Yesterday I got started off better due to a proper night's sleep in a Comfort Inn in Green River, Utah. The room though was a little overpriced I thought. Usually they are better than what I experienced. A quick look on TripAdvisor confirmed my feelings even more.
I drove along I-70 East through the Rocky Mountains into Colorado. Forget Utah… this was incredible. All the mountains were really beautiful. Driving was a little nerve racking. Most people don't know how to downshift, since I saw most cars excessively using their brakes. All you need to do is put your car into a lower gear if it's manual or “L” if it's an automatic. I could feel the cars power diminishing in Utah when elevation was at 5000 feet but at 9000 feet going alone I-70 the 4-cylinder was truly being tested. I was pushing down the accelerator pedal, “What is something broken? Oh yeah my car has lost power from the elevation!” Cars will lose about 3% of power for every 1000 feet. For a little Accord, that makes a difference. I did not mind going slow since I got to see the scenery more.
For music and to keep myself alert I hooked up my iPod and listened to CarTalk, The Rolling Stones, and the comedian Dane Cook. Rolling Stones is great for a road trip and so is CarTalk. Yeah I know I said NPR was bad and will make you fall asleep, but CarTalk is great for road trips. It's so funnty and entertaining to listen to people's relationships with their cars. CarTalk is the only NPR program I listen to. What other shows are on NPR? Who knows?
Driving by yourself is nice because you stop and get on the road quickly again. I tend to stop for a few minutes giving myself and the car a break. Cars are working hard too! I seem to be able to make good time and distance on my own. Having the cooler helps with nice cold Gatorades too.
When I got into Denver I walked around the 16th Street Pavilion. It's basically an open mall with all sorts of shops. Shuttles run up and down the street so you can get to shops easily. I stopped in at Pinkberry for the first time and got a chocolate Yogurt with a waffle piece. The Yogurt was really good comparable to YogurtLand. They had some interesting things in the Pavillion like decorated upright pianos for anyone to play. You heard music all up and down the street. I thought, “If they had pianos on the streets in Baltimore they would all have graffitti on them.” To my surprise I did not see any pianos that had been vandalized in the Pavilion. Most seemed to be out-of-tune though.
After that I made my way up to Greeley to stay with a relative. Colorado is a great state.