Rose, not too early, to see a mule deer browsing in front of the cabin, Then a largely familiar drive today at least from I-70 onwards. Left Grand Lake at 7.40am and headed down 34 and 40 to the interstate via Berthoud pass (11,307 ft). Then another big climb up to the Eisenhower Tunnel (11,158) which the Fiat seemed to struggle with. The altitude certainly was impacting performance, but also perhaps we should have used higher octane gas. Modern cars should adjust to this, but the confusing thing is that altitude allows lower octane to be used, so I guess more research is needed?
We found a small patch of grass in Grand Junction to have lunch, then it was back on I-70 to tackle the beautiful San Raphael Swell. Stopped at the Salt Wash rest area to retake the iconic tree-in-the-wind picture.
We arrived at Cedar City at 6.35pm, checked into the Baymont and walked over to Centro Pizza for our long awaited, and much repeated, best pizza in the world.