Inaugural Road Trip - CO to NV

[thegoat]

All,

 

I may be posting this a bit prematurely, but am starting to plan my trip in my Birkin from Erie, CO to Incline Village, NV. Just really looking forward to breaking it in and bringing it to where I live now.

 

The main goal of the trip is stay off interstates and find interesting roads and sights. Maybe this is a bad idea altogether in case of a break down. I plan on carrying a few extra gallons of gas in case of a lack of gas stations and running only during daylight.

 

I plan to make the trip probably at the last weekend of April. One concern is potential snow. I would think that most mountain roadways are open by then, but I haven't verified. Any and all comments are welcomed - different roadways, travel points, etc.

 

Here is the route I planned so far. It is a long road trip, not just in miles, but I think it will be the road trip of a lifetime:

Edited February 22, 2010 by thegoat

[thegoat]

Well, that embedding doesn't seem to be working, so here is a link:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=2074+Primrose+Ln,+Erie,+CO+80516&daddr=Arapahoe+Rd+to:CO-72+W%2FPeak+to+Peak+Hwy+to:CO-7+W%2FCO-7+Scenic+W+to:Trail+Ridge+Rd%2FUS-34+W+to:CO-131+S+to:Co+Rd+8+to:Co+Rd+8+to:CO-64+W+to:UT-45+N+to:Unknown+road+to:UT-35+W+to:State+Route+152+to:N+Little+Cottonwood+Rd%2FUT-210+S%2FS+Watsatch+Blvd+to:S+1700+W%2FCamp+Williams+Rd%2FS+Redwood+Rd+to:UT-73+W+to:UT-199+W+to:Stark+Rd+to:39.965543,-114.698639+to:US-50+W+to:Geiger+Grade+Rd%2FNV-341+W+to:808+Carano+Court,&hl=en&geocode=FUiIYgIdl3q9-SkplgdahgpshzEeCMvIZFctsg%3BFRaUYgIdvLC8-Q%3BFequYgId1_q1-Q%3BFfLXZQId6L21-Q%3BFW7kaAIdrDuy-Q%3BFTDAZwId4rCg-Q%3BFaqEZQIdVpac-Q%3BFUpuYwId0N2Z-Q%3BFeRDYwIdYa6N-Q%3BFQasZAIdljB8-Q%3BFVW8YgIdSER5-Q%3BFWHCaQId9vRh-Q%3BFfChawIdat5Z-Q%3BFQ8fawIdXFhW-Q%3BFeR4aQIdBNxT-Q%3BFXoHZgIdPL1Q-Q%3BFWSMZwIdjtNK-Q%3BFeaPZAIdiulC-Q%3B%3BFdJrWwIdyAQS-Q%3BFfBVWAIdamTe-A%3BFeQCVwIdPpLZ-Cnb21JKHHCZgDFod5HtA0GTQg&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=18&sz=10&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20&sll=40.069665,-114.639587&sspn=0.939526,1.788025&ie=UTF8&ll=41.013066,-112.08252&spn=14.811894,28.608398&t=h&z=6

[slomove]

Looks like a fabulous trip. I am getting envious.

 

Last Summer we did a lot of that route the other way round from SLC and ended up at Skip's place. But we went through Flaming Gorge and Dinosaur before going south to Rangely and Meeker. If you can (and there is no snow) try to drive Emigration Canyon down into SLC.

Beautiful and worth a detour.

 

I had considered County Road 8 as you have it on your route from Yampa to Meeker but found some ominous hints the road may be in real bad shape with long dirt stretches. I don't mind doing that for a few miles but not that long. So I would get advice from some locals before driving there.

 

Good luck and have fun!!

 

Gert

[Swanson]

May I recommend avoiding Big Cottonwood Canyon (just east of SLC, Brighton is at the top) and following along with the previous comment of taking Emigration Canyon?

[thegoat]

Thanks for the comments. Any reason to avoid Big Cottonwood Canyon? Or is it just to take Emigration Canyon instead?

[thegoat]

So, I saw this article on CO-8:

 

http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/sep/27/flat_tops_trail_byway_makes_scenic_drive/

 

I can't tell if the author is saying the road is paved or just passable?

 

I took at a look at google maps street view as well, and it is hard to tell if it is paved or not. Some of the pictures shows the car's dust trail, but it doesn't look so dusty to clearly be a gravel road.

 

80 miles of gravel would suck though.

[thegoat]

Here, it looks like it is paved and unpaved:

 

http://www.scenicdrivesusa.com/colorado

 

Better steer clear, it seems.

[thegoat]

In looking at this further, and adding Emigration Canyon, I think I will have to cross the salt flats on I-80. The road I had picked across the salt flats looks even less reliable than CO-8 - almost like you are driving straight across the salt flats.

 

Anyone know about this?

 

I guess if I did end up on the salt flats I could always do a top speed run!

 

I guess I will stick to I-80.

[yosemite]

Both big and little cottonwood canyon are great roads to drive on, however they take you to the Utah ski resorts and end. Also they are some what out of your way, as you must go south to get to them. There used to be a road that connected big cottonwood with emigration canyon, but it was 4 wheel drive that last time I tried it, also it may still have snow on it. Hard to tell just where you are coming into Salt lake city, but it looks like you are coming out of Heber city. You will meet up with I-80 west bound you can then pick up Emigration Canyon and it is a great twisty road with lots of switch backs to drive. At the bottom it will put you on Wasatch Blvd, so with a good map you be able to get back on your route through Salt Lake City.

[thegoat]

Here is the newest route:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=2074+Primrose+Ln,+Erie,+CO+80516&daddr=Arapahoe+Rd+to:CO-72+W%2FPeak+to+Peak+Hwy+to:CO-7+W%2FCO-7+Scenic+W+to:Trail+Ridge+Rd%2FUS-34+W+to:US-40+W+to:US-40+W+to:Co+Rd+29+to:CO-13+S%2FCO-789+S+to:CO-64+W+to:UT-45+N+to:500+W+St+to:UT-35+W+to:E+Canyon+Rd%2FUT-65+S+to:Burr%27s+Ln%2FEmigration+Canyon+Rd+to:E+500+S+to:W+400+S+to:I-80+W+to:40.677514,-112.398376+to:I-80+W+to:US-93+S+to:US-50+W+to:Geiger+Grade+Rd%2FNV-341+W+to:808+Carano+Court,&geocode=FUiIYgIdl3q9-SkplgdahgpshzEeCMvIZFctsg%3BFRaUYgIdvLC8-Q%3BFequYgId1_q1-Q%3BFfLXZQId6L21-Q%3BFW7kaAIdrDuy-Q%3BFfDMaQIdINif-Q%3BFWv2aQIdi-Ob-Q%3BFfhSZwId2ICZ-Q%3BFc-eZwId1a-V-Q%3BFeRDYwIdYa6N-Q%3BFXyGZAId6H58-Q%3BFbOSaAIdeJd4-Q%3BFWHCaQId9vRh-Q%3BFVoTcQId3vRZ-Q%3BFVoIbgIdJmdW-Q%3BFQztbQIdnFFV-Q%3BFUr1bQIdIJdU-Q%3BFRwebgIdFrhR-Q%3B%3BFUCWbQIdFT1C-Q%3BFY3NYQIdPuop-Q%3BFdJrWwIdyAQS-Q%3BFfBVWAIdamTe-A%3BFeQCVwIdPpLZ-Cnb21JKHHCZgDFod5HtA0GTQg&hl=en&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=18&sz=10&via=1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22&sll=40.743095,-111.930084&sspn=0.930173,1.788025&ie=UTF8&ll=42.374778,-110.500488&spn=14.504927,28.608398&t=h&z=6

 

If you zoom into the SLC area, I now have heading north on 32 to and catching I-80 to Emigration Canyon and then running on surface streets down across downtown SLC to catch I-80 again across the salt flats.

[yosemite]

I-80 is the only way I know of to get across the salt flats safely. It does go thru the middle of the salt flats. Its flat, straight and not much to see until you get to Wendover. I don't think I would want to go out on the salt flats at this time of the year. Still real wet. There weren't a lot of gas stations between Salt Lake and Wendover, so plan your gas fill ups.

Edited February 22, 2010 by yosemite
can't spell

[thegoat]

I have driven I-80 across the salt flats before. You are correct that there really isn't anything out there - just flats to the right and to the left.

[gjslutz]

If you see David Cronin, tell him I said Hi! He purchased an A/C from me years ago

Gary

 

345 LIVES SAVED

Fourteen years after the 1975

TWA-Bonanza close call — and

half a world away — a captain

who was just four weeks from

turning 60 skillfully glided a

United 747 back to safety in

Honolulu after a cargo door and

a big chunk of fuselage blew off.

Nine passengers, with luggage,

were sucked into the jumbo jet’s

two right engines, drastically

dropping the forward thrust that

keeps the aircraft aloft.

The National Transportation

Safety Board later acknowledged

Capt. David Cronin’s enormous

skill in piloting the crippled aircraft

to safety, citing his 38 years

of experience. Left as a footnote

to the 1989 incident, however,

was that Cronin prevented his

less-experienced co-pilot, who

was going by the book, from

dropping the landing gear and

flaps, which would have caused

so much drag that the jet would

have crash-landed in the Pacific.

A friend of Cronin, retired

Capt. Hal “Mac” McNicol Jr.,

runs a Los Angeles agency

placing hundreds of over-60

pilots into jobs on foreign

airlines and domestic air taxis

and air charters, which they are

still allowed to fly. McNicol said

that after the door ripped off and

the jet lost power, the co-pilot

read out the list of procedures

recommended for an emergency

descent. When the co-pilot said

he was going to bring the landing

gear down and extend the flaps,

Cronin reacted immediately,

according to

McNicol.

“Hold on,’’

Cronin told the

co-pilot. “We

don’t know if

we can make it

or not, and if

we gear down,

we’ll cause drag,’’ losing too

much altitude to make it back to

Honolulu.

Cronin saved 345 lives on that

flight,

[slomove]

Here is the newest route:

..........

 

Sounds like a plan.