I took Jewel for an early morning walk and ran into Dot our neighbor from MA. Had a great conversation with her and do plan on touching base once we are all back home.
We left the KOA around 10:30 am and had our propane tank filled before leaving. We were not sure if we would be dry camping so made sure we had enough propane to heat the camper in the high elevations of the park.
Then it was off to buy gas for both the MH and car. Then to the grocery store. We actually didn’t get on the road until after 11:30 am but whose rushing.
As we were driving we could see the mountains ahead of us. Quite spectacular to look at but not so wonderful to drive over. Ron doesn’t like pulling mountains but there was no choice. We pulled 12,000 feet in Vail without difficulty so 10,000 feet should be no problem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wolf Creek Pass has a notorious reputation with the truckers so we were not really sure want we were in for. Ron’s plan was to take it slow and not push the MH.
Well, the pull was a lot more difficult then we could have imagined with a very steep grade. Although we pulled the pass over Vail at 12,000 feet, it was a gradual grade and less stressful on the MH and us.
About three-fourths of the way up the pass we realized we probably should have disconnected the car, but at that point it was too late. The MH was beginning to show signs of strain – along with us, and when finally at the top the temperature gauge was starting to climb. It never got to hot but it did go up one notch. That had never happened before. The temp gauge on the mirror which tells us the outside temp and the temp from the engine read 131. Yikes, not good. Ron opened the hood and you could here the cooling system gurgling. Again – not good.
At the top of Wolf Creek Pass is the Continental Divide.
We sat for a while, had lunch and when engine sufficiently cooled we headed down the pass. Going down was not as bad as the climb and thank goodness no more difficult passes to go over.
Ron checked the entire rig and car and everything looked OK. Our only regret is that we didn’t disconnect the car putting less strain on the MH.
web site
http://www.motorcyclecolorado.com/wolf_creek_pass.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Creek_PassWaterfall
Waterfall Along the Way
Tunnel Through Mountain Pass
The Road from Hell
By the time we finished our drive over the pass we were drained. Sounds crazy, but it was not a fun drive. Coming down the pass wasn’t as bad but the pass was 16 miles long and the first 8 miles was at least a 6-8 % grade up. Really tough. The maximum speed limit, even for cars was 35 MPH and we were going 22 MPH. There was a State Patrol Car pulling people over who were exceeding the 35 mph limit.
We decided we would catch a CG down the road. I had walked back to the BR and noticed that the MH was not riding as smoothly but didn’t think much of it at the time. The roads were a little rough so I thought that was the issue.
Around 5 PM we pulled into the Lathrop State CG for the night. We had only driven 200 miles but it felt like 400. It was a difficult 200 miles with rough terrain and really low speed limits.
We had dinner, settled in and just had to discuss our drive over Wolf Creek Pass. Despite all the research and discussions Ron had with people who knew the area we were still not prepared for the difficult pull over that GOD-AWFUL PASS.
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