Author Archives: mrdrivein

Apr. 27: Echo Drive-In, Roosevelt UT

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It’s Day 117 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I beat the afternoon, late-April snow, but it took a little a solid four and a half hours to drive from the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive In in Minturn CO to the Echo Drive-In in Roosevelt UT.

According to a 2010 article in The Salt Lake Tribune, the Echo was owned by Richard and Wilma Snow and started in 1958. That might be off by a year or two. A couple of months ago, the folks at the Basin in Mount Pleasant UT told me that the Echo already existed when they moved the Basin out of Roosevelt. Normally, I’d check my reference books, but the Echo is another of those stealth drive-ins; it never appeared in any drive-in list in any edition of the International Motion Picture Almanac.

Commenters on a 2013 article in the Tribune noted that the Echo has the largest screen in the state and Utah’s first digital projector.

It was a Thursday night, and I was off by eight days. The Echo will open for the 2017 season on May 5.

Miles Today / Total:  252 / 12924 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 53

Nearby Restaurant: I got to watch them fling the dough at Mama Lia’s Pizza. That got me ready for my “veggi” pizza stacked with freshly sliced vegetables. There were even a few games around to keep me distracted while I waited for my fresh pie.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Just outside of town, still on US 40, I found the Comfort Inn Ballard-Roosevelt. My bed was clean and comfortable, there was a fridge in the room, I had an indoor pool if I wanted to swim, and there was sausage and fruit with breakfast. It’s all good.

Only in Roosevelt: According to Roadside America, a giant statue of a Native American with a headdress sits on Main Street Roosevelt. He is seated in front of a nail salon, but the building previously housed the Moqui Indian Trading Post. The statue was built out of cement by Darrell Gardner in the early 1970s.

Next stop: Motor Vu Drive In, Erda UT.

Apr. 26: Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive In, Minturn CO

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It’s Day 116 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took a little almost three hours to drive down from Fort Collins through the Denver area, across the continental divide in the Eisenhower Tunnel, then on to the Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive In in Minturn CO.

Minturn, in the Vail Valley, is a pretty small town, but its Little Beach Park got lit up last summer for the latest outpost of the Austin TX-area Blue Starlite franchise. A long, belated article in The Denver Post described owner Josh Frank’s search for a place in Colorado to show movies and Minturn’s economic development director’s response. “This really fits Minturn’s brand,” said Michelle Metteer, “I mean, our mission statement includes the words ‘funky’ and ‘eclectic’ and we want to stay that way. This just worked perfectly.”

They call this the highest drive-in in America, but as I noted a few days ago, the Comanche in Buena Vista is surprisingly about 100 feet higher. Still, both of these places are elevated enough to remind flatland visitors to drink plenty of water to help fight altitude sickness.

The Colorado Blue Starlite is scheduled to open for its 2017 season on June 22. It should be a lot of fun then, but not now, in April.

Miles Today / Total:  165 / 12672 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 53

Nearby Restaurant: The Sticky Fingers Cafe and Bakery is a lovely little place for breakfast and lunch. I think they named the place after folks who eat the cinnamon hot bun without utensils.

Where I Virtually Stayed: It’s sort of an apartment hotel, but the Hotel Minturn fits the bill of being convenient and nice enough to visit. There’s a kitchenette and coffee in every room, and if you didn’t bring any food to cook, it’s not that hard to find breakfast nearby.

Only in Minturn: About halfway between Minturn and Leadville are the ruins of Camp Hale, the training facility for the 10th Mountain Division in World War II. The camp, which housed 15,000 soldiers at its peak, included mess halls, infirmaries, a ski shop, administrative offices, a movie theater, and stables for livestock. From 1959 to 1965, Tibetan guerrillas were secretly trained at Camp Hale by the CIA. In 1965, Camp Hale was dismantled and the land was deeded to the U.S. Forest Service. Since 1974, the area has become a youth development training center.

Next stop: Echo Drive-In, Roosevelt UT.

Apr. 25: Holiday Twin Drive In Theatre, Fort Collins CO

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It’s Day 115 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took a little over an hour to drive from Commerce City CO to the Holiday Twin Drive In Theatre in Fort Collins.

Cinema Treasures says that the Holiday Twin started life in 1968 as the single-screen Starlight, then added a second screen in 1976.

According to a wonderful, long article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan, current owner Wes Webb acquired the drive-in in 1979 by trading his light plane for it. By 1997, he and his wife Stephanie owned six drive-ins, five in Utah and the Holiday Twin. Stephanie said he bought them as investments, “big pieces of ground that make money,” but promised his wife that he would hold on to one of them, which turned out to be the Holiday Twin.

In my previous visits, I’ve been impressed by what a class act the Holiday Twin is. Decent facilities, a good concession stand, and a well-maintained lot. I heard they added a mini-golf course last year, but I haven’t had time to check it out.

The drive-in is still over a week away from its opening date of May 5 this year, so I was left without a movie to watch.

Miles Today / Total:  64 / 12507 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 53

Nearby Restaurant: It’s part of a chain, but my favorite place to eat in Fort Collins is the HuHot Mongolian Grill downtown. That location is part of an old hotel, and the brick walls and high ceilings (and a bar area) give it a different atmosphere than the antiseptic new HuHots that keep getting built. Pile as much meat and veggies in a bowl, add whatever sauces look good, then watch their chefs cook it into a yummy treat.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There are plenty of places to stay in Fort Collins, but none of them are especially close to the Holiday Twin. The closest is the Hilton Fort Collins, where I took advantage of my Hilton gold level to get some extra pampering. If you can make it to the executive lounge, it’s definitely worth it.

Only in Fort Collins: According to Roadside America, a 12-foot tall Campbell’s Soup can with Andy Warhol’s signature sits in front of old Fort Collins High School. Tomato, of course.

Next stop: Blue Starlite Mini Urban Drive In, Minturn CO.