Planning a road trip, need advice

[lacanteen]

Not much to see on 50S till you get to Ridgway.
If you take the Uniweep Tabeguache it will spit you out at Telluride. Take the backside of the Million dollar Highway to Durango and 550N to Silverton over all the high mountain passes. I bet there will still be snow. After Red Mountain pass you're on 550N back to GJT. Doable day trip.

I ran out of time for this one. Sounds great but I need to be home Friday morning for a small emergency.

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[lacanteen]

I want to get out that way. At the risk of highjacking this thread, I'm interested in comments on Route 50 in that area. I'm in Virginia. I've been tempted to drive the length of 50 across the country. I've done some snooping on Google street view through portions of eastern and central CO and it looks nice.

I did a good stretch of US 50 today and it’s pretty awesome. You won’t be disappointed. I went from Grand Junction to CO 92 followed to 50 further south. Beautiful views from there through Salida. My sat-nav took me around Pueblo. What I saw today was 90%

 

[Sean22]

The car is awesome. It now prefers Sport Plus for hill climbing and descending. My only complaint is that there’s no decent self service car washes. The two that I saw, I wouldn’t walk through them let alone drive in. There’s large bugs across I-10 and small ones in the mountains.
I did find a garden hose at a truck stop to hose them off. Thanks to 3 year ceramic coated with 6 month ceramic.
The other good feature is the adaptive cruise, especially at high speeds. If you have it, learn how to use it. It kept me out of trouble .

Thanks for the reply. I do have adaptive cruise but have yet to try it out, I will eventually. I have a 3 year ceramic coating as well and am also thinking about the bug build up . How was the car during long uphill drives? Notice any high temps on any of the gauges? Trans, coolant, oil, cylinder head?

 

[lacanteen]

If you are going to take 50 south, I HIGHLY recommend the slight detour circled in red. Last year was brand new asphalt. If we weren't chasing elk in pickups, my car would have been a dream on it, especially the southern section.

That was pretty fricken awesome except for the first 10 miles. Too many commercial vehicles (no semi’s) slowing things down. Once I hit some passing zones and the road got twisty and steep, it was balls to the wall fun.
Thank you

Today’s recap: from Grand Junction, I took US 50 south to CO 92. Big cruise south reconnecting with US 50 Through Salida. From there, my sat-nav sent me south on Co 69 to I-25. A fantastic ride except for the last 8 miles which still has views but it’s mostly what I call prairie. I-25 south to US 87 east in New Mexico. Then US 87 to Amarillo TX, where my tired ass is at a Hampton Inn.

 

[lacanteen]

Thanks for the reply. I do have adaptive cruise but have yet to try it out, I will eventually. I have a 3 year ceramic coating as well and am also thinking about the bug build up . How was the car during long uphill drives? Notice any high temps on any of the gauges? Trans, coolant, oil, cylinder head?

I watched closely. The speed limit in I-10 in west Texas is 80 MPH. I was doing 6% grade climbs and holding speed with no heat issues. I traveled at 80 MPH for hours with no heat problems. BTW, the outside temps were 90+. Your GT should have no problem.
I did many other climbs over long distances, 5 miles or so, at 70-75 MPH. Your GT cooling system is a little more robust than my EB. If you have the 10R80, use Sport +

 

[Sean22]

I watched closely. The speed limit in I-10 in west Texas is 80 MPH. I was doing 6% grade climbs and holding speed with no heat issues. I traveled at 80 MPH for hours with no heat problems. BTW, the outside temps were 90+. Your GT should have no problem.
I did many other climbs over long distances, 5 miles or so, at 70-75 MPH. Your GT cooling system is a little more robust than my EB. If you have the 10R80, use Sport +

That's great to know! I do have the 10R80 and will definitely use the Sport+. Thanks for the info, safe travels!

 

[WItoTX]

That was pretty fricken awesome except for the first 10 miles. Too many commercial vehicles (no semi’s) slowing things down. Once I hit some passing zones and the road got twisty and steep, it was balls to the wall fun.
Thank you

Today’s recap: from Grand Junction, I took US 50 south to CO 92. Big cruise south reconnecting with US 50 Through Salida. From there, my sat-nav sent me south on Co 69 to I-25. A fantastic ride except for the last 8 miles which still has views but it’s mostly what I call prairie. I-25 south to US 87 east in New Mexico. Then US 87 to Amarillo TX, where my tired ass is at a Hampton Inn.

I am glad to hear! I hope to one day get my car out there. It's definitely a hidden gem.

As for that ride from Salida to Amarillo. It's absolutely brutal. Glad you made it through there lol, I usually set my cruise at 85 and it's not fast enough.

 

[lacanteen]

The last leg of the trip. Amarillo to Dallas to Shreveport, LA, to Sunset, LA.
I’ll try to find a way to map out the entire trip. I’ve also included the final stats.

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