I-70 W in Colorado

[BillyandKris]

Towing a 30’ fifth wheel. We don’t like driving in big cities and avoid them when possible. Going west in June on I-70 out of KS---does anyone know of any problem with getting off 70 from near Limon, CO onto Hwy 86 to Castle Rock, CO and then either get on I-25 N to 470 or take Hwy 85 NW to 470 to get back onto I-70 and continue West to Dillon, CO? On map appears to be good, major highways. This would allow us to skip going through Denver. THX for advice.

[paulj]

Landslide blog - dancing rocks

A scientist who follows landslides around the world posted this Colorado I70 video, of rocks dancing down the hillside during the recent cleanup. I think there was crew at the top of the slope knocking loose stuff off. It gives idea of why DOT crews err on the side of caution when blocking traffic after landslides.

[Thom02099]

BillyandKris wrote:
Hey I forgot....back to our original subject. We got off track. LOL How would it be towing getting off I70 on Exit 232 at Empire and taking Hwy 40 north thru Winter Park to get to Granby versus going on to Dillon/Silverthorne and taking 9 N to Kremmling and back east to Granby. I think 40 North would be shorter, but is it better choice? THX again.

"Better" is always subjective. One person's better is another person's worse. It's really 6 of one, half dozen of the other. Either way, you've got a climb to do. The top out elevation is comparable.

There's the climb approach to the Johnson/Eisenhower Tunnels and the long decline into Silverthorne/Dillon area. Or the climb from Empire to the top of Berthoud Pass and the (comparatively) shorter, albeit twistier decline into Winter Park. Personally, I always dread that climb to Johnson/Eisenhower, because there's a lot of very slow moving trucks to contend with. Not so much traffic on the US 40 route, particularly if you do it during the week.

[Thom02099]

RV daytrader wrote:
To the OPs question about I70 thru Denver...if you can do it early on a Sunday morning, I70 thru Denver is almoat empty...we laugh about how deserted it is then!

True Dat! Had to drive to DIA from Evergreen not too long ago, on a Sunday morning. Going out to DIA at 8:30AM, very little traffic. Returning around 11ish, a bit more traffic but certainly much less than on a week day.

[RV_daytrader]

To the OPs question about I70 thru Denver...if you can do it early on a Sunday morning, I70 thru Denver is almoat empty...we laugh about how deserted it is then!

[Busskipper]

BillyandKris wrote:
Hey I forgot....back to our original subject. We got off track. LOL How would it be towing getting off I70 on Exit 232 at Empire and taking Hwy 40 north thru Winter Park to get to Granby versus going on to Dillon/Silverthorne and taking 9 N to Kremmling and back east to Granby. I think 40 North would be shorter, but is it better choice? THX again.

All up to you - over the mountain - I love it, the road is wide and the turns are wide and easy - going down just down shift and keep it under control.

9 is a beautiful drive along the River to Kremlin, both are fine but IMHO you will like the River over the Mountain drive.

If in Doubt just watch a Utube.

Busskipper

[BillyandKris]

Hey I forgot....back to our original subject. We got off track. LOL How would it be towing getting off I70 on Exit 232 at Empire and taking Hwy 40 north thru Winter Park to get to Granby versus going on to Dillon/Silverthorne and taking 9 N to Kremmling and back east to Granby. I think 40 North would be shorter, but is it better choice? THX again.

[Busskipper]

BillyandKris wrote:
Busskipper, OMG How cool! I LOVE your photo. Great shot! What month was this taken? We will be there Sept. 15-22 hiking and biking. We are staying at Basalt and plan to do some hikes at Aspen and Maroon Bells.

I can't take credit for that one but I usually try to time a trip to Colorado for the last week of September That is the best time to be in Colorado - Snow - warm - color - not crowded -all my favorites in Colorado.

Put these locations on to Google
Crystal Springs
Crested Butte
Independence Pass
Ouray
Red Cliff
Twin Lakes
Turquoise Lake

Add an extra week and you will always want to come back - Just Heaven.

For us it is just an added bonus to the 4 Granddaughters.

Enjoy planning your trip,

Busskipper

[BillyandKris]

Busskipper, OMG How cool! I LOVE your photo. Great shot! What month was this taken? We will be there Sept. 15-22 hiking and biking. We are staying at Basalt and plan to do some hikes at Aspen and Maroon Bells.

[Busskipper]

The Bells in Colorado



Same blue sky with the beautiful Yellow - Big Rock instead of a Highway

[BillyandKris]

OK here we go. First time to do this. Let me know if it works. Yay it worked. THANKS. "...comes a lone rider" on the Mesabi Trail in Minnesota last summer.

[Busskipper]

Post Photo

These are the instructions.

[BillyandKris]

How do I post a photo on here? I did forget, but also didn't know how to do it. It said to drag and drop, but that didn't seem to work out so good.

[Busskipper]

You forgot the PICTURE?

Lauren - like Estes and the South Rim - We still make at least one trip a year to Estes, just try not to encourage people to follow, as it is Just TOO CROWDED, love Granby, even with the Beetle kill, just more my speed, Can't wait to see your photo,

Busskipper

[BillyandKris]

Yeah we know the pine beetle devastation is bad. We had been wanting to do some hikes in the Never Summer Mountains for a long time and we are nowadays going to places we have not been to in a long time or never been. So it will be a new adventure and if we don’t like it, then we won’t go back is always the way we look at it. We also tend to go to a lot of “out of the way” places. We have been to East Side of RMNP so many times and just want something different. We hiked north part before the flood closed that area. Not sure if it's open again. We were in the Snowy Range in WY year before last and the pine beetle devastation was unbelievable. Thing is it appears the forest service is doing nothing at all to try to curb it. We saw places where they had cut and stacked the logs appeared to be way long ago and they were all just sitting there. Seemed a waste. Maybe they were waiting for the beetles to die!! Mentioned it to a local and WOW they went off on a tangent so it must be a real issue up there.
We have been to east side of Glacier NP 2-3 times and so we wanted to visit west side this time. Our friends (our bear bait—LOL) said they would go to west side with us if we would go to east side also, so we are doing both! Will be fun.
Last year we did MN and WI mostly bicycling on the Rail Trails. Could not hike so much due to mosquitoes. We had a great time—it is beautiful up there. Here’s my favorite photo from the trip. This is the Mesabi Trail in MN. It was a tough one, pretty hilly like we are used to in Arkansas. It was quite a different experience from going out west.
Can’t wait to be on the road again. YAY