Did I mention that when we left Loveland the rental car started flashing every possible indicator light? Oh – and it refused to shift out of first gear. The choice was to remain at a closed ski lodge, wait in a sketchy turnout, or…. coast.
From the Continental Divide all the way to Georgetown. Not knowing if the brakes would hold. Um. Fun!
After the scary road part it wouldn’t have been so bad. Except the folks were waiting for us to do a belated xmas dinner. But hey, these things happen – and I have long held a place in my heart for the home of the real life Charlie Utter!
We took shelter in a restaurant for awhile then returned to wait in the vehicle for the rental car company to issue a replacement, something they promised to do within the hour. Four hours later we were still sitting in a broken car – in subzero weather.
Though it was worth it because guess what the replacement was? A Durango! Can you imagine? I can’t, and I got to ride around sitting on the seat heater for five whole days!
In the end the escapade was doubly lucky because, if we’d gone the day originally planned, we would have been trapped by a whiteout that shut I-70 and left two thousand people in emergency shelters. From the safety of the city, the whole thing was beautiful:
