I’m Courtney Barber, driver of Team Mustang Girls, on the road with the Goodguys Hall of Fame Road Tour. I’m going to take a different twist on my normal road blog updates and write this one first-person so you get a little more Courtney, and a little less Morgan Freeman narrator voice. So let’s kick this off with my experience on day four of this awesome Cross Country road trip. I should also mention that my co-pilot, and the man taking the photos for me this time is in fact not a girl, but my friend and fellow StangTV contributor Rob Kinnan.

The thunder and hail storms the night before didn’t leave behind any damage to the cars which made for a happy start of day 4 of the GoodGuys Road Tour in Vernal, UT. The sky had cleared and we were on our way to what we thought was just another day cruising on the road with some cool stops. Boy were we wrong!

Riding with Rob Kinnan (who’s shooting this trip for Hot Rod Magazine), we set out on our way to Loveland, Colorado. We took Rt.40 to Rt. 34 and found ourselves entering Rocky Mountain National Park. Parks are fun, good scenery, no big deal right? Then we started going up… When I first decided to take part on the tour a few people mentioned the mountains and elevations we were going to hit and the effects they might have on the carburetor. That’s where my head was focused.

I was paying attention to the throttle and how my pony was doing and the next thing I knew we saw a sign for 10,000 ft. elevation. And we weren’t done climbing! First the tree line disappeared. Next thing you know we’re going around the top of the mountain and are now in the outside lane on the side of a cliff with no guard rail. Rob started talking about his Aunt’s fear of heights and what would happen if we went off  and all I could say was “no more talking!” We made it through Trail Ridge Road and its peak of 12,183 feet and I have the steering wheel imprints on my fingers to prove it!

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Photos by Rob Kinnan

Next stop was the rumoured-to-be-haunted, Stanley Hotel, in Estes Park, CO, the hotel that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining. After a quick lunch without having to call any ghostbusters, we made our way to the final stop at Pinkee’s Rod and Custom Shop, in Loveland, Colorado. Not only was Pinkee’s gracious to let us in to see all their creations, they also worked late into night to get two of the Tour cars back on the road by morning. Tomorrow we head off to Nebraska to the Kearny Classic Car Collection and I for one hope to stay away from any more Thelma and Louise inspiring cliffs.