As I wrote in yesterday’s blog, I was a bit apprehensive about tackling the steep downgrades along Interstate 70 as we headed toward Denver. The exhaust brake on our Winnebago diesel pusher just doesn’t have the same effect as the Jake brake did on our MCI bus conversion.

Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School e-mailed me to say “Keep the RPM’s high, no matter what gear you are in. The exhaust brake works best at high RPM’s. Shift down often – the transmission won’t let you go into too low of a gear.  Apply the brakes very firmly and slow down at least 5 MPH when you use them.”

I followed Dennis’ advice, and we had no trouble at all. The mistake I was making in the past was expecting the exhaust brake to give me good braking power at about 1500 to 1600 RPMs. By downshifting and keeping the RPMs up to about 2200 – 2300, I saw a tremendous difference in efficiency. Thanks, Dennis! Even an old dog can learn a new trick now and then!

We pulled out of River Dance RV Resort in Gypsum, Colorado a little after 9 a.m. and headed east, passing lots more beautiful Rocky Mountain scenery all the way.

How would you like to have this for a view every day?

By the time we reached the summit of Vail Pass, at over 10,600 feet, our Cummins turbo diesel was working hard, and about all I could get out of it was 40 miles per hour.

Then we began the downhill run.

Some sections weren’t too bad, but others really made the exhaust brake work.

All too soon we were climbing up again, to Eisenhower Tunnel, at 11,158 feet high. The tunnel was long, but well lit and easy driving.

We passed more great scenery, including these old mining buildings.

The worst of the downhill run was between Eisenhower Tunnel and Denver, and the closer we got to the big city, the steeper the downgrades got. They have lots of signs warning truckers not to get careless.

We even passed through another tunnel somewhere along the way!

There are not a lot of places to get diesel along Interstate 70 in Colorado, especially when you are driving a 40 foot motorhome, towing an extended length cargo van. By the time we got to Downieville, at Exit 234, we were getting really low, and when I saw a small truck stop on the north side of the highway, I stopped and filled the tank.

We passed Lookout Mountain and Buffalo Bill’s grave, which we covered in one of our earliest issues of the Gypsy Journal, and soon we were hitting a lot of traffic as we entered the Denver metropolitan area. We got onto Interstate 76 and scooted around the northeast side of the city, and soon came out into agricultural fields.

It is amazing, that coming into Denver from the west, we were crawling down steep mountain grades, and less than 30 miles east of the city, we were out on the open plains, with few trees, and mostly flat terrain.

Interstate 76 had some rough patches, but we rolled along, making good time, and eventually crossed into Nebraska, where the highway ended at Interstate 80. Another 75 miles or so east brought us to North Platte, where we pulled into the Flying J about 5:30 local time.

We topped off our tank, had a less then mediocre meal at the restaurant, and  parked for the night. We covered 391 miles, and we still have about 560 miles to go, to get to Forest City, Iowa. We’ll make that easily by sometime Thursday, so we can get our name on the list for a service spot at the Winnebago factory. It’s worth pushing to get there, and then be able to get our work done, before we continue on to Michigan for Terry’s annual medical appointments.

Thought For The Day – Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet, and they’ll forward junk e-mail to you forever.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!

We thought about making the drive back to Glenwood Springs yesterday, just so we could drive through Glenwood Canyon in the van, but it was very windy for much of the day.  We had such a backlog of paperwork and e-mails to wade through because we have been busy with the wedding the last few days, that we decided to act like grownups and stay home and work instead. I don’t like being a grownup!

But just because we had to work doesn’t mean you can’t do some virtual sightseeing. Colorado is a colorful place, and here are a few pictures we took the other day that I’ll share with you.

Between Eagle and Vail, Interstate 70 passes through some awesome red rock formations. U.S. Highway 6 parallels the interstate through here, and we took the slower route just so we could pull over and take in the dramatic scenery.

When the sun is setting, the cliff faces just seem to glow. It’s really something to see.

We even saw a covered bridge, though it is not as old, or has the character, as the ones we have seen in Indiana, Iowa, and New England.

Sunday night we were treated to a beautiful sunset, and Miss Terry managed to capture a couple of good shots of it.

I mentioned the other day that Terry’s son, Cody, is the accountant for one of the major developers in the region. Besides allowing him to live in this outdoor sports wonderland, his job comes with some pretty neat perks, including these gondolas that he can ride right from an upper floor of his office building to the top of the ski slopes! How cool is that?

As promised, yesterday I posted a preliminary schedule for our upcoming Gypsy Gathering rally on our Rally Registration Page. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the seminar lineup. I will be making some changes and adding more seminars as we go, but we have over 50 listed now, so there is sure to be something for everyone!

Today we will be heading east on Interstate 70, through the Eisenhower Tunnel and down into Denver. I’m a bit apprehensive about this stretch of highway, which tops out at 10,666 feet at Vail Pass, and then follows a lot of steep downgrades as we descend the Rocky Mountains.

As I’ve said before, while our Winnebago diesel pusher climbs the mountains much better than our old MCI bus conversion did, the exhaust brake on the motorhome is not nearly as effective as the Jake brake was in the bus. My Mountain Directory shows that there are several places on the eastern descent where the speed limit for heavy semi-trucks is 32 miles per hour. I plan to be in the right hand lane poking along with them all the way down!

For those of you who get concerned when I write about doing long days on the road, here’s fair warning that we’re about to do it again. We want to stop at the Winnebago factory in Forest City, Iowa and have some work done on our coach.

Since the Winnebago Grand National Rally is in Forest City, Iowa this week, I wasn’t sure about the chances of getting in for service. I  called Winnebago to ask about an appointment, and was told that they do not make them during rally week or right after, but if we arrive by Friday at 3 p.m., we can put our name on a list to get service, and we should be able to get in by Tuesday or Wednesday. But, we have to actually be there to sign up, they won’t take our name by telephone.

It’s 940 miles, so we can do it easily, and we’ll scoot right along, so we can hopefully catch up with some of our friends who are in Forest City for the rally, before they hit the road.

While we were out taking pictures and attending weddings, Bad Nick was home posting a new Bad Nick Blog titled Who’s The Racist. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!