Posted on Tue, Aug. 5, 2008
Sharon L. Peters
Q: We’re heading out pretty soon for a dream vacation that we’ve been saving to go on for two years. We’re driving from Kentucky to spend the month of October in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. You’ve commented that you live in the mountains of the West and we’ve never been in the Rocky Mountain region. Probably there are things that novices like us should know about driving in that part of the country, and since you live there, we’re hoping you can offer some tips that we probably won’t think of.
A: I can. And I applaud you for recognizing that driving in the West is not identical to driving elsewhere in the U.S., except with higher hills. Lots of visitors are inconvenienced – or worse – as a result of not being sufficiently prepared for Rocky Mountain travel. Here are my top five suggestions:
• Get your car winterized before you start the journey. Yes, winterized. There’s a strong possibility that you’ll run into snow, especially in the vicinity of Yellowstone and other areas that are 6,000 feet or more above sea level. In fact, residents of many parts of the three states you intend to visit (especially at the higher elevations) are not at all surprised to see some snow falling by mid October. So make sure your tires have decent treads, your anti-freeze is sufficient for temperatures that make it down to the teens and that your heater has been checked out.
I’d also recommend that you invest the $25 or so in a set of heavy-duty winter windshield wiper blades, ones that are sturdier and more effective against the raging rainstorms, hail, sleet and snow you may encounter during your vacation.
• Refill your gas tank when it hits the half-empty mark, or just beneath it. Much of the country you’ll be driving through is so sparsely populated that you may have to go 75 miles or more, even if you’re on the interstate or on a major highway, before you’ll come to a fuel station. Passing up a station hoping that the next one will have cheaper prices can lead to an empty tank and all the trauma that entails when you’re far from help
• Avoid driving in the hour or so before sunrise and sunset (and in the pitch dark). That’s a really active time for wildlife and there’s plentiful wildlife around these parts. You’ve no doubt already experienced the roaming-deer phenomenon in the gray light of early morning and evening in Kentucky. Multiply that by ten times or more and that’s what you’ll be encountering in the West (and you’ll also be seeing much heftier creatures, like elk). Many residents of the West severely limit their driving during those high-risk hours when possible, especially in the fall and spring. And you’d do well to do the same.
• Stay put if weather or driving conditions grow bad. Westerners have developed such a respect of Mother Nature that they, by and large, are not at all embarrassed about staying home or pulling into a safe haven to wait out perilous conditions. (Spending a frigid night shivering in a pickup that wound up in a snow bank because you took a stupid chance will do that to you.) And, by the way, slow down. Straight roads often take rather unexpected sharp turns. That’s bad enough in the best of driving conditions, but especially awful in heavy rain, snow or fog.
• Despite what your cell phone company may claim, there will be large chunks of time in which you’ll have no service. That’s just the reality of cellular technology in a remote, mountainous area. So don’t be lulled by the false confidence that if things go wrong, help is just a phone call away. If you’re going to traverse some back roads, make sure that someone knows where you’re headed and that you agree to a time of contact, which, if it doesn’t occur, will prompt a call to authorities.
All that said, don’t be dissuaded from this great adventure. Go and have a wonderful time. Forewarned is forearmed. A bit of preparation and some awareness of the special challenges of journeying through the high-altitude areas of the West in autumn will ensure that you have a terrific holiday.
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