The Drive From Farmington, NM to Westminster, CO
So at first I thought this drive was like 281 miles. That is how I recorded it in my logbook... I have no idea why. So I set my phone alarm for 10 and looked forward to getting to my friend's place by mid-late afternoon. I woke up, got myself presentable and went to the hotel office to get more ice for my cooler... It was then that I noticed that it was actually 11-something and that my phone clock had failed to automatically recognize that I had shifted a timezone, usually it's pretty good about that. Bad start, so I was an hour late and had only 30 minutes to pack and check out. Doable but not how I'd wanted to start. Second thing, I punched my friend's address into the GPS and... boom! 281 miles? Noooo 381... BOOYA This was going to be a fun day. Looks like i'd be in about dinnertime... ok not too bad. Then I hit construction... before too long it looked like I was going to be getting in around 9pm (when I did actually get in)
This day was saved, however, and I still count it as a good day despite the bad start, and the bad finish. I should mention that I took the most direct route. I didn't hop on the interstates till I was almost on top of Denver. I took the highways all the way through the Rockies... and it was gorgeous. Not just gorgeous, but also comforting. Evergreens, ... GREEN... MOUNTAINS!!!! I hadn't seen these things since I left home after Christmas vacation. While it was visually pretty, it was also comforting, like home cooking. Even though there was no large body of semi-oceanic water near... I felt comforted. Additionally the roads were fun and amazing, the whole way till I hit the major roads really. This also goes on the list. It may be at the top of the list! Going up to the plateaus... being on the plateaus themselves... going over the pass, coming down, ALL OF IT. GOOD STUFF.
More bad news. last 60 miles of the trip something went wrong. I noticed it first while trying to pass someone. Whenever I floor the gas and it pushes the engine above 3000rpm the car would begin to shudder violently, the rpm would vary wildly, and the car would stop accelerating. It happened while I was passing that first time, and I experimented and sure enough it happened. But whenever i took some pressure off the gas, and it dipped back below or to 3000 the shuddering stopped and all seemed well. So I pulled over as soon as I could and popped the hood. Oil seemed fine, I had just topped it off. Nothing smelled funny, nothing was leaking or smoking or anything. Nothing appeared visibly broken or torn... so i called my dad to let him know and then set back off. Out of curiosity I tried it again... nothing happened. It accelerated normally staying above 4000 rpm... as normal. But I did notice a couple things off. First of all, every so often when I wen from just pushing on the gas to really flooring it, occasionally nothing would happen. The rpm would go up a little, but I wouldn't accelerate much, so I backed off and floored it till it responded: usually after once or twice. Secondly, the violent shuddering started up again... then didn't happen for a little, then started up again, and then didn't happen again. I am confused but afraid that it might be the transmission.
Anyhow, got to my friend's house safely. He's got a very posh place. We went out to a bar to grab some food and beer and that was good. Tired now, sleepy time.
This day was saved, however, and I still count it as a good day despite the bad start, and the bad finish. I should mention that I took the most direct route. I didn't hop on the interstates till I was almost on top of Denver. I took the highways all the way through the Rockies... and it was gorgeous. Not just gorgeous, but also comforting. Evergreens, ... GREEN... MOUNTAINS!!!! I hadn't seen these things since I left home after Christmas vacation. While it was visually pretty, it was also comforting, like home cooking. Even though there was no large body of semi-oceanic water near... I felt comforted. Additionally the roads were fun and amazing, the whole way till I hit the major roads really. This also goes on the list. It may be at the top of the list! Going up to the plateaus... being on the plateaus themselves... going over the pass, coming down, ALL OF IT. GOOD STUFF.
More bad news. last 60 miles of the trip something went wrong. I noticed it first while trying to pass someone. Whenever I floor the gas and it pushes the engine above 3000rpm the car would begin to shudder violently, the rpm would vary wildly, and the car would stop accelerating. It happened while I was passing that first time, and I experimented and sure enough it happened. But whenever i took some pressure off the gas, and it dipped back below or to 3000 the shuddering stopped and all seemed well. So I pulled over as soon as I could and popped the hood. Oil seemed fine, I had just topped it off. Nothing smelled funny, nothing was leaking or smoking or anything. Nothing appeared visibly broken or torn... so i called my dad to let him know and then set back off. Out of curiosity I tried it again... nothing happened. It accelerated normally staying above 4000 rpm... as normal. But I did notice a couple things off. First of all, every so often when I wen from just pushing on the gas to really flooring it, occasionally nothing would happen. The rpm would go up a little, but I wouldn't accelerate much, so I backed off and floored it till it responded: usually after once or twice. Secondly, the violent shuddering started up again... then didn't happen for a little, then started up again, and then didn't happen again. I am confused but afraid that it might be the transmission.
Anyhow, got to my friend's house safely. He's got a very posh place. We went out to a bar to grab some food and beer and that was good. Tired now, sleepy time.