For the ninth year, Emma and Chuck participated in the Driving for Kids charity event, September 20-22, 2024. Driving for Kids supports chronically ill kids and their families to spend a week of camping at Roundup River Ranch which is on the Colorado River in Gypsum, Colorado. Roundup River Ranch is part of the worldwide network of Paul Newman’s medically supported camps for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses.



This year, there were ten teams and nine British cars participating in the three-day drive through the mountains at the peak of fall colors. We crossed the Continental Divide four times, reaching 12,000 feet of elevation on Trail Ridge Road. The vintage British cars had difficulties with the elevation, one of which had to be towed back to a lower elevation so it could continue the drive.



We generally had perfect weather for our fall drive in the Colorado mountains. The first day and a half, it was warm and sunny. After our visit to Roundup River Ranch for our annual car show and lunch with the kids, the weather turned to overcast and rain. The teams in open British cars voted to shorten the afternoon drive and head back to the hotel in Kremmling for cocktails and dinner. It snowed that evening, and we had low cloud cover, some fog, and beautiful fresh snow caps on the mountains. Thankfully, by the time we got to the mountain passes, the snow on the roads had melted, and we had nice winter vistas to enjoy.



Four cars had mechanical problems during the drive. Two of the cars finished the drive on the trailer of the sweep truck, one was towed to the hotel in Kremmling by AAA and was able to finish the drive, and one had an oil problem and had to withdraw.



The Driving for Kids event raised a record $108,720 for the kids. For each of the nine years of the event, Chuck and Emma’s Shindig Rover team has been the lead team in fundraising, thanks to the generosity of the home builders, friends and family who donate to the cause. This year, the Shindig Rover team raised nearly $64,000 for the kids. One builder group donated more than $35,000 and another builder group bought Chuck and Emma a yellow Lotus Emira for their retirement to drive in style for the event.



Links to the route book and additional photos will be forthcoming.