Day 574

We got up at 7.  We packed up the trailer and got on the road.  We took our time, so we didn't get out before 8.

I was worried about fuel availability on 89, so we stopped at Flagstaff for a 5 or 6 gallon fillup.  We also stopped 30 miles up the road in Cameron for a 3 gallon fill up.  It turned out that there were other stations farther up the road, but we didn't know that.

Driving 89 and 89A took a lot of attention.  So I didn't turn on the book on tape today.  I should have turned on the radio, but I didn't.  The road up to 89A wasn't had, but a lot of it was 2 lane and rough.  There was also a lot of up and down.  There were many places where we would go up 500 to 1,000 feet and then go back down.

89A is a road I will never pull a trailer on again.  It started with a 1,500 foot down hill followed by a 1,500 foot up hill.  Then there was miles and miles of up a few hundred feet, down a few hundred feet.  But the best was to come.  We started up a pass at 5,400 feet.  The top was 7,900 feet.  All the way the road was narrow with rock wall a foot or two off the roadway.  It was also very twisty.  I drove for miles at 40-45 MPH.

Of course as soon as we got to the top we started the few hundred feet up and down again.  That was followed by a 1,000 foot drop and then another 50 miles of up and down.  As we got about 40 miles out of Hurricane I decided to go for it fuel wise.

The last two miles into Hurricane was a 1.800 foot drop via 6, 7, and 8 percent down grades.  I could only use the tow haul sparingly because it was over revving the engine.  By the time I got to the bottom the brakes were pulsing each time I used them.

Because it's the weekend Ellen has us in a KOA that's OK, but not really nice.  The internet sucks.  It's fast enough when it's connected, but the connection drops every few minutes.

After we set up we went to fuel up and get groceries.  We needed 18.5 gallons.  That's the most I've ever put in the truck at one time.  We averaged 12.1 MPG over the last 215 miles, including all of 89A.  I was really happy.

The campground has a lake a couple of miles down the road, and the club isn't more than a few miles away.  So tomorrow is shooting and swimming the dog.