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Driving from BR to Denver - any suggestions\recs to make this dreaded drive better

Posted on 7/7/20 at 2:22 pm
Posted by LSUvegasbombed
Red Stick
Member since Sep 2013
15464 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 2:22 pm
any suggestions on which route to go? any cool sites to see along the way?

Posted by wickowick
Head of Island
Member since Dec 2006
45797 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 3:03 pm to
The path through northern New Mexico has better views than the path through Kansas.
Posted by iwantacooler
Member since Aug 2017
2156 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 3:20 pm to
Cadillac ranch around Amarillo if you are into that sort of thing. Will take you 10 minutes to see it and is only about 15 minutes out of the way overall. Capulin volcano is worth the 3 mile detour. Sand dunes, royal gorge, garden of the gods are all “on the way” with slight detours. But if you are making the drive in one day I wouldn’t take those detours.

I agree with wick. Go up through Amarillo to raton and up 25.
This post was edited on 7/7/20 at 3:25 pm
Posted by Shexter
Prairieville
Member since Feb 2014
13851 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 3:53 pm to
quote:

Cadillac ranch around Amarillo

Bring a can of spray paint with you.

quote:

Capulin volcano

I enjoyed that stop

Also, check out the Big Texan restaurant in Amarillo for an interesting meal. It was shown in the John Candy movie where he ate the 72 oz. steak



quote:

Go up through Amarillo

Best route, and I love the view coming into Trinidad, CO

Posted by RonFNSwanson
University of LSU
Member since Mar 2012
23156 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 4:22 pm to
quote:

any suggestions\recs to make this dreaded drive better


Drive to New Orleans and fly the rest of the way.
Posted by Hat Tricks
Member since Oct 2003
28611 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 4:29 pm to
Made this drive from Natchitoches to Breckenridge a few times and I actually really enjoy it. There's just something about driving in that open space, in the middle of what seems like nowhere, that I find super relaxing.
Posted by kingbob
Sorrento, LA
Member since Nov 2010
67009 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 6:43 pm to
The Kansas/OKC/Dallas route is the fastest in my experience, but the route through Amarillo is pretty close. They're both just under 19 hours.

The most entertaining is the Houston/San Antonio/Santa Fe route, but it's still a major slog through West Texas. Granted, with the oil patch being mostly shuddered atm, the traffic may not be nearly as bad. The drive from Santa Fe up US 285 is incredible. If you want to make it extra scenic, you can take a detour at Fairplay up CO 9 through Breckonridge up to the Dillon Reservoir and then hop on I-70 to take you the rest of the way into Denver.

That is a significantly longer route than going through the Great Plains, though, by at least 6 hours, but the difference in scenery and cool places to stop along the way is worth it, imo, if time isn't of the essence.

It’s really not worth it, though, with so many cheap flights out of msy. I’d fly there and then rent a car.
This post was edited on 7/7/20 at 7:48 pm
Posted by kciDAtaE
Member since Apr 2017
15690 posts
Posted on 7/7/20 at 8:59 pm to
The drive back is so much worse
Posted by Flipadelphia
Member since Dec 2009
667 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 5:46 am to
quote:

Also, check out the Big Texan restaurant in Amarillo for an interesting meal. It was shown in the John Candy movie where he ate the 72 oz. steak


That wasn't the same place in the movie. In the movie he was eating The Old '96er at Paul Bunyan's Cupboard.
Posted by dingle
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2004
466 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 8:14 am to
home of The Old 96er from The Great Outdoors, but the bar where it was filmed, Ducey’s Bar and Grill in Bass Lake, California
Posted by cgoat3
South LA
Member since Jul 2019
21 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 12:34 pm to
I've made that trip numerous times and have gone several ways just to mix it up. I didn''t mind if it added an hour or so but no more than that. This past Easter, my flight out of Denver got cancelled, so at 10:30 p.m. Easter Sunday, me and the wife (no pics) set off. It was also 420 weekend in Denver and the 25th anniversary of Columbine. Very strange weekend in Denver. We set off down 70 east from the airport and got off and headed for Kit Carson and through Lamar, Colorado. This takes you through Boise City, OK and into Amarillo. We actually got to Amarillo at daybreak, so we really did make Amarillo by morning. Two lane road through the Great Plains/front range area. Complete openess. Road was good and paved. Cruise at 70-75. Made me think about how the Indians survived out there. Complete absence of trees except along creek banks. Absolutely no traffic and a part of Americana that is rarely seen. Definitely fly over country. In 1997, me and my dad took the same route. We watched LSU beat No. 1 ranked Florida there. It's different. Only notable I remember and would like to visit is the site of the Sand Creek massacre. I read about it in Ambrose's Custer and Crazy Horse book. If I remember correctly, an officer named Chivington was responsible. There is a town around there named Chivington, but it might be cancelled soon. You can definitely clear your mind out there.
Posted by mizslu314
Dirty STL
Member since Sep 2013
15961 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 12:41 pm to
avoid kansas, even if that means adding 10 hours onto your drive. For every hour in kansas, it'll feel like 4 hours anywhere else.
Posted by iwantacooler
Member since Aug 2017
2156 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 1:37 pm to
quote:

For every hour in kansas, it'll feel like 4 hours anywhere else.

This is how I feel about the road between Dallas and Amarillo.
Posted by Lsupimp
Ersatz Amerika-97.6% phony & fake
Member since Nov 2003
78362 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 3:21 pm to
There are a set of twins in Quanah Parker named Flo and Dot. Tell em Pimp says hi.
Posted by The Boat
Member since Oct 2008
164048 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 7:49 pm to
quote:

dreaded drive

LOL WHAT that drive is awesome

Take 87 north of Amarillo and through New Mexico. Once you hit Raton it's like you're in a new world.
Posted by The Boat
Member since Oct 2008
164048 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 7:55 pm to
quote:

The Kansas/OKC/Dallas route is the fastest in my experience, but the route through Amarillo is pretty close. They're both just under 19 hours.


Through Amarillo is shorter, faster, and 1000 times more interesting.

We went through Kansas only once when the way through Raton Pass was closed because of a snowstorm. We stayed in Salina, Kansas the night Pope John Paul II died. Oy veh.
Posted by beachdude
FL
Member since Nov 2008
5625 posts
Posted on 7/8/20 at 10:18 pm to
US 287 through Wichita Falls and on to Amarillo. From there to Trinidad, CO via Dalhart, TX and Clayton, NM. Boring drive from Dallas to the panhandle and (except for 30 miles or so of red Mesa/canyon northwest of Amarillo) into NM. But, Capulin Volcano National Monument and that area of northeast NM is great and from the top, on a clear day, you get your first view of the Rockies. Trivia alert: Dalhart, TX is closer to six other state capitals than it is to Austin, TX. Name them.
Posted by cgoat3
South LA
Member since Jul 2019
21 posts
Posted on 7/9/20 at 7:50 am to
Santa Fe, Denver, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Topeka, OKC. I'm not sure about Lincoln.
Posted by Daktari
Member since Sep 2019
119 posts
Posted on 7/9/20 at 9:08 am to
Have made the FW to Colorado drive many times, agree with Amarillo route. Stop at Headly Peach Ranch for fresh peaches. Mighty Burger in Memphis TX is a good stop too.
Posted by convertedtiger
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2010
2785 posts
Posted on 7/9/20 at 4:14 pm to
Like others have said, Amarillo through Raton Pass is the best route. Palo Duro Canyon State Park is pretty cool as well. The Texas Outdoor Musical has been cancelled for the year but it was always a favorite. The Big Texan is always a good time. The absolutely stunning view through Raton Pass makes all the flat arse land in Texas totally worth the trip. The trip through Wichita Falls was always creepy after we stayed at a campground that was in a bowl and was dead silent all night. Freaked us all out. No birds, no wind, no people sounds. NEVER AGAIN. Enjoy the trip! We are looking at driving up into San Isabel this fall.
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