Phoenix to Albuquerque

[Wendy]

We're headed to Abq from Phx next week. We've driven I-40 and I-10 and I'm looking for something different. We're driving a 28-foot Class A gasser towing a classic VW. We live in Colorado and aren't scared by hills. Scenic is high on our list as is historic. Any suggestions for routes and places to visit and stay ?

TIA
Wendy

 

[SeilerBird]

My favorite route is taking US 60 east out of Phoenix and follow it all the way to Socorro NM. Along the way stop in to see the Very Large Array radio telescope. Absolutely mind boggling. At Socorro you could go north on I-25 straight to Albquerque or take a short hop south to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Reserve which is one of the premier birding spots in North America. Show Low Arizona is very pretty as is all that you will see on that route. Not the most direct route, but possibly the prettiest.

http://www.vla.nrao.edu/

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/bosque/

 

[Tom and Margi]

My favorite route is taking US 60 east out of Phoenix and follow it all the way to Socorro NM. Along the way stop in to see the Very Large Array radio telescope. Absolutely mind boggling. At Socorro you could go north on I-25 straight to Albquerque or take a short hop south to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Reserve which is one of the premier birding spots in North America. Show Low Arizona is very pretty as is all that you will see on that route. Not the most direct route, but possibly the prettiest.

http://www.vla.nrao.edu/

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/bosque/

Must have screwed up my posting.  If you're anywhere near the Very Large Array, Pie Town NM is a fun stop.  Forum members Jimmy and Anne Dorough live there.  Finer people you will never meet. 

 

[Bob Maxwell]

I 2nd Tom's route as the prettiest. You get to see the Salt River Canyon after Globe that way. You need to drive it at least once for the beauty of it.

The other way is to take 87 to Payson , 260 to Heber and 377 to Holbrook to pick up I-40. I did that route 2-3xs a month 40 years ago. . .Back then Zane Gray's CAbin NM hadn't burned down and I stopped there every so often, under the Mogollon Rim.

 

[Ken & Sheila]

I sometimes use a combination of these routes.
87 to 260 (Payson) to 60 (Show Low) to Socorro and I-25 to Albuquerque.
Stop for Pie in Pie Town!

ken

 

[Betty Brewer]

I concur on  Very Large Array visit.

They only open 2 times per year but Trinity is near Alb and is  worth a visit.  They give tours.  It is where the  first nuclear bomb was  exploded as a test.

 

[vlady daddy]

Pie-O-Neer Caf? is "Home of New Mexico's Best Dessert!". It's 37 miles before the Very Large Array Visitor Center along US 60 in Pie Town.

Coordinates: 34.299136?, -108.130430?

http://www.pie-o-neer.com/pie-town-new-mexico-history.html

 

[mylo]

60 through Globe and up to Show Low is very pretty, especially at dusk or dawn, when the light is the best.


Mylo

 

[Ken & Sheila]

In Pie Town we prefer the Pie Town Coffee House (former The Daily Pie). Beside the good food - and Pie - they have good motorhome parking ( unless they are very busy!)

ken

 

[Wendy]

What's 60 like from Globe to Show Low ? We've done Phoenix to Payson to Heber and know what that road is like. I looked at the Mountain Directory and 60 doesn't look any worse but personal experience is always better than a book.

Wendy

 

[SeilerBird]

All of 60 is pretty easy and pretty.

 

[mylo]

What's 60 like from Globe to Show Low ? We've done Phoenix to Payson to Heber and know what that road is like. I looked at the Mountain Directory and 60 doesn't look any worse but personal experience is always better than a book.

Wendy

It's not the flattest or straightest, if that is what you are asking... But it certainly isn't a mountain road. I never took an RV on it. Last time I traveled it, it was a few years ago in a complete white out blizzard in my 4x4 pickup. It took me 4 hours to go from Globe to Show Low... averaging probably 20-30 mph.


Mylo

 

[Wendy]

Thanks for the help everyone. We'll see which way the pilot ends up taking us after I provide input.

Mylo, trust me, if there's a blizzard, we'll find an alternate route or hunker down until it's over !

Wendy