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We have just returned from another enjoyable and successful Red Rock Rallye. We had a full house this year with 15 cars and the backup vehicle. We had 11 XK Jaguars on the rally this year with one XK 120, 4 XK 140s, and 6 XK 150s, as well as an XK 8, XJ-S, TR-6 and a Porsche Speedster.
Before leaving Salt Lake for Southern Utah, Debbie and I had an evening barbeque at our house for all those in town early for the rally. In all 17 people attended the BBQ and got a chance to become acquainted with others going on the journey. Early the next morning we left in convoy with 9 cars to take a scenic route due south to Moab, Utah where the rally would officially begin. Others were coming on their own from various directions.
Things went well with views of gorgeous color changes in the trees at higher elevations (we did get up to about 9,000 ft. at one point.) After a great lunch things changed though. My XK 140 DHC all of a sudden started to overheat to the point I could drive about 10 miles and stop, let it cool, put more coolant in and proceed in that fashion. It was decided that Debbie would go on with the rest of the group to lead them to Moab, while Paul Abadjian, a fellow XK Club member from London in his freshly restored XK 140 OTC stayed behind to help me. The goal was to get to the next town of Green River about 90 miles away and leave my ailing 140 DHC there. Towns in the area are few and far between and when there is a town it is extremely small. After pushing the car as far as I dared we stopped at a rest stop, with the temperature gauge needle making strong inroads into the oil pressure segment! After we waited about half an hour, I heard no sounds of bubbling or steam exiting so very carefully I removed the radiator cap and as Paul put it “it looked like Krakatoa exploding,” with torrents of brown goo shooting out of the radiator. After a little while we refilled with coolant and left expecting to make the same progress as before, hoping to make Green River before midnight if we were lucky. But the miraculous had happened! I had no more overheating and we drove on to Moab with no problem. The remnants of the explosion were on the front fenders in the morning and flies seemed to be particularly attracted. The car ran cool the rest of rally, and I had achieved everybody’s dream-the self-healing classic Jaguar!
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The next day in Moab was spent by Rallyists hiking, enjoying Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and taking in the spectacular scenery. That night we had the opening dinner at Red Cliffs Lodge, where we were staying, under the stars overlooking the Colorado River. All participants were given leather jackets, Red Rock coolers, an automobile book, an engraved flashlight key fob, Red Rock Rallye key fob, various other gifts and their route book. Being the 10th anniversary of the Rallye, the goodies were even more lavish than usual.
At the opening of every Rallye someone is always awarded the “Red Rock”. It is a rather large and unwieldy local sandstone rock and has the words “The Red Rock” engraved on it. Whomever is awarded the rock (for good OR suspect
achievements!) must take it with him or her everywhere they go and display it at their table at all meals. That night “The Red Rock” was awarded to Terry and Darlene Larson who actually came up with the idea of the rock some years ago when they were co-organizers of the Red Rock Rallye.
The first day in Moab everybody commented how hot it was (in the 90sF) and after given jackets thought they may not get to wear them. The next day as we started out on our route it was cold and rainy. It was torrential all day and everyone was grateful for the jackets. Those in OTSs bailed for their lives, or spent most of the morning trying to work out how to get their tops up and those in DHCs looked smug. In ten years of the Rallye it has only rained once and that was for an hour or two and was always hot and sunny the rest of the time, so this was unseasonable weather. We drove the LaSal Mountain Loop, down through Bluff, saw the Goosenecks of the San Juan River and some wonderful red rock country - huge rocky outcrops eroded by wind and rain into unbelievable otherworldly shapes. Our destination was Goulding’s Lodge on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Monument Valley. We were taken in the late afternoon by Navajo guides who told us of their customs and arts and then on a tour of Monument Valley in the rain - a very rare occurrence. There were muddy red cascades running all over the parched ground - a truly magnificent and unusual sight. Our guides took us to a spot where Navajo chefs prepared an outdoor cookout in the rain (luckily it was a covered cookout!), and our guide sang a Navajo song and taught us some Navajo words. We were surprised and amused to discover that some of the truly awe inspiring and majestic rock formations had been given by the Navajos some rather prosaic names such as ‘Left Mitten’ sitting next to, of course, ‘Right Mitten’!
Upon returning to Goulding’s Lodge, the power was out and we were told it could be several hours before it came on again. This is a very remote area with no generators or any kind of backup system. We were given candles for our rooms. This lodge is the site of an old John Wayne Cowboy movie and this gave us a glimpse of how it was in the old west. Everyone retired early that night.
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The next morning everyone was quite refreshed after a LONG nights sleep. The sky was partly cloudy but all were able to enjoy having their tops (hoods to you Brits) down with full view of the majestic monuments that gave the valley it’s name.
We climbed the Mokee Dugway which is a three mile gravel switchback with an elevation gain from 4,000 feet to just over 6,500 feet. There is a breath taking view from the top, overlooking four different states. The road from here to the ferry across Lake Powell is mostly deserted and most participants seemed to forget the 65 MPH speed limit and saw what their cars could do. After a stop at some Anasazi Indian ruins, it was on to the ferry and crossing Lake Powell. The ferry holds 22 cars and we had 16, but all made it on. The clutch in Mike and Suzie Ksiazek’s XK 150 gave out just as we were about to board the ferry ramp. We quickly pushed it on the tow dolly and pulled it on the ferry with the backup vehicle.
Lunch was held at Defiance House Lodge in the Anasazi Café, overlooking Lake Powell. Thad, our son, and Jim Kakuska, (an XK Club Member) made speedy repairs to Ksiazek’s car in time to even get some lunch.
After leaving the Bull Frog basin of Lake Powell we continued on with a stop at Stan’s Burger Shack in Hanksville, where most enjoyed a traditional thick malt or shake, and chuckled over all the hot local news in ‘The Tumbleweed’ newspaper. We traveled through Capitol Reef National Monument to our nights stay at The Lodge at Red River Ranch. This is a very beautiful large log building with 15 bedrooms. We rent the whole place which gives it a homey feel as we wander around the lodge enjoying a wonderful meal, each others company, the beautiful artifacts and antiques displayed, and the games room. This is a favorite of everyone on the rally.
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The next morning started crisp and clear and tops went down. We climbed up over Boulder Mountain to almost 10,000 ft. elevation. Across a road on a pinnacle with sheer cliffs drops on both sides, and magnificent scenery in such abundance that one cannot take it all in, making a return trip a must. The morning ended at Bryce Canyon National Park Lodge for lunch and all spent a few hours at the Park enjoying the view and/or hiking. It was then on to our final stop in Zions National Park at the Majestic View Lodge (the view is really Majestic).
That night for the final feast we enjoyed appetizers of oysters on the half shell and smoked salmon. The dinner was Lobster tail and Buffalo Prime rib with all the accoutrements.
Each day during the Rallye my wife, Debbie, handed out quizzes about the area we drove through with very nice prizes awarded each night courtesy of Kensington Trading Co. (thought I would get a plug in here for our’s & Paul Abadjian’s company). This night the prize was given to Cathy & Jim Kakuska from Illinois, for being the overall winners. Cathy had clearly missed her true vocation as a detective, as many of the questions required a lot of detailed questioning of locals en route and discreet research in local booksellers! Every couple was given a memorial tile, engraved with the Red Rock Rallye logo. It was a great evening with long goodbyes. All were informed of the Rallye’s official start next year on September 19, 2004 after the Western States Jaguar meet to be held in Park City, Utah.
Most of the participants stayed the extra day to enjoy Zions and ended up having dinner at Flanigan’s Spotted Dog Café with more farewells and all leaving the following morning for various locations, bringing to a close a very enjoyable Rallye with many having already booked a return next year. The mixture of spectacular and unique scenery, unspoiled fast driving roads, great XKs and convivial like-minded company make the Red Rock Rallye a very special event.
We would like to thank our sponsors, Kensington Trading Company, the XK Club, Dalton Watson Fine Books, and J K Restorations.
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