Topic: Xterra Road Trip - Arizona/New Mexico - Dec 2015

[FrankB]

We recently took our Xterra on a little Sunday drive.  A 2,140-mile Sunday drive, which started in San Diego, took us to Phoenix for the first night, then Albuquerque, then Santa Fe for 3 nights, then Las Cruces and Tucson, and finally home the following Sunday.

We've done the drive to Phoenix many times, and we got a late start, so we didn't do any exploring on the way there. We did take Maricopa Road from Gila Bend up to the east side of Phoenix, which was a new route for us.  Lots of nice scenery along that road, especially since it was at sunset.  From Phoenix we took the back way along the Mogollon Rim to get up to Petrified Forest.  The views from the Visitor Center at the Rim (7,500' elevation) were good.



From there we dropped down to Petrified Forest National Park, arriving in the late afternoon.





Later afternoon is a great time to see the Painted Desert part of the Park.



From there it was on to Albuquerque for the night, and the next day we took the back roads to Santa Fe.  It was pretty cold in northern New Mexico, getting well below freezing at night, and in the 30's-40's during the day.  For the most part the roads were clear and dry, except for the very high elevations.

We stopped off at the town of Cerrillos on the way from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.  At one time it was a very wealthy mining town.  Apparently a number of Western movies have been filmed there over the more recent years.  Now there is not much except for a little church, and a combination "mining museum" / rock shop / petting zoo.  We always seem to find the odd-ball stuff in out-of-the way places.



Santa Fe is a nice little town.  Lots to see, and really good food too.  We spent about a day and half wandering around the older part of town, and a few of the museums up on Museum Hill.



If you're not there to ski (and we were not) there is not a whole lot to do in Taos, but the drive up there along the "High Road" is quite spectacular. 



We detoured down a Forest Service road for a mile or so, just to get a closer look.



One of the things I really wanted to see was the Hwy 64 bridge across the Rio Grande Gorge, about 15 miles northwest of Taos.  We walked across it and back right at sunset.  The views were great, even if it was tough to get pictures.  From the center, it's 650' to the bottom of the Gorge.





It's on the edge of an Indian reservation, and they must have known we were coming.



More to follow.
 

[FrankB]

On our way from Santa Fe to Taos we stopped for a bit at the Santuario de Chimayo complex.  We were there 22 years ago, and almost didn't recognize it given how much new has been added around the original chapel.  At least that hasn't really changed, except for paving of the road and area in front of it, and seasonally, those goofy-looking plastic luminarias.



Before we left Santa Fe to head south, we took a drive up to the base of the ski area, just to see it.  The pine forest burned in the late 1800's, and aspen grew in.



One of the things I really wanted to see on the drive south from Santa Fe to Las Cruces was the Very Large Array.  Also known as the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, the installation is run by the National Science Foundation.  Each of the 27 antennas has an 82' wide dish.  They are all linked together electronically, and arranged in a y-pattern.  At the largest configuration they span over 22 miles.  We got lucky and found them clustered together near the center of the pattern.  And, at one point, we got to see them all move in sync.

The VLA is intentionally located in the middle of nowhere, on the 7,500' elevation Plain of San Augustin, about 50 miles west of Socorro, NM.









The Xterra works great for road trips (as we all know).



We did have brief run-in with a dinosaur in Gila Bend, but it worked out okay.  Gas was noticeably less expensive in Arizona and New Mexico.  We averaged 17.5 mpg over the entire trip, and that included a lot of interstate driving at 75+ in high winds.

We didn't have a lot of time to spend around Las Cruces, but we did get to wander around the village Mesilla both in the evening and the next morning.  We found a good restaurant called the Double Eagle in Mesilla, and got to see the room that is supposedly haunted by 2 ghosts.  We also got a chihuahua's eye view of a real luminaria at the Plaza.



Before we left Las Cruces for Tucson we took a walk around New Mexico's newest State Park, Mesilla Valley Bosque.



On the way to Tucson we stopped off to check out The Thing.  The Thing has been there for a long as I can remember.  I know I stopped there on a trip to or from Texas in the early 70's.  I don't think it's changed much.  The Southwest is full of this sort of roadside attractions, which are really just gimmicks to get you into the gas station / gift shop.



They really play it up, and you walk through 3 different buildings looking at moldy and dusty old displays, following the worn yellow footprints, until you finally get to The Thing.





If anyone wants to see more pictures from our trip you can check out these galleries:

https://frankbaiamonte.smugmug.com/Travel/New-Mexico-Road-Trip-2015

[JFanaselle]

Awesome photos as usual, Frank. Looks like a great road trip.

[Ghost65]

Excellent photo journal...thanks for taking us along Frank.

Interesting little cinder block crypt encasing The Thing...seems small...

Xterra Road Trip - Arizona/New Mexico - Dec 2015

[SoCalXTerry]

Great recap of your adventure Frank.   Do you give lessons?   

[Alex]

An excellent trip and review Frank; that view from the Highway 64 bridge is fantastic, especially with the sun painting the shadows like that.

[Celt]

Thanks for posting those pics and the trip log. In truth, I've never been to that part of the country so It's really nice to see what's out there.