On Friday it’s time for me to continue driving and Jeff gives me some good recommendations for the route of today. We say goodbye and I drive to a cheap gas station that I found on Google Maps. I’m really happy that gas prices have gone down again since last year, my record on this trip is now $3.40 for a gallon of gas, which comes down to about €0,80 per liter and that’s about half the price as back home. It surely makes it easier to drive thousands of miles here. When the car is filled up with gas and I’ve gotten some ice for in the cooler to keep the food cold the coming days, I’m ready for a long drive. The first stop is Lake Granby, the largest lake in Colorado. I stop to enjoy the view with Rocky Mountains National Park behind it. I decided to skip that park this time, because it’s supposedly super busy and you actually need to make reservations for when you can enter the park. I enjoyed being there last year and am fine with not going there this time. I drive a few more hours to a mountain town called Steamboat Springs. It was recommended to me by several people and it’s a nice town indeed. First I stop at a Mc Donalds for lunch and to use their WiFi to call my parents for a while. After lunch I continue driving to downtown. It reminds me a bit of Telluride and then I suddenly realize the obvious thing that makes Telluride so different than all the other mountain towns. Telluride is surrounded by mountains and has only one way in, no through way. That makes the town much quieter. Steamboat Springs is also pretty and has many nice stores and restaurants, but there is a big highway that runs through town, making it less peaceful. There is one place I enjoy in particular, a bookstore with a coffee bar in it. That’s my favorite combination: books and coffee. I get a cup of java and browse the store before I continue walking through the town. When I’ve seen most of it, I look at the time and it’s only the beginning of the afternoon. I decide to continue driving in the direction of Jackson, Wyoming and see how far I can get today. Jackson is just next to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks where I want to spend the weekend.
The drive is long, but I listen to an interesting audiobook by Terry Crews and that makes the time actually go by quite fast. When I drive out of the state of Colorado I feel a bit sad, but also thankful for the wonderful time I had here.
Just after sunset I arrive in Jackson and I continue driving in the direction of the Grand Tetons to find a campsite. It’s really dark now and the campsite is still quite far. I decide not to go any further and drive onto a gravel road off the main road. When I think that I’m far enough from the through traffic I find a good spot to park my car. The nice thing about arriving somewhere late and getting up early is that the chance of anyone disturbing you is very small. I’m happy that I made it all the way to the Grand Tetons. With almost 10 hours and 600 miles (950km) driving it was one of the longest stretches on this road trip, but now I can relax in the national parks in the weekend.
