We pulled out of Bear Creek Lake Campground onto roads that were damp from soupy fog. We had 172 miles to cover. There was three-quarters of a tank of fuel in the truck which allow us to cover 225 miles. If we used fuel at a slightly faster than normal rate, well, we would be on an interstate so there had to be places to get diesel.
After all, tractor-trailers run the interstate system 24/7.
There were several things we failed to consider, the first of which, by itself, should have kept us from leaving the campground.
When driving on wet roads and heading into elevations where the temperature is thirty-five degrees colder, the wet roads will quickly turn to icy roads.
Driving on icy roads pulling a 40 foot RV was never on my bucket list - and is something I will never repeat.
The second thing we failed to consider was that when driving in mountainous regions where the temperature has just dropped 45 degrees in three hours, nearly every valley will be filled with fog that reduces visibility to something like 20 feet.
Visibility of 20 feet when going down a 12 percent grade with 14,000 pounds of RV trying to push your vehicle faster results in an experience roughly equivalent to jumping off a diving board with your eyes closed.
Pulling off the road was not an option because of the sheer cliff faces that met the highway at the solid white stripe on the right.
And so it was that about 150 miles into our drive I looked at another long incline ahead of us - and the position of the needle on the fuel gauge. And I realized we would run out of diesel before we reached our destination.
At that point I was thinking I should have taken an extra dose of blood pressure medicine at breakfast.
But the universe had not abandoned us entirely. When we crested the incline, we found ourselves in sunshine - and there was a pull-off for a scenic overlook.
Never had a pull-off ever looked so beautiful, scenery or no.
And I was about to enjoy a little known occurrence. An apology from my significant other - who had made fun of me for carrying a 5 gallon can of diesel in the bed of the pickup just in case.
Those 5 gallons got us to the next fuel stop - with one gallon to spare.
But first... we had to navigate the Glenwood Canyon section of I70. We later learned that construction of these 12 miles of roadway was the most expensive part of the entire interstate system. The road snakes between cliff faces, through tunnels, and in some places hangs seemingly suspended above the Colorado River. A picture of a small section of this stretch of road is shown at the top of this post.
Whew... I'm exhausted reliving those few hours of my life.
Lessons learned from this experience.
Plan every part of every trip in advance.
Never leave a campground with less than a full tank of fuel.
Always know where fuel stops are along the entire route.
The weather doesn't care about you.
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