Mountain Cruise 2004

May 23rd was the day for Empire Z's third annual mountain cruise.  We met at our usual location at 11:00am which turned out to be a bit overcast and chilly.  Looked like it might rain.  After everyone showed up which took about 40 minutes or so,  we jumped on the 10 freeway to the city of Highland area.  Our group had to turn off of the 330 temporarily to wait for one Z's minor Intercooler repair job.  Luckily this was the only problem we had all day.

When we jumped back on the highway the clouds disappeared which made for a great day.  Luckily this year we did not get stuck behind three tour busses heading up the same way:)  We regrouped, took a short break, and snapped some pictures in Arrowbear but were quickly off to Big Bear City for some great pizza at a local restaurant.  When we got to the city, we had permission from the Calvary Chapel of Big Bear to use their parking lot (thanks Barbara) which saved us a headache and a-lot of time from Z's having to split up and find individual parking spots over the City.

After lunch we jumped back on the 18 Highway and drove down the back side of Big Bear towards the High Desert.  It's quite bizarre driving through old growth pine trees and then looking down a few thousand feet to the practically barren desert of California.  Quite a contrast.  Since this highway is "out of the way" it made for a great drive due to its low traffic.  When we reached the Lake Silverwood area, some of the best twisties and hills were waiting for us.  Tight up and down hills to a long straight away.  After this area, we pulled over next to a gas station located just off the 215 Freeway and chatted a bit about the cruise which turned out great. 

Thanks again for everyone who showed up, so on with the Pics:)