Is this information True? (Boulder, Aguilar: to rent, safe, to move)

[Shock976]

Originally Posted by sterlinggirl

Are you figuring in wear and tear on your car or just gas? You should count on paying 50 cents/mile when you're figuring your costs. For long trips like you're talking about, renting a car for a week is usually a better choice than driving your own (especially if you break down or have an accident along the way).

As far as whether it's worth it to fly, it depends on whether you'd rather spend a little money to avoid spending 4 days in a car with a child. For trips like that with 2 adults in the car, I usually

Another thing you could look into is driving to Vegas and then flying, but you'd miss out on some great scenery driving through Utah. Colorado has some pretty scenery, but the stretch from Richfield to Green River is absolutely beautiful if you like desert landscapes.

I am not too concerned about the drive time, and my girlfriends daughter has been on many road trips with her grand parents so I don't think that will be a problem. I was figuring in Gas not so much wear and tear since one of our cars is a lease and has 8k miles on it. It is pretty new. The main reason I want to drive is due to the scenary, and i can make pit stops if needed to see things I have never seen b4. Not to mention I am sure there are some great restaurants on the way!!! Any good recommendations on where to stay in Utah for the night? Hopefully in a safe area.

[Shock976]

and if you wouldn't mind, how about some decent places to stay once we are there? doesn't have to be fancy, but we don't want a dive... Additionally if we could find a place with a kitchen, that would be great as it would allow for grocery shopping to ease on the expense of eating out. BTW, I never thought of flying from vegas, good idea. I am going to look into that.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Shock976

Is that about 8 hour drive per day? How's the weather forecast for 4/4 - 4/11?

To Richfield from Santa Clarita is 8.5 hours without stopping (you will stop for gas, food, snacks, stretching, etc).

Green River is 10.5 hours.

On long road trips, I like to leave before sunrise every day. I was exhausted by the time I got to Green River, but most of that was because I was driving a giant moving truck that was towing a minivan.

If you go decide to keep going beyond Richfield, when you get to Salina you need to decide if you want to keep going, because there is absolutely nothing between Salina and Green River (I did not know this when we left Salina). It's an 108 mile stretch through canyons (at least that's what it looks like after dark).

I don't know what the weather will be like -- they really have trouble forecasting things more than two days out around here. I drove through the mountains last week during a big storm, and survived. If you happen to hit a storm, drive slow, keep your distance, and be very careful, and most importantly, don't freak out. Snow is something you'll have to learn to deal with here, might as well get a taste of it now.

Expedia has travel packages (flight, hotel, car, for 3 people) ranging from $1960-$3784 for those dates (LAX-DEN).

The benefit to flying vs driving is the time you'll get to spend at your destination. There's plenty to see along the Front Range and in the mountains if you fly and rent a car.

If you drive here, at least four days of your Denver trip will be used driving to/from here. If you drive, you can stop in Vegas, make side trips to Zion, Canyonlands, or Arches, or places like Aspen or Vail, but these would take even more time out of your week-long trip.

It's your call. I have done both, we flew for our scouting trip and drove to move here (and didn't stop to "see" anything). IMO, if the goal of the trip is the destination (Denver, Boulder, Colorado in general), it's better to fly. If one of the goals of the trip is the journey, then it's better to drive.

[sterlinggirl]

Originally Posted by Shock976

Any good recommendations on where to stay in Utah for the night? Hopefully in a safe area.

Richfield is about the safest place you'll find along that route.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by sterlinggirl

Richfield is about the safest place you'll find along that route.

Sterlinggirl's right. I've stayed overnight in Richfield a few times, it's always been ok by me!

[vfrpilot]

We've done the car trip to SoCal a bunch of times. And we also have a daughter(9yo) with us. We've also flown using Vegas, as the tickets are usually much cheaper, as are the rental car fees. We also have relatives in Vegas we have to see when in the area.
When driving we have done the trip all sorts of different ways. It's pretty do-able nonstop from Vegas if the weather is good. Leave at 5am and the whole trip is complete during daylight(12 hours). Great scenery. We've done the trip nonstop from San Diego, but that's a marathon. Our oldest daughter and boyfriend did it last summer.
Watch the weather forecasts and road conditions(cotrip.org). We drove to Vegas last week for spring break and was in snow, ice, and major traffic from Monument through Vail(150 mi.). On the return trip we opted to go through Albuquerque due to the forecasts. It adds about 2 hours, but we split the drive to 2 days anyways. The scenery is nicer on I70, but there is some stuff to see on I40 also.
Our fuel costs about $400. We average about 21mpg, so if you drive something more economical, your savings over flying will be greater.
BTW> I70 was shut down yesterday at Vail Pass due to numerous wrecks.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by Shock976

In a discussion my Girlfriend was in at work with a colleague, she mentioned that her and I were thinking of moving to CO. The gentleman told her that CO had a lot of bigatry and racism and that they frown on inter-racial couples, etc... Additionally, it was mentioned that CO was an expensive place to live, and is basically another Los Angeles?

My girlfriend did not like what she heard as we are looking to move to a place unlike our current home town. Please shed some light on this subject as this is the first time I have ever heard something like this from someone else. I am convinced that this gentleman did not know what he was talking about, but who knows.

I should note that my Girlfriend and her Daughter are Filipino, while I am caucasian. Is this information really true? I found this website after googling the subject.

- Denver Post Bloggers Prove Colorado to be the Most Racist State in the Country (Neighbors blogs blog) : Denver Colorado Neighbors

I found that there is a lot of prejudice against Native Americans in Colorado. That is one of the reasons that I detest the place so much. I had friends who were Navajo when I lived there and it never ceased to amaze me how white people were constantly saying degrading and negative things about Native American Culture that were totally wrong and that they had no idea about.

Besides that and the economy and the California influences and the altitude, I think just about any place is better. Since your girlfriend is brown skinned (as opposed to African American) and has features similar to Native American, I would expect that you will be the target of some bigotry - but most likely it will be behind your back rather than to your face.

20yrsinBranson

[Count David]

I've never stopped in Richfield, so I can't comment there.

Bank of America turned off my debit card (that I was using to gas up our vehicles, eat, etc., they didn't like that I was using it twice at every stop ) when we stopped for fuel in Salina. There's not much there if you end up stranded somehow.

Green River was good enough to sleep in.

If one doesn't think they'd be "safe" in rural Utah, they won't be safe anywhere. Stop being afraid of everything people.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by vfrpilot

BTW> I70 was shut down yesterday at Vail Pass due to numerous wrecks.

I literally just got back from Vail, and man, that trip wasn't fun, but it was totally survivable....in a 2WD Honda Civic with regular tires at that. The snow was hella intense near the tunnel and over Vail Pass, but we made it.

All one needs to do is go slow, brake softly, and stay out of the maniacs' way.

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

I found that there is a lot of prejudice against Native Americans in Colorado. That is one of the reasons that I detest the place so much. I had friends who were Navajo when I lived there and it never ceased to amaze me how white people were constantly saying degrading and negative things about Native American Culture that were totally wrong and that they had no idea about.

Besides that and the economy and the California influences and the altitude, I think just about any place is better. Since your girlfriend is brown skinned (as opposed to African American) and has features similar to Native American, I would expect that you will be the target of some bigotry - but most likely it will be behind your back rather than to your face.

20yrsinBranson

Shock, this will not apply to you in metro Denver or Boulder.

[Shock976]

Looks like most of the roads going through the rockies are wet, slushy, icy right now. That does worry me, especially since I don't have experience driving through those conditions.