THE CLIMB IS OVER…WE DID IT…ALMOST

Friday, September 6 – Paul thought about those mountains most of the night. They had him worried about the truck's ability to make the climb. He sure will be happy to see Utah and have today behind him!

It was a gorgeous day.


We headed out early with frightening expectations! The anticipated climbs never happened! All the steep grades were downhill.....YEAH! Paul shifted into 2^nd gear on those steep down hills and took it slow and easy. No problem......YET. (That should keep your interested).

Glad we didn't have to use this.


We did make a short climb to the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnel – elevation 11,158, highest point along the interstate highway system in the USA. Again, for us it was a mostly a downhill experience.





Downhill again.


So, if you plan on driving I-70 across Colorado travel from the East to West. I don't think I want to go the opposite direction......ALL BIG CLIMBS!

A little highway humor.


Once we reached Vail, CO, we were out of the worst of the mountains and were cruising right along. Bella just loved the ride through the White River National Forest. She really stretched her neck looking at the canyon walls. Neat!



We crossed into Utah via I-70 having less than 90 miles to reach our destination (Moab, UT) suddenly Paul says....”Oh no....we got a problem!” A FLAT TIRE on the 5trh wheel. He quickly pulled over and hesitantly walked back to inspect the damage. The tire was destroyed and some of the tread was wrapped around the axle. Paul was disappointed that our Pressure Pro Tire Monitor did not give us any warning of the blowout.  The only indication of a flat was seeing the rubber flying all over the highway.





The only other damage was a broken ground wire and a missing docking light lens. Man, it could have been a HECK of a lot worse!

We called our Coach Net roadside assistance, and they dispatched a truck that arrived 90 minutes later as promised. The repair guy, Sheldon, was wonderful and had us on the road in no time. Luckily, we had a spare tire under the 5^th wheel.









So our time in Moab will have to be shared with shopping for a new tire and fixing those few items in the wheel well. All-in-all it was a scary experience, but we came through in pretty good shape. We know the good Lord was looking over us!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

ANOTHER DAY OF NOTHING BUT DRIVING

Thursday, September 5 – Fifty miles east of Denver we spotted the Rocky Mountains.

We decided to stay on I-70 and go straight through the city. Not too bad. Lots of traffic but we kept in our lane and cruised along without any trouble. Once west of the city we began our climb (6% grade for 10 miles) up our first mountain pass. The truck hauled the 5^th wheel up but the turbo was screaming. We were down to 35-40 MPH. I don't even want to speculate fuel mileage....YIKES!

We stopped just west of Denver in Evergreen, CO, for the night. Walmart docking again tonight. We have a great spot out back all by ourselves.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day climbing over the Rockies. We're praying for no mechanical problems and a safe trip through Colorado.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

ON OUR WAY TO UTAH

Tuesday, September 3 – We are leaving our good friends today. We had soooooo much fun. Thank you, Barry and Jan, for the wonderful dinners. Barry used his smoker and made us hamburgers and chicken…delicious.

We had a fire last night and talked way into the night.

Thanks so much Barry and Jan for letting us mooch dock, all the laughs and a wonderful time.

We left the farm in Tipton, IN, this morning and hit I-70 heading West. We slipped around St. Louis on the North by-pass and continued on to Boonville, Missouri, where we parked at the Walmart.
Free parking but of course we purchased groceries making it an expensive one-night stop. Very uneventful night.

 

Wednesday, September 4 – Today we drove through corn country (Kansas) stopping in Russell, KS, at the Triple “J” RV Park. It was so windy, Marsha forgot to take any pictures of our campsite. It was a decent park for an overnight stop. PPA…$17.50 FHU.

If you have never driven through Kansas, here is what you are missing.

Bet now y'all will reroute and add Kansas to your travel plans.

Well, we continue westward ho.....and have to conquer the Rockies in Colorado to reach our first extended stop in Moab, UT, where we will hike around Arches National Park and Capitol Reef National Park.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!