kibawe

I am planning on taking a road trip from Houston,TX to Santa Fe, NM but am wondering what the best route would be. I would like to go the shortest and fastest possible way, but I want to be safe (no scary backroads).

Do we:

A: Go north to Dallas then Oklahoma City, then head west to Amarillo and finally Santa Fe.

B: Go I-10 west to San Antonio then head NW at Fort Stockton up through Carlsbad and Roswell and finally Santa Fe.

C: Houston to Waco to Lubbock then Amarillo and Santa Fe.

Looking at maps you see all sorts of roads, but I'm afraid we'll get out there and it will end up taking longer. We'll be traveling with an infant so I really don't want to be on the road any longer than necessary. Advice from anyone who has made this trip would certainly be appreciated.

rkkwan

None of the above. The best and fastest way is:

I-45 North to Ennis, exit 251.
US287N, through Ft. Worth, Wichita Falls, to Amarillo.
I-40 West to NM.

If it's rush hour, you may need to go around Ft. Worth on I-820. But the key is US287 from FW to Amarillo.

SharonNRayMc

Then, to add on to rkkwan's directions, at Clines Corners, New Mexico take US 285 North to I25. It's a short drive along I25 before you hit Santa Fe. My favorite Santa Fe exit is St. Francis drive.

US 285 is not a divided highway, and, although there is other traffic, it's not heavy.

- Sharon

kibawe

Hmm...we looked at that but I wasn't sure whether 287 was a safe and well traveled route or not. I go to Dallas all the time and am quite familiar with Ennis. Thank you so much! I'll run this by my husband.

kibawe

If I travel the suggested route, how long will this take? I'm trying to see if we can do this all at once or if we need to stop and rest somewhere. We are seasoned road travelers - just not with a baby!

SharonNRayMc

I can help a bit here.

I make regular pilgrimages (once or twice a year) from OKC to Taos. I leave at noon and drive 7 hours to Santa Rosa. I spend the night in Santa Rosa because the hotels are less expensive than Santa Fe and I can ease into the altitude. Then, I am only an hour and a half from Santa Fe. I leave early the next morning and make it to Santa Fe for a full day.

In Santa Rosa I stay at the Super 8.... it is a Pride of Super 8. Clean, simple rooms for a very good price and a friendly staff. You'll get a simple breakfast of juice (apple or orange), toast and bagels. They have jam, peanut butter and cream cheese. Simple.

While in Santa Rosa I visit the Blue Hole and a lovely cemetary just down the road from the Blue Hole. This makes a lovely walk from the Super 8. (Santa Rosa is also renovating their Route 66 buildings and it is amazing to see how retro the city is.) It's a nice way to spend the evening. And, getting some exercise at this altitude also helps once in Santa Fe.

While driving I stop for gas. Usually Amarillo and Santa Rosa. I drive speed limit + 5.

I agreed with rkwan because I think coming all the way to OKC would be quite a ways out of your way.

Another reason I split up the driving time is because I can work half a day on Friday and not burn a vacation day this way. I wake up on Saturday very much at my vacation destination.

I hope you find my input useful. I have been making these trips for many, many years and you can count on the driving times as accurate. If you stop more, you will need to add more time.

When you get West of Amarillo, shut the outside air vent into your car until almost the New Mexico state line to avoid the awful smell as you pass by the feed lots.

- Sharon

rkkwan

US287 is as safe and as well travelled as any non-interstates you'll find. It's a major route that's used by many travellers and truckers, but not TOO many to be congested, once you're clear of Ft. Worth. The only slow down is at Wichita Falls.

In my opinion, it's way too far to get there in a day, even without an infant. It's about 850 miles, so even if you average 70, it's still 12 hours of non-stop driving.

Overnight in Amarillo - it'll take you about 10 hours to get there. Lots of hotels/motels. Or Tucumcari, another 1.5 hour west. Santa Rosa is yet another 45-50 minutes.

kibawe

I guess we'll have to stop. I'm still trying to find reasonable airfare but it being 4th of July weekend, I don't see that happening.

Leaving Houston Friday, returning Monday in time for work on Tuesday. All for my 75 year old Aunt's engagement party. Wheh! This is rough. We really want to go (she's awesome) but I don't see any other way around my husband taking Tuesday off. That would make this trip a little easier. We'll see (biting nails). Thanks for all the help!

rkkwan

You're not going to find cheap airfare for those dates. $310-320 to Albuqueque is likely what you're going to find, including Southwest.

If you drive, you can get to Santa Fe by midday Saturday, and you need to leave by midday Sunday, for about 24 hours in Santa Fe. All you'll remember for the July 4th weekend is the sign for US287.

kibawe

Ha Ha! I may need to cancel and just do the wedding! I feel rotten, but we just don't have $1000 to fork over on short notice. I don't want to do all that driving for one day of Santa Fe. I'm so disappointed. We'll just have to see about those days off.

SharonNRayMc

Now the story turns downright sad. That is a long way to go over a short weekend with an infant. Does your child travel well?

You can still do it. My husband and I went to Taos on a normal 2-day weekend so I could see an art show at Total Arts gallery in Taos. (And we were in our 40s... we're still in our 40s.)

I think youth can sometimes be a bonus. Take for example, my 20 year old son who flew to Chicago on an early morning flight so he could help his girlfriend drive. (It's a 12-hour drive from Chicago to OKC.) He did all of this in one day and was happy!

- Sharon

travellyn

I've done the drive once from Houston to Durango in 2 days and was exhausted. (Durango is about 4 hours beyond Santa Fe.) We broke our trip up in Lubbock, because we have family there, and it's a good midpoint. Now we drive frequently between South Texas and Durango. From Lubbock, we drive through Clovis, NM, then turn north at Fort Sumner, and catch I-40 at Santa Rosa.

I think this is a time when it's worth it to spring for the high airfares to ABQ, then drive to Santa Fe. I'm generally very frugal, but I've never regretted spending extra money on family activities. Santa Fe would also feel heavenly after the Houston heat and humidity. I hope you get to go, and that you get a couple of extra days off to enjoy your time a little more.

kibawe

Thanks for all the advice, but I think we'll have to postpone our trip for later in the summer. It's just too short notice and not enough time to spend there. My husband can't take off. I think we'll try to do it when we have a week or more. I've seen airfare specials many times from Houston to ABQ, sometimes they are only $99 RT. If we do that and rent a car we can just drive all over NM. That would be fun.

I called my Aunt and told her we couldn't make it. She was disappointed but understood. I'm thinking we'll go at the end of August when they have that big trade thing in Santa Fe. I can't remember what it's called, but it sounds fun (lots of shopping).

SharonNRayMc

kibabwe - You probably thinking about Indian Market. It's an annual event held the weekend after the third Thursday in August. 2004's dates are August 21-22. You'll need reservations. Expect crowds and an amazing experience.

http://www.swaia.org/index_d.php

If you happen to be an artist, a large artist's expo is held in Santa Fe each year in late August. You can check details here: http://www.artisan-santafe.com This event includes artist demonstrations, and all sorts of good stuff.

- Sharon