Anyone done this? We are planning a trip next summer to see some friends up there for a week. We drove this a ton as kids on the way to Wyoming and Montana, but dont remember much about it. Anyone advise against this? Fuel costs are not the issue, I fly a ton for work, so I would actually prefer to drive and see the countryside.

I love road trips. The scenery from New Mexico on is worth it alone.

Just think Chevy Chase and consider taking an elderly Aunt to make it interesting.

Drove from Houston to Crested Butte in March to go skiing. Four kids, straight through.

Done it several times. Hit Dallas, take 287 in Decatur all the way to Amarillo. Head up through Dalhart and Clayton, NM over to Raton, NM. Jump on I-25 and head up to Fort Collins. Headed to Colorado in January myself.

Just glad it ain't me... that's what they make airplanes for...

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Done it several times. Hit Dallas, take 287 in Decatur all the way to Amarillo. Head up through Dalhart and Clayton, NM over to Raton, NM. Jump on I-25 and head up to Fort Collins. Headed to Colorado in January myself.

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+1

Dyna's route is roughly the one I take too. I typically jump on 287 in Ennis and take it through Ft. Worth.

The suck part of the drive is getting through Dallas/Ft. Worth. Just don't hit it at rush hour.

wadd, if you flew as much as me, you would love to drive it.

+1 for the therapeutic properties of windshield time.

Now I prefer to do it by myself, but hey... to each his own.

good thing you are making it in summer.

winter adds its own flavor.

I-25 pass north of Raton.



Uncle's abode in Raton.



Walmart parking lot on I-25, had to stop for windshield fluid

have made this drive many of times. The worst stretch is between Amarillo and Raton. Nothing to see so try to hit it at night and wake up to the mountains come sunrise.

also there is a burger joint in Claude(which is just before Amarillo) that is awesome. Just found it on this last trip. can't remember the name but as you are headed north thru town it is on the left before you get to Dairy Queen. It was a great burger.

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Done it several times. Hit Dallas, take 287 in Decatur all the way to Amarillo. Head up through Dalhart and Clayton, NM over to Raton, NM. Jump on I-25 and head up to Fort Collins.

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I used to drive route all the time, and the Amarillo to Raton stretch bored the piss out of me, so I got a bit creative.

I stay on I-40 out of Amarillo all the way to San Jon in NM. Then cut north on 469 to 39, take 39 to 56/412 into Springer/I-25. The time is not that much different, and the scenery is much more interesting.

The catch, just outside of Mosquero, you have to go up on the caprock, and it is a steep climb for about 3 miles. This is literally the middle of no where, if there has been any snow or ice, chances are it is the last place sanded.

Oops, reread OP, don't worry about the snow issue.

[This message has been edited by ursusguy (edited 10/30/2008 1:30p).]

Ditto Sean98's route. Made the drive to Rifle, Co just two weeks ago.

did the drive a few yrs ago for a wool judging trip, awesome drive and exciting(we did it in january). Fort Collins is a really neat town with gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains, theres a little bar/grill just down the road from Colorado St. that serves up some good rocky mountain oysters. Sean98's route is pretty much the way we went.

Man I love the drive from amarillo to raton. I love the wide open spaces, and you can usually see lots of pronghorn.

No offense.

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for a wool judging trip

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If you are coming all the way from Houston, a southern route might be less stressful. Going from College Station to Amarillo, the highway 6 to I-35 to 287 route is almost identical in length to the route from College Station to Temple, 36 to Abilene, I-20 to Roscoe, US84 to Lubbock I-27 to Amarillo. And if you hit traffic in Ft. Worth, the southern route takes a lot less time.

If you want to know how long you'll be on the road, it takes us 8.5 to 9 hours to drive from Canyon to College Station to see our Aggie son, and 6 hours from Canyon to Colorado Springs to see our Zoomie daughter. Then add another 1.5 to either end for the Houston/College Station and Colorado Springs/Ft. Collins leg. Eighteen hours or so. Hope you like family togetherness.

If you want any side trip recommendations or alternate route info, let me know. There are plenty of interesting spots around here if you have time.

I will share one side trip, and I'll hate myself because you'll all start taking it and I'll me furious when it gets crowded.

Between Clayton and Raton NM, both of which have incredibly low speed limits, well patrolled, way beyond city limits, there is a mesa to the north side of the road. It is pretty and interesting and there is an amazing ranch nestled under it toward Clayton.

Frankly, between that mesa, Capulin and Sierra Grande and all the other extinct volcanoes and volcanic features, crossing the Santa Fe trail, etc, I don't see how the drive bores anyone.

But if you're like us, and like to take alternate routes, you may wonder if you could get on top of that mesa. Yes, you can. Peel off the main road at Des Moines and go to Folsom. Turn north at Folsom and then a quick left, and that road will take you over the mesa across some of the most desolate/wonderful views in northern Newer Mexico. You'll come out in Raton just a little north of where the main road hits I-25.

The road is narrow, and twisty and not maintained in winter and cross at your own risk. We love it.


If you ask really nicely, I may even tell you how to add another 5-6 mile round trip along that road to the hidden Folsom Falls.

Canyon. I know exactly the spots you're talking about. I love the drive across NM. Closer to Amarillo I often take the FM that runs through Channing. On the southern side I like the drive up 70 from Sweetwater to Clarendon. I know the mountains in CO are beautiful but I prefer the high wide open plains.

Go with Canyon's route. If you want windshield time to contemplate life's meaning, going through Dallas will just spoil the moment. The southern route will show you Texas.

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Closer to Amarillo I often take the FM that runs through Channing.

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There are a couple of variants of that. I assume you are referring to "Boys Ranch Road". Previous posters apparently are taking the route:

287 to I-40 just east of Amarillo, I-40 to downtown Amarillo, 87/287 north to Dumas, 87 west from Dumas to Hartley, then 87 on through Dalhart and to Raton.

But if you stay on I-40 all the way through town, exit Soncy Road on the west side. Take loop 335 about 3 miles north, then exit FM1061/Boys Ranch Road. It takes you about 30 miles across the Canadian River breaks to highway 385. Turn right (north) there onto 385 and cross the Canadian River at Tascosa, continuing on to Dalhart.

Tascosa is a fascinating place. It was the home of pastores, Mexican Sheepherders from Santa Fe, long before Anglo settlers could stay in the Panhandle. Once the Comanches were forced out, Texas cattlemen took over the area. Tascosa was on the stage route to Dodge City. It was one of the first towns in the Panhandle, and was the stereotypical western town: Saloons, prostitutes, gun fights, boot hill. The old 1884 county courthouse is still there as a museum.



Among the visitors/residents were Bat Masterson, Billy the Kid, and Temple Lea Houston, Temple Lea Houston, class of '80. That's A&M College of Texas, class of 1880. If you have a little time, Google that name. Fascinating character.

The ghost town of Tascosa is now Boy's Ranch, a home for wayward boys and girls, though it retains its name from the boys only community started by Cal Farley during the depression. Google Cal Farley's Boys Ranch and read the history of another fascinating person and place.

Boys Ranch Road is a little twisty and narrow, and there are lots of houses for the first few miles. Deer will be a problem during their hours of activity.

Other alternate routes: Stay on I-40 to Bushland, then north on FM2381 to FM1061. Or stay on I-40 to Vega, then north on 385. Longer route, but much better highway.

Or you can take still another back road into Channing. Take 87/287 out of Amarillo north toward Dumas. Once you cross the Canadian River breaks, look for FM354. It is a straight shot west to Channing across some amazingly wide open vistas of farmland and the Canadian breaks.

While in Channing, cross the tracks into town and go down "main street" a little to the north. If it hasn't been disassembled and taken to the Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock yet, you can see the 1899 business headquarters of the XIT Ranch.

Claude, Texas

The name of the burger joint is "Mighty Burger". It's pretty good.

I'm getting as bad with these windy stories as fossilag, but I have to tell a Claude, Texas Mighty Burger story.

About a year ago, an Aggie buddy of mine stops by for a visit while on a business trip. Next morning on the way back to Dallas, they stop at MB in Claude. Once back in Big D, they realize his associate left her laptop computer in the MB.

They assume its gone forever, but call the Armstrong County Sheriff's Department to file a report. After hearing their story, the deputy leans away from the phone, and they can hear him holler,

"Hey Marilyn, did ya'll find a computer yesterday?"
(Silence while Marilyn, who is works at both MB and the Sheriff's office answers)
"Yeah, we got it."

The deputy knows my brother-in-law who teaches at Clarendon, B-I-L picks up the computer on his way home from work, I take it to UPS, ship it home. Think any of that would have happened in a big city?

If you go through Claude, see if you can find where the final scenes in Cast Away and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed, as well as the entire movie Hud.

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Done it several times. Hit Dallas, take 287 in Decatur all the way to Amarillo. Head up through Dalhart and Clayton, NM over to Raton, NM. Jump on I-25 and head up to Fort Collins. Headed to Colorado in January myself.

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I've made this drive about 20 times. Just watch your speed in NM and in small towns on 287 like Childress and Quanah.

Mighty Burger. My parents ate their on their honeymoon. They also got caught by an early blizzard coming back from Colorado and got stuck in Dalhart on the way back. My dad tells that story about every other time we drive through there on the way to go trout fishing in the summer, or maybe skiing in the winter.

Let's liven this up a little. Wife wants to go to Lamesa on the way back. What would be a good route back? I am on my cracberry and can't read all of the thread so I apologize if is discussed already.

Thanks all.

Take 87/I27 back from Amarillo through Lubbock, and to Lamesa. Or if you want more flat and rural, take 385 back. It goes south through Lamesa, too.

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Frankly, between that mesa, Capulin and Sierra Grande and all the other extinct volcanoes and volcanic features, crossing the Santa Fe trail, etc, I don't see how the drive bores anyone.

But if you're like us, and like to take alternate routes, you may wonder if you could get on top of that mesa. Yes, you can. Peel off the main road at Des Moines and go to Folsom. Turn north at Folsom and then a quick left, and that road will take you over the mesa across some of the most desolate/wonderful views in northern Newer Mexico. You'll come out in Raton just a little north of where the main road hits I-25.

The road is narrow, and twisty and not maintained in winter and cross at your own risk. We love it.

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+1
this drive is very nice. I think it adds an hour or so.

Why would anyone want to go to Lamesa? My dad grew up in Ackerly and I spent lots of time there, so I know whereof I speak.

But mouth is correct, just go to Lubbock on I-27. When I-27 ends in LBB, it becomes US87 and you go right to Lamesa. From there, you can take 87 on down to Big Spring to hook up with I-20.

Or if you really want to make a Road Trip out of it, keep going south and visit Ft. Concho at San Angelo, then Junction, Fredricksburg.....

The area above where CanyonAg is talking about going from Clayton to Raton is over Johnson Mesa. It is about the most beautiful place in America.

I also second the Mighty Burger recommendation.

Also, if you take Boys Ranch Road north out of Amarillo, be sure to note the Floating Mesa. If you take I-40 west, you'll go right by the Cadillac Ranch.

Ok, I'll admit the Johnson Mesa trip is very nice.

On the route I suggested, chances are you will only see a cop in Logan and Mosquero. There's also a good chance that you might only see 2 cars for the next 2 hours. Between Mosquero and Springer there are a lot of pronghorn.

I do like the route through Boys Ranch.

If you get bored with Johnson Mesa, you can always go to Branson, Colorado through the Dry Cimarron Valley.

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Why would anyone want to go to Lamesa?

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Inlaws. Oodles of fun.

I JUST did this last week, on the way from BCS to Oregon. We went up 6 to Waco then 35 to Kansas and picked up IH70 west into Denver, then north on 87 to Fort Collins.

Vero- relatives are relatives. Got to do it. Panahndle/West Texas folks are good people.

Ask them to take you to the glider base hanger near O'Donnell. Maybe even to the Dan Blocker bust downtown O'D.

Sassy, can you say ROAD TRIP! That route must have added 300 miles.

EDIT: Hmmm, google maps says that only adds 62 miles to the one way distance. Not sure I believe that.

[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 11/2/2008 7:41p).]

Thanks for all the info. I remember being a kid driving to Montana and Alaska with my folks, but I havent done it in ten years. Great info!