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From YourSITE.com Events Coverage Extraordinary. This one word probably best describes the setting for TT-West 2006 in Durango, Colorado. This town is neatly tucked in the southwest corner of Colorado, close to the fabled Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona all meet. Located in the Animas River Valley, views of the majestic San Juan Mountains to the Northwest are simply stunning. Due to the location, the unofficial theme for this year’s TT-West was inevitably “Four Rings at the Four Corners”.
All told, seventy attendees came to the event, from nineteen states that included Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington state. A total of forty TT's made it to the event, and several TT owners joined in the festivities without their car. This is not uncommon, with people flying to these events, as they are as much about the TT community as they are about the cars themselves. The furthest distance driven was 5,300 miles roundtrip by Steven Janofsky from Stamford, CT. While the planned drives are the highlights of the event, the stories that people told of their long adventures to the event prove to be just as memorable. Although there are always a fair number of first-timers at these events, a majority of the attendees have been to either previous TT-West or even TT-East events and know each other through the large online TT community. It is good to see some familiar faces and finally put a face and a real name to the online forum names for those who maybe you had not yet had the opportunity to meet in person.
One important part of the equation in putting on these events are the sponsors. The Premier Sponsors for the TT-West 2006 were Audi Club North America, Revo Technik, and 3zero3 Motorsports; with Fourtitude, Audi TT Car Club of America, AudiWorld, TT Stuff, Langka Corporation, Modshack TTuned, AWE Tuning, Stoner Inc., TTgallery.fotki.com, West Coast Audi TT Owners Club, WhiteBoxTools.com, Magical Productions, Auto Aesthetics, and Detailers Paradise as Associate Sponsors. Many TT owners took advantage of their services as Scott Simpson from 3zero3Motorsports was on hand with Revo flashing equipment and Steve Schwing from Modshack TTuned was busy installing his VTDA intake system, Boost Machine and MOFO’s in several of the vehicles. The sponsors also provided all the wonderful gifts for Saturday nights dinner raffle. The event started on Thursday afternoon with early registration and the always-enjoyable hospitality suite at the Hotel later on that evening. As the day progressed, more and more people found their way to the Doubletree Hotel and settled in. Some opted to wash their cars, while others explored the restaurants and shops in Historic Downtown Durango – which was a short walk from the Hotel. Most however, just checked the variety of different TT’s from all over the country parking the TT “corral” coned off in the parking lot.
On Friday, the plan was for a drive to Mesa Verde National Park, have lunch and then check out the famous “cliff dwellings” and other villages that have been preserved within the Park. Once at the Park, all the TT’s gathered for the requisite group photo shoot at the Visitor Center and an opportunity to eat the box lunches provided to the group at that morning. One group even chose to take a spirited trip out to the Four Corners Monument, while others stayed and toured the sites in the Park in smaller groups. What makes Mesa Verde so special is that from approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300, the ancestral pueblo Indians lived and flourished in different communities throughout the area, eventually building elaborate stone villages in the sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls. These cliff dwellings represent the last 75 to 100 years of occupation at Mesa Verde. Other generations lived in pit houses and other structures found within the Park. In the late 1200’s, within the span of one or two generations, they left their homes and moved away.
The cliff dwellings are truly awe-inspiring. It is very difficult to grasp how they accomplished building these villages, especially when you think of how long ago it was and how they sat perched amidst a very deep canyon. To finish off the day, the group headed over to Francisco’s Restaurante y Cantina in downtown Durango, a short walk from the Hotel, for a great Mexican meal. Although the tequila flowed freely at the restaurant, that didn’t keep anyone from continuing with the consumption of beverages at the hospitality suite back at the hotel. Since Saturday is the last official day of the event, everyone was gearing up for the day-long drive loop of the San Juan Skyway with a stop in Telluride, Colorado for lunch. After the morning pre-drive briefing, the gang headed out towards Telluride. The drive to and from Telluride along a majority of the San Juan Skyway was spectacular. Heading out of Durango, the group turned on to Highway 160 towards Mancos, then Highway 184 towards Delores, where they took Highway 145 towards Rico and over the 10,000 ft. pass in the Lizard Head Wilderness, finally cruising into Telluride.
The San Juan Mountains were capped with snow, the hills green and dotted with color, the rocks red and the roads fast and smooth. About midway along the Skyway, near the pass, the group stopped for the official TT-West 2006 group photo, which in turn will be made into the official poster for the event and available for sale on the TT-West.org website. As the group rolled into Telluride, at a speedy 15 mph, everyone was definitely ready to get a bite to eat, refuel if necessary and head for Red Mountain Pass at 11,018 feet before going back down through the historic towns of Ouray, Silverton and back into Durango. Instead of trying to describe what it was like going over the pass, I’ll simply let the photos do the talking.
TT-West 2006 concluded with dinner and the event raffle at the Doubletree Hotel Durango, where a number of the sponsors offered a variety of great raffle prizes. Some of the prizes won included a VTDA intake system by Modshack Tuned in a special translucent red color, an AWE $100 gift certificate and T-shirt, an AutoAesthetics handmade shift knob, a variety of detailing supplies by Stoner's and Detailers Paradise and the grand prize - a gift certificate redeemable for any Audi Club of North America driving school event in the US - which was taken home by long time TT owner and official TT-West photographer Kurt Triebe. With some very long drives home ahead of a large percentage of the group, most opted to hit the sack relatively early on Saturday night, concluding yet another very successful event. While there is always talk of next year’s event, the location is usually kept secret until shortly before registration for the event begins. However, in a change of heart, and probably due to a lot of lobbying by a certain number of people both at the event and previously, it was announced that TT-West 2007 will be held in Southern Oregon. Of course – it’s now up to the Pacific Northwest enthusiasts (with some help from Northern California) to find a specific location, some good drives and the rest of what makes TT-West, TT-West and put it all together. If it is anything like 2006, TT West 2007 will be another memorable event.
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