2011 Colorado Vacation "Getting There"

July 9th. Travel day




We arrived in Denver after circling around and around the city for an hour. On the ground they were receiving a hail storm. Thank goodness the pilot said we had enough fuel in the tank or we would have been diverted to another city to refuel. I am not sure if this was the storm that damaged many of the Frontier Airlines jets or not. I just heard that Frontier airlines took a big hit with the hail on their jets and had to cancel many flights…



The ride down through the skies once we got the ok to land was like riding through a popcorn popper. I’m glad the wings of the jets stayed bolted on… But once down through the clouds the actual touchdown was smooth.



Took the bus to National car rental and went and stood at the desk waiting for our turn. Lady at the desk said we had Emerald Status. I guess that means we could have just gone out and picked any car from the emerald aisle and driven to the check out gate. Who knew? Heck who remembers these things when you only rent a car once a year?



Just before we leave the counter we ask the helpful lady if she knew where the closest REI was located. We need to stop at REI in Denver as we think with all of the snow still on the trails we are going to need something a bit more aggressive than the yaks tracks the we brought along from WI. Yaks tracks are good if you are out snow blowing the driveway and don’t want to slip. We are not so sure the yaks will be the answer for the snow conditions on the trails here. We don’t really think that crampons would be necessary as they are over $150’s and seem an extreme measure to take. (When circling Denver for an hour after a three hour flight you have time to discuss these things. And from this height in the air you get a feeling for how much snow there still is in the mountains.) The counter lady was kind enough to look up on her snappy phone which was connected to the internet the ‘on time traffic condition’ to get to the REI downtown Denver or REI in the suburbs. Either REI was going to have a one hour travel time due to rush hour traffic. We chose to go to the suburb REI as it was sort of on the way. She then gave us directions to the REI. We head for Emerald Aisle to pick up our car.



When we get out to the aisle we are looking for either a Ford focus or KIA something or other… The lady at the counter said we needed to find one of those two. We can’t find any. So we go to the Emerald Aisle kiosk and talk with that guy. He is nice and asks if we were delayed by the “weather”.

Yes, we were.

“Ok, sorry about that, then you can have the pick any car on the lot.”

Really, any car, on the whole lot?

“Yes”.



When you can have ‘any car’ on the lot, the choice is much harder. Kathi and I head right for the four wheel drives! We had wanted to rent a four wheel drive, but the cost is very steep. But if they give you the choice of the lot, you don’t go the tiny car… You go big! There was a beautiful Ford 150 all leather. We decide that a truck this size will be too wide for those mountain roads and at 12 mpg’s it does not sound cheap. How about a four wheel drive truck that is the mid size four wheel drive truck?



We spot a red Dodge Dakota with extended cab.



There is a worker guy out there doing something with the cars in the lot, and we ask him about gas mileage of the Dakota. He said 18 to 20 mpg’s. Perfect, after loading the two large suitcases that each weighing 48 pounds and the ‘carry on’ that weighed 40 pounds, plus our two back packs we get in. The luggage space in the back jumper seat is just enough so we can stack two of the suitcases but have to buckle the third suitcase in like a person so we can fit everything in. Just as I step around from the back door to get in the front passenger seat I notice a large hunk of metal that is sliced into the front passenger tire. I am not sure what it is, but it looks like a flat tire in about 10 miles of driving. We climb out and locate another Dodge Dakota. This one is silver. Again we load up the suitcases, get all situated, and buckled in. Great now we are ready.



Kathi turns the ignition and nothing happens…



Ok, unload.



Reload into a gold Dakota. At this rate we are not having good vibes and I am beginning to wonder if there is a reason there are so many Dakota four wheel drives available… Before loading for the third time we check all tires and ignition just to ‘see’. I even check to see if there is a car manual in the glove box, we might need it. Ok, let’s load up. By the time we leave the Emerald Aisle at National car rental 48 minutes have passed since we received the invitation to take any car on the lot.



We followed our directions to REI and sure enough the rush hour traffic was thick and slow. We had lots of time to evaluate our map and check the directions as moving at 15 mph hour you have time…We even called ahead to REI to make sure they had what we were looking for and the correct sizes which we would need. They put them on hold for us.



It took us one hour to get to REI. Traffic was bad. Walk in to REI and make out purchases get directions from the clerk about the best way to get back on the Interstate. Back on the go and out to the truck. When Kathi turns the key of the truck… It starts, but the warning lights are binging about it being time for an oil change! What! We have only one had the truck for one hour and have only driven it about a total of twenty miles. Emerald Aisle is not looking so glittery…We press on and ignore the change oil light. I will check the oil tomorrow.



We arrive in Eagle, CO at 9:30pm. Another vacation is under way.