Live. Travel. Play.

On Monday we left Aspen, Colorado, and headed northeast towards Nebraska, in hopes to make it to Chicago for the long weekend. The narrow, windy road from Aspen climbed steeply up the forested mountainside to Independence Pass, located along the Continental Divide.

I’m so glad Gregor was driving. I just about soiled my pants each time I looked out the passenger window, past the 6-inch paved shoulder that separated the van’s wheels from the valley below – very few guardrails! As we gained elevation we passed snow drifts and, eventually, tree line.

Independence Pass is a whopping 12,095 ft high – the highest elevation that the van has ever travelled. For comparison:

– Independence Pass is 3,686 m (12,095 ft) elevation.
– Kicking Horse Pass is 1,647 m (on the Continental Divide that separates BC and Alberta).
– Roger’s Pass is 1,327 m (Glacier National Park, BC).

The top of the pass was covered with snow and tourists just like us. When we stepped out of the van to take pictures, green engine coolant was spewing from the back of the van.

 

 

 

 

 

We weren’t impressed with the coolant loss – the new engine was only two weeks old, for crying out loud! We had coolant issues back in southern Utah, too, and Gregor had called the mechanics at Go Westy for advice. They said not to worry – they figured that maybe the expansion tank pressure cap they installed was faulty from the manufacturer, and Gregor could just replace the part.

We decided to beeline for Denver to see if a VW specialist could have look at it. The problem is that they couldn’t look at the van until late the next day – our itinerary was too tight to wait around. Gregor decided to just buy the part and fix it himself. Let’s hope it works!