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" With feelings of excitement, adventure and relief, we are on our way through the 48 contiguous U.S. states in a Chevrolet Cruze Eco to help bring the Shell Smarter Driving Program to motorists across the country. Every week while we&amp;#039;re on the road we will be updating on our daily adventures across the country and on the road. Day One Monday, August 1: We arrived at a Shell Station in Burbank, California, to officially begin our 23-day journey. We filled up with Shell Nitrogen Enriched gas under the observation of a police officer who also witnessed the recording of the odometer and the zeroing of the trip meter. Once satisfied, he then signed and dated the tank seal, signed the fuel receipt and signed the official log book.  Off we went! We left Los Angeles at sea level and drove up to 4200 feet, down to 450 feet, up to 2800 feet, down to 425 feet\u2014holy moly, it was a roller coaster ride! (Evidently John&amp;#039;s too cheap to take me to Disneyland!) The landscape was a picture of beauty, together with bright blue skies. As we approached Arizona, cactus appeared everywhere. The temperature climbed to 112 degrees but we found comfort with the window partly down, a cool breeze filtering through. The drinking water in the car became so hot we thought we could brew a hot cup of tea!! Note to self: Buy a cooler! Day Two Tuesday, August 2nd: We were on the road by 6:20 a.m. and the time difference from Australia (16 hours) was really wreaking havoc on our body clocks. We drove through landscape similar to outback Australia and we found ourselves scanning for kangaroos. Oops, wrong country!  Just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, we climbed to 7335 feet, but we cruised at a consistent speed and the Shell gas was consumed at a very slow pace\u2014making us very happy! Into a new time zone, the clock moves forward an hour. We drove past the Hopi Indian Reservation and headed to the Four Corners\u2014the only point in the U.S. common to four states\u2014New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah. We visited the Four Corners monument and stood right in the centre point! From Four Corners to Cortez we experienced loads of roadwork. We turned off the engine and had a stretch\u2014one of the Shell Smarter Driving tips\u2014when you idle, you get zero miles-per-gallon and still burn fuel.  At midday, the mercury had risen to 90 degrees and a storm was brewing. We decided to refuel the Cruze at the Shell in Cortez, Colorado. We were both extremely happy with the mpg results of the first fill, but we won&amp;#039;t share them yet... We departed Cortez and had to contend with the headwinds of a full blown storm. We slowed down slightly and made our way to Santa Fe, New Mexico on some treacherous and hilly roads. Day Three Wednesday, August 3: We left Santa Fe delighted with the improved weather. There were many trucks on the road, but the truck drivers in the U.S. are the most courteous we have seen anywhere in the world!  We cruised along to Santa Rosa, New Mexico, where we met a Shell station manager, filled up, had the fuel seal checked and the official log signed. Then we were on our way to Texas\u2014state number five! We drove through Amarillo, Texas, where the terrain is very desolate, with only a cattle ranch or two along the way. The temperature steadily increased to a very hot 109 degrees. While on the road, we noticed that drivers could save fuel by reducing their speeds. Speeding, rapid acceleration and braking can lower your gasoline mileage by as much as 5 percent at lower speeds around town and by 33 percent at highway speeds*. We&amp;#039;ve been driving just 5 mph below the speed limit, and cars are flying past us! We&amp;#039;ll catch up with them up at the next stop anyway! Our next state was Oklahoma. Oklahoma City during peak driving hours was not ideal but we managed to maintain our momentum and our fuel economy didn&amp;#039;t suffer. Day Four Thursday, August 4: We departed Guthrie, Oklahoma, bright and early, and it was already a balmy 80 degrees. Getting into our car, we had to dodge a plague of insects (grasshoppers?).  The morning brought desolate highway driving. We listened to the Prime Country radio station (sounds from the Grand Ole Opry) and we bopped to the music. John was singing his head off, believing he knew all the words to the songs\u2014hilarious! We headed north toward Wichita, Kansas, our seventh state! Five hours into the drive, the temperature dropped slightly and we faced intermittent rain. The landscape became greener and wheat fields were prevalent.  We crossed into Missouri\u2014state number eight\u2014and enjoyed a short refreshment break. Driving through Kansas City, traffic appeared from nowhere and road work added to the chaos. Day Five Friday, August 5: We set off for Paducah, Kentucky, craving fried chicken. It takes a while for a car to warm up to the optimum economy mode, hence the smarter driving tip\u2014combine errands into one outing to avoid short separate trips. This helps avoid unnecessary cold starts and keeps your car&amp;#039;s engine running warm and more efficiently.  We crossed the Mississippi River and were in our 10th state\u2014Kentucky. We enjoyed the southern architecture and loved the patriotism, with U.S. flags everywhere. Traveling toward Memphis, Tennessee, we encountered a major storm and immediately put on our hazard lights and reduced our speed. Lightning was striking in every direction.  At the Arkansas border (state 11), harsh weather made driving tough. We kept a safe braking distance from the vehicles in front and gave clear warning signals of any intended maneuvers. We safely reached state number 12\u2014Tennessee. Poor weather continued through Memphis, home of Elvis Presley. Memories of our visit to Graceland earlier this year flooded back so we sang some great Elvis tunes and it was a blast!  We reached Mississippi\u2014state number 13\u2014and headed south for our fourth fill-up on the road. Near Jackson, Mississippi, the skies were clear and blue! On goes the sunscreen again... Check back next week as we make our way to the East Coast. And be sure to check out www.shell.us/smarterdriving to see our progress across the country! *Source: www.fueleconomy.gov Related posts:  The Shell Smarter Driving Tour: Week Two The Shell Smarter Driving Tour: Week Three The Shell Smarter Tour: Week Four  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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