Route to take from Albuquerque to Telluride

Old Jul 24th, 2006, 08:33 AM
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Route to take from Albuquerque to Telluride

We are driving from Albuquerque to Telluride on part of our road trip and there seem to be two ways to go. Either 40 to 491 to 145 (part of the San Juan Skyway) or 550 all the way up (the other side of the San Juan Skyway). Has anyone had experience on either or both to know the best choice?
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 11:05 AM
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We make this trip a lot, having moved from ABQ to Cortez CO recently.

The best route, timewise, is to take 550 into Durango, then head west on 160. [Be sure to stop at Mesa Verde, it is amazing!] Continue on 160 to Mancos, and make a right onto 184. Take that to 145 and make a right onto 145 north and continue on that into Telluride.

It will be about 3 hours to Durango, and then another 2 to Telluride.

If you wanted to see some sites along the way...stay on 160 into Cortez and check out Sand Canyon and Anasazi Heritage Center. See http://tinyurl.com/pqetn for more info.

The other route you listed is long... The "Skyway" sounds nicer than it is in reality.

Hope this helps...
Debi
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 11:15 AM
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Thank you so much Debi! I kept looking on mapquest and couldn't figure out what had fun stuff along it and still made good time. You just made my decision easy. We will definitely stop at Mesa Verde. Do you have any suggestion on trails we should go on in Mesa Verde that wouldn't be all day since we would still have to drive on into Telluride?

Thanks again.
Sara
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 11:19 AM
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When will you be coming up here? I highly recommend getting tour tickets to see Long House. It is an excellent tour and you get to see the clif dwellings up close. There are also 2 other sites you can see while at Long House area. The drive to Long house is a bit longer, but well worth it.
I had a thread on here about it, will see if I can find it and move it up to top for you.

Debi
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 11:22 AM
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Sara...that other thread should be close to this one now.
Debi
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 03:42 PM
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Thanks Debi, Long House sounds like a great tour. How long was the actual tour? We are coming up September 10th and we will be leaving first thing in the morning from Albuquerque.

Read the other thread. I think we will try and do long house. I like to go to the less traveled areas in the NPs. You have been such a help.
Sara
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 03:54 PM
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Sara -
Sorry to tell you that the road to Long House closes on Labor Day

But there are other great sites...Spruce Tree is self-guided; Cliff Palace and Tree House require tickets. You can drive, park and see some of the dwellings, but your really should take the time to get up close. You will be amazed! With a tour, figure about 1 hour or so. Mesa Verde is about 30 minutes west of Durango...the entrance that is...it will take another 20 minutes or so to get to visitor center where tickets are sold and then some more driving to get to dwellings. Here's a link...

http://www.mesaverde2006.org/

Hope this helps...
Debi
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 04:47 PM
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I was wondering if you were coming to Telluride for the Blues & Brews Festival? If so, it's great.
Hopefully, you have made hotel reservations as it will be busy towards the end of that week.
Debi
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 05:01 PM
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Well thanks for the info, we will definitely try to go on one of the tours. Yes, we will be there for the first part of the B&B festival, and yes we did find a hotel...but it was not easy.

By the way, any lunch spots you would recommend in ABQ?
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Old Jul 24th, 2006, 06:08 PM
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What type of food are you looking for in ABQ? Lots to choose...are you staying in ABQ? Where you stay may help me in suggesting lunch spot.
Debi
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Old Jul 25th, 2006, 07:04 AM
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We are staying with a friend outside of the city, towards Santa Fe. We are driving through ABQ on our way to her place around lunch time and thought it would be fun to go someplace the locals go to, reasonably priced, not too heavy of food. We then go to her place and come back through the next morning to head to Telluride.

Sara
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Old Jul 25th, 2006, 03:23 PM
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Sara--
Since I'm not exactly sure where you will be around lunch time...here are a few suggestions:
In town -
Flying Star on Central in Nob Hill [salads, sandwiches, quiche, great desserts]
Seasons' in Old Town {grill & rotisserie}
IL Vicino on Central in Knob Hill for wood oven pizza and its a microbrewery
Frontier on Central across from Univ. of NM for great NM food [cheap too]
Chow's in Cottonwood Mall in NW ABQ [asian]
Artichoke Cafe on Central near Downtown [bistro]
Scalo on Central in Nob Hill for Italian
Yannis on Central in Nob Hill for Gree
A bit north of ABQ is:
Terra on Alameda, west of I25 [American bistro]
In Bernalillo [north of ABQ, but well south of SF]:
Range Cafe [there are others in town]
Abulita's for new mexican

Finally, there is a website for restaurants in ABQ that sells dining certificates. www.999dine.com

They are like gift certificates that can be used towards cost of your meal. They are good for 90 days from the date of purchase. And they offer around 30% to 50% off...so a certificate that is good for $25 towards your meal may cost anywhere from $12.50 to $17.50 depending on the discount and the restaurant. I use these ALL the time and they are a great savings. No gimmicks....just savings to good restaurants. There are also sample menus on the site for the restaurants. Be sure to check it out and save yourself some $$.

Hope this helps....
Debi
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