Durango to Santa Fe/Taos
Oct 12th, 2006, 03:02 AM
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Durango to Santa Fe/Taos
I want to thank everyone for all the info you have provided on NM for our upcoming roadtrip.
I have taken notes and everything is organized in a notebook.
My next question, after exploring Mesa Verde, our next destination is Santa Fe/Taos. We will be driving the high road to Taos and expect that will take a lot of hours, so we need to make good driving time from Mesa Verde/4 points to Santa Fe area. Can anyone recommend the fastest route?
Thanks so much
I have taken notes and everything is organized in a notebook.
My next question, after exploring Mesa Verde, our next destination is Santa Fe/Taos. We will be driving the high road to Taos and expect that will take a lot of hours, so we need to make good driving time from Mesa Verde/4 points to Santa Fe area. Can anyone recommend the fastest route?
Thanks so much
Oct 12th, 2006, 06:31 AM
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Hi Mahobaygirl, are you overnighting in Mesa Verde and leaving earling in the morning for Santa Fe via Taos high road?? Or is the high road trip another day? Nothing fast about that road and many places to stop along the way as I think you are aware.
But backing up a little here, if you are not taking the high road on the way to Santa Fe I would go through Pagosa Springs then south 84 into Santa Fe for the "fastest" route. There was construction on 84 in September just south of Abiquiu so that slows you down. If adding the high road into the route to Santa Fe, add another 2+hrs to that at least. If you plan on stopping at Chimayo and Nambe or others, that will be a full day in itself. I hope you make time to stop along the way in Chimayo and Nambe, etc. Lots of picture opportunities, too. Lunch at Rancho de Chimayo would be nice as well.
Hopefully, DebitNM or ElendiPickle will chime in.
Sounds like a nice trip. We did this years ago and need to do it again! Such a beautiful drive.
Sheila
But backing up a little here, if you are not taking the high road on the way to Santa Fe I would go through Pagosa Springs then south 84 into Santa Fe for the "fastest" route. There was construction on 84 in September just south of Abiquiu so that slows you down. If adding the high road into the route to Santa Fe, add another 2+hrs to that at least. If you plan on stopping at Chimayo and Nambe or others, that will be a full day in itself. I hope you make time to stop along the way in Chimayo and Nambe, etc. Lots of picture opportunities, too. Lunch at Rancho de Chimayo would be nice as well.
Hopefully, DebitNM or ElendiPickle will chime in.
Sounds like a nice trip. We did this years ago and need to do it again! Such a beautiful drive.
Sheila
Oct 12th, 2006, 11:08 AM
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This is a fabulous drive, and I hope you aren't planning to rush right out of Mesa Verde and on to the highway, because there isn't any "fast" about it. The whole purpose of the high road is scenery, and the road from Colorado through Chama, Tierra Amarilla, Ghost Ranch, and Abiquiu is also scenic in the extreme.
It is also in our experience a very empty road. Little traffic and our cell phones were completely blank. Make sure you have plenty of gas and don't depend on finding a lot of places to eat on the way! Chama is the best bet.
It is also in our experience a very empty road. Little traffic and our cell phones were completely blank. Make sure you have plenty of gas and don't depend on finding a lot of places to eat on the way! Chama is the best bet.
Oct 12th, 2006, 11:16 AM
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This is what we are hoping to do. I will arrive at the Denver airport around 10 am, head towards Durango/mesaVerde, so will probably get there late afternoon, spend the night and Check out the park and the 4 corners area in the morning, maybe heading towards Santa Fe mid to late afternoon. We plan to sleep in Santa Fe or Taos, and do the high road the next day, before heading to Amarillo.
With that info, should we be heading straight to SF, then picking up Rt. 503 towards Pueblo of Nambe, rt. 520 to Chimayo, and on, stopping at all the sights. I can't wait. I imagine it is more than I can visualize, right now, never having seen the area!
According to my map, it looks like rt 64 out of the 4 corners area south to 550 will do it (?)
Thanks
The
With that info, should we be heading straight to SF, then picking up Rt. 503 towards Pueblo of Nambe, rt. 520 to Chimayo, and on, stopping at all the sights. I can't wait. I imagine it is more than I can visualize, right now, never having seen the area!
According to my map, it looks like rt 64 out of the 4 corners area south to 550 will do it (?)
Thanks
The
Oct 12th, 2006, 11:21 AM
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Okay, I just re-read your posts, I see the route you are talking about and it does look faster than the one I was looking at.
Is ghost town a "real" ghost town?
Thanks for the tips on gas and food!
Is ghost town a "real" ghost town?
Thanks for the tips on gas and food!
Oct 12th, 2006, 02:09 PM
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Mahobaygirl,
Wow, that is quite a full itinerary you have in mind.
Mesa Verde in a half-day isn't doing justice to your visit but if that is all you have you are going to be rushed. The drive from Mesa Verde through Pagosa Springs is a stunning drive and you don't want to have the peddle to the metal, as they say, because its such beautiful scenery. Continuing down the highway through Chama is the same.
I just don't see how one could visit Mesa Verde, drive to Taos, take the high road from Taos to Santa Fe in a day and stop to enjoy the sites you are passing, IMO.
My suggestion would be to see what you can of Mesa Verde in 1/2 day, drive through Pagosa Springs then through Chama and on to Taos. Enjoy dinner and the night in Taos. Then leave early in the morning and take the high road to Santa Fe. I don't know what your plans are in Santa Fe but you won't have much time to stop in Chimayo or Nambe along the way. So I wouldn't stop but enjoy the scenery and get on into Santa Fe where you could enjoy possibly a 1/2 day in Santa Fe. Eat in SF and hit the road to Amarillo, as there isn't anything to see east of Tucumcari and will get you into Amarillo late.
I don't know your plans for Amarillo but if you could stretch your time on Taos and Santa Fe and overnight in Santa Rosa (about 1 1/2 hr from Santa Fe or Tucumcari (1-1 1/2 from Amarillo) that would be a little more enjoyable.
And, its Ghost Ranch, not ghost town. Ghost Ranch is where Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted the red hills of that area. But you can't do the high road and 84 south of Chama through Abiquiu -- one or the other. So need to choose which one you would prefer to do.
Good luck.
Sheila
Wow, that is quite a full itinerary you have in mind.
Mesa Verde in a half-day isn't doing justice to your visit but if that is all you have you are going to be rushed. The drive from Mesa Verde through Pagosa Springs is a stunning drive and you don't want to have the peddle to the metal, as they say, because its such beautiful scenery. Continuing down the highway through Chama is the same.
I just don't see how one could visit Mesa Verde, drive to Taos, take the high road from Taos to Santa Fe in a day and stop to enjoy the sites you are passing, IMO.
My suggestion would be to see what you can of Mesa Verde in 1/2 day, drive through Pagosa Springs then through Chama and on to Taos. Enjoy dinner and the night in Taos. Then leave early in the morning and take the high road to Santa Fe. I don't know what your plans are in Santa Fe but you won't have much time to stop in Chimayo or Nambe along the way. So I wouldn't stop but enjoy the scenery and get on into Santa Fe where you could enjoy possibly a 1/2 day in Santa Fe. Eat in SF and hit the road to Amarillo, as there isn't anything to see east of Tucumcari and will get you into Amarillo late.
I don't know your plans for Amarillo but if you could stretch your time on Taos and Santa Fe and overnight in Santa Rosa (about 1 1/2 hr from Santa Fe or Tucumcari (1-1 1/2 from Amarillo) that would be a little more enjoyable.
And, its Ghost Ranch, not ghost town. Ghost Ranch is where Georgia O'Keefe lived and painted the red hills of that area. But you can't do the high road and 84 south of Chama through Abiquiu -- one or the other. So need to choose which one you would prefer to do.
Good luck.
Sheila
Oct 12th, 2006, 02:34 PM
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Beachgirl,
man, I am confused now!!! We will definately not rush through any of these places(we can make up time tx,ok, etc. as the next desired destination will be memphis).
We were thinking 2 days to do it all, and I am not sure if there is anything we 'have' to see in Santa Fe as what we really want to see is Taos. Santa Fe will just be a drive-through.
So, 84 through pagosa springs and charma, then pick up 64 to taos and do the high road backwards from the route they describe on the website?
Thanks, I am turing into a PITA!!
man, I am confused now!!! We will definately not rush through any of these places(we can make up time tx,ok, etc. as the next desired destination will be memphis).
We were thinking 2 days to do it all, and I am not sure if there is anything we 'have' to see in Santa Fe as what we really want to see is Taos. Santa Fe will just be a drive-through.
So, 84 through pagosa springs and charma, then pick up 64 to taos and do the high road backwards from the route they describe on the website?
Thanks, I am turing into a PITA!!
Oct 12th, 2006, 06:05 PM
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Have you been to Santa Fe before? More to see there than Taos. Taos is more laid back but nothing comparable to Santa Fe in museums, restaurants and pedestrian area. I love them both but they are different. Don't blow off Santa Fe. Cannot imagine "just passing through" Santa Fe.
We might be able to help more if you tell us your timetable and "must-do's" on this very short trip through a remarkable area.
Just trying to help you enjoy your trip.
Sheila
We might be able to help more if you tell us your timetable and "must-do's" on this very short trip through a remarkable area.
Just trying to help you enjoy your trip.
Sheila
Oct 13th, 2006, 02:26 AM
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Sheila
We have 8 days from the time I land in Denver to make it back to Maine.We know this is not much time, it was really a spur-of-the-moment trip. So the things we really want to do, spread out over these 8 days is...Mesa Verde, Taos and SF, Memphis and Nashville...then north towards home through Kenucky, Virginia, etc.
Nothing we have planned to see after Nashville, just driving through the horse country in KY will make me happy. By the time we do the "planned stuff" we may be racing up through the eastern states!
But we know all this going into it. It is the fun of a road trip! Our big adventure!
I guess I did not mean that we would blow off SF, just that I really wanted to take time through the scenic drives. I am going back to the atlas to check out driving times for the rest of the trip!
Thanks so much
Jeena
We have 8 days from the time I land in Denver to make it back to Maine.We know this is not much time, it was really a spur-of-the-moment trip. So the things we really want to do, spread out over these 8 days is...Mesa Verde, Taos and SF, Memphis and Nashville...then north towards home through Kenucky, Virginia, etc.
Nothing we have planned to see after Nashville, just driving through the horse country in KY will make me happy. By the time we do the "planned stuff" we may be racing up through the eastern states!
But we know all this going into it. It is the fun of a road trip! Our big adventure!
I guess I did not mean that we would blow off SF, just that I really wanted to take time through the scenic drives. I am going back to the atlas to check out driving times for the rest of the trip!
Thanks so much
Jeena
Oct 13th, 2006, 01:10 PM
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Hi Jeena,
Are you staying overnight in Durango and driving to Mesa Verde in the morning? I have only camped at Mesa Verde so I don't know if they have lodging or not. If you are staying in Mesa Verde, take the earliest tour of cliffs as I don't think you have time to do more than that. If you are driving into the park get there when they open so you can make it to Taos. The "highways" aren't very fast sometimes as they are very curvy and two-lane so you can't go very fast -- 45 sometimes, especially if you get behind a slow poke. This really pertains to the high road as well. It is slow going. I'm guessing the leaves have already changed (according to my friend who was there a week ago when there was little color) so not sure how colorful the high road will be. Just sleepy little towns along the way.
If it were me advising a friend, I would say spend your time in Santa Fe as Taos is very small and nothing really to see there. Just a laid-back ambiance to the town that you feel when you can actually spend time there. Santa Fe will have the Plaza area with the Native American artists at Palace of the Governors, lots of food and shops around there as well. And many galleries on Canyon Road that is a wonderful stroll with a couple of restaurants that way as well.
Are you going to any museums? Georgia O'Keefe museum is in the square area and has a nice cafe attached. Loretto Chapel with the miracle staircase.
I don't know if you have done a search for Santa Fe or Taos but you may want to see what others have said as well.
What an adventurous spur-of-the-moment trip. Your bootie will be growing to the seat in your car by the end of the trip!!
And by the way, there is nothing to stop for between Santa Fe and Memphis so you can drive drive drive! (I can say that because I live in between!)
Are you staying overnight in Durango and driving to Mesa Verde in the morning? I have only camped at Mesa Verde so I don't know if they have lodging or not. If you are staying in Mesa Verde, take the earliest tour of cliffs as I don't think you have time to do more than that. If you are driving into the park get there when they open so you can make it to Taos. The "highways" aren't very fast sometimes as they are very curvy and two-lane so you can't go very fast -- 45 sometimes, especially if you get behind a slow poke. This really pertains to the high road as well. It is slow going. I'm guessing the leaves have already changed (according to my friend who was there a week ago when there was little color) so not sure how colorful the high road will be. Just sleepy little towns along the way.
If it were me advising a friend, I would say spend your time in Santa Fe as Taos is very small and nothing really to see there. Just a laid-back ambiance to the town that you feel when you can actually spend time there. Santa Fe will have the Plaza area with the Native American artists at Palace of the Governors, lots of food and shops around there as well. And many galleries on Canyon Road that is a wonderful stroll with a couple of restaurants that way as well.
Are you going to any museums? Georgia O'Keefe museum is in the square area and has a nice cafe attached. Loretto Chapel with the miracle staircase.
I don't know if you have done a search for Santa Fe or Taos but you may want to see what others have said as well.
What an adventurous spur-of-the-moment trip. Your bootie will be growing to the seat in your car by the end of the trip!!
And by the way, there is nothing to stop for between Santa Fe and Memphis so you can drive drive drive! (I can say that because I live in between!)
Oct 13th, 2006, 03:25 PM
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Thanks Sheila. I think we will be well on our way now!! I have read all the posts re: SF and Taos. I think that because if the time thing, I have focused on the route and stops at museums, etc, will be unplanned and just "happen". That's what will make this road trip a fun one!!
I did have the plaza of the Governors (?) jotted down from another post as being a place where you can get authentic merchandise.
I am hoping to do a little holiday shopping done as well!
by the way, do you post on the Carib board? there is a Beachgirl there also...
Thanks again
I did have the plaza of the Governors (?) jotted down from another post as being a place where you can get authentic merchandise.
I am hoping to do a little holiday shopping done as well!
by the way, do you post on the Carib board? there is a Beachgirl there also...
Thanks again
Oct 14th, 2006, 06:20 AM
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You are going to have such a great time! I hope you give us a trip report with pictures, too. Mesa Verde is spectacular and you will love your drive through Pagosa down to Santa Fe.
I have posted on the Caribbean board, too. There's also Beachgirl86 as well.
Have a great trip and give us a report when you get back!
Sheila
I have posted on the Caribbean board, too. There's also Beachgirl86 as well.
Have a great trip and give us a report when you get back!
Sheila
Oct 15th, 2006, 05:46 PM
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We just returned from CO and will be posting a report soon. One word of caution - on 84 south of Pagosa Springs watch out for the deer, anytime of the day. I'm used to seeing them in the early evenings, but those deer out there start early. We did a day trip to SF, and we drove back up to Pagosa after dark. The pucker factor was pretty high. It is a great area, though.
Oct 18th, 2006, 09:38 PM
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Hey, DebitNM,
Glad to hear you made it through the earthquake and home safely!!!
Was your vacation interupted or were you able to enjoy what you had planned to do?
I don't know if MahoBayGirl has departed yet -- was hoping you could chime in to help her, too.
(BTW, I'm online waiting for the southwest airline $99 fare so I can book my Hawaii fare!!) I will be posting for your help!)
Glad you're back safe and sound!
Sheila
Glad to hear you made it through the earthquake and home safely!!!
Was your vacation interupted or were you able to enjoy what you had planned to do?
I don't know if MahoBayGirl has departed yet -- was hoping you could chime in to help her, too.
(BTW, I'm online waiting for the southwest airline $99 fare so I can book my Hawaii fare!!) I will be posting for your help!)
Glad you're back safe and sound!
Sheila
