Colorado 2005

Going through Denver was no problem despite heavy traffic. For some reason I thought that we would be making a rapid climb into the mile high city. Not so, the climb to 5200 feet took place over many miles. There were may expensive looking homes built on the mountain sides West of Denver.

After my long awaited anticipation, we started to cross the Rockies in the early afternoon of the third day. The climb starts very shortly after leaving Denver and it's a steep climb to Loveland Pass at 11, 900'. Unfortunately, we got stuck behind two large tractor trailer trucks. I was listening to them on the CB and it was evident that the lead truck was having troubles with his engine and he eventually broke down. By that time we were down to 20 mph and not enough power to pass the. When they pulled off the road we finally got up some speed again. The truck was in Lo gear and the transmission went up to 240°F, red line is 245! The truck got a good work out during this crossing- Lo gear up and Lo gear down. Glad we didn't have to use one of the many truck run-Away ramps.

The scenery was beautiful to say the least. Some snow still on the highest peaks. It was neat seeing the fancy ski resorts built into the mountain sides along the way.

We found a little rest stop to spend our final night on the road. Bair Ranch Rest Stop number 129 was right on the Colorado River and only had six or seven truck parking spaces. There were two other trucks in the lot when we left, but a few came and went during the night. There was some noise from the interstate and some from the trucks , but much quieter than a truck stop.

Denver early afternoon traffic 23 Aug 03	Denver mountainside homes 23 Aug 05	Starting to climb the Rockies 23 Aug 05	Snow on the peaks 23 Aug 05	Scenery in the Rockies 23 Aug 05
Ski Resort in the Rockies 23 Aug 05	Run Away Truck Ramp in the Rockies 23 Aug 05	Rest Stop 129 on I-70 in the Rockies 23 Aug 05	Jack at rest stop 129 23 Aug 05	Colorado River at rest stop 129 on I-70 in the Rockies 23 Aug 05