September 11–15 marked the inaugural running of the Going to the Sun rally in Montana. On this, the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark’s explorations in Montana, many of the rally routes paralleled or crossed the paths taken by these two famous explorers. Thirty cars took part including Ferraris, Cobras, Jaguars, Corvettes, Porsches, a Karmen Ghia, a Ford Sunliner and a Chrysler 300. All cars needed to be model year 1969 or earlier to participate.
The rally began on a rainy morning and as the cars neared Yellowstone National Park, the rain turned to sleet, hail, then snow. However, once inside the park and for the balance of the rally, the weather improved. After Yellowstone, the rally wound through Gallatin, the historic gold-mining towns of Virginia City, Nevada City and Bannack; then on to the state capital of Helena before heading north to Glacier National Park and finally to Missoula. The rally covered about 1,200 miles and there were relatively few mechanical problems encountered during the tour.
Terrific roads, great cars, amazing scenery and, of course, great driving contributed to making this inaugural event one to remember.
by Gary Horstkorta
