1 year anniversary mega-trip
The r-dub site has been online one year as of 5/12/06, and I thought it best to celebrate with another roadtrip. I planned this one out before leaving home, and just kept going until the batteries in my camera were dead and the memory card in my camera almost full. What I was left with was a ton of pictures and a car with an additional 720 miles on it. Okay, maybe this trip was a little too long...
On the road again
Still heading west on I-70. For those of you keeping track, like me, I've already captured 10 ends on this trip. (12 if you count both sides of a highway) Not to brag, or anything. :)
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70 curves away from the Evergreen area. We also see another hillside adornment in the form of a grossly overpriced home.
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Coming up on Floyd Hill under a cloud. This is a straight drop into Clear Creek Canyon.
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These VMS's light up to warn speedy truckers that if they don't slow down, it'll be messy.
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Is that two separate signs?
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A little incorrect. While the exit to Central City is 3 miles ahead, Central City itself is further along via the Central City Parkway. The CCP was a private venture, so they didn't have to follow the rules of protecting the environment. See that sine wave style scar in the background? That's it. See if you can pick it out in the next few pictures.
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Descending Floyd Hill.
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Just a reminder that we're still descending, just in case the truckers weren't sure.
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A hard zig zag just before the interchange with US 6.
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Coming into Clear Creek Canyon.
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This sign does not lie. I always feel my car lean hard in this curve.
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US 6 intersects 70 here. If you want to find a way to make this interchange not have left exits and entrances, be my guest.
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US 6 merges onto the I here, and it stays with 70 until its exit towards Loveland Pass.
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It'll be a while before 70 does any other altitude aerobics, so truckers are welcome to use the left lane again.
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The Hidden Valley exit. Again, can you find the CCP in this pic? I knew you could.
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The END! of the CCP. Hmmm... should I count that in my counts? Naaaaah.
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A quick tunnel just after the Hidden Valley exit. (Had to hide the valley somehow!)
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I don't know if that VMS still works or not. I've never seen it active.
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Kinda confusing when you first glance at it.
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We're now in BL 70 through Idaho Springs. If you ever get out this way, check out the Buffalo Bar in downtown. Yummy!
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Uhmmm... I think we may be a little too far west for a US 103. Oops!
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Ahh! SH 103. I smell another end ahead.
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G-H-E-T-T-O Arrow.
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A parade! There's a reason to this pic, though. This is the north END! (#11) of SH 103: all the signs in the field say it does not end at BL 70, but a block to the south. Interesting.
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The first few feet of 103. The sign assembly backs up my claim of where it starts.
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Getting back onto 70.
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Those of you who are MTR regulars remember a conversation about a mine shaft opening up in the median of 70, right? Well, here's where it is.
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It's been about a month since the shaft (heh, heh... shaft) was found, and the crews are still working on closing it off.
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It's places like that in the background that lead to a sign like this in the foreground.
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I wonder how much of this came from under where I-70 is now.
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Approaching the Fall River Road exit.
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Interesting sign. Dale Sanderson has some musings on his site about this very sign.
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I can't remember what was under the top line of brownout. (Brownout: sounds like a product guys need for their underwear)
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Here's where US 40 exits I-70. The two highways will not cross paths again.
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It's also where we exit 70. First up, we go through a maze of ramps which all intersect each other. This would be an absolute mess if this interchange was busier.
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I have no idea what happened to that bighorn sheep. This was not a camera artifact.
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This reassuarance shield is important after that maze of ramps.
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Rolling right along.
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The second lane is a constant until the top of Berthoud pass, with the exception of about a mile.
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Yeah, that wouldn't brighten your day.
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I agree with Dale Sanderson's assessment: this is the scenic route.
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An ominous warning.
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Looking to the left just after the Snow Slide sign. Yeah, I can see why that sign is here.
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We're even told when we pass the danger zone.
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A rarity in Colorado anymore: the pointed LBS.
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A shot of where we're about to be.
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This snowslide area is not as dramatic as the last one.
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Odd, there's no bike path through here AFAIK, so why would this construction sign seem to imply otherwise?
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Approaching construction. This project is the last major project for Berthoud Pass. It's adding a climbing lane where there wasn't one before. When complete, the entire pass will have been rebuilt in a process that has taken over 20 years.
- Where to next?
- Page 2
- This trip's Index
- Page 4
Section Links
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the orginizations listed within this site. I'm just a bored roadgeek with way too much time on his hands. All of the picts in this page are mine and mine alone unless otherwise noted. Remember, kids: stealing is bad, mmmm-k? I get quite pissy if things are taken without telling me. I don't like to be pissy. You won't like it either. If you want to link to this page, that's fine. Please shoot me an email beforehand so I can link to your page as well. K? Thanks. --Ryan
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