14-16 Days: St. Louis to NM/CO in late May/early June

Hi all,

I am in the early process of planning a two-week or so trip to NM/CO. Really, I am pretty much in the brainstorming stage right now and i would like to pick your brains because I don't know the area well.

My rough thoughts:

Basically, it's a two day drive to/from St. Louis, so we really have 10-12 days. I am thinking of heading to Carlsbad Caverns to start, From there to Santa Fe via Alamagordo and/or Ruidoso. (I wasn't really thinking of stopping in Albuquerque (although I will be there for work this Fall for a couple days - so i can do a bit of scouting). Then West to Bandelier and Chaco Canyon (stopping overnight between them). North to Durango with a trip to Mesa Verde. From here to central CO via 550. At this point, we will probably be running out of time and so will need to head back.

My highest priorities are (in rough order of importance):

1. Santa Fe (my wife wants to see it)
2. Chaco Canyon (I have a fascination with Puebloan archaeology)
3. Mesa Verde (Ditto)
4. Some easy hikes and pretty drives in clear mountain air. (Our daughter will only be six.)
5. Doing a tour or two in Carslbad Caverns

I wouldn't mind passing through Rocky Mountain NP, but I don't think we will have the time to do it justice and I would rather not jam it in to a schedule that will probably be too packed as it is. If we have extra time, I wouldn't mind stopping by the Sand Dunes, etc. Not really interested in stopping in Denver.

I know there are a lot of other archaeological sites around, but there is probably only so many of them I can drag my wife and daughter to.

So, does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you all for your help.

At this point, you've already got a fairly good basic itinerary. Just a few things to keep in mind. There are easy hikes in every National Park/Monument. Make sure that your daughter signs up for the Junior Ranger Program at every park and monument that offers the program. She's the perfect age for those activities and they'll help her get the most out of visits, even to places she may not have much 'interest' in.

Consider a swing over to White Sands from Carlsbad and look into what's available for visitors on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation. As noted above, make extensive use of your national park system, especially the smaller parks where you'll get close to one-on-one attention from rangers. In this class is Pecos National Historical Park off I-25 south of Glorietta, NM. In Santa Fe, ask about the flea market north of town near the opera. North of Durango, the former ski resort of Purgatory now operates as a year round adventure resort with lift rides ot the top of the mountain, bike rides down, and trampolines, etc. Look into the Durango-Silverton Railroad. And before you leave for home consider a drive to the top of Pike's Peak and/or a visit to the Air Force Academy.

AZBuck

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Originally Posted by AZBuck

At this point, you've already got a fairly good basic itinerary. Just a few things to keep in mind. There are easy hikes in every National Park/Monument. Make sure that your daughter signs up for the Junior Ranger Program at every park and monument that offers the program. She's the perfect age for those activities and they'll help her get the most out of visits, even to places she may not have much 'interest' in.

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Thanks a lot. I hadn't ever heard of the Junior Ranger Program. After taking a brief look at it online, it looks like it would be the sort of thing she would really like. The Durango-Silverton Railroad is also especially apropos. She loves trains (her favorite thing in Montreal on our trip last year was riding the Metro...)

Also thanks for taking the time to respond - I knew I was only starting to scratch the surface and you have given me a lot of threads to work on and follow up. I will most likely be back here occasionally with follow-up questions if you don't mind.

--Jon

Albuquerque has the Petroglyphs National Monument - - since you indicated an interest in history. It also has a tram up Sandia Peak, which your daughter might like if she likes trains!



Donna

Not far from Pike's Peak, you have Canon City, where the Royal Gorge train leaves from. It is a great two hour journey through the 12 mile gorge and back, complete with commentary.

Lifey

Thanks again for the train suggestions. We probably won't do all of them, but we will do some.

--Jon

It would add a few more miles, but you could dip into Arizona/Utah too.

You'd have Canyon de Chelly, which is another big ruins site. Natural Bridges also has a small area of ruins, in addition to the 3 Amazing Bridges. I'd say both of these areas have enough of interest in addition to ruins that you could add them without going into archeology overload!

And that's in addition to Monument Valley, Arches, and Canyonlands that you could look at. There are some very accessable petroglyphs in the Moab that you could also check out in the area.

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

It would add a few more miles, but you could dip into Arizona/Utah too.

You'd have Canyon de Chelly, which is another big ruins site. Natural Bridges also has a small area of ruins, in addition to the 3 Amazing Bridges. I'd say both of these areas have enough of interest in addition to ruins that you could add them without going into archeology overload!

And that's in addition to Monument Valley, Arches, and Canyonlands that you could look at. There are some very accessable petroglyphs in the Moab that you could also check out in the area.

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Thanks. I knew about Canyon de Chelly, but I think I may already be trying my family's patience as it is...

There's also a good amount of stuff just South of Natural Bridges in Grand Gulch - a little off the road that runs down to Muley Point and the Moki Dugway - it's a little less accessible than the ruins in Natural Bridges proper, but is very nice.

--Jon

Due to some changes at work and at home, we have managed to expand the time available to ~4 weeks.

I was thinking of something like:

Day 1: St. Louis to ??? OK
Day 2: ??? OK to Santa Fe (these are pretty much just travel days)
Days 3 and 4: Santa Fe and around
Day 5: Santa Fe --> Durango (either a late start out of Santa Fe or an afternoon around Durango)
Day 6: Around Durango
Day 7: Travel Day: Durango --> Moki Dugway and Muley Point (one of my favorite viewpoints in the U.S.) --> Torrey, UT (?)
Day 8: Either morning in Capitol Reef *or* a quick pass through Bryce Canyon and then --> Kanab, UT
Day 9: North Rim
Day 10: Travel Day: Kanab, UT --> Bishop, CA (bypassing Las Vegas and Death Valley)
Day 11: If Tioga Pass is open (iffy - this woulfd be around May 22-24 or so), then over Tioga Pass, a quick view of Yosemite, and a hotel near the west side of the park. On to Sacramento (and family) on Day 12. If not, then up US-395 and down US-50, and to family today.
Days 12-20: Family stuff with side trips (TBD)
Day 21: US-50 --> Ely, NV
Day 22: Ely, NV --> Moab, UT
Days 23 and 24: Moab Area: Arches, Island in the Sky, etc.
Day 25: Moab --> Ouray, CO? (Million Dollar Highway)
Day 26: Ouray? --> Salida, CO? (stopping by Black Canyon of the Gunnison, is there a base you'd recommend other than Salida? See below.)
Day 27: Explore this area
Day 28: Travel Day: ---> ?? KS
Day 29: Travel Day: ?? KS --> STL

My highest priorities (in rough order of importance): Santa Fe, North Rim, the Moab area, Moki Dugway/Muley Point, the Durango area.

I would like a day to do a bit of exploring in the "high country" of Colorado, but within a not-too-strenuous two-day drive of St. Louis. Is Salida a reasonable choice or would you recommend somewhere else?

I don't think any individual leg is unreasonable, although there are a few places with back-to-back ~500 mile days. I also think that Bishop, over Tioga Pass, through Yosemite, to the other side is a very quick breeze-by of Yosemite, but my wife and daughter have never been and so I figure a quick look would be better than none. Plus, maybe I can get my wife back for a longer trip during our time in CA (my parents will be taking our daughter for a few days and letting us get out).

I am planning on leaving Zion and Death Valley for future trips - just not the time to do them justice this trip.

And of course, we are willing to change up depending on the weather...

Thoughts?

Thanks!

--Jon

Your trip looks pretty amazing !!

From Santa Fe to Durango you could work in a trip to Taos Pueblo and then take US64 to Chama and onto Pagosa Springs. Just outside Taos is the Rio Grande Gorge bridge with a parking area and as you continue from here, look out for the 'Earthship community' which will be on your right. Pagosa Springs is famous for it's Hot Springs and is nice for a quick stop. You would need to leave quite early to make it 'fit'.

With a "day around Durango", you have the option of the train ride to Silverton, or driving the 'San Juan Skyway' which includes the Million Dollar Highway. Drive to Silverton and Ouray and at Ridgway start looping back around to Telluride and Dolores, a spectacular drive ! You could spend the night in Cortez rather than going back to Durango. You would be close to Mesa Verde NP, but that might be a bit much given your schedule.

I would certainly stop at Bryce canyon as you can get a quick look from the rim, again spectacular. You could possibly stop at Capitol Reef on route to Torrey.

From Kanab to Bishop, it would only take slightly longer to drive through Death Valley and the landscape is incredible.

If you have already driven to Ouray on the way 'out, you could consider visiting Colorado NM from Moab and perhaps stop around Montrose. After taking US 50 you could continue towards Manitou/Colorado Springs, where there are the Cave of the winds and Garden of the Gods.

Dave,

Thanks as always - sorry to be so late getting back here. The end of the semester is looming and things are busy.

Anyway, we are thinking of jiggling things a little bit now i am thinking of rerouting a little bit and going by Canyon de Chelly between Santa Fe and the North Rim. Then, going by Bryce afterwards to try to hit the Astronomy Festival and the Solar Eclipse there on May 20. We'd come back through Moab to Durango (via Muley Point and Hovenweep) to Great Sand Dunes.

That probably means saving Colorado NM and Black Canyon of the Gunnison for a future trip, but you can't do everything. I think I would like to save Mesa Verde for a couple years when our daughter is a bit older.

Thanks again,
Jon

Another thought -- you might think about getting your daughter a "National Park Passport". They are a little spiral bound book, purse-sized. At every national park she goes to, she would get a stamp for it at the Visitor Center. This would be a great little piece of memorabilia for her to have when she's an adult. Gosh, I wish they'd had them when *I* was a kid, because I'd have quite a few stamps in it!


Donna

We have been offered the use of a house in Big Sur for a couple of days and are thinking of adjusting our route to take advantage. I was looking at trying to do Williams, AZ to Santa Barbara in one day. Would this be feasible on a weekend day? (The weekend before Memorial Day)

In my opinion it is feasible. Traffic is hard to predict. A weekend day would generally have less traffic in LA urban area than weekday. A sunny and warm weekend day, particularly the afternoon, will have more traffic on coast. A few days with a house in big Sur sounds lovely.

It will be quite a full day on the road with a few rest breaks and lunch on the way, but perfectly doable.

Dave.

Thanks. I thought it probably was, but I have not been down to Southern California in many years and I wasn't sure how bad the traffic would be. I figured the fact that it would (most likely) be on a Saturday (possibly a Sunday) would be helpful.

I really appreciate how helpful everyone is here.

Thanks again,
Jon

Since you indicate you'll be in the Kanab area, you might want to visit Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

If you're going through Mexican Hat to reach Moki Dugway, Goosenecks State Park is a great stop that only takes a half hour our so.

Since you're going to be in the Moab area, don't miss Dead Horse Point State Park.

Since it sounds as if you've been in the area before, perhaps you've seen these places but, if not, they are all more than worth the stop.

Have A Great Trip!!

Is there any reason you have to go to Santa Barbara? If not, you could have a lot easier day by going to Bakersfield instead. It's about the same amount of time to get to Big Sur from there as it is from Santa Barbara.

Re Bakersfield: Stopping in Ventura rather than Santa Barbara breaks driving similarly along the coast. Based on earlier postings, there may not be another opportunity to drive along the coast and there will be time in the central valley (Sacramento).

glc: I have never been to Santa Barbara (or any of the coast below Big Sur) so I am taking this opportunity as a sign to do so.

CANative: I am also considering Ventura.

This might be a bit moot anyway - I decided to stay in Tusayan rather than Williams for the Grand Canyon, so we might hang out a bit Saturday morning to see the sunrise and early morning at the Canyon before heading out. If we do this, there is no way we are making it to Ventura, much less Santa Barbara, that day. We may end up just getting to Barstow or somewhere and then getting over to the coast the next day.

Again, thanks to everyone.

--Jon

If you want to get to Ventura/Santa Barbara from I-40 without going through LA, you could do this:

Take I-15 to Victorville, then CA-18/CA-138/Pearblossom Hwy to CA-14. Take that to the Sand Canyon Rd exit and take Soledad Canyon Rd through Santa Clarita to Magic Mountain Pkwy to I-5. Take that north 1 exit to CA-126. There's plenty of lodging in Victorville and Santa Clarita.

glc: Thanks. We did end up using the Pearblossom Highway (and it wouldn't have occured to me to do so if you hadn't posted this), but we took the Freeways around Santa Clarita since we ended up overnighting there; the hotel we used was well south of the Magic Mountain Parkway.

Big Sur was well worth the few days we spent there. It's a very different place, especially if you scratch beneath the surface just a bit.

We also decided to use the few extra days we have in California to run down to Sequoia and Kings Canyon, do a quick loop through Yosemite, and then head over Tioga Pass to Mono Lake and up 395 to Tahoe. The weather is looking really good for it.

--Jon