9/18/2014

We are off early, as we have 375 miles to go and a motor home we aren't sure is going to perform like it has.  We also have a lot of steep hills to climb and a lot of beautiful country to see.  We also have one goal...try not to drive through Denver between 4 & 6 this afternoon.

As we get started, all is good, engine is running cool, even on the hills we have to climb.  As we pass into Colorado, the landscape changes dramatically.  A thought even flashed through my mind that the folks who drew the state boundaries on the map must have done it so the two states have very dramaticly different looks, but then I think, nah, they couldn't have done that on purpose, could they?

The drive along the Colorado River in western Colorado is an interesting ride, and trying to follow the railroad is just as much fun.  The tunnels for both I-70 & the railroads make for some cool driving.  But as we venture east, the hills start to make the motor home revolt and the temperature gauge climbs into the stratosphere along with the road. But we just pull to the side of the road, put it in park and leave the engine running, and the gauge goes back to where it should be, and we move on.  This happens 4 or 5 times and each time we get the same result.  A state trooper checks on us one time and we thank him...nice to know they are looking out for us silly folks from Florida.

We have two very serious climbs to make between Vail & the Eisenhower Tunnel and a couple of lesser ones after that.  We are patient, but it is still worrisome.  We make a couple of phone calls during one such stop and make an appointment to get it looked at on Monday, near where we will be staying.  This needs someone's attention who can further diagnose the cause...we move on.  But all the delays has caused another issue...rush hour in Denver has started.  But the stop & go is actually in our favor, as the engine temp stays down.  We arrive at our camp site about 2 hours later than we expected, but it is a nice park and there is a grocery store close by.  We go get some needed stuff like bread & other essentials.  We went back to the camper & set up the grill & had a steak for dinner :).

Tomorrow is Rocky Mountain National Park and a ride through the Rockies.  Bet there is trees to look at.  And there is a race track just down the road with Sat. night racing...haven't been to the races since last summer on Prince Edward Island...hope they have some medical help stationed at the track.

Steve & Barb Larson