Route change to avoid ridiculous altitude
Aug. 9th, 2011 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pseydtonneI am in my friend Dave's house in Aurora, Colorado. I really enjoyed spending time with his family. I also found where I can get gas for $3.31/gal tomorrow, which would be the lowest price of the trip.
I'm worried about the car. I'm doing fine, but the car may be wanting a long nap. I stalled out in an intersection earlier today and the "light bulb dead" indicator has been going on and off since. None of the bulbs is out (I checked them all twice). I will stop at the VW dealership down the road to make certain nothing real is wrong -- it's time for the 50k checkup anyway. This may simply be an effect of the lack of oxygen up here: even I'm tired from that.
I've also taken Dave's advice and am changing the route. I was going to take I-70 to the end, then I-15 through Vegas until suburban Los Angeles. However that is a morass of switchbacks and steepness. I would like to cut down on the burden to dear Teller. Thus instead I shall skirt the wall of Rocky Mountains by taking I-25 south to Albuquerque, then I-40 west through northern Arizona until it ends at I-15 in Barstow.
This new route adds 200 miles (1200 instead of 1000). I've also been warned by Triple A that Arizona is into heavy speed enforcement on major roads. However it's cooler at night (when I drive the most to save on air conditioning) and has far fewer steep climbs.
I'm starting to relax. I'm not great at relaxing, but I'm starting to chill myself about not being on the east coast anymore. I'm as alien as I've ever been, but the polite chit-chat thing is strangely centering when you're on the road. "Hi, you're a human! We have coffee."
-I hope it's a left turn at Albuquerque, Dante
I'm worried about the car. I'm doing fine, but the car may be wanting a long nap. I stalled out in an intersection earlier today and the "light bulb dead" indicator has been going on and off since. None of the bulbs is out (I checked them all twice). I will stop at the VW dealership down the road to make certain nothing real is wrong -- it's time for the 50k checkup anyway. This may simply be an effect of the lack of oxygen up here: even I'm tired from that.
I've also taken Dave's advice and am changing the route. I was going to take I-70 to the end, then I-15 through Vegas until suburban Los Angeles. However that is a morass of switchbacks and steepness. I would like to cut down on the burden to dear Teller. Thus instead I shall skirt the wall of Rocky Mountains by taking I-25 south to Albuquerque, then I-40 west through northern Arizona until it ends at I-15 in Barstow.
This new route adds 200 miles (1200 instead of 1000). I've also been warned by Triple A that Arizona is into heavy speed enforcement on major roads. However it's cooler at night (when I drive the most to save on air conditioning) and has far fewer steep climbs.
I'm starting to relax. I'm not great at relaxing, but I'm starting to chill myself about not being on the east coast anymore. I'm as alien as I've ever been, but the polite chit-chat thing is strangely centering when you're on the road. "Hi, you're a human! We have coffee."
-I hope it's a left turn at Albuquerque, Dante
