Great Shuffle

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, I felt defeated for the first time in this trip. First the Great Sand Dunes plan didn't work out. I only had 25 miles of range eft when I got to Durango instead of 140 miles that I planned. I forgot to take account the usage in Mesa Verde which is 20 miles long just from the entrance to Chapin Mesa. Then I left my hiking polls by the bathroom of Point Lookout. I had to make two trips back to there to retrieve it the next day. The ranger took it and left it at the campground store. 

Which meant that either I spend 6 hours in Durango charging the car or spend one hour and then go to Farmington superchager and add extra 100 miles to the trip. Even then, I still had to contend with charging problem at Great Sand Dunes. Only thing that was available was 6kw J1772 in Alamosa 30 miles from the Dunes. Then it occurred to me that I could do the Million Dollar Highway instead and then go back to Montrose for charging. From there I could take US50 to Salida and then drop down to Great Sand Dunes. Salida/Poncha Springs supercharger was 80 miles away from the Dunes and that would allow me do the Dunes without recharging.

I was going to skip Million Dollar Highway. Million Dollar was named after the amount money spent to build the road, not the scenic value, after all. Now I'm glad I didn't skip it. It is not just scenic; it is comparable to Going to the Sun Road. Maybe not quite as dramatic, but plenty dramatic enough. Everybody should do it. And stop and Silverton for lunch too. 

The road rises to 11,000 feet before coming down to Silverton. On the way, you will see the peaks poking the low cloud and aspen trees tickling the peaks at the base in a wet day, with tiny cars sliding over glistening road underneath all that. I kept stopping and clicking the shutter, and soon I ran out of the battery. 

It was cold in Silverton, probably in the 40s. I told the women at High Noon Hamburger, she shook head and said that was nothing. Being at 10,000 feet must have some effect.

By the time I got back to Montrose, it was well past 4PM. I figured I should sleep in Montrose and then move on in the morning. I'd sleep in a motel if I can find a cheap one. There wasn't one. So I figured I'll just have a Chinese dinner and sleep in the car. The Panda Palace was open for takeout only. I had enough food and takeout doesn't add more if I have to eat in the car. I came back to the charging station, plugged in and ate what I had. It was raining by then and made it a real hassle to make the bed and sleep in the car. I was dead tired and felt homeless by then. I gave up and paid $90 for a dump named Briar Inn run by the only Korean in town. 

8 hours sleep and I'm all refreshed. And my plan is now all reshuffled and nailed. RMNP has been a hard problem to solve which required entry permit which I'll have to scramble to get at 5PM the day before the entry. And there is no guarantee I'll get it. It occurred to me this morning that reserving a campsite, even just for a day, will solve the problem. That'll take care of both lodging and entry permit to enable me do Glacier Gorge to Sky Pond at the minimum. I went to the reservation site, and found a few single day reservation open. I reserved two, one for 29th and the other 31st. That essentially gives me the entry permit for 4 days from 29th to 1st. I'm patting myself on the back for that brilliant maneuver. I'll just have to figure out where to sleep on the gap day. It'll work out, I'm sure. If no campsite opens up, I'll just check in to a motel in Estes Park or Denver.

So that is the impetus of the great shuffle of the plan. The original plan is now all scrambled up to the point that it is no longer recognizable. You go with the flow, what can I say. The Great Sand Dunes is now pushed to the end of the Colorado plan. Salida is the only viable jump-off point for GSD, so I'll have to come back down after Colorado Springs and finish it off.

All in all, it has worked out. Job well done.  I have to check out now, and go to Aspen.