Skip to main content

Looking Back - 2007 New Mexico Visit - A Spectacular Loop

Another example of a planned but never published item from the old website.  This time it is the second day of my 2007 New Mexico Vacation.  A loop that took me north from Albuquerque into some spectacular scenery and ultimately one of my favorite fall drives of all time.

Route: I-25, US 550, NM 4, NM 502, US 84, NM/CO 17, US 285, US 64, NM 68, US 84/285, NM 599, I-25, I-40.

For my entire set on flickr - head here.

Little did I realize when I booked this vacation that the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta would be taking place while I was in town.  When in Albuquerque everyone would ask me, "If I was in town for the Fiesta?" which I wasn't, but obviously glad I was.   On the morning of this trip, hot air balloons filled the sky and made the Big I and Interstate 25 a little more interesting.



After exiting Interstate 25 at US 550 in Bernalillo, I picked up New Mexico 4 in San Ysidro.  Nearly all of NM 4 is part of the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway and throughout the drive it certainly did not disappoint.


New Mexico 4 at Red Rocks.
If I could do this trip again, I would spend more time in Jemez Springs.  This tiny village is home to numerous shops, restaurants, and bed and breakfasts.  Jemez Springs is also home to a number of hot springs and spas. Jemez Springs is the location of the Jemez Historic Site that preserves the Giusewa Pueblo.  Unfortunately, it was closed when I passed through.

Just north of Jemez Springs is the Soda Dam.  This natural dam along the Jemez River was formed as a result of mineral deposits from underground hot springs.


For me, the drive along New Mexico 4 was full surprises.  The impressive Battleship Rock at Mile 23 was a great example of such.


Much of New Mexico Highway 4 runs through the Valles Caldera National Preserve.  The highlight of this is the approach to and sudden opening (Valle Grande) into the caldera is amazing.



My old digital camera does not do the wide open expanse justice.  The caldera is the remnant of a long dormant volcano.  The most expansive part of the caldera is known as Valle Grande.  The caldera was named a National Historic Landmark in 1975 and in 2000 became a National Preserve.




Leaving the Caldera, I skirted around Los Alamos and passed on a stop at Bandelier National Monument.  I would then find myself on US 84 heading northwards towards Chama and through some spectacular high desert scenery.





I took US 84 to Chama where I then turned onto New Mexico 17 to head north into Colorado.  It was recommended to me to take this drive from Chama to Antonio, Colorado.  It quickly became one of my most favorite drives of all time.

The Cumbres and Toltec crosses New Mexico 17 just outside of Chama.




For much of the drive between Chama and Antonio, Highway 17 runs along side the historic Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.  The historic railroad begins in Chama and runs 64 miles to Antonio.  It is one of the more popular touring railroads in the country and was named a National Historic Landmark in 2012.





Throughout New Mexico, Highway 17 climbs towards the Colorado border.  Once in Colorado - Highway 17 crosses two mountain passes - Cumbres and La Manga - both topping over 10,000 feet.  It is the decent from these passes into the Conjeos River Valley and Canyon that made this drive so memorable.

Colorado 17 heading into the Conjeos River Valley

I loved the bold yellows of the Aspen mixing in with the deep green of the pines.  As Colorado 17 approaches the valley, there is a hairpin turn that is a great spot for photos.



After a small stop in Antonio - I headed south back to New Mexico.  I turned east on US 64 towards Taos and the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.  The three span metal arch bridge is a spectacular crossing of the Rio Grande hundreds of feet below.


The bridge was built in 1965 and is an extremely popular spot for tourists in the area.  Doug covers the bridge in more detail on the blog here.  It is an amazing site, and it's hard not to be a little anxious when you look down into the gorge 650 below.  However, if you can gather the courage to conquer your fear of heights - it's definitely worthwhile.





From here, I headed back towards Sante Fe along the Rio Grande via New Mexico 68 and then back to my hotel in Albuquerque.  This first real trip exploring New Mexico and Colorado was memorable and I was very excited for the next day - a trip to Mesa Verde National Park.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chowchilla Mountain Road to Yosemite National Park

Chowchilla Mountain Road of Mariposa County is one of the oldest roadways servicing Yosemite National Park.  As presently configured this fourteen-mile highway begins at California State Route 49 near Elliot Corner and terminates at the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park.  Chowchilla Mountain Road was constructed as a franchise toll road over Battalion Pass circa 1869-1870.  The highway was built at behest of Galen Clark to connect the town of Mariposa to his property near the South Fork Merced River at what is now Wawona.   In late 1874 the highway along with Clark’s Station would be purchased by the Washburn Brothers.  The Washburn Brothers would continue to toll Chowchilla Mountain Road as part of their Yosemite Stage Route lines.  The highway would ultimately become a Mariposa County public highway in 1917.  Mariposa would later be more directly linked with Yosemite Valley in 1926 following the completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highwa...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...