunch stop at the Grand Encampment Museum (GEM) not only provided a gorgeous backdrop for the 70-plus cars, but earned the ProStart program a $7,500 check to pay for the lunch they provided to the tour. "We hope that the charity goes out and begs food so they keep all the money," O'Brien said.

Working with John Farr, President of the GEM, the Colorado Grand also paid for a new awning tent that can be used by the Encampment Lions Club for future events.

The Colorado Grand also provides an $8,000 scholarship to a local student. According to O'Brien, the scholarship will go to a young person who will attend the University of Wyoming, another Wyoming college or even a Colorado university or college. The recipient of the scholarship will be decided by a committee of local citizens headed by Farr.

According to Farr the Colorado Grand donated over $20,000 to local groups and considered the event a "home run" with the tour making plans for GEM to become a regular stop every three years or so.

The Colorado Grand is a 501(c)3 charitable organization focused on helping the communities the tour travels through. "We've gifted as much as $500,000 a year to counties and local entities," O'Brien said.

When asked how a traditionally Colorado event ended up in Wyoming, O'Brien said that friends who live in Wyoming influenced the decision to come over the state line. The Colorado Grand worked out a reciprocal agreement between the Colorado State Patrol and the Wyoming Highway Patrol so that the Colorado troopers that lead the way for the tour could cross into Wyoming. The tour came up from Steamboat Springs, Colo. following US 40, Colorado State Highway 14 and then WYO 230 and WYO 70 in to Encampment.

They exited the Valley via Battle Pass.

Hugh Ruthven, of Barrington Ill., was participating in the Colorado Grand for the 26th time. He and his son, Trey, from Cape Cod, Mass. took turns driving Hugh's 1958 Ferrari 250 GT during the tour. Hugh was friends with Bob Sutherland who founded the Colorado Grand. He said Sutherland had a three part vision which he based the name of the tour on. The Grand state of Colorado, a 1,000 mile tour and having "grand" cars.

The Ruthven's have used the event for some "concentrated father-son time," according to Trey.

One appeal of the tour is the scenery. "It's just so exciting to be up in the area and have these big beautiful ranch lands ... Many of these folks are coming from the east coast, the west coast, Europe and also the far east and South America," O'Brien said.

Stacy Brigman was driving the tour with her father Barry Konier in his 1956 Porsche 356A coupe. The father-daughter team is from Orange County, Calif. Stacy said that "The caliber of cars that are on this rally are pretty unbelievable. It's a lot of cars I'll probably never see again." She said that part of the appeal of the tour, for the men, appears to be the challenge of taking vintage cars on such a long trip. "I think, especially for the men they feed off of this ... if the car is going to start in the morning, what the problems are going to be, the whole macho thing," Stacy said.

O'Brien noted that, "The vast majority of these cars have been on the Pebble Beach lawn and have raced at all the major vintage races."

Stacy also said that the Rocky Mountain scenery is something she does not get in Los Angeles, the cars are pieces of art that you can drive and, "I get to spend a week with my dad." All good reasons to sign on for a week-long, 1,000 mile drive.

The Colorado Grand finished Sept. 19 in Vail, Colo.