1 week in NM

hi!
LAst year, i took a 12 day road trip through southern utah, arizona, and NM- camping and hiking at zion, bryce canyon, grand canyon, canyon de chelly, chaco, and petrified national forest- and exploring many scenic raods along the way. The place I wish I had gotten to explore more alst year was Chaco, so here i am, returning to NM. Here is my tentative itinerary. Please make any suggestions- regarding places to see, as well as roads to take!
Day 1: get to Albuquerque; take the sandia peak tramway
Night 1: some cheap motel in the city
Day 2: explore the city in the morning, and then drive to chaco [any route suggestions?]
night 2: chaco
day 3: chaco
night 3: chaco
day 4: chaco
night 4: chaco
day 5: break camp, drive to bandelier [via route 4] and see all the things along the way [any tips here?]
night 5: bandelier
day 6: bandelier int eh morning, then drive to santa fe
night 6: santa fe
day 7: santa fe in the morning, but then I am as yet undecided on the rest of the day. I have to be in albuquerque by nighttime, but in between i am deciding between:
a. hiking tent rocks
b. petrified national forest
c. badlands
d. any other suggestions you all may have for this day!

SOrry for the long post. Again I appreciate any/all input. peace.

Well, it sounds like you've got this pretty well laid out already, but I do have a couple of suggestions for things that you may want to consider. The first is the small town of Chimayo, NM and its El Santuario de Chimayo Shrine. The second is Petroglyphs National Monument outside Albuquerque. And a third is to go see one of the Salinas Pueblos near Mountainair. I'm afraid that the Petrified Forest is a bit far to try to get to and back in a comfortable day from the Santa Fe/Albuquerque area, and I'm not sure which 'badlands' you're referring to. But everything else on your trip sounds wonderful.

As to getting from Albuquerque to Chaco Canyon, I've never done it, but it looks like the way to go is to head west out of Albuquerque on I-40 to Thoreau and then head north on NM-371 and NM-57. After exploring Chaco continue north on NM-57 to US-550 and NM-4 to Bandelier.

AZBuck

Day 2: explore the city in the morning, and then drive to chaco [any route suggestions?]

Here's a couple links for you.

www.nps.gov/chcu/

www.mjhinton.com/wild/000537.htm

I’d take the route in from the north: North from Albuquerque on I-25 to Bernalillo, Northwest on US 550 to County Road 7900, then County Road 7950 to the park. You can get in from the south, but the last 15-20 miles of NM 57 are supposed to be pretty rough. NM Route 57 is closed just north of the park boundary. Also, older maps will show what is now US 550 as New Mexico Route 44. The road was rebuilt and upgraded to a US Highway five or six years ago.

From Chaco Canyon to Bandelier: Back to US 550 on the county roads, then down to NM 4 at San Ysidro. NM 4 is a beautiful drive all the way through. There are some hot springs along the way, and good places to camp or hike. One thing I should warn you about. Don’t speed through the small towns on US 550 or NM 4, especially San Ysidro, Jemez Pueblo and Jemez Springs. When you get to these towns and you see the 40mph sign, slow down and stick to whatever speed the signs say all the way through town. It will seem like you’re crawling along, but believe me, I see people get pulled over in these towns all the time. I know someone who got a ticket for going 27 in the 25 mph zone through Jemez Springs. They’re serious about it.

I'll try to post a few more things later on.

Have fun. This sounds like a great trip.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by howard

Don’t speed through the small towns on US 550 or NM 4, especially San Ysidro, Jemez Pueblo and Jemez Springs. When you get to these towns and you see the 40mph sign, slow down and stick to whatever speed the signs say all the way through town.

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Good advice. I always make a point to slow in all western towns -- if the sign says 15 and traffic is moving at 45, I am going to be going 14 mph. Many small towns balance their budget on folks who rely on the "magical protection" offered by traveling at the speed of moving traffic. Besides, sometimes you see stuff in these small towns at 14 mph that you will never see at 45 mph!

Mark