colorado/newmexico vacation

[peteinct]

Hi, I'm flying in to denver next week with a general plan to drive through colorado and new mexico. Any suggestions? Pikes peak, los alamos, and the pueblo of Maria Martinez (a potter) are on the list.  I was looking at the whittington center also.There seemed to be some parks or monuments with intersting indian ruins on them.

I think Colorado will be awesome. It should be a great trip.   pete

thanks for any replies

[K Frame]

Capulin Volcano. It's less than 25 miles from the NRA Whittington Center, and gives absolutely INCREDIBLE views.

You have to be careful, though. I came off the volcano at dusk and almost whacked a mule deer...

Oh, I flew into Denver when I was there in the early 1990s, rented a car, and drove to Whittington. About 200 miles, IIRC, but some of the most gorgeous country I've ever seen, and I've been in the Alps several times.

It's REALLY easy to let your speed get away from you, too, if you're not used to driving in the wide open spaces. I got behind a pick up south of Castle Rock, Colo., and after awhile finally looked at my speedo.... 105 mph, and it felt like we were puttering along.

[Larry Ashcraft]

I think Colorado will be awesome.

It will be, take my word.

Pikes Peak towers above Colorado Springs, so you won't be able to miss that one.  Climbing to the top (by car), especially if you are from a lower elevation, will be a disappointment, as you won't be able to breathe when you get up there.

Whittington is about two miles South of Raton NM.  Take the exit to Cimarron (west) and you can't miss it.  Enjoy.

You'll pass through Pueblo CO about 100 miles south of Denver.  Look up The Trophy Shop Inc in the phone book and call me if you have time for lunch or something.  After hours or weekends, I'm in the phone book.

[bermbuster]

Taos, NM, is an interesting town.  Kind of artsy-fartsy.  There's a native American pueblo that's interesting.

Leadville, CO, boasts the airport of highest landing elevation in the US.

[280plus]

Long's Peak is just north of Denver ~ 14,000 ft IIRC. +1 on the not being able to breathe though.

[Larry Ashcraft]

Long's Peak is just north of Denver ~ 14,000 ft IIRC. +1 on the not being able to breathe though.

Colorado has thirty-some "fourteeners".  Pikes Peak is one.  Longs Peak may be the tallest, but I don't remember for sure.

If you go to Whittington, when you leave there, go west through Cimarron to Taos, its a beautiful drive through a neat little canyon.  There is an awesome Vietnam Veterans memorial and chapel close to AngelFire.  It's on the right and easy to miss.  It was originally built by a VN vet's father and has been taken over and maintained by the VFW, IIRC.

Taos is a neat town.  Make sure and see the Overland Sheepskin Company on the north end of town.  The Drum Factory south of Taos is a must see.  Go south towards Santa Fe and make sure you stop in Dixon NM and visit the La Chiripada Winery.  A little further south and watch for a bridge over the Rio Grande to an old train station, there is the neatest little outdoor restaurant and microbrewery there (I don't remember the name).

A little further south you will drive through Espanola, the low-rider capital of New Mexico (and home of the worst drivers I have ever seen).  Ask around, there is a world-famous restaurant at Chimayo, southeast of Espanola, worth the trip.

From there, just a little farther south to Santa Fe.  I prefer Taos to Santa Fe personally, but they're both neat places.

This trip will take a little longer than just driving from Raton to Albuquerque on I-25, but is easily worth the trip.

[280plus]

Colorado has thirty-some "fourteeners".  Pikes Peak is one.  Longs Peak may be the tallest, but I don't remember for sure.

I did a search earlier and it is claimed to be the tallest in The Rocky Mountain National Park or some such. I just remember visiting a friend in Loveland many years ago and having left absolute sea level a couple days earlier my lungs were NOT up to the hike. Sadly I never made it to the peak. I was breathing harder than I ever had before and felt like I was suffocating. And at the time I was young and in great shape.

[Larry Ashcraft]

I believe Long's Peak is the tallest in the state.

Anyway, the trick is (and I'm 56 years old), climb until your heart is pumping hard, and then quit (I don't care if you went 15 feet).  Stop and breathe until everything is working right, and then climb again.  You can make amazing altitudes if you do it slow enough.

My dad hunted elk for the last time last year, and he was at probably 12,000 feet most of the day.  Took him most of the morning to get there, but he was there.

[Art Eatman]

In Taos, a  block or so north of the downtown square is/was an interesting little shop.  The guy finds old atlases and separates the map pages.  Various ages.  I got a Texas map from 1868 and another from the late 1880s.

Also in Taos, if a raft trip on the Rio Grande is of interest, is Far Flung Adventures.  Great bunch of folks.

If you're into science and technology, about 50 miles west on US 60 from Socorro on I-25, is the Very Large Array.  Several dish antennas, football-field diameter.  Google for them.

[Stetson]

One way to counter altitude sickness is to drink a LOT of orange juice/anything with citric acid.  I don't know why it works but it does.  Don't drive to the top of Pikes Peak, take the tram.  You get to see more.

[Art Eatman]

But, Stetson, if you drive, you learn all about "Blue Sky Corner".  Do that one a little bit sideways, with your right rear tire on the berm.

Art

[garyk/nm]

To follow up on Art's suggestion (since I'm in the neighborhood) :
http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/
Cool place. Antelope are abundant on the plains surrounding the site.

[Hawkmoon]

Pike's Peak can be weather-dependent. The day I was there was sunny at base elevation, but the top of the mountain was IN a cloud and I couldn't see more than 25 feet. But it's one of those things that, if you are in the vicinity, you sort of HAVE to do so you can say you did it. I agree on the tram. I drove up. It was a loooooong drive, and the road is dangerous enough that you want to be driving, not rubbernecking.

I like Taos. The pueblo is a bit disappointing, IMHO. I've been there twice, so I must have not disliked it too much the first time, but it wasn't as spectacular or as interesting as I had built it up to be in my mind. I agree on Taos (the town) being rather artsy. It is -- the Taos/Santa Fe art market is the second largest in the entire country, second only to NYC. It's worth a drive to Santa Fe, to see the old square and the mission church with the miracle stairway, but I prefer Taos as a place to stay. Taos is small enough that you can park at the hotel and do the entire town on foot. The center of Santa Fe is the same, but the hotels are mostly farther out.

West of Taos there's a steam railroad that runs north into Colorado and back. If memory serves, it's called the Cumberland and Toltec. I haven't ridden it, but I'd like to. I think the scenery would be fantastic.

[peteinct]

Thanks for the replies everybody. There is good stuff in here I especially like the radio telescope. We were hoping to see the trinity site but that is only open twice a year. We were hoping to camp at least part of the time but I read that there still might be snow at the higher elevations and I'm a wuss. pete

[garyk/nm]

Pete, if you think you'll get this far south (Socorro) and need some recommendations for hotels/ restaurants and such, e-mail me. I'll be glad to help out.
BTW, no snow down here. 90's during the daytime and low 50's at night. VLA is on the northern fringe of the Gila Wilderness and camping opportunities abound.

[Stetson]

But, Stetson, if you drive, you learn all about "Blue Sky Corner".  Do that one a little bit sideways, with your right rear tire on the berm.

Art

Been there...NEVER again.  Which is why I recommend the tram to everyone.  You can get a shirt at the top that says "Real Men Don't Need Guardrails!" and using that criteria, I am not a real man.  I got out of the car after tha adventure and about collapsed, not from lack of oxygen, but from an overabundance of adrenaline.

[client32]

Taos, NM, is an interesting town.

The guy finds old atlases and separates the map pages.  Various ages.

Taos is interesting and there are some really cool things if you look hard enough.  There is a big bridge near there.  For us folk who live in flat country with no water to cross it is impressive.

And another vote on the square in Sante Fe.

As to Pike's peak.  Plan enough time to take a nap in your car.  You might think I'm joking, but I know people who have done this.

I always like the continental divide.  We know some people in South Fork, so the divide near Wolf Creek is where we go.  There isn't much there, except a sign that tell you what the divide is.  Speaking of that area, Creed is a neat little town.  They have a the original grave site of the guy who shot Jessie James.

I don't know how far you are going into NM, but a couple of odd places that are good for "I've seen that" (like the divide) are Fort Sumner, Billy the Kid's grave.  I have a picture of my kid there.  If you have to go to one of the museums, don't do the one at the grave sight.  The one in town is better.  Of course that information is about 15 years old.  Another spot is the blue hole in Santa Rosa.

I've probably got a few other odd-ball locations if you are going that far.  Also, if you go that far, you can go just a bit further and step on Texas soil.  Doesn't everyone need to do that?

Some fun can be had if you want to do any hiking or fishing in the mountains as well.  Fishing small streams is cheap and easy entertainment.  Plus, it forces you to be quite which helps to enjoy the surroundings.

[Art Eatman]

Aw, heck, Stetson, nothing ventured,nothing lost...

Another Taos thing:  There is a museum over just west of town.  To the left, before the turnoff to the Rio Grande Gorge.  Mucho, mucho Indian and early Mexican artwork, religious artifacts and such.  Well worth the visit.

One meddling-along trip toward the north, I went from Creede, Colorado, to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  Got snowed on, around June 5th-ish.  Yeah, high country doesn't warm up very early.  (June 15th, there was still ice on Lake Louise, B.C.)

Lincoln, N.M. is sorta interesting if you're into the Billy the Kid stuff.  The Gila Cliff Dwellings just north of Silver City are interesting.  Not as impressive as the stuff in NW N.M., but in more forested country.

The good thing about wandering around  this time of year is that the kids are still in school and the tourons* haven't hit the road, yet.  And, from what I'm reading/hearing, gas prices could well reduce tourism this year.  That might bring prices down, later on, for motels and such.

Art

*  Touron:  Cross between a tourist and a moron.

[Larry Ashcraft]

The last time I tried to drive up Pikes Peak was in about 1968, in my 1951 Ford flathead V8.

It was all first gear and sliding around corners the last few miles.  Then about a mile from the top, a radiator hose blew.  A ranger came up and chained my back bumper to his front, and first-geared me down to the next ranger station.

There, we duct-taped the hose and then drove back down.

[DrAmazon]

peteinct-make sure that you use a trip estimator to be sure that you've got time to go all of these places.  Things are much farther apart out west than you realize.  When I moved there from Ohio, it took me a while to adjust to the fact that the scales on the atlas pages are much different out west!

Also remember that between the altitude and the dry air you're going to need to slow down a bit while you're running around out there.  Don't try to make it a totally type A vacation.

If you do go to Whittington, see if you can stay in the Founder's cabins-they're quite nice and relaxing.  Make sure you go out for a night hike.  I had never ever seen stars the way you can at Whittington.

[Tallpine]

"If you go to Whittington, when you leave there, go west through Cimarron to Taos, its a beautiful drive through a neat little canyon."

Yeah, and while you're at it don't forget to stop in the middle of of the traffic lane on a corner and watch/take pictures   I almost got killed by some people doing that many many years ago - course, I was driving a little too fast, but luckily nothing was coming in the opposite lane.  That taught me to take mountain roads as if the road is blocked just around the corner out of your sight

Taos used to be a cute little town back in the late 70's.  I couldn't believe how it had grown by 1990 and I'm sure it's worse now.  The old Kit Carson house and Gov. Bent house used to be open to the public, plus another one over on the SW corner of the plaza - can't remember the name of that one.  You should read "Red Sky at Morning" before you visit Taos.

Concerning Colorado, I can't help but recommend Gunnison, Taylor Park, and Tincup area.  But again ... it ain't like it used to be, before they paved the damn road

[Brad Johnson]

Hop on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Get a Colorado guide by Bruce Caughey and Dean Winstanley (be sure to get the color version). Out of the dozens of Colorado guides I've bought this remains the best for the slightly-more-than-casual tourist. Really geared towards the traveler who doesn't have weeks to putter around, but still likes to get involved in local life and happenings. Good about giving plenty of history and local trivia.

Brad

[peteinct]

Thanks again for your replies. I've been to the southwest 2 times. We spent a week in AZ just basically drove in a large circle around the state maybe 1200 miles driving. I like AZ it was just starting to get unbearably hot esp in pheonix. The land was incredible and spending time in the navajo lands was wild. On another trip I drove from Orlando to mexico city and back to texas that was some road trip. When I was driving in the mountains of mexico my wife was curled up in a ball thinking we were about to fall off the road and crash and die. There weren't any guard rails on some of the scariest stretches.

It is good to be able to see different parts of the world and our country. It widens your mind opens your viewpoint and makes you think about where you live.
pete

[Hawkmoon]

Also remember that between the altitude and the dry air you're going to need to slow down a bit while you're running around out there.  Don't try to make it a totally type A vacation.

If you've been the Flagstaff and/or the Grand Canyon you're probably aware of this already, but around NM pretty much everything is at high altitude ... it isn't only the mountains. Taos is at 7,000 feet -- my friend's house a few miles north of town is at 7,500 feet. Base elevation for Pike's Peak is around 7,000 feet as well, with a 7,000 foot climb to the 14,000 foot summit.

[peteinct]

Thanks everybody I'm off tommorrow! pete