Hello!

As Buck says, you won't know the weather until the time arrives, but there are alternatives if winter weather is a problem; snow IS possible along that stretch, even in late April; it's part of a scenic route they call the Enchanted Circle; US 64 crosses a high pass between Taos and Angel Fire that's more than 9100 feet in elevation, so it's cold there even in mid-summer. If you travel with a smartphone or tablet, the New Mexico Department of Transportation has a website that tracks road conditions across the state: nmroads.com.

Returning to Santa Fe wouldn't be the end of the world: when you drive from Santa Fe to Taos, take the Low Road (also know as the River Road), which follows the Rio Grande north from Espanola to Taos and offers spectacular views of the Gorge. Returning from Taos to Santa Fe, take the High Road through Penasco, Truchas, and Chimayo. The two routes are totally different, and they're both amazing.

And there would be no need to go back to I-40 from Santa Fe. You could take I-25 through Las Vegas, NM (an interesting town in its own right); then keep going north to Springer, and take US 412 east through the grasslands, as Buck suggested. Good chance you'll see antelope along the road, and you would be passing near two National Monuments: Fort Union, and Capulin Volcano; both are worth a stop.

If the weather is clear and you do go east from Taos through Angel Fire, you'll come down out of the mountains through Cimarron Canyon, which is a very pretty drive. From Cimarron, head east on NM 58 to I-25. Springer, and US 412, are just a few miles south of that junction.


Rick