[Healeys] On the Road Home from Conclave (Day 5)

[BJ8 Healeys]

Hello, Healeyphiles -

On my older maps of Utah and Colorado, the highway between Monticello, UT and Cortez, CO is shown as US666 (the Road to Hell - my term).  I had been looking forward to driving the Healey from Hell (HBJ8L/36-666) on that road, but the highway department has wimped out and changed the route number to US491.  Perhaps they got tired of someone stealing their route markers for souvenirs.  Anyway, the road is still paved with good intentions and was a pleasant drive in the early morning.  We passed an unusual junkyard just outside Cortez, which is full of  old American cars, such as the Nash Rambler,  '58 Chevy, and '53 Pontiac I saw as we drove by.  They appear to be more or less intact, but rusting away externally.

We were met in Durango by Kevin Bruce, a BJ8-in-progress owner and sometimes participant on the list and we spent a half-hour or so chatting with him and his wife Ann in an outdoor coffee shop downtown.  As we conversed, passersby stopped to admire the cars and take photos of them.  Kevin had an interesting tool that I need to get hold of:  a parking meter key.  With that, we didn't need to feed the meter.  We also decided that it was time for an oil change and spent a 1-1/2 hour session at Jiffy(?) Lube due to too many people ahead of us opting for "the works".

Durango to Walsenburg was US160, a nice enough road but with a lot more traffic than we have been used to lately, plus a full complement of trucks and road construction to keep things interesting.  We crossed Wolf Creek Pass at 10,850 feet and North La Veta Pass at 9,400.   George began to have problems with his clutch that he thinks might be air in the line expanding at altitude, but we will give it a bleed and see how that works.  His car is equipped with the Mr. Finespanner bleed extension, so the job won't be as much of a pain as normally.

The rain caught us as we entered Walsenburg, so the tops came up early for the night.

Happy Healeying!
Steve Byers
HBJ8L/36666
BJ8 Registry
Havelock, NC  USA