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Just wrapped up with my first long road trip in my 2021 2DR Bronco Badlands (2.7 / Non Sas).
The summers in Texas are BRUTAL, and it was time to escape to the mountains for a week, do some hiking, and enjoy the cooler temperatures with the wife and dog.
I bought the Bronco the day the order banks opened in 2020, and at that time, I wanted the purest Bronco experience I could get (w/o dropping 100k+ on a resto-mod), and I felt the 2-door just looked too good to pass up. I also had no pregnant wife at that time, however - when embarking on this trip, I drove alone with the dog because the two-door was just too small for a long roadtrip with 2 people, bags, plus a dog. So my wife flew to Colorado, and I picked her up the next day. We needed a car because we were there for 8 days, so this was the most economical decision - plus I got to do a little off-roading, and I always enjoy my alone time.
As for my takeaways on the trip:
Enjoy the pics & video. Wish I could have grabbed more of Pearl Pass Rd. Such a cool place.
(Departure - Austin, TX)
(Packed, ready to go)
High Five (Feel free to grill me for taking this photo going over 70
(Texas panhandle = meh)
(Had to, when in Rome)
(Lucky 7, k)
(Drive Through Independence Pass)
(Drive through Tennessee Pass)
The summers in Texas are BRUTAL, and it was time to escape to the mountains for a week, do some hiking, and enjoy the cooler temperatures with the wife and dog.
I bought the Bronco the day the order banks opened in 2020, and at that time, I wanted the purest Bronco experience I could get (w/o dropping 100k+ on a resto-mod), and I felt the 2-door just looked too good to pass up. I also had no pregnant wife at that time, however - when embarking on this trip, I drove alone with the dog because the two-door was just too small for a long roadtrip with 2 people, bags, plus a dog. So my wife flew to Colorado, and I picked her up the next day. We needed a car because we were there for 8 days, so this was the most economical decision - plus I got to do a little off-roading, and I always enjoy my alone time.
As for my takeaways on the trip:
- It was just over 2k miles round trip, no engine failures (Thank God).
- The hardtop was a little noisy, but I easily managed to listen to two lengthy audio books without any trouble - I barely noticed the noise the longer I drove.
- I averaged about 19-20 MPG on the highway.
- The ride was very comfortable, and I love the MGV seats. They were perfect for this trip
- The videos below show a couple of mountain passes in Colorado because once you get outside of Austin, there is truly NOTHING remarkable about the northwest Texas landscape. It's flat and boring, and not worth showing - unless you like flat nothingness and windmills.
- Made several pitstops along the way through New Mexico and into southern Colorado - plenty of places to let the pup out for some playtime.
- Passed through Lubbock to Amarillo, and the far NE corner of New Mexico before stopping in Trinidad for the night in CO.
- The prettiest part of the drive was cutting through the mountains on Hwy 82, through Independence Pass to Aspen. (First Video - simply beautiful)
- Hit some rain and slick roads, but pretty much drove in standard mode the entire drive.
- Took the Bronco up to Montezuma Basin through Pearl Pass Road in CO, almost to 11k feet, but didn't make it all the way to climb Castle Peak because of the weather.
- It was about 15 hours of driving each way.
Enjoy the pics & video. Wish I could have grabbed more of Pearl Pass Rd. Such a cool place.
(Departure - Austin, TX)
(Packed, ready to go)
High Five (Feel free to grill me for taking this photo going over 70
(Texas panhandle = meh)
(Had to, when in Rome)
(Lucky 7, k)
(Drive Through Independence Pass)
(Drive through Tennessee Pass)
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