Quote:
Originally posted by Gattigap
There's no fixed route as of yet, but know for general purposes that MapQuest tells me that in my trip from DC to LA, I should pass through PA, OH, IN, IL, MO, OK, TX, NM, AZ, and CA. Suggestions anywhere in the neighborhood are appreciated, and even ones that I can't use (like, say, Maine) would still be nice to hear about.
See you on the other side --
Gattigap
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I've made the drive from Texas to California a few times, sometimes alone, sometimes with others. I've probably driven from Texas to New Mexico forty or so times in the last ten years. I know that part of the trip rather well. I'm assuming that you will be driving I-40. This is a good route.
When you hit Amarillo, the Big Texan steakhouse will be on your right as you drive into town. It's a cheap ass tourist trap, though if you're into cheesiness, you may want to check it out. I can't say the food is any good, but I don't really have any recommendations for Amarillo cuisine. When you get out of town on I-40, on your left, maybe a mile or so after the feedlot, you'll find the Caddilac Ranch. Some guy burried the noses of ten Caddilac's, in a row. They've been there forever, and there's a place where you can pull over and park and walk up to them. There's quite a bit of graffiti on the cars.
Maybe 100 or so miles down I-40, you'll hit Tucumcari, New Mexico. If you have time for a breathtaking detour, exit at the first sets of hotels (I think the road is called Tucumcari road or something like that) and stay in the right lane. You'll be on a road full of motels and diners. When you hit the light at highway 104 (maybe a mile or two after you exited), take a right. For about 100 miles, you'll be on a two lane highway, and there's sort of a speed trap for the first five or so miles. Maybe another 20 or so miles down the road, you'll pass a little estuary where people will take their boats, and then after that, your speed will be entirely up to you and the occasional car you'll pass along the way. It's a spectacular drive, one of my favorites in the country. The views are fantastic, and the sky seems almost a deeper shade of blue. There's practically no one living around there, maybe a few cattle ranches, and a lot of sage brush. At about 75 or 80 miles, you'll be at the base of a mesa, and you'll have to slow down it to climb up about 1000 feet. Once you're on top, the land will be totally flat, and totall different than what you just left. It's amazing. You'll be coming very close to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that you saw in the far distance from I-40, and you'll finally end up in Las Vegas, New Mexico. It's a very cute little town, and there's a fairly good diner right as you get into town. You'll cross over I-25, and hit a stoplight. Turn right, and you'll see the diner maybe half a block down the road. You can wander around town a bit, and check out the little college, and the kick ass train station, or you can can head straight to Santa Fe. Santa Fe's not that far away, maybe an hour down I-25 South.
If you still have time and interest in wandering around, exit at St. Francis (road, drive, whatever), and go through a million stoplights until you see the signs for the Plaza, Governors Mansion, etc. at Cerillos Road. Turn right on Cerillos Road, and then left on Peralta. That's where all the touristy stuff is. Park when you start seeing stuff that's interesting. It's a very walk around type of place, and there are usually crowds. If you're there on the weekend, keep on going down St. Francis (which has probably changed names a few times while you've been on it, but it will be the same street) and enter onto US 84 heading north. Stay in the left lane when you see the signs for the Opera, and at the NEXT exit (after the Opera exit) , turn left. You'll be in a kick ass flea market. Be sure to haggle on prices. (Further north on 84, you can get to Los Alamos, Bandelier National Park, Espanola (the low rider capitol of the world) and Taos, but it doesn't sound like you have much time). To get back to I-40, you're going to just get back on I-25, and head south for an hour, and I-40 meets up with I-25 in Albuquerque.
From Albuquerque to the border, it's pretty, but fairly boring. You will be, for a good part of that time, in the largest reservation in the country. You may want to read a Tony Hillerman book along this route, but as far as I'm concerned, the next interesting thing is Flagstaff, and the turn off to the Grand Canyon. I've been to the Grand Canyon three times, and each of those trips was maybe a three or so hour stop, while I was driving either to or from California. I thought it was especially beautiful in the winter, and if I'm ever in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon, I'll stop.
