Driving through Albuquerque-Questions

Hi,

I am driving out to the SF Bay Area of CA next month. I plan to drive starting from OK and going through the TX panhandle, NM, AZ, and up into CA. Are there any mountain roads or steep hills along the way that I need to be aware of? I have never driven out west before and I drive a small 4-cylinder engine car.

Is this the best route to take or should I consider another route?

Anyone ever drive through these states?

Any places that you recommend that I make stops in? I was thinking of stopping in Amarillo, Albuquerque, Flagstaff, and Bakersfield.

Thanks for the help!

Driving through Albuquerque-Questions

I cannot think of a single place along the way that is steep or terribly mountainous. You%26#39;ll get some hills coming in to ABQ from the East Mountains just outside the city, a few hills heading west, past Grants and maybe a few more into Arizona. Maybe a little bit of hill coming into/out of Flagstaff. Nothing your car can%26#39;t handle...just get in the right lane and drive as slow/fast as you are comfortable with. As for places to stop...Amarillo is fun. You should see the Big Texan steakhouse. Fantastic steaks and maybe you%26#39;ll luck out and someone will be going for the 72 oz steak challenge. We%26#39;ve stayed at the Red Roof Inn there..just off the highway and new when we stayed although that was a couple of years ago. There are also a couple of great flea markets in Amarillo if you%26#39;re in to that.

There are supposed to be some good places in Tucumcari for Mexican/New Mexican food and it%26#39;s about halfway between the two, good place to stop for lunch.

Driving through Albuquerque-Questions

I%26#39;ve driven the leg from Oklahoma City into NM many times and to Flagstaff a couple of times, so here%26#39;s my 2 cents worth: Roads are not mountainous or steep in general but be aware even when crossing the plains that you might have snow or ice storms. Not terribly likely but be aware, check the road and weather reports, and carry a blanket, water, and snacks inside the car. If you should happen to run into really bad weather or car trouble or whatever, stay put. And as my ol%26#39; grandpappy always said, ';Drive on the top half of your tank.'; The main difference you%26#39;ll see driving ';out west'; is that there really are wide open spaces and sometimes towns and gas stations are few and far between. Even if there%26#39;s a town on the map it might be a very small town with no gas station, so top off the gas tank fairly often.

Have a great trip! Will you have time for any sightseeing along the way? If so, allow a day or two in and around Albuquerque or Santa Fe! Will you go through Oklahoma City? I%26#39;ve always enjoyed the Cowboy Hall of Fame there.

East to west in New Mexico along I40..

Tucumcari - old Rte 66 buildings and neon signs. Also a dinosaur museum.

Santa Rosa - Lakes including Blue Hole Dive center

Albuquerque - Old Town, Rattlesnake Museum, Pueblo Cultural Center, Nat Hist Museum, Zoo, Botanic Gardens, Aquarium www.itsatrip.org

Grants - El Malpais Nat Mon

Gallup - Richardson%26#39;s Pawn, south of here is Zuni Pueblo and El Morro Nat Mon.

You may also want to detour north to Santa Fe at Clines Corners on I40. www.santafe.org

I would think I-40 would be a good route for you. Your chosen cities seem well spaced, and I%26#39;d probably consider (From Atlanta), Memphis, %26amp; Fort Smith before Amarillo, etc.

The scenery is nice, especially between Memphis and Oklahoma City. My usual advice to myself on long drives, is to make time through the less scenic areas, and slow down for the more interesting places.

When passing through Tucumcari, try Del%26#39;s Restaurant, at the east end of Tucumcari Blvd. (old Route 66, now I-40 Business Route). It%26#39;s been around since the 50%26#39;s hey-day of the old road, and continues to offer both good food and service.

In Albuquerque, please take in Old Town, just a few short blocks south of the (Rio Grande Exit from I-40, and just west of the I-25/I-40 interchange). Many old adobe haciendas are now converted into diverse shops, and restaurants. Also a traditional Spanish-era plaza in the midst, with a lovely old church. A nice quiet respite on your long journey west.

I have a small 4cyl Nissan Sentra here in Albuquerque, and I don%26#39;t drive the posted 75mph on I-40 (often ignored!), but it doesn%26#39;t mind 65-70.:-) Just stay in the right lane, LOL. I-40 for some reason has more East to West bound traffic, than West to East, and is pretty busy. Maybe some sage out there can tell me why the different rate of traffic, in different directions.

Thanks everyone for the replies! They are appreciated. I%26#39;m actually in OK now with family (drove out here myself) and will be heading out west in a week or so if weather permits. I wish I had time to see some of the sights mentioned, but I kind of have a time limit. :( But I do like to travel on occasion and may return just to see the interesting sites.

I am a little nervous about driving through towns that do not have gas stations, etc. I guess that%26#39;s when I have to speed up a little! :)

There are plenty of gas stations along I40. Make sure you fill up in/around Kingman AZ. Once you get to Needles CA, gas prices increase!!!!

Enjoy. Looks like New Mexico will have good weather recently.

Yikes.. that was a bad sentence!! That%26#39;s what happens when you are multi-tasking!! Anyway... I meant looks like NM will have good weather the next week or so!!!

Good weather sounds great to me! But I%26#39;ll be sure to have water, blankets, and other necessities with me just in case.

I do have another problem though. I am having problems finding a decent hotel off of I-40. I read in another post on here that some of the hotels off of I-40 are not that great. I don%26#39;t want to venture too far off of the highway though since I am only staying in Albuquerque overnight.

Anyone know of any decent hotels in safe areas near the highway? My budget is no more than $60 a night and I do not really like the hotels with exterior doors (safety issue). I will be traveling alone and safety is very important to me. Thanks everyone!

You%26#39;ll want to take a look at a map...but if you go North on I-25 anywhere from 5-10 miles, you should hit several exits with nearby hotels. I-25 and Jefferson is good, there are several restaurants near by as well. This slight detour north should not add too much travel time to your total trip.

I always comsult hotels.com and sometimes book with the, -- and have never had a problem with them ( I%26#39;m not affiliated with them in any way ) and find the rates to be much lower in some cases than booking with the hotel directly.

For gas along the way, we usually stop at the large truck stops like Love%26#39;s...usually clean restrooms, good place to stretch our legs, walk our dogs if they are with us and grab a drink and snack. Price of gas there usually pretty competitive.