Day 9: Antifreeze & Dragons

Starting the day at an actual campsite, I prepped the Godspeed for the long haul back to Utah. The oil level was good, but I had to add antifreeze to the radiator reservoir. We would be climbing mountains today: Monarch Pass and Cerro Summit. Watching the engine temperature would be crucial. I added the last of the antifreeze, so I would need more soon.

Monarch Pass wasn't bad. I kept the transmission in 2nd gear as the mechanic at Ken's Transmission instructed me to do when climbing hills. He said the transmission is actually not large enough for the weight of this rig. But, he said, keeping it in second will utilize the larger band (?) on the transmission. This will keep it from wearing out.

With the transmission is second and an eye on the engine temperature, we made it to the top of Monarch Pass where we stopped so I could say "hi" to my friend who runs the tram ride to the peak.

The ride down the Pass wasn't bad. Alternating between first and second gear, I hardly needed to touch the brakes, except for around a few corners.

I did the same on Cerro Summit and found myself in Montrose around dinner time. At 97, the temps there were much higher than in the mountains.

Later that evening when I found a camping place on the Lands End side of Grand Mesa, I checked tomorrow's temperatures for everythingbetweenGrand Junctionand Escalante: upper 90s for the rest of the week. I'd really have to keep an eye on engine temps and pick up that bottle of antifreeze.

Just as I began to lock up for the day, I looked at where the sun had just gone down and saw a dragon flying through the evening sky. Buenas noches!