Placerville - May 2008
Placerville drive - organized by Tom Ingram of Montrose.
Actually, the drive was more than a trip to Placerville since we drove back Highway 144 / 90 / 141 to Gateway and had a late lunch at the Paradox Grille.
The route includes normal highway driving to Montrose. After Ridgway, the scenery improves and you climb over Dallas Divide and head downhill to Placerville. West of Placerville there are sections of winding highway before and after Norwood. Several stretches of Highway 141 that offered good visibility, little traffic and clear straightaways were "appreciated."
As we finished lunch in Gateway, someone noticed four new Corvettes pulling in. They parked in back, so naturally we looked at them. One was the new ZR1 - with Michigan manufacturer's plates. Apparently, they were on a "test drive" from the Front Range as a couple of the other Vettes had Denver dealer plates. Must be a tough job ...
After lunch, everyone headed home at their own time and pace.
This drive was one of the longer ones from Grand Junction, but the variety of highways and scenery were well worth the time.
Route: South on Highway 50 to Montrose. South on Highway 550 to Ridgway. West on Highway 62 to Placerville. West on Highway 145 through Norwood. Highway 90 / Highway 141 through Uravan to Gateway. Follow Highway 141 east to Whitewater.
Distance: About 108 miles from the Orchard Mesa City Market to Placerville. The return route through Norwood, Naturita, Uravan and Gateway is about 142 miles. (Mileage per Google Maps)
Driving time: The actual time for this trip wasn't noted. Google Maps says about 7 hours for the entire route. With little traffic on the return route (Highway 141) actual times were "considerably" less.
Actually, the drive was more than a trip to Placerville since we drove back Highway 144 / 90 / 141 to Gateway and had a late lunch at the Paradox Grille.
The route includes normal highway driving to Montrose. After Ridgway, the scenery improves and you climb over Dallas Divide and head downhill to Placerville. West of Placerville there are sections of winding highway before and after Norwood. Several stretches of Highway 141 that offered good visibility, little traffic and clear straightaways were "appreciated."
As we finished lunch in Gateway, someone noticed four new Corvettes pulling in. They parked in back, so naturally we looked at them. One was the new ZR1 - with Michigan manufacturer's plates. Apparently, they were on a "test drive" from the Front Range as a couple of the other Vettes had Denver dealer plates. Must be a tough job ...
After lunch, everyone headed home at their own time and pace.
This drive was one of the longer ones from Grand Junction, but the variety of highways and scenery were well worth the time.
Route: South on Highway 50 to Montrose. South on Highway 550 to Ridgway. West on Highway 62 to Placerville. West on Highway 145 through Norwood. Highway 90 / Highway 141 through Uravan to Gateway. Follow Highway 141 east to Whitewater.
Distance: About 108 miles from the Orchard Mesa City Market to Placerville. The return route through Norwood, Naturita, Uravan and Gateway is about 142 miles. (Mileage per Google Maps)
Driving time: The actual time for this trip wasn't noted. Google Maps says about 7 hours for the entire route. With little traffic on the return route (Highway 141) actual times were "considerably" less.
