I'm jumbling around a few days in these posts, I definitely wasn't on a photo documenting mission like I was on with the R129 trip - so I'm doing the best I can with these.
Continuing on from our departure from the Grand Canyon area, a goal was set to make it to Montrose, CO and hole up there for the night to make it back home by that Saturday.
Parting views of the Grand Canyon
Continuing on from our departure from the Grand Canyon area, a goal was set to make it to Montrose, CO and hole up there for the night to make it back home by that Saturday.
Parting views of the Grand Canyon
Left the area and headed due north through Utah to hit 70, take that for a couple hours so we can get through to Grand Junction then side road it down to Montrose.
Some point through the trip we stopped in at the Navajo reservation for lunch.
We got the Navajo tacos.
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
Deserts are cool - I'm glad the entire time we were out there the temps never got up over 90.
Somewhere through here I had a lapse in pictures - we ended up in Grand Junction then shot over to Montrose.
Settled in at a hotel, took a 15 minute breather and the mission was on to find where we could go to check out the sunset.
I literally opened up google maps on my phone and looked for roads going up hills and whatnot. Ended up going to "high point" in Black Canyon National Park. About 30 mins of a hike straight to the top of what was apparently the highest point in the direct vicinity.
The views on one side were nice
The views on the other side were even nicer..
I didn't even know there was a national park 15 mins away from the hotel.
Honestly, the views were way more breathtaking than the Grand Canyon - far less people there as well.
Timing is everything I guess
With the night spent in Montrose, the next day was a trip to hole up somewhere in Colorado Springs. I think we ended up taking 50E from Montrose to ColSpr. The route snaked along the Arkansas River and some other water ways
Stopped at the Blue Mesa Reservoir because it looked cool as heck driving near it. Did some fishing, but no catching.
After leaving that area, I started noticing it was harder to keep speed. Sure as heck a quick check of our elevation showed we were steadily climbing. Awesome - low gear and power through for the DailyDiesel.
With the blink of an eye (or many, because I couldn't believe them), we ended up at the Continental Divide / Monarch Pass. At this point, I think this was the highest this car as ever been.
Pretty sweet all around!
I managed to get like 500 mpg on my way down too.
So we got into Colorado Springs mid afternoon. I found a campground somewhere in Cheyenne National Park (I think) called Wye. Seemed like it was out in the middle of nowhere and figured there really wouldn't be anyone there, which is always nice. BOY did I underestimate the middle of nowhere. 14 miles of rocky, sandy, bouldery roads lay ahead of me. I stopped 7 miles in because I absolutely did not think the car would survive the trip to the end. Not only that, but I'd have to turn around to get back the next morning.
Made for a cool shot though!
Ended up staying in a hotel in Colorado Springs - first hotel I booked ended up being a nightmare. I LITERALLY had a prostitute come to my door, the parking lot was a buzz with activity,...there was a lot going on. So I called it quits, found another hotel 15 miles north that was like a godsend.
For anyone planning on making a trip somewhere out to Colorado Springs, DO NOT STAY at the Days Inn Colorado Springs Central location. The place is an absolute ghetto dump and the rooms literally smelled like feces. Literally a dump. I can't believe I managed to last 45 mins.........
So with that adventure of a night over, the next morning we met up with a couple buddies at the base of Pikes Peak.
Yes, Pikes Peak. DailyDiesel would attempt to do Pikes Peak. We were warned right at the gate that the summit may not be open as there were gusts up to 70mph.
I figured, great. I might have a tailwind helping me up the mounting.....
It was open. The car barely made it. 2nd gear, full throttle and a steady stream of gray/black smoke coming out the rear. I'm sure whoever was following me was NOT very appreciative of the car making their ride smell terrible. I don't care though, it's there fault for being slower than me.
Views were fairly spectacular.
I didn't take any pictures on the way up, but as I didn't have to do anything on the way down, I figured I might as well.
Well, with the 10-11 day trip coming to a close I had views like this to look forward to for the better part of Saturday for the return home.
So, in total I logged JUST under 5k miles on the DailyDiesel. It had absolutely no hiccups along the way, started every time, was consistent in fuel usage, made it up mountains where no NA diesel loaded to the brim should ever be, and most importantly got me back home. I did need to put those tires on, but I believe an entire rear suspension rebuild is in order. I'm noticing the rear skipping around on the highway and if one side hits a pothole or something. For now, she's getting her oil change and will be on light duty for a while
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
