Denver to Sacramento (and Back)

My goal was 50 MPG from Denver to Sacramento. However, I needed to be there by late afternoon on the second day, so my speeds needed to be reasonably fast. I started strong, but then headwinds in Nevada dropped me below 50 MPG. It didn’t look good except I forgot about coming down the Sierra Madres in California. From Donner Summit to my destination, 60 miles later, I averaged over 86 MPG! That brought the average of the entire trip up to 50.7.

The return journey started below par. After all, I had to go up those same mountains that helped me so much at the end of my outgoing trip. Then, those westerly winds in Nevada that killed me a few days earlier shifted about 135 degrees and got me again. Utah, I swear, is uphill all the way in both directions! But this time, it was strong tailwinds in Wyoming that put me over the top. It didn’t hurt also that I slowed down a bit on the second day. I had thought about driving straight through, but when I decided to stop for the night, speed was no longer so important. Anyway, I ended up with 51 MPG on the return trip.

A couple of lessons learned from this, my first long trip, with my new car:

1. Don’t use ECO mode for freeway driving, especially if you have any hills. When I finally turned it off, the car was much more responsive and so much more fun to drive. (I use ECO mode most of the time around town.)

2. Never buy gas in Salt Lake City (unless you’re very familiar with the city). Stations aren’t advertised nor are they visible from I-80. I also paid the highest price on my trip there.

3. Taking the shortcut Highway 287 from Ft. Collins CO to Laramie WY (and back) is a good idea. It took it on the way out, but I went the “faster” (but longer) way through Cheyenne on the way back and hit some nasty construction.

With the trip behind me, I’m looking forward to improved mileage again on my fill-ups!

 

How fun! Thanks for doing this.

By the way, the shortcut consists of exiting I-25 at Ft. Collins, Colorado, and taking Highway 287 to Laramie, Wyoming. Otherwise (as you correctly diagrammed) the trip essentially consists of taking I-25 to I-80, turn left, and (1000 miles later) you're there!