In a little over 2 weeks, the next FReepathon will begin.
We need to finish this one first.
Come on FReepers, let’s do this!!!
heh. Go over Berthoud pass instead of the tunnel.
I remember the Eisenhower Tunnel when I lived in Colorado. Who is Johnson and how did his name get attached to this?
How fast was this guy going, passing every car on the road?
Whole different story going through there in a snowstorm. Not as picturesque but a lot more accidents, particularly on the downhill side.
It was right near where they were building the tunnel that a chartered Martin 404 prop plane carrying the Witchita State U. football players crashed.
Back in the 1980s I was driving I-70 West and entered the tunnel in decent weather and came out the other side in a snow storm.
I-70 through the Colorado Rockys is one of the mos beautiful drives nation.
Volkswagen exported their 1982 Diesel Camper to the US only for one year. I had one and took this road, using its 1500-cc engine to navigate it. There, I was NOT the slowest vehicle going uphill!
That’s a beautiful drive. I haven’t done it in about 10 years but I enjoyed it every time I did it.
It was June in 1973 and I left my apartment in San Diego about two in the afternoon headed for the family farm in Montgomery County, PA, west of Philly. I was driving my ‘71 BMW 2002 loaded with my belongings moving back home for awhile. I drove straight through the night and around down was following the Colorado which was a meandering creek for miles. The road turned into the interstate and soon I was climbing towards the Eisenhower Tunnel. The little BMW was running good but a few miles from the top, the altitude was eating it up. When fourth gear was dying, I downshifted into third. When third was not pulling, down into second where I was able to do about 20 and passing almost all the cars including several Corvettes that sounded like they were choking. I was almost to the top but the temp needle went into the red and I pulled off on the shoulder and shut her down. Took a two hour much needed nap, felt the engine block had cooled enough, and did a U-turn back to the first exit for Dillon. Rolled into a Gulf station just off the exit and noticed a sign that read “NO GAS” and a couple o geezers sitting on lawn chairs in the shade near the empty pumps. I told the owner about the overheating and he had his guy fill my radiator and flush the thermostat. After running it a couple of minutes, the owner assured me that I should be able to make Denver (where I would spend the night with an aunt and cousins) safely. I asked about the gas situation and he told me that there was a shortage in the west and they were getting very limited supplies. I thought this was strange since I had read nothing about it in the California newspapers I read and seen nothing on the TV news. Of course six months later the entire country was jonesing for more motion lotion. Footnote: that nice old guy who owned the Gulf station admired my German sedan and told me that he had the fastest car around at that altitude. A 1964 Porsche 356C with a 1600 cc four cylinder motor. He jetted the carbs for optimum breathing which was the key to local performance prior to modern fuel injection.