Road Trip 2013: Moab to Fort Collins

Thursday, 9/26:  427 miles and camped in the driveway of Stan and Betsy Johnston,

Fort Collins, Colorado.

Moab to Fort Collins

Stan and Betsy Johnston's driveway in Fort Collins, Colorado

We got an early start, leaving the Moab campground by 6:30.  It was still dark, and we got to see the sunrise over the eastern horizon.

Getting to Fort Collins means having to drive over the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains.  Technically, we drove under the Continental Divide by going through the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70 at 11,158 feet above sea level.  The tunnel is one of the highest vehicular tunnels in the world.  Literally, from the tunnel at 11,158, it is all downhill to Gouverneur at 447 feet above sea level.

Interstate 70 winding through a narrow mountain canyon.

Aspen trees showing their golden Fall color.

Eisenhower Tunnel

We had a scheduled 2:30 tour of the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins.  We met up briefly with Tanya, Dave and Ann Wright's daughter.  Tanya works at New Belgium and lives in Fort Collins.  The New Belgium folks really know how to put on a great tour.  It lasted 90 minutes and includes lots of sampling.  The guides are very knowledgeable, and they make the tour fun and interesting.

New Belgium Brewery

We ended the day at Stan and Betsy's home for dinner and some really great conversation.  From Fort Collins, we are going to log four straight driving days to make it home by Monday night.........