After leaving Leadville Gary and I decided to drive to Aspen via Independence Pass, a spur of the moment decision based on thinking Aspen was close. Five hours later and making a full clockwise loop through central Colorado, we finally made our way back to Frisco. The drive up to Independence Pass was simply beautiful. Around every bend were beautiful valleys, snow covered towering peaks, and endless aspen forests.
Gary informed me that Dr. Zeus’s transmission was in overdrive. Dr Zeus has 5 forward gears, one through four and overdrive. I forgot there even was an overdrive gear. The car defaults to the overdrive setting when started. The overdrive must be disabled by pressing in a button on the gear shift lever. Dr. Zeus has never been out of Florida before. Taking the transmission out of overdrive made the climb to 12,095 feet above sea level very easy. Unknowingly, I drove from Denver to Frisco with Dr. Zeus in overdrive several weeks ago. Driving from 5,000 ft to 11,000 ft in overdrive made that climb difficult.
Still I drove slowly, partly because of the scary steep drop off on one side of the narrow winding road, and also because I wanted I to see the scenery. When I saw the beginnings of a string of cars behind me, I would look for a narrow shoulder on the right to pull over on. After finding a safe place to pull over, I would stop and let all the cars pass me. One of the occupants of a passing car yelled out to us, “Go back to Florida.” Gary and I both laughed heartily. I suppose seeing a Florida license plate on a truck climbing up a Colorado mountain pass is quite unusual. We also had on a roof top carrier and bike rack attached to the hitch so we very much looked like tourists. I knew I might never be this way again so I wanted to take my time and enjoy the drive.