Dove Creek

Since there isn’t a lot happening in the car world during chilly December, especially in freezing Utah, I thought I’d spin a little yarn about our recent trip to DOVE CREEK, CO.

Now, D.C. happens to be the PINTO BEAN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (betcha
didn’t know that, didja?) and it’s just across the UT/ CO border, about an hour south & east of Moab.

We’re helping a friend move into her new place, so it was a “working vacation.” The heart of D.C. is the DOVE CREEK SUPERETTE, where, as the song goes, “WE KEEP OUR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS UP ON OUR FRONT PORCH ALL YEAR LOG.”

Great, friendly people here. It’s a deli, supermarket, cultural center, and who knows what else. It’s right next to the feed store, and not too far from the Post Office. This was our third visit to town, and we already feel like we belong.

Unfortunately the nearest lumberyard is in Cortez, about 40 miles east, and we made 3 trips there in a day and a half. Oh well, great scenery. If you love high altitude, and wide open spaces, at 6,844 feet up you’ll love this area.

This part of the country is dominated by the Colorado River. It has cut thru the red and white sand stone to create some truly stunning vistas. If you saw the Pixar movie CARS–One, Two, or Three–starring car guy Paul Newman as Doc Hudson, you’ll recognize the mountains between Moab and D.C. as Radiator Springs (radiators spring leaks, get it?). Supposedly John Lasseter’s wife insisted he take some time off with the family after doing the movie TOY STORY, so they rented a motor home and toured the desert southwest. While John was supposedly relaxing he cooked up the plot for CARS. The red rock scenery, the semi abandoned little towns, and of course lottsa old cars, who could resist that ! John’s dad managed a Chevrolet parts department, back in the day, and John delivered parts to car shops all around SoCal, so if the disease is heritable, he got it.

When the PIXAR artists began the CARS project, John wisely contacted Dave “Big” Deal. Dave is a car guy, BAJA record holder, author & artist, and had been bringing cars to life thru cartoons for years. He spent 2 days with the PIXAR artists (it was standing room only) showing them how to give two dimensional drawings of cars life and personality.

They apparently learned a lot. Dave passed away in 2008 but his influence lives on in his art.

Any visit to this area must include a visit to RAY’S TAVERN in Green River UT. Home of killer burgers and way cold beer, it is the sacred ancestral home of the SHITFERBRANZ RIVER EXPEDITIONS. If you’ve never been down the Colorado in a small boat, you just don’t know what “near death” really looks like. Our kinda guys.

Well, stay tuned for our next adventure , which (we hope) will be the BARRETT JACKSON auto auctions in Scottsdale, the second week of Jan. The prototype ‘68 Shelby known as the GREEN HORNET will be there, with Conelec fuel injection and its original Independent Rear Suspension. The HORNET’s sister LITTLE RED, a ’68 Shelby sporting a supercharged 427 stuffed under its hood will be the side dish. Great cars ! We’ll be there with our Ford/Shelby friends. Lotsa fun, some very tall tales, and some possibly even true!

Merry Christmas,
Duane