I awoke 0800 MDT and had a very large breakfast that included pancakes with whipped cream. I figured I would be sitting in my car all day so loading myself down with carbs was ok. 0915 was my official leave time from the hotel and I was expecting 25 hours of drive time not including stops. Black Beauty was ready to go and I continually had to keep her reined in or she would be going over the speed limit. It is very easy to speed far above the legal limit when you have a nice stead such as I and the road is flat and wide open. I at least went slow enough that I didn't pass anyone who was going faster than me. I made it to the Four Corners in about 3 hours. Apparently this is on the Navajo reservation and they have capitalized on the idea of charging every head $5 for access or else they will tie you to a fire ant hill. It was worth it just to say I was in 4 states at once. There were also booths set up all around and the Native Americans were peddling goods. Some were making crafts while setting in their booths and others I questioned about their goods and how they were made while receiving evasive answers so I'm not sure everything was authentic. I spent about 1/2 hour here as I knew my drive was still very daunting.
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The marking of the exact spot of the 4 corners.
(Upper left clockwise we have Utah, Colorado,
New Mexico, and Arizona) |
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Me existing in all 4 states at once. (Note the slim, energetic,
utterly handsome embodiment of youth centered in the picture) |
After leaving I headed to R 550 which is a scenic route through the San Juan National Forest. The drive was beautiful and as I got higher the ground became snow covered and there were many snow melt streams cascading down the mountain and at a couple areas even the road. Apparantly there had been an avalanche that had destroyed the road which meant it was undergoing repairs for most of the day and I had to wait until 1830 when it opened back up. This meant sitting around for 2.5 hours or turning around. I decided to wait it out as it was a 2 hour drive back down the mountain anyways and it was a beautiful area where I was stopped. I ate "lunch" at and old goldmine and watched the sunset behind the peak then at 1830 started the drive over the peak and down the other side.
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| Heading up Red Rock Pass in San Juan NF |
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| Stopped at an old abandoned gold mine to wait and eat lunch. |
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Small cascades of rocks were continually
coming down this hillside as the snow
melted away. |
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| Watching the sunset. |
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| Line-up of vehicles waiting for road to open up. |
I eventually connected to I-70 E which would take me to Kansas city after 888 miles of driving. This is where the real adventure began. I-70 reaches to an elevation of over 11,000 ft at the Eisenhower tunnel system which is at the continental divide. I had several hours on I-70 before I reached this point. In the mean time it became dark. The road markings had been worn off after the long winter so it was hard to know where one lane ended and another began. The moon was full so it wasn't bad. However, it became cloudy and blocked out the moon. Down in the valley it was really dark and it was hard to see the edges of the road while going 75 mph around s-curves as the lines were gone in many places so most of the traffic (yes including me) slowed down. This wasn't too bad until we started getting to higher elevation and God flipped on the "let it snow" switch. I was not very happy as this further slowed us down and made it even harder to see. I thought it couldn't get worse than this. The Lord just laughed, decided he had a lesson in store for me, and turned the dial to more snow and colder temperature. Now the snow was starting to accumulate and the semis were having a hard time going up hill. It's now about midnight. The semis were stopping and putting on chains. One driver refused to put on his chains until he just sat spinning in place trying to go up hill. I passed him and could smell his tires. I of course had no chains so I continued on until I could go no further. The grade was about 6% and my car was just sliding around the road and spinning out not really going uphill anymore. A couple reindeer passed so I roped them and had them pull me part way up the hill until they became tired and I ran out of carrots to encourage them on. Thankfully a semi passed me and I was able to follow in his tracks and go the rest of the way to the tunnels. Once in the tunnel I noticed I was shaking so I thought I must be cold but then realized my hands were sweating so that was discordant information. I realized I was very nervous (note some would say scared but I have not officially been afraid since I became a full man and started shaving at 2 years of age). I was glad to see the sign that stated "The Continental Divide" and knew it was all downhill from here which would be easy; right? Once out of the tunnels on the other side it was obviously still snowing and there was about 1 inch of slush on the road. I don't have to go uphill against it but now I must go downhill on a 6% grade on s-curves paved with ice. I continued to shake with "nervousness" as I cautiously drove no more than 20mph down the mountain. The lower the elevation the less snow had accumulated on the road and the lighter the snow was. After 1 hour at this snail pace (note no one was passing me) I was down low enough where I could comfortably pickup speed. The only good thing about this was it was now 0100 MDT at I had so much adrenaline going through me I wasn't a bit tired. Finally I reached Denver, fueled up, and went to the bathroom. Wait, no I didn't do the last part. I had to go really bad from being so nervous for the past 3 hour drive but the 1 gas station I picked had its restroom out of order. I was angry about how everything seemed to be going against me so I decided to do something nice and water some weeds outback of the station that were growing in a dark corner. After this little adventure most of the rest of the drive was pretty easy. I started to fight sleep at about 0300 MDT so I drank a Red Bull which kept me going for the next 5 hours. My bottom had been sore from clenching it during the harrowing mountain drive and sitting for so long but by now had either gone to sleep of its own volition or became so ischemic the the nerves had died. Either way I was comfortable. It was neat to be able to watch the sunrise over the plains of Kansas. I had to stop for gas about every 5 hours and noticed my gas mileage had dropped from 36 mpg to 29 mpg. I checked my tires and they were still aired up and then checked my oil which was low. Thankfully I had been warned to take some with me so I filled it back up and had no further issues the rest of the trip except the occasional fight with the sandman. I arrived back in Tremont at 1500 CDT to a cold and rainy climate where a few hours before I had been in warm and sunny weather. I had made it. The Lord I'm sure was watching over me and if there are guardian angels mine was wore out and I heard they were having a retirement party for him this evening. I had driven the 25 hour drive with only 4 hours total of stops and arrived in 1 piece at least physically and mostly mentally. I now have been up for about 36 hours so if there are any inaccuracies in this account I blame it on lack of sleep. Note the final tally of mileage for the entire 11 days is 4612 miles. I combed out Black Beauty and gave her some nice oats and put her in the driest part of the stable. I weighed in 8 lbs lighter than when I started this adventure. Not bad, I was afraid all the hiking would wear me too thin.
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| My welcome weather home. :( |
This is the final mileage.
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| The initial mileage for comparison. |
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