We just returned from a cruise to Italy, Sicily, Malta, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and finally 10 days on land in Israel. If that sounds like a lot of places to visit, you’re right, it was a whirlwind trip. We were on a plane, ship, a lot of buses, taxis, trains, 4x4, jeep and a rental car. To be honest, besides the ship, only because of the food, our favorite mode of transportation was driving ourselves around Israel. Using Google or Waze takes getting lost out of the equation so you can simply drive at your pace and visit on your timetable the places you want to visit.
What got me thinking about the freedom of car travel was going through the month's worth of mail that had to be gone through after getting home. I came across the last 2 months of the AAA EnCompass magazines. The cover pages included suggested locations of Colorado dude ranches, itinerary for 3 days in Southwest Colorado, a whole section on what to visit in New Mexico and many other local get-away places in our own backyard. We are fortunate to be situated smack dab in the beautiful and cultural west with neighboring states that are less crowded than the eastern or western part of the country.
Colorado has 4 National Parks and 8 National Monuments. Utah has 5 national parks and 7 national monuments. Wyoming has 2 national parks and 4 national monument recreation areas. Yellowstone N.P. is the second largest national park in the lower 48. And that doesn’t even include all the resorts, recreation areas, campgrounds and festivals and events within driving distance.
A great source of information is the “Official Colorado State Vacation Guide”. This publication has more trips and activities than you could do in 50 years. Visit Utah does the same for Utah and Travel Wyoming is for Wyoming. And not to forget New Mexico use Travel New Mexico. Taos is 5 ½ hours from Denver and Sante Fe is 6 ½ hours. Or use the AAA road trip site and say where you want to go.
When I was growing up in northwest Indiana, we did some long drives for our vacations to Florida and California and with no AC. Did I mention we also walked uphill to and from school? Anyway, my point is that from Colorado, we have much shorter drives to many amazing places and the best thing about driving is that you can change your plans any time. You can pull off at that attraction that has the two-headed cow or stop at a winery. When you are driving, you are the boss of the road. You can also bring your bike and fishing gear which you can’t do on a plane.
Finally, how do you know your vehicle is ready for a road trip? First of all, if you have been following your maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual, you are likely in good shape. If you haven’t been following the maintenance schedule, it would be prudent to get caught up before a trip. If you don’t have an owner’s manual, you can usually look it up online.
Items that should be inspected and should pass before traveling are:
- Brakes
- Tires
- Air conditioner and heater
- Suspension system (shocks etc)
- Radiator and hoses
- Lights; Turn Signals, Headlights, Brake lights, etc.
- All fluids
- Battery
- Spare tire, jack, and tools
- Belts
If you are pretty sure your maintenance is up to date, but would still like to have a final inspection before leaving, we will do it for $29.95. If you want to know where you are maintenance wise, call us and Dan or Joe will figure it out for you.
We are AAA approved and have been for 20 years.
