Road Trips 2023

[audreyh1]

I just buy the $10 and under stuff. We have lots of great wineries around here. Somebody must be supporting all these wineries but probably not me.

I’m afraid we drink mostly European wines courtesy of Costco. But I think there are so many wealthy young people in Central TX now, they are willing to come out for winery tours. Certainly weekend house rental rates in Fredericksburg were very high. We opted for week nights which were ~1/3 the price of weekend.

 

[Lsbcal]

I’m afraid we drink mostly European wines courtesy of Costco. But I think there are so many wealthy young people in Central TX now, they are willing to come out for winery tours.

While painting at wineries I noticed there are a lot of 30's folks that are having a nice walk around and all dressed up. Plus plenty of cyclists who hopefully don't drink too much and then ride on these country roads. I imagine some are from the Silicon Valley area.

 

[skyking1]

Thanks all for sharing your trips. This is our staycation year of house building, we appreciate your trips.

 

[Chuckanut]

I just buy the $10 and under stuff. We have lots of great wineries around here. Somebody must be supporting all these wineries but probably not me.

The other Goldenage we are having and have had for over a decade is a "Golden Age of Wine". I think the craft breweries also add beer to the list of golden ages.

Beer, wine, and income investing. Not a bad trifecta.

 

[audreyh1]

Looks like the trick with the small wineries with tasting rooms is to sell really high $ bottles of wine. Win a few awards and you’re good to go!

 

[brett]

On our trip to Chile we discovered that a number of reds that we regularly buy here in Canada were much more expensive at the vineyard and in the stores.

We were in Portugal this past May/June. We found the opposite. Especially with Douro reds. The one exception was the duty free store at Faro airport. One Douro red was priced at 2.5 times what we paid at our local Pingo Doce supermarket over the preceeding two weeks!

Our friends in Australia take us to a grocery store that sells wine under their own label. These are job lots. End of the bottling run for some vineyards. We have had some incredible wines at equally incredibly low prices. Our friends tend to know which is which and steer us to the better products.

 

[COcheesehead]

I think we need to start a wine thread on here. I could talk for days on the subject. I work part time at a winery as my “hobby” job. We use ease of access to a world class wine region as one of our decision points on where we travel.

 

[audreyh1]

I think we need to start a wine thread on here. I could talk for days on the subject. I work part time at a winery as my “hobby” job. We use world class wine regions as one deciding point on where we travel.

Good idea! We’ve had a few wine threads over the years but it has been a while. Time for a new one! Please start it!

 

[COcheesehead]

Good idea! We’ve had a few wine threads over the years but it has been a while. Time for a new one! Please start it!

Done!

 

[wallygator69]

I have a similar cooler and love it. Bought in 2020 because we did a lot of road trips during the pandemic and wanted to minimize our contact with restaurants. It has gotten a lot of use in the last three years, both in the car and in hotel rooms where there was no frig, or only a tiny one. They're great!

Mine is 30 liters and has wheels and a telescoping handle like a suitcase so it's easy to roll into the hotel.

Got two of the Massimos. Hard wired DC from battery into the wheel well and into the back of our highlander. Put a Deep Cycle battery in car in case we run it too low and won't strat. Have a Harbor freight jump starter just in case. Set onas a fridge and one as a deep freeze. Works great

 

[Sunset]

Got two of the Massimos. Hard wired DC from battery into the wheel well and into the back of our highlander. Put a Deep Cycle battery in car in case we run it too low and won't strat. Have a Harbor freight jump starter just in case. Set onas a fridge and one as a deep freeze. Works great

Last year at our cabin, we used our Massimo connected to 4 solar panels and a bluetti (~1500Wh) for about 60 days in a row to be a refrigerator.

Absolutely great !!

 

[audreyh1]

Just pulled together the arrangements for another big Tesla summer road trip traveling the Colorado mountains. We are spending a week each in Telluride and Aspen with a few days in Montrose in between (a base for Black Canyon of the Gunnison, an old favorite, plus quick Ridgeway and Ouray visit). We will be driving several famous mountain passes. A few days near Garden of the Gods tacked on at the end.

We’ve spent time in Ouray/Ridgeway and Telluride a little bit, but the other towns are new.

 

[COcheesehead]

Just pulled together the arrangement another big Tesla summer road trip traveling the Colorado mountains. We are spending a week each in Telluride and Aspen with a few days in Montrose in between (a base for Black Canyon of the Gunnison an old favorite plus Ridgeway and Ouray). We will be driving several famous mountain passes. A few days near Garden of the Gods tacked on at the end.

I’ve spent time in Ouray/Ridgeway and Telluride a little bit, but the other towns are new.

Spectacular itinerary. This is my ‘hood. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[audreyh1]

We’ve spent lots of time in other towns in the area like Gunnison and Crested Butte, Durango, Silverton drive to Ouray, Mesa Verde, Cortez. So this is a little different.

 

[COcheesehead]

We’ve spent lots of time in other towns in the area like Gunnison and Crested Butte, Durango, Silverton drive to Ouray, Mesa Verde, Cortez. So this is a little different.

Montrose has a cute downtown. It’s the “city” for the surrounding area being the base of big box stores, the regional airport and such. Just to the east of Montrose is a fun wine region, the West Elks. Some really good wines and fun art towns, Paonia being one. Highly recommended the Storm Cellar winery. https://stormcellarwine.com/
https://westelksava.com/west-elks-wine-trail/

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks!

I noticed Paonia because we’ll probably drive 133 over to Aspen.

 

[COcheesehead]

Thanks!

I noticed Paonia because we’ll probably drive 133 over to Aspen.

Check road conditions. 133 was washed out this Spring. They are trying to put in a temporary bridge. If you can get over the pass, there is a great BBQ place in Marble. https://www.slowgroovinbbq.com/

 

[audreyh1]

Check road conditions. 133 was washed out this Spring. They are trying to put in a temporary bridge. If you can get over the pass, there is a great BBQ place in Marble. https://www.slowgroovinbbq.com/

Thanks, I noticed a road closure. I thought when I clicked on it in Google Maps it gave me an opening date, but I don’t see that now.

 

[folivier]

FYI road construction on Hwy 50 between Montrose and Gunnison will be ongoing all summer, again, with nighttime closures and pilot cars with occasional daytime closures due to blasting. Just a heads up if you decide to go east.

 

[audreyh1]

FYI road construction on Hwy 50 between Montrose and Gunnison will be ongoing all summer, again, with nighttime closures and pilot cars with occasional daytime closures due to blasting. Just a heads up if you decide to go east.

Oh, I was planning to come in that way. So expect delays I guess. I’ll have to monitor the situation.

I found this thanks https://www.us50info.com/

 

[folivier]

If you come that way wave as you pass through the construction zone. Our cabin is 5 miles off 50.
Arrowhead Mountain Lodge is a nice place with rooms, restaurant, bar & bands on the weekends if you're looking for an overnight.
50 is open through the weekends.

 

[audreyh1]

If you come that way wave as you pass through the construction zone. Our cabin is 5 miles off 50.
Arrowhead Mountain Lodge is a nice place with rooms, restaurant, bar & bands on the weekends if you're looking for an overnight.
50 is open through the weekends.

Coming through mid week early August.

But I was already planning to add an extra day for that area instead of going all the way Pueblo to Telluride, so we can handle delays, we’ll monitor.

Just need to avoid a full day closure. Hopefully they will be past that.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[folivier]

Well they were supposed to finish last fall and now a possibility of going into next summer. Lots of blasting still needed on the Gunnison side to widen the canyon. Usually only an hour delay unless they're blasting.
Send me a PM when you get close to that date and I'll try and get current info. The flagger at our road has been great on giving us daily info.

 

[Lsbcal]

Just pulled together the arrangements for another big Tesla summer road trip traveling the Colorado mountains. We are spending a week each in Telluride and Aspen with a few days in Montrose in between (a base for Black Canyon of the Gunnison, an old favorite, plus quick Ridgeway and Ouray visit). We will be driving several famous mountain passes. A few days near Garden of the Gods tacked on at the end.

We’ve spent time in Ouray/Ridgeway and Telluride a little bit, but the other towns are new.

Sounds like a great trip. I imagine the scenery is spectacular although we've only been in the Colorado once about 40 years back. When we were in that area it tended to cloud up and rain a bit in the afternoon. We ran into some of that in Sedona a few weeks ago. Not used to it in summer being from California although in the Sierras rain can happen.

Are there any activities you like to do there?

 

[audreyh1]

Sounds like a great trip. I imagine the scenery is spectacular although we've only been in the Colorado once about 40 years back. When we were in that area it tended to cloud up and rain a bit in the afternoon. We ran into some of that in Sedona a few weeks ago. Not used to it in summer being from California although in the Sierras rain can happen.

Are there any activities you like to do there?

Quick afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer in the mountains in my experience. We’ve certainly been chased down the mountain by one.

Yes, the scenery is unbelievable. Great for driving and sightseeing.

We generally bird and hike and do photography. Enjoy the cooler weather and very low humidity.