Road Trip Denver to El Paso

[oneupper]

Since this board knows everything (not sarcastic)...here's a question.

My Family will be skiing in Colorado this December after which we embark on a Road Trip ending in El Paso, Texas.
It's about 600 miles to do in 4-5 days. It will be cold (we know). Any ideas about what to see on the way?

So far we have Colorado Springs (Garden of the Gods)
Roswell, New Mexico (Alien crash site)
Carlsbad Caverns (supposed to be nice caves)...

and possibly Los Alamos, if there is something to see there.

There are REDS fans all over the world...who can help with this part of the US?

Thanks

[cincyinco]

I live in Colorado.. you should defenitely visit Red Rocks if you can - its in Morrison... wont be much going on during december, no concerts for sure.. but its awesome nonetheless.

I'd also suggest Cave of the Winds if you're going to see Garden of the Gods.. its right there. Pikes Peak in CO Springs as well.

Where are you actually skiing? I can give you much better info on good mountain towns to visit if I know the area of CO you're going to be in...

[oneupper]

I live in Colorado.. you should defenitely visit Red Rocks if you can - its in Morrison... wont be much going on during december, no concerts for sure.. but its awesome nonetheless.

I'd also suggest Cave of the Winds if you're going to see Garden of the Gods.. its right there. Pikes Peak in CO Springs as well.

Where are you actually skiing? I can give you much better info on good mountain towns to visit if I know the area of CO you're going to be in...

Thanks Cincycinco...

We'll be skiing in Breckenridge. It will be our third time, but every other time was pretty much fly in, ski, fly out. (FWIW, we made it to Buffalo Bill's grave).

[cincyinco]

Before your trip, check out Georgetown(train ride through mountains, dont know if it will be running that time of year?) - check out the hot springs at steamboat springs..

I was going to mention lookout mountain, but thats buffalo bill's gravesite - where i just got married actually! heh - you could always go up to Golden and visit the Coors Brewery You can hit up St. Mary's glacier up in rocky mtn. national forest - not sure how high up you can go that time of year.. but all stuff worth checking out..

i can get you more detailed stuff if you want to PM me, let me know what ya'll might be interested in seeing, types of things to do for fun, etc..

[oneupper]

Cincy..
Thanks for the help! Georgetown shuts down Oct 8. Steamboat Springs and St. Mary's are a bit too far off the route, but everything else looks doable.
We have to head south to New Mexico at some point and its probably not an easy drive in the winter, even though I-25 seems to be a nice straight highway.
Now I need to hear from the folks in New Mexico.

[RBA]

I've been to Roswell. Not all that great. Carlsbad is great. If you are into gambling, you might want to add the Indian Casino "Mountain of the Gods" at Ruidoso. http://www.ruidosonow.com/ Also, they have some cablin rentals and skiing there. However, last December there was no snow and this will probably be a stepdown skiing wise. And Ruidoso is just about in the heart of Billy the Kid country. .http://www.newmexico.org/place/loc/f...place/558.html. The I-25 is almost a straight shot all the way to El Paso. After you stop in Carlsbad, you will need to come down US-180 W / US-62 E to get to El Paso. The 180 is mostly one lane each way, but it's lightly traveled and you could make up some time on it if you ignore the speed limit. Part of the old Butterfield Trail is located there.

[oneupper]

Thanks RBA.

Roswell is going to have to be a stop...for the kids and the "novelty" of it. My expectations are not great...maybe some pics with plastic "green men".
What about White Sands? Is that worth it?
Anything in El Paso, itself? We have a morning before we fly out.

[RBA]

On the 180, you will actually see parts of the "White Sands". But if you want to go to ground zero, Trinity Site?, I've never been out there. So I can't tell you. In Alamoorgordo (sp) there is a space Museum to see, and that might be a good stop. El Paso? Maybe you can come on Fort Bliss and go to the Air Defense museum? It's located next to the commissary. It's not too far from the airport and you might be able to kill an hour there.

[oneupper]

Thanks for all the great ideas.
Just looked up Trinity Site..it is open only on two days a year...First Saturday in April and October. I'd probably go if I had a chance.

[KittyDuran]

Back '93 I took off 3 weeks from work and followed my parents to my first ever POW reunion in TX (was in San Antonio-beautiful city) then we travelled to Montana to visit my sister. Travelled US 87 to Amarillo then into a small bit of NM before getting on I-25 - the most interesting spot was the Capulin Volcano National Monument. Big cinder cone... here is the website:

http://www.nps.gov/cavo

It was probably 30-40 miles off the interstate. But the website warns of snowy weather. We went in late August and the weather was pretty temperate after the HOT weather in TX. Raton Pass on the border with CO was hairy and that was w/o snow...

[westofyou]

Santa Fe, oldest city in North America west of the eastern seaboard.

[OldRightHander]

I lived in Colorado Springs for a few months back in '01. I would definitly recommend Garden of the Gods and Cave of the Winds. About 60 miles to the south is Royal Gorge which is nice as well.

[cincyinco]

what about the sand dunes? i dont know where they are in relation to el paso, but they're always cool..

[cincinnati chili]

I lived in Colorado Springs all of this past summer, and lived in metro Denver for 6 years. As much as I think Pike's Peak is a must-see in the summer time, you're probably going to get plenty of moutain view time in Breckenridge.

It's now $10 per person in your car to drive up to Pike's Peak. So I'd skip it.

I'm jealous. I have some great memories of Breckenridge, and night skiing at Keystone.

[OldRightHander]

what about the sand dunes? i dont know where they are in relation to el paso, but they're always cool..

I forgot about that place. I made it out there once while I was living there. I wore myself out climbing up to the top of the darn thing. I need to get in better shape.