Time for another road trip. I did it two years ago as documented here, and I've been plotting the sequel since I got home. Going to take a more southerly route this time toward the Four Corners area, but in the same car, my 2021 ND RF. I leave in a couple weeks.
This post is basically just a placeholder, but watch this space.
On the road tomorrow. Start out on 80 in PA, then south to 70 as far at St. Louis, and on to 44 before picking up non-interstates across Kansas and Colorado, eventually ending up in Durango. Base myself there for a few days, with the major objective being Monument Valley a few hours west (hopefully the Miata can handle the dirt roads there - it did fine on them in South Dakota, but these look somewhat rougher). Then up to Grand Junction for a few more days, hopefully exploring the mountains around there before starting back east. Two weeks total time planned, with most transit days covering ~500 miles. Got a new set of tires and some basic tools with me; I'm frankly more concerned about the weather than I am breaking down, but we'll see how it goes.
I'll try to post small updates as I go, but I'm not very good about that. Expect the bulk of the coverage to come after I return.
Safe travels!
You're about a week early for Flyin' Miata Summer Camp if I'm reading the itinerary right.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Yeah, I know. Unfortunately, commitments at home later in June made it impossible to coordinate; I would have happily delayed a week if I was able.
Any tips for the area around GJ? I've only been through there on the way to somewhere else, so I've never had a chance to explore. I see there are some interesting roads, and I wouldn't mind doing a little hiking.
The drive over the Grand Mesa is a good one. There's a loop that's just goofy fun that runs up behind the Colorado national monument - Little Park Road up, then turn right towards the monument, then either turn right or left when you hit Rim Rock Drive depending on how far you want to go.
Another good drive is hwy 141. Just get on it and drive as far as you want :) You can make a big loop through Paradox over the La Sals to Moab, that's an all day drive but spectacular.
For hikes, Liberty Cap is cool, with the possibility to go longer if you want to hike across to Rim Rock. Mt. Garfield is another classic.
Since you'll be in SW Colorado for a while, you've got to drive the San Juan Skyway, around 240 miles total Durango to Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Dolores, and back to Durango (routes 550/62/145). As Keith said, 141 is a great drive, lots of red rock instead of high mountains. Be aware that US 50 between Montrose and Gunnison is closed for bridge modifications east of the Blue Mesa dam, but the drive east from Montrose to Blue mesa, then cross the dam and head north to Crawford, Paonia, Hotchkiss and Delta is another nice day drive, and you'll get to see Black Canyon from the north (great overlooks, and the national park is just east of Montrose (check the website cotrip.org for road updates construction between Ridgway and Montrose, but the delays aren't too bad this year, and I don't know the schedule for US 50 delays between Montrose and Blue Mesa Dam, but the info is on the website). If you like trains, The Ridgway Railroad Museum (home of the Galloping Geese) is open for self guided tours 24/7/365, and we are on site working on Tuesday mornings, and are giving free rides every Friday and Saturday from 10 - 2 (and we're also car guys). Tons to see in the area. Free music concerts in the park in Ouray on Thursday nights, a good lineup this year, bingo Wednesdays at the Ouray Elks lodge.
Almost forgot - there is a good car show in Montrose on Saturday, June 8th.
If you're going from Durango to GJ, you're likely going to drive half of that San Juan Skyway route - probably the 550 part through Silverton/Ouray as that's the bucket list drive.
The loop Jim suggested over the Blue Mesa dam is a good one.
Keith and Jim, thanks again. And I say again because I asked some questions about the area when I was out there a few years ago; because I followed some of your suggestions then, I've already hit some of the roads (550 and 141), and might again, and this time in a better car than a rental Altima. I passed the railroad museum, but didn't have time to stop - maybe I can make it this time. Good to know about the closure on 50 - I was planning on going that way on my return, following it to Pueblo, and then across a chunk of Kansas before hitting the interstate.
FWIW, my first new car was a 1970 2002 in Colorado Orange. Wish I still had it.
In reply to Jim Pettengill :
There's a part of me that thinks it would be fun to take my 2002 on a trip like this at some point. Then I remember that it's loud, drinks gas, and has no air conditioning. And I'd have to rejet the carbs to make it work in the mountains.
Mine had no AC and I was in (northern - Flagstaff) Arizona at the time - no problem up there, but I went to a wedding in Yuma once when it was 115*F down there, no fun AT ALL. Miata is no doubt a better choice.
Rolled into Durango yesterday, and spent today doing anything but driving.
I took a look at the suggested routes and they do look promising. I did see that Rimrock is being repaved and will have sections closed, so I won't be able to do the full loop, but the others are on the short list.
Monument Valley tomorrow. Everything I'm reading suggests the loop road is going to be too rough for the Miata, so I'm planning to hike instead. There should be plenty of photo opportunities without driving the loop.
Rim Rock Drive will be open after 7 pm each day as well as on weekends. Makes for a great sunset drive :)
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I didn't catch that. The weekend won't work, but after 7pm might. As long as it's not the day before I start back east.
Passing through Ridgeway on my way to GJ tomorrow, so I'll try to stop in at the museum on my way. Jim, about how long do you think it will take to go through?
I have returned to the real world intact, a little over 5,000 new miles and a thick layer of bugs and dirt on the Miata. I haven't even dealt with the digital camera photos yet, let alone the film (though I really didn't expose a lot of film, despite my best intentions), so it will take a while before the proper posts emerge. For now you'll have to be content with a simple phone shot from Route 550, the "Million Dollar Highway", somewhere between Coal Bank Pass and Molas Pass.
More to come, though there may be a delay as I struggle to readjust to normal life.
EDIT: I decided to start the photos over in the main forum. I'll leave this here for posterity, but I do not plan to update this thread.
Before I get started with the photo dump, an admission: I took far fewer photos this time. I'm not sure why, really; it was a different experience than the last long road trip, and I guess I just wasn't as intent on taking photos for whatever reason. So this won't be as comprehensive a thread, which might be for the best, as the last one got a little self-indulgent. Anyway, we'll start with Big Rocks.
The planning for this trip started with Monument Valley, a place I've seen immortalized in countless John Ford Westerns. Getting there wasn't the whole point of the trip, just as the last one wasn't just about going to Mt. Rushmore, but it provided a useful focus around which the rest of the trip would coalesce. I was based out of Durango, CO for most of my time out there, so when the appointed day arrived, my plan was a loop through all of the Four Corners states, hitting Monument in AZ, Shiprock in NM, and anything else I found sticking prominently out of the earth.
After a few hours of driving on very remote, mostly straight roads, the first stop was Mexican Hat, a balanced rock just a little way off the paved surface.
Soon after, Monument appeared on the horizon. This is apparently now known as Forrest Gump Point - I never saw the movie, but obviously it features in it somehow. There were a fair number of vanlife Darwin Award nominees there wandering into the middle of the road taking selfies, which was mildly nauseating.
The actual park is run by the Navajo Nation as a tribal park. Unfortunately, I was not able to drive the loop road - it's rough and apparently very sandy, and was posted for 4x4s only. This is one thing for which Miata is not the answer. But the view from the visitor's center isn't bad.
For as interesting as the place was, the visitor's center was pretty busy, it was very hot (I saw 103F later that day), and the loudspeakers shilling tours every five minutes got to be a bit tiresome, so I moved on. On the way toward Shiprock, I came across another similar formation known as Agathla Peak, which was watched over by a small herd of indifferent goats.
After that, it was more fast two-lane out to Shiprock. There's very little traffic on these roads, and very few signs of human settlement for long stretches. It's quite pleasant to drive for the most part, though there are lots of sharp rocks everywhere, and the thought of having a flat tire out there was mildly unnerving.
Overall, Shiprock was the highlight of this loop. Unlike Monument Valley, there were no tourists; in fact, there were no other people. Just the formation itself, the black crumbling spine leading to the rock itself, and a rough dirt road running along the base. I went as far as I could - a sign about a third of the way along advises that Navajo guides are required to go further, which I respected, though enforcement seemed unlikely. I was nice to be able to just take a little time to listen to nothing but the wind and soak in the experience.
I did a fly-n-drive (San Jose CA ---> Jacksonville FL) to buy my sw20 MR2 last year and this has got me thinking of a sequel road trip. I took about 10 days, but stopped at Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef National Park, and a few other cool spots. It was the best week of driving I can remember.
2 weeks out and back might be just about perfect, enough time to really disconnect, but not long enough to ruin your regular life LOL. Here's a couple phone photos from my norcal-FL trip, taken by an amateur with an iphone.
I'm about to plan my next big solo road trip, thanks!
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