My car was finally restored to it's original shape and we hit the road late Friday evening. We left Boulder with just one mission - reach Grand Junction, CO, which was 300 miles away from Boulder, by night and then plan for the rest of the trip. On a different note, it felt great to be behind the wheels of the Mustang again - the pick up, the noise were the same, and I knew my baby was back again.
The first 130 miles or so was the toughest part of the journey. Driving on I-70W through Rockies was probably my best driving experience ever. The interstate reaches its highest point at 11,700 ft at the 1 1/2 mile long Eisenhower tunnel. At a lot of points the speed limit is 50 mph, and believe me , you just cant exceed it. I had to drive on my 4th gear for most part of the journey up. It had snowed at a lot of places too. Snow in the middle of June might be surprising to a lot of people....but then as the locals here say..."Welcome to Colorado". Infact the route downhill had such steep gradients, that one of the trucks had lost its brakes and had run up a steep "runaway truck ramp" and destroyed itself.
Once the treacherous stretch through the Rockies was done, it was much easier to drive. However driving west at dusk is an annoying experience, as you keep staring the sun all the time. Next we passed through the Glen canyon at Glenwood Springs, CO. This was a very scenic drive through the canyons, with the road menadering along the Colorado river rapids. The evening sun was lighting up the rocks in the valley with a orange tinge and making it a sight to behold. As of today I have driven in 19 states, and the drive through central Colorado has definitely been better than any.
After 4 1/2 hours of continuous driving we did reach Grand Junction, CO by 10:30. This place was nowhere as big as the sign boards had touted it, and we had trouble finding cheap motels to stay. After a round of enquires we got direction to the nearest decent motel and decided to call it a day.
So here we are, 4 1/2 days behind our original schedule. Since I cant join my work on Monday anyways, we have decided to stick to the original plan and see all the places that we wanted to, if not more, and reach LA at our own leisure. Work can probably wait !
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2 comments:
Hey pointy..may be when you reach LA ..they will say they don't need u ne more..then you can return to SC through the north route!! :-))..aussies are gone!
I see that you reached LA !! aussies getting ready for another session!!
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