It was going to be pretty hard to beat the amazing road trip we took last summer (see my prior post : Porsche 911 GT3: Grand Tour of Eight U.S. Western States)
But this year, I think we managed to equal it! This year's plan was to get to the amazing roads around the San Juan Mountains and Telluride, Colorado and spend the July 4 celebration in that scenic mountain town.
Once again, the car to take was the 2018 Porsche GT3 (a "991.2 GT3 6-Speed" for my Porschephile friends). For a 10-day trip, it has all the luggage space we needed and ensured that once I arrived on the roads that I was most interested in, it was going provide plenty of fun factor.
A few of those target roads that I really wanted to drive included Colorado Highway 550 through Silverton and Ouray to Durango, also known as the "Million Dollar Highway", Highway 141 from Moab to Telluride, and anything else we might discover along the way. The route we planned out would encompass a minimum of 2,325 miles, about 39 hours of driving, and 5 Western States.
Day 1: Danville, CA to Moab, UT
Day one was going to be our longest leg of the trip: about 930 miles if we went on Highway 80 and closer to 910 miles if we took highway 50. Waze said the 80 route was faster, although a few more miles. Waze suggested the 910 mile trip would take 14 hours and 20 minutes. But having done Highway 50 last year, I knew that it had far less traffic, almost no big rigs to slow you down, and open stretches of road where I could open the car up and cruise at healthy speeds, if ya know what I mean.
And I was right. The GT3 gobbled up miles like a recovering Ozempic addict at a pancake breakfast. We made just 3 stops for gas, enjoyed the scenery in the small towns we passed through, and arrived in Moab after 915 miles in 11 hours and 55 minutes. Cruise control on those straight, empty stretches of Highway 50 was key to managing almost 23 MPG and averaging 78 MPH for the whole trip, including stops. And we got to Moab in time to enjoy the evening sun and do some research into the impressive bug collection on the front of the 911.
A long day deserves a good pizza and a brew, and we found both at Antica Forma in Moab while enjoying the late evening setting sun in this beautiful desert town. We stayed at the cozy Moab Springs Ranch in a terrific cottage/bungalow just outside of downtown.
Day 2: Moab, Utah
We started early to beat the heat and crowds entering Arches National Park. We had an 8 am reserved entry time to Arches, and the goal was to get in a hike early. So we headed straight for the Delicate Arches trailhead to get that hike done with nice morning light on the well-known arch. Seems many people had the same idea, as there were quite a few hikers. The 3.2 mile out-and back hike is pretty easy, even for an old dude like me, but some people seemed to really dislike the uphill section in the open sun. But the Arch was a sight and worth the walk, everyone would agree.
We spent the rest of the morning driving around the 25 mile park loop, stopping to take small walks to see other arches and rock formations. I was awed by the Courthouse Towers section and couldn't get enough at just staring at those rock formations!
We spent the afternoon driving the Island in the Sky Road around the upper rim of Canyonlands National Park. It's a stunning scene, a massive set of canyons carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers. Grand View point lived up to its name. The road is twisty and fun and relatively empty, with plenty of areas to pull out and enjoy the views.
We even got a little serenade from a guy practicing his Alpine Horn over the canyon...
Day 3: Moab to Telluride
Leaving Moab, we headed south on Highway 191 and continued to be amazed by the amount of infrastructure here that supports the off-road recreational enthusiast. if you're into 4WD, Jeeps, big trucks, side-by-sides, quads, Baja racers, mountain bikes, dirt bikes, or anything else that crawls or drives through dirt and mountains, you have to come to Moab. Plenty of adventure tours for the newbies. Just come check it out!
Just outside of Moab on Hwy 191 you will come to "Hole in the Rock". You literally can't miss it. The signs painted on the canyon walls ensure that. This is a classic Western US tourist stop with tours of a house built into the rock, general store, and all kinds of oddities to see. This here is 'Murica and it's why I love a good road trip.
We turned East on Highway 46 through La Sal toward the Colorado State line and Highway 90 through the town of Bedrock. There were sections of this road where we din't see another car for 30 minutes. It's remote, beautiful, and fun.
I love a good abandoned general store, and the town of Bedrock didn't let me down. (EDIT: Fun fact that someone informed me of after they read this... This general store was featured in the Movie "Thelma and Louise" when Louise makes a phone call from the store. Apparently, the film also used locations through this route we were on through the La Sal Mountains).
Highway 141 up to Gateway and back
This detour allowed us to experience a gorgeous stretch of Highway 141's Unawepp Tabeguache Scenic Byway. From the town of Gateway down to Naturita, this is a classic Colorado canyon that gives you a fascinating look at nature's power and makes you wonder why you didn't study geology in college. The stratified layers, the colors, the uplifts, the erosion, the variation of rock density and differences in consolidation that you see through this canyon tells a complex story of our planet and makes you feel humbled to be such a tiny blip in the timeline of the Earth's history.
One of the many picturesque stops along the way is a lookout over the "Hanging Flume", which was built in 1887 for use in gold mining operations. An engineering marvel, it was built into the side of the canyon rock by mostly Asian immigrants (read: forced labor) over the span of three years and at its peak, this 12-mile long flume moved over 80,000,000 gallon each day from its origin near Uravan, CO down to the mining operations along the Delores River. It was abandoned after only three years as the gold mining wasn't as productive as hoped.
We stopped and marveled at the flume remnants (135 years old) and in doing so met some nice folks. The first couple to approach us were in their late 70s and gave us a historic lesson about the gold, platinum, and uranium mining operations that had supported the area over many generations. Our next meet was a nice Subaru driver who pulled over to see the GT3 and make sure he gave me tons of ideas for the best drives in this part of Colorado. I learned much, pouring over the wonderfully anachronistic analog map atlas he pulled out of the Subie. I got the sense he loved to drive and had done a million miles himself and he wanted to make sure that we fully took advantage of the GT3 capabilities on proper roads! Highway 141 was a real surprise treat.
Here is a short Time-lapse of Highway 141 a bit south of Gateway, CO:
Day 4-8: Enjoy Telluride
How to describe Telluride? Superlatives don't do it justice. It's a bit indescribable. But I will say that it embodies all the best aspects of a mountain town and ski/summer area you could hope for. While Vail is a great ski resort that has grown into a village and a town, and while Aspen has a great charming town with a couple world-class ski areas, Telluride combines all that into one perfect package. The town itself is separate from the ski and bike oriented "Mountain Village", so you have both distinct vibes here. The free Gondola connects the Village up on the bluff with the town in the valley below. It's a pretty seamless connection. World-class mountain biking and hiking in the summer and world-class skiing in the Winter. What's not to love. It's a good thing that it's hard to get to, or it would be even more overrun with out-of-towners like me.
We spent the next 6 days staying out of the car, with the exception of one day trip to Mesa Verde National Park. In Telluride, we took a whitewater rafting trip, hiked to Bridal Veil Falls, hiked the ridges above the village and town, enjoyed lots of great food, watched the July 4 parade and fireworks and just generally fell in love with the place.
July 2 we took a great Class II-III white water rafting trip down the San Miguel river with Telluride Outside. Absolutely professional guides and an unbelievably fun river trip! No photos. I was busy paddling (this was not a quiet float, we were working the whole time).
Dinner shout out to "221 South Oak" a charming small house converted by the owner into a cozy bistro with a unique menu. We ate well.
Finished the night off with a great Drone / Light / Fireworks show at the Town Park. Telluride does it right!
Where we stayed: Quick shout out to our friends at Exclusive Resorts ('ER"). We have been ER members since 2010 and have travelled the world and the U.S., staying in homes owned by the club and bringing our friends and family with us. Combining the advantages of a private home (3-5 bedrooms, space for everyone, kitchen, etc) with a Resort Hotel (concierge service, housekeeping), the club residences are always beautifully designed, impeccably maintained, and perfectly located. In this case, we were located in Mountain Village just a couple minute walk to the Gondola that would take us to the top of the mountain or down into Town center. This residence was bigger than we needed for this trip, but at least if I snored, Jill could kick me into a different bedroom.
Side Trip: Mesa Verde National Park
We drove south on Highway 145 again and it was a brilliant morning. We headed toward Cortez and Delores and the first half the drive was more spectacular views of mountains, rivers and small towns like Rico, CO. We even spied the Top of Mt Wilson, which you might recognize as the mountain featured on logo of the Coors Light can (which turns blue when the beer is cold).
Past Rico, we started to get flat high plains headed into Cortez. We had lunch in Cortez (Sushi!) and then headed for Mesa Verde National Park. It's a magical spot with 800+ years of history of the Pueblo people, well preserved by the beautiful structures built into the walls of the canyon for living, gathering, and story-telling. We took the walking tour of the Cliff Palace area and we were gobsmacked! (borrowing that term from my Canadian friends).
On the way home, I was feeling a sore throat come back that had plagued me for a couple weeks prior to our trip (I had been treated with antibiotics). It had almost gone completely away but it was back now with a vengeance. So we took a short trip to the local Urgent Care in Cortez and I was prescribed an antibiotic and some steroids for an indeterminate infection in my right side tonsil.
Well here's where our plans went completely awry. The next day it was worse than ever. A very sore throat, massive earache, etc. Our last day in Telluride we just hung around the village, read books and hoped I'd get better. The Mountain Village is charming and fun and not a bad place to recover. The next day we were leaving for Sedona and driving my target road: Highway 550 through Ouray and Silverton to Durango and then Sedona. We had even booked a Jeep tour in Sedona.
But alas, it wasn't to be. I almost stopped breathing that night as I lay in bed. My throat got so swollen I couldn't talk or swallow. My head hurt like someone had driven a railroad spike down through my ear, through my jaw joint and down into my throat, finishing it off with razors in there to keep me from swallowing. My soft palate was so swollen it felt like a sock was stuffed in there.
Day 9: Time to Panic and drive fast
So I woke my wife up at 5 am and decided I needed real medical help. The best hospital was in Utah, 375 miles away. Figuring we could do it in 6 hours, it was faster than trying anything else, so we loaded up the GT3 and headed back up beautiful highway 145, 90, 191 through Moab and right to the University of Utah Emergency Room (a level 1 trauma center and the top-ranked hospital in Utah).
My lovely wife Jill even took a turn driving since I was in absolute misery. She doesn't like driving like I do, so she's a trooper, and she's damn good with the GT3! Luckily, she had been driving manual transmission cars for many years before we ever met.
And we got to the hospital just in time. Apparently, this was getting pretty serious. I spent 6 hours in ER and had 6+ medical professionals discussing what turned out to be a peritonsillar abscess. It was very large and growing and spreading. I won't go into nasty details, but after a CT scan and some ultrasound (it's a boy!), they had to get all this stuff out of my tonsils and neck. This is the downside for me never having had my tonsils removed as a kid.
Ouray, Silvertoin, Durango, and Sedona:
Well, now I know what my next road trip will be, since I missed all these wonderful spots. I can't wait to get back. The people of the San Juan Mountain area of Colorado are a special breed, and the sights of this part of Colorado are an absolute treat.
Day 10: Headed home
The next morning, we left Salt Lake City for our final leg. Not the route I hoped, and back across the great salt flats on Highway 80. But the upside was that we could set the Cruise Control at a smooth 105 and cruise through Utah and Nevada, stopping for gas in Winnemucca. The car is so smooth and settled at that speed, just running about 4200 rpm. Feels like you're going 70.
We made it home in 9 hours and 10 minutes. I should have slowed down a bit to make it 9:11. Dang. Maybe next time. For now, it's just time to wash off all the bugs.
Oh, and the total trip? Ended up being exactly 42 hours of driving, 2619 miles covered, at an average speed of 64 MPH, while getting 22.3 MPG. That equates to roughly 117.44 gallons of gas. At around $4.75 a gallon average for our stops made this a bargain tour costing under $600. Ok, that's just gas cost, not including anything else, particularly that Emergency Room bill I'm dreading. No matter what, it was a great trip, I highly recommend.
