I believe you to be right - I wasn't sure what they were since they were wayyyyyyyy up there; we did have a Moose encounter earlier on in the park though (or atleast, we thought it was a moose - and neither of us had the camera or the phone ready to take a shot ).

Thanks . It definitely was an amazing trip - we'll definitely be back in more focussed areas in the future.

 

yeah the moose are on the west side of the park that i personally call " moose meadow" i have never been there and not seen the moose. Each year new baby meeces...mooses...whatever..

Looks like a great trip with many miles put on those tires! You were so close to Moab!! Did the jeep wander to the west a little while in grand junction?? just another 1.5 h away!

 

Excellent pictures. Colorado is easy to take pics in, everywhere you look is different and awesome.

I moved here about 3 months ago, and so far its been even better than I expected. I work a little too much, but thats just part of life. Makes you appreciate the time off even more.

 

I always wondered what the plural or moose might be - as did the guy behind the counter up at Pikes Peak.

The thought of Moab was definitely there - but we figured Moab needs a trip all to itself. I'd just be teasing myself by stepping there; plans are for around EJS next year . We'll see what next year brings. Total round trip was right around 3,600 miles this trip I believe - or thereabouts.

Something I noticed during this trip - and maybe someone can help answer the question - is there any co-relation between octane ratings and fuel mileage? Ever since I got into New Mexico, Regular Unleaded was either 85 Octane or 86 Octane and Mid Grade was 87 Octane; in Oklahoma - Regular is 87, Mid Grade 89 and Premium 91. The whole time I was there - except on 2 occasions (once I put 87, and the other 89 by accident) - I used 85 Octane, my average fuel economy was around 18mpg (worst was 16.7). These calculations were not based on the computer readout; my best was 20.2mpg from Grand Junction to Dinosaur. No sooner I got back towards Texas and the average dropped back to around 16.8 or so with 87 Octane Regular. Elevation maybe? Highway speeds I was doing was around 60 - 65mph.

 

Agreed - this trip sure made me wish I lived in Colorado. The thought of being able to do some nice trails every weekend sure is enticing. Maybe someday, if opportunity knocks - I sure wouldn't mind moving to Colorado.

 

I know that octane is simply a measure of how resistant gasoline is to pre-ignition (pinging). You can get pinging if you have a high compression engine and don't run high enough octane (resistant enough) fuel. Compression is related to ambient air pressure, and up in high altitudes the air pressure is less, and so we don't require as high of an octane number. Sports cars can get by on 89 octane in denver whereas they need 91 in the midwest. I don't think octane has anything to do with fuel efficiency.

Ethanol (blends, like the 10% blend you'll typically see) does, though, because ethanol contains less energy per gallon than gasoline has in it. Maybe you hit some non-ethanol stops during your trip and got more bang for your gallon of fuel?

Another thing I've noticed is I get pretty good mileage in the hills: going at say 45 to 60 on highway trips over mountain passes actually increases mileage for me. 55mph on a flat road you constantly require x gas. going up hill you need x + y gas, but y isn't that much more - certainly not DOUBLE more. Meanwhile going down hill you don't need any gas at all, but you're still moving along at highway speeds. The benefit of coasting down mountain roads FAR outweighs the little extra gas it takes to get UP the hills. Unless of course you're trying to race up a hill but in a JK loaded with family and vacation luggage and what not, that just ain't happening at these elevations

 

Dang dude, I've lived here for 12 years and it has taken me all 12 of those years, let alone 1 trip, to hit most of those locations, but not all! Awesome trip!!!

 

That's what I thought too - Octane shouldn't have anything to do with it. And the gas I bought about 90% of the time was from Conoco and the remainder from Philips 66, both of who (to the best of my knowledge) had Ethanol Blend. I think there was 1 little gas station somewhere that I got gas that I didn't see the Ethanol Blend notice. The only other explanation is, like you said, it takes just a little more to go uphill on mountain passes while you save considerably more coasting down. I just couldn't figure it out.

 

I can honestly say - I envy every single one of you guys and gals that live there! Especially those that live close to Ouray. In your defense, I'm sure you've spent a lot more time in most of the places you've been to than what we spent in our 10 days road trip

 

WOW! I feel like I just got back from vacationing in Colorado!!! AWESOME POST, CHEERS!