The Overcrest Rally trip report, life changing Options

[Optimusglen]

I wanted to share with you all my experience at the Overcrest Rally for 2021
This was, beyond a doubt, the best automotive event I've ever been to. Even now looking back it's hard to take it all in and unpack, so I'll just start from the beginning. 2 years before the event. Get comfy, grab some popcorn, because this is a doozy.


Prelude:
A couple of friends of mine, Kris and Jake, run a podcast called Overcrest. It's an automotive-based podcast and generally has automotive topics. Both of them have long hood 911's so Porsche comes up frequently. I've known Kris forever, we were in each other's weddings, etc. We've also been doing fall drives together for quite some time, so it was no surprise when they wanted to plan a rally for the podcast and their listeners. It was 2019 and I helped a bit with some of the graphics.

The 2019 rally was a great local rally, it picked up several nice roads on the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota. This was the last year I had my 914 at the rally, and it was the year I overcooked my brakes and had a little "off" that sent me home with my tail between my legs but more or less unscathed.

In 2020 they wanted to do a national rally, but they knew they weren't there yet. The two pulled in another friend, Jeff, to help them along. The year was thought of as a stepping stone to get to the point where a national audience would take them seriously. So it was a 2-day rally, planned and plotted out. Cool swag, and really thought out. I attended, but at this time my 4-cyl was dead and my 6 was yet to be built, so I drove an Audi TT that I rented using Turo. Again, it was immensely great for a local rally. It drew some audience from outside the midwest, but not much.

[Optimusglen]

Wednesday, September 22nd 

Once again, my route was taking me in a different direction than my travel buddy. Chad was heading to Crested Butte while I was planning on going to Durango and then right into Mexican Hat, Utah. We parted ways as I began my first fully-solo travel day. 


Driving through these stretches alone was a beautiful and emotional experience. I was so pleased with the car, it was so good to me. I was able to take some time to stop and smell the roses and snap some pictures, and when I arrived in Durango I was tired but happy.

6 years ago my wife and I took a Southwest road trip in our first-ever NEW car, a 2014 VW Jetta. We spent a day in Durango and took a ride on the historic narrow-gauge railroad. It was a great trip and I wanted to swing in, if only for lunch. After refueling with some delicious fish tacos I set out again, destination: Mexican Hat.

(IMG:https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51537063660_00dbe89b3a_b.jpg)

The roads became more challenging the closer I got to my destination, there were some amazing twisties and some climbs that left my 2.2T chugging a bit. Then some high-speed blasts through a narrow 2-lane road in the desert. And finally, I pulled into Mexican Hat. I was happy to see a couple friendly faces. Jake, the other half of Overcrest, was there in his 1970 911T, and a new friend Tom in his Volvo 242 that was swapped with a Corvette engine and a Ford 9" rear end. Tom had brought his family along as well. Shortly after another friend showed up with his Kia Soul, the official gear hauler of the Overcrest Rally. It was a few hours later that Kris and Jeff arrived.

We were technically a day early. Most of them were there to prepare everything for the next day. But that evening we spent together at "Hanks Swingin' Steaks" where meals were cooked outside over a wood-fired grill, on a contraption that swung the grill back and forth. The restaurant was very laid back, and a liquor license issue meant that it was BYOB. Thankfully a gas station across the street was VERY well stocked.