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Zone 4 Website | Duane and Brenda Weed report the 2005 Fall Color tour was a great success. Don't miss the great review from Amber Door below the pictures. What a great time the West Michigan Porsche Club Members had at this year's Fall Color Tour! 24 Porsches touring the countryside of Mecosta, Newaygo and Montcalm Counties. A stop at the Canadian Lakes Castle, more than a few curves and the beauty of the changing colors. Thank you to all those that attended from the Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Traverse City and surrounding areas. It was fun! God Bless and Cheers!
A stop at the Canadian Lakes Castle. Do you know where Big Prairie, Michigan is? If not, then you must not have participated in the WMR Fall Color tour hosted by Duane and Brenda Weed on Saturday, October 15, 2005. Or, maybe you did participate, but were driving too fast to notice. The day was made to order for a fall color tour. There were fluffy fall clouds in the sky with the sun peeking through and no rain in sight. The tour started at the Park and Ride, just off the Stanwood exit of 131. Everyone exiting from US 131 was “greeted” by the site of the Amish horse and buggy stationed under the overpass with a man selling baked goods. As everyone arrived, old friends caught up on their talk about their Porsche and new friendships were started – talking about their Porsches . Members came from all corners of our very large region. Twenty-four Porsches gathered with their 44 passengers in anticipation of great driving (and some color) though the back roads of Newaygo and Mecosta County. We were not disappointed. Duane had mapped out a 65-mile route (slightly longer for a few of the directionally changed participants) of hills, valleys, fields, lakes, and canopy covered roads for our enjoyment. Not to mention the Ice Mountain factory (bottled water), the Michcon gas fields and a castle located in Canadian Lakes (a storybook inspired castle – heavy on the inspired - built by the developer of the Canadian Lakes Community). After a stop at the castle to stretch our legs and catch an amazing view that went on for miles we headed back though Mecosta County, again passing the buggy and horse (who had now wandered higher up the overpass hill). For the second half of our tour (after a quick stop at the BP gas station facilities for a brief intermission) we made our way into Newaygo county. The line of beautiful Porsches waiting along the road during our intermission was a sight to be seen and generated a few comments and glances from passing motorists. Newaygo County offered up some colorful open roads with several wide sweeping curves that all the cars handled very nicely at something slightly, I would venture to guess, over the posted speed limit. Rumor has it that as we traveled these open country roads not only the people along the way took notice, but many a cow, horse and domestic pet watched us all drive past. It just goes to show you that all living things love the beauty of a Porsche. As we continued on our tour the route took us over the Hardy Dam. I suspect that the view below the dam was nothing short of spectacular, but since our four wheeled baby is not a Cayenne we were unable to see over the safety rail. For a fleeting moment I considered standing up in the car – out the roof of course – for a photo op with all the cars and the color. Nonetheless, the trees that we could see above the rail were gorgeous. With stomachs rumbling and the drive nearing its end (according to the detailed directions supplied by our host), we noticed a sign on the road. A sign that gave us pause, and was not one of those often annoying speed “suggestion” signs. The sign read - Pavement Ends. In Porsche speak it translates too – Porsches Evade – and makes the heart skip a beat. We would have taken a second look at the sign, but I was moving too fast. The pavement on the road did in fact end, but our hosts careful planning turned us sharply to the right onto a smooth paved road that led us straight to a wonderful dinner. With our cars tucked safely into a Porsche-only parking area at the Northern Trail Bar & Grill, we enjoyed good food with great conversation with old and new friends alike. We did lose a few members at one point during dinner. It seems that a group on Indian motorcycles decided to make the restaurant their dinner stop at well. Oh yeah, Big Prairie Township, located in Newaygo County, was established in 1852. It was so named because it was devoid of trees (not a great thing for a color tour). We are happy to report that this is no longer the case as thousands of trees were purchased in the mid-1930s to stop the wind and soil erosion (making it a great area to drive though for a color tour). Thanks again Duane and Brenda for hosting a great day of driving! Amber Door
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