Colorful Colorado
We are leaving the majestic state of Utah and entering "Colorful Colorado." Colorful Colorado is on the sign that greets you when entering this mountainous state. Colorado has glowing sunsets, wildflowers, and red rock ranges, not to mention the aspens in autumn. We are headed to an appointment at Supertramp Campers in Golden, Colorado. We stopped along the way to hike the Parachute Ponds Loop in the Parachute Ponds State Wildlife Area. Between the fresh air, the trees, the water, and the mountains, it was just breathtaking! Along the hike, however, we did come across the remnants of a wind-driven brush fire that ignited three weeks before we were there, which is always sad to see. After our hike we went through the car wash and refueled in the town before getting back on I-70.
We continued past Rifle, Silt, New Castle, and Glenwood Springs. We stopped at a rest area in No Name, Colorado, an unincorporated community with a population of less than 300 people. The name of the town caught on after early local maps listed the area as having "no name" and it stuck. Here we walked a small section of the 16.3-mile Glenwood Canyon Recreation Trail that runs along the Colorado River while we FaceTimed with our now son-in-law, Alan. If we had more time, I would have loved to walk longer.
We continued driving. The scenery was spectacular going through Deadman's Gulch, Gypsum, Eagle, Edward, and Vail. The Copper Mountain area was gorgeous. The Dillon Reservoir with a snow-capped peak of the Tenmile Range in the background was stunning!
I-70s highest elevation in Colorado is 11,158 feet, which is at the Eisenhower Tunnel (I-70W) and Johnson Tunnel (I-70E). Leading up to the Johnson Tunnel, heading east, there is a climb of 7% grade for roughly 7 miles. As you can imagine, there are many warning signs heading toward the tunnels. These include lane restrictions, wide loads, maximum height, winter traction, chain laws, safety metering, downhill grade, sun glare advisory warnings, and, last but not least, the Continental Divide Marker. But, let's back up....Overheight Sensor Alarms: Infrared beams cross the highway if a vehicle breaks this beam. Massive flashing lights and loud sirens activate, including an electronic sign telling the driver to pull over immediately! Safety is, of course, of utmost importance. The Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel is 1.697 miles in length. After leaving the tunnel, there is a 6% downhill decline for roughly 12 miles when heading east.
We made our way into the Front Range urban corridor and into Golden, Colorado. Golden is at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where the plains meet the Front Range. And though Golden is considered a suburb of Denver, it is physically separated from the rest of the Denver sprawl by two large volcanic mesas - - the North and South Table Mountains. Golden was actually founded in 1859 during Pike's Peak Gold Rush - before Denver - and Golden served as the capital of the temporary Colorado Territory from 1862-1867. Some fun facts: Golden is home to the Coors Brewery regional headquarters for its U.S. division. It is also home to the annual event Goldens in Golden. An estimated 5,500 golden retrievers attend with their humans, making it the largest gathering of golden retrievers in the entire world.
We headed into Golden, making a stop at Blue Pan Pizza. 😋 This seems to have become a tradition for us whenever we are in Golden. We got our pizza to go, parked for the night, enjoyed our pizza, and watched a few shows before hitting the hay!
After our appointment the next day, we headed to Westland Coin Laundry. This is our usual laundromat when in the Denver area. We love the convenience of paying for the washers and dryers with the DexterPay app. It not only alleviates paying with quarters, but also keeps track of how much time you have left on your wash or dry. While our laundry was washing, we went into King Soopers to get some groceries. When the app tells us the washer is complete, one of us leaves the grocery store to transfer clothes from washer to dryer while the other keeps shopping. By the time we check out at the grocery store, our dryer is just finishing. It is quite convenient when you can find a laundromat and grocery store in the same plaza. Something you wouldn't normally think about if you have a washer and dryer at home.
With our laundry done, some groceries purchased, and our truck refueled, we started heading east.
Stay tuned for next week's post as we tumble back toward Indiana for another transport opportunity.
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