For the first time, we're off on an extended adventure to Mesa, AZ! We'll be driving the last week of December by SUV and would appreciate any suggestions as to a route from Omaha or North Platte, NE to the Mesa AZ area. We are very familiar with Winter driving conditions & the threats that can arise on the Plains, but are unfamilar with the routes going South from Nebraska. We're considering HWY 83 south to Liberal KS. Do you have suggestions on the best routes, lodging, etc. for the rest of the way to AZ? We prefer to avoid fast-paced large
city driving and mountainous travel, if possible. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Nebraska isn’t on the way, are you visiting there for a reason?

Many times driven KC over to Liberal and angling to Tucumcari NM, then a jaunt in I-40 to Santa Rosa NM then SW to Alamogordo and on to Las Cruses then I-10 into Tucson. From there Mesa is a quick trip. No mountains this way. Coming down to Mesa from I-40 in Arizona is mountainous no matter which way you go.

In this instance the “Plains” portion is western Kansas and the Texas and OK panhandles. “The Plains” is usually drier and doesn’t pose the weather risk of the Midwestern portion where heavy snows are more common. Of course it could be sunny with dry pavement your whole trip.

Sorry, I read NE as Northeast US not Nebraska, so ignore much of my post above, can't edit it now.

I would take I-80 west to York, then south on four-lane US 81 to Salina. Then go west 25 miles on I-70 to K-156 which runs into US 56. Take US 56 to Dodge City and then US 283 to US 54 which will take you to Liberal. Then follow Tom's directions from there. The weather forecast looks fine, so no blizzards.

There is a cutoff between I-25 and I-10 in southern New Mexico that will save you time. It is Hwy 26 at Hatch and is quite scenic.

Thanks for the suggestions! We have friends that have traveled on Hwy 83 from ND to North Platte NE & continued down to Liberal, KS the next day. We've been advised that from there, I-40 has heavy semi truck traffic, as well as mountainous roads if heading towards Santa Fe or Albequerce. Would you happen to know roughly how long of a drive from Liberal to Mesa taking Tom's route starting from Liberal? Are there stops in between for food, lodging, gas? We've been in some states where comfort stations were few & far between! Thanks - this has been helpful information!

No worries Tom, I also was getting ready to answer for a drive from New England

Tom's route is good and has fewer mountains than the I-40 route. However, I-10 has LOTS of trucks, no way to avoid that.

We don't like long driving days so, to me, that's about "two nights on the road" distance, especially given short daylight hours. Of course, that's a personal preference, guessing 15-ish hours.

But there are plenty of stops along the way, e.g. Roswell, Alamogordo, Las Cruces, so no need to worry about gas, food or lodging. (That said, don't let your tank get too low.) One thing to worry about, however, is high wind, especially near the NM-AZ border.

Within a hour of taking this photo, we learned they weren't kidding, and I-10 was closed at Lordsburg due to a dust storm.



Fortunately, when we stopped in Hatch for lunch, I decided to book a room in Lordsburg, worried that might happen. Here is I-10 taken from our room. Even though the storm had cleared here, the highway remained closed for hours. Electric sign on left says "All Lanes Closed".



We've been in dust storms on several trips down there.
Good luck, safe travels.