Last Friday Kristan, Don & I took off for Morgan & Trent's wedding reception in Montrose, Colorado. We left around 6 am and headed north. We were using both map quest and a GPS system, since we were going on roads that were new to us. We headed to Flagstaff and then took an easterly direction toward the 4 corners region. ( Utah, New Mexico, Colorado & Arizona). The weather was beautiful and the drive was easy. 
When we reached Cortez, Colorado the GPS system didn't alert us for the expected turn and we headed for Durango instead of the shorter route thru Telluride, we thought; well that is OK because the scenery was beautiful and I was feeling good driving and it would only be an extra 35 minutes.. HA. . . not so. on the N.W. side of Durango we spotted the mountains above and I was sure they would have double lane roads with guard rails to go over these mountains...
I drove on this SCARY CLIFF SIDE ROAD FOR "25" MILES.
The switch backs were SO SHARP and the road was SO NARROW.. with no guard rail or extra edge on the road.. It dropped off at the white line. Now you know how deathly afraid I am of heights ... There was no where to stop or turn around.. We went over three mountains and had to drive 5 miles an hour for fear of going over the edge... My heart was in my throat and I was so scared the entire time.. I just knew if I took my eyes off the road for a second we would plummet down the steep cliff off to the side of the road. At the crest of the highest mountain we were at 12,000 feet, that is higher than airplanes level off when flying. The other two mountains were 10,600 & 10, 800 feet. When at last we were back on regular roads and I swore that if I had to drive that road to go home.. I would sell my car in Montrose and fly back..
When we reached Cortez, Colorado the GPS system didn't alert us for the expected turn and we headed for Durango instead of the shorter route thru Telluride, we thought; well that is OK because the scenery was beautiful and I was feeling good driving and it would only be an extra 35 minutes.. HA. . . not so. on the N.W. side of Durango we spotted the mountains above and I was sure they would have double lane roads with guard rails to go over these mountains...
I drove on this SCARY CLIFF SIDE ROAD FOR "25" MILES.
The switch backs were SO SHARP and the road was SO NARROW.. with no guard rail or extra edge on the road.. It dropped off at the white line. Now you know how deathly afraid I am of heights ... There was no where to stop or turn around.. We went over three mountains and had to drive 5 miles an hour for fear of going over the edge... My heart was in my throat and I was so scared the entire time.. I just knew if I took my eyes off the road for a second we would plummet down the steep cliff off to the side of the road. At the crest of the highest mountain we were at 12,000 feet, that is higher than airplanes level off when flying. The other two mountains were 10,600 & 10, 800 feet. When at last we were back on regular roads and I swore that if I had to drive that road to go home.. I would sell my car in Montrose and fly back.. There was no way I was repeating that drive "EVER" again..
We had a wonderful time in Montrose with Trent's family. The weather was beautiful and the small town of Montrose is really beautiful with all the tall trees and green.
We had a wonderful time in Montrose with Trent's family. The weather was beautiful and the small town of Montrose is really beautiful with all the tall trees and green.
It is in a valley between the mountains.
We scouted out the alternate routes to go back to Arizona without going over the Red Mountain Pass again. It was decided that we would go up to Grand Junction and then take the I-70 S/W through Utah. We wanted to visit the Armstrong's in Panguitch, Utah. We knew it would be la longer trip, but both Kristan and Don agreed to go along with the plan. We drove through the red rocks of north eastern Utah, and it was beautiful. The roads were wide and the traffic for the most part was light and so we could really clip along. We arrived in Panguitch around noon and had lunch with the family and were back on the road by 1:00. I knew it was 7 more hours to Phoenix.. We arrived in town right about 8pm.. a total of 1,388 miles.
We scouted out the alternate routes to go back to Arizona without going over the Red Mountain Pass again. It was decided that we would go up to Grand Junction and then take the I-70 S/W through Utah. We wanted to visit the Armstrong's in Panguitch, Utah. We knew it would be la longer trip, but both Kristan and Don agreed to go along with the plan. We drove through the red rocks of north eastern Utah, and it was beautiful. The roads were wide and the traffic for the most part was light and so we could really clip along. We arrived in Panguitch around noon and had lunch with the family and were back on the road by 1:00. I knew it was 7 more hours to Phoenix.. We arrived in town right about 8pm.. a total of 1,388 miles.
It was a fast fun weekend...
2 comments:
Jean, I know the scenery is beautiful and so breath taking but the passes are for the "birds". I lived in Durango in the summer for 25 years. It is a nice little town, very cliqueish. At least, that what I discovered. Glad you're home safe and won't make that trip again. Hugs
I'd say that drive was more than scary, it looked terrifying! I'm glad you came back via a safer route. :)
Post a Comment