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Sarah Turner will spend six weeks driving 10,000
miles from Alaska to Arizona, raising money for Marie Curie Cancer
Care. Here she tells her story.
Friday 5 March
I awoke around two, cold in my bunk and peered
out onto the parking lot where I'd camped, it was snowing. I pulled
my jacket over the top of me and dozed off again until four when
I gave up and fired up the Webasto for some warmth. It wasn't actually
as cold as some nights, only about -7C. Having come quite a way
south it is now light around 06.30, so making breakfast is easy
in daylight at around seven.
I was headed west this morning, towards the Utah
border and Moab. Travelling on main roads the first section was
snow covered and back to winter. I dropped into the town of Montrose
where I found Turner's Toyota. No connection but they kindly changed
my fuel filter which saved me a job by the roadside.
I thought technicians Kyle and Lonnie were taking
rather a long time to do the change but then I discovered they were
'checking out the truck' as they'd never seen a 70 series, nor do
the US get the diesel engines. The Cruiser is running better today
and I hope the filter change will improve things further.
The Monument in the Colorado National Monument
Park. |
As I headed out the landscape changed and the snow
all but vanished once more. Passing through the town of Grand Junction
I was back in semi arid landscape.
Just outside Grand Junction is the Colorado National
Monument, a national park full of sandstone canyons. Rim
Rock road passes through the park and is aptly named. A shelf road
that follows the canyon rim. I'd hoped to also take in Rattlesnake
Canyon, a trail road from the park but it is closed Feb to April
for the 'thaw'. Despite this, the park was anything but a disappointment.
Continuing west I picked up the back road to Moab,
as recommended by a helpful ranger at the park. It started out as
just more arid plain and the 'town' of Cisco seemed no more than
a few windswept shacks but within a few miles the landscape changed
totally.
The road follows the Colorado River and you could
describe it as the start of the Grand Canyon. Great sandstone sculptures
rise from the red ground. The sun was starting to set and the whole
surroundings glowed in its light.
As I neared Moab I pulled into a government campsite,
right on the river and below the rocks.
Thursday 4 March
I waved farewell to my hosts, Gillian and Brendan
and set off south from Longmont on the Interstate highway. This
takes you straight through Denver and out to Colorado Springs.
View across the central rock formations in
the Garden Of The Gods. |
Here, on Brendan's recommendation, I turned off
for the Garden of the Gods National Park. A small park by US standards,
it is one of sandstone rock formations and, despite a rather overcast
morning, I enjoyed the walk around the paths that take you from
car park to each rock.
Departing the park I turned out onto a trail road,
the Rampart Road which is a shelf road which winds its way up to
around 9,500 feet in the mountains looking down over the park and
the plains beyond.
Around 20 miles long and snow covered at the highest
parts this was a long stretch. The surface of packed earth was heavily
corrugated and made for a rough drive but the view was worth it,
even if it could have been a little clearer. I exited back onto
highway and started to head west once more, towards the Utah border
and Moab.
The Cruiser is starting to cause me a little concern,
what I first put down to poor fuel has not cleared and she is blowing
blue smoke and running rough on downhill sections where I am using
engine braking and thus the rev's/compression rise.
The Rampart Road leaving the Garden Of The
Gods national park. |
I still think the cause is the fuel and or high
altitudes, but am starting to wonder if the fuel has caused some
damage somewhere. Once I am on open road she runs fine so I shall
just have to push on and trust her reliability will not let me down.
As I headed back towards the Rockies the road started
to climb, and climb and climb, the top of the pass was at 11,300ft.
Again the cloud had closed in and the view was not so good, but
the road was reasonably free of ice and snow and we passed through
without mishap.
As the sun began to set a blizzard closed in and
it was at one point snowing quite heavily, but it didn't last too
long and by the time I parked up for the night it had stopped.
I should be in Moab tomorrow where I hope to cover
some trails in the national parks around the area.
Wednesday 3 March
With the offer of 'wheelin' I stayed in Longmont
an extra day.
A long climb through soft snow, but the wheel
chains make light work of it. |
Starting with some routine maintenance I adjusted
up the rear brake drums, checked the fluids and discovered why my
rear differential lock hadn't worked… it had become disconnected.
A lucky find whilst checking all wiring etc as
the connector is buried under a piece of foam which damps the compressor
vibration.Later in the day I also sealed
the break in the screen with the hope of stopping it spreading.
Mike and Brendan led me out of Longmont into the
surrounding mountains. It was strange to be wandering around in
just shirt sleeves in town and the deep in the snow half an hour
later.
The first trail climbed steadily and the snow got
deeper with a layer of ice beneath. Even with both differentials
locked I was struggling to keep up with Mike and fighting for traction.
So it was on with the chains once more… again the transformation
was instant and I drove the rest of the way with ease, even on open
diffs.
We stopped part way up at an old mine shaft, the
rails still visible and bits of machinery buried in the snow. Most
of the trails are old mining accesses. Here the snow was too deep
to continue, I could have gone further, especially if I'd put the
front chains on but Mike had no chains so we had a bite of lunch
and called it a day.
Heads up - lifting a wheel as the rear wheels
drop in a steep bank. |
Crossing the valley we started the next ascent.
This time over snow free trail, a complete contrast with rocky boulders
and muddy ground. The final short bank saw my short wheel base Cruiser
lift a wheel high and pose for the camera.
The view from the top was through the mountains
across the flat plains of Colorado but lingering cloud partially
obscured this. The picture really says it all… tomorrow I head towards
Moab and hopefully more trails, having met more new friends and
enjoyed their company - this time with a
home twist, Brendan and Gillian are from Ireland and I was treated
to good old home cooking and proper tea!
I shall again be sad to move on.
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