Roddin’ the Rockies returns to Central City
Classic cars just like you remember them
When two dozen “rods” rumbled into Central City Friday afternoon, there was no missing it. Spotted along the high road of the Central City Parkway, the fleet of Buick’s, Chevy’s and Fords looked like a string of glitzy four-wheeled beads twisting against the neck of the mountain. Then there was the view of each flashy grill as the long lane of classic cars descended Nevada Street from the Parkway. That was followed by a parade down Spring, up Eureka and onto Main Street, where only they gained entrance. More than one driver took full advantage of each of Central’s new stop signs to gun that big engine under the hood. As the line moved onto Central’s main drag, the sound of the engines bounced off the brick facades of the historic buildings, creating some good vibrations that shimmered their reflections in the big storefront panes.
This was the second year for the Roddin’ the Rockies event, an offshoot of the Golden Super Cruisers. It featured a weekend long schedule of music, movies, fireworks, car shows and- cruising, of course. Most of the events took place at home base, in Golden, where some of these folks get together on the first Saturday of each month (May-October) to cruise South Golden Road and Golden’s Main Street. The side trip to Central is just a bonus of the annual event.
With a little maneuvering and the assistance of helpful spotters, Twig Lindsey angled his 1955 Buick Special Riviera (it has a hard top, for those who distinguish) parking in front of Easy Street Casino. “42,000 original miles on it,” he’ll tell you. He finished restoring it just three years ago, he adds, as he towels a few rain drops from the Condor Yellow finish. (The group caught a rain shower on the way up, but it was clear skies in Central.) Toward the end of Main Street, Vern Wagner found a slot close to the hot dog and barbecue stands for his 1954 Chevy Bel Air – which he bought in 1954. Vern can tell you stories about the road trips with his wife, Vicki, (who could tell even more) and the three kids they “raised in that car,” but you wouldn’t know it from the pristine condition of the interior. There were Mustangs, Corvettes, Super Sports, Coupe de Villes, a few old timey Fords dating back to the mid-1930’s, a pick-up truck and more. One two-door Ford sedan was new in 1928.
After each vehicle was situated, the hoods were popped to reveal big shiny engines. Doors (remember vent windows?) were propped open for a look at wide bench seats, contoured dashboards, oversized steering wheels and the fuzzy dice dangling from the rearview mirror (mandatory to be really cool). Jim Haney had popped both the hood over the 392 Hemi (a Chrysler engine, he confessed) on his ’57 Chevy and the trunk lid over the Nitrous Oxide System (NOS) booster bottle. “Made for drag racing,” he explains.
While the car folks finished buffing the wax to a blinding shine (exemplified by Dennis Hunter’s ’34 Ford painted an appropriately named “Saffron Flash”), curious gamblers casino folks, residents and tourists roamed the middle of Main Street, taking in each car. At the Dostal Alley corner, a six piece band, “Junior and the Valiants” was a hit for the second year in a row, playing some of those golden oldies with a couple of guitars, a pair of keyboards, percussion and woodwinds. Car folks talked car, animatedly, to everyone and cheerfully answered many repeat questions (“What year is this?). After a few hours of music, food and casino fun, the drivers caravanned up for the return trip to Golden where First Friday events and fireworks awaited them. For some, this was their first Roddin’ the Rockies cruise to Central. Others had been here for the inaugural run last year. All said it was a great venue. They loved having the whole of Main Street just for them, and they look forward to continuing the event next year.
The Central City cruise is a fundraiser for Roddin’ the Rockies. In addition to their own events and activities, they fund a scholarship to the Sky High Hope Camp, the Ronald McDonald House camp for kids with cancer.