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RVDUDE7000
Sparta,Tn.
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Joined: 03/20/2009
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Has anyone driven from Van Horn,Tx. to Show Low,Az.. I am driving a 35' Class A and towing a car on a tow dolly. The map shows going I 10 west to 180 north. Is it a good route.
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DesertHawk
Las Cruces, New Mexico
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Joined: 06/06/2009
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The I-10 to US 180 route is good, US 180 is very scenic from Deming to Show Low area. I do not like driving in El Paso. It seems semis have a tendency to flip over there a lot. Not sure why. If you are wanting quickest route, that would be it. If want more scenic route consider taking TX 54 from Van Horn to US 62 then to Guadalupe Nat'l Park, then to Carlsbad; on to Artesia, then take US 82 to Cloudcroft, to Alamogordo; then US 70 to Las Cruces. Billy the Kid & Mesilla's Connection ** Mesilla
Guadalupe Mountains National Park ( Guadalupe ) is located in far West Texas on U.S. Highway 62/180. The driving distance is 110 miles east of El Paso, Texas, or 56 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico. It is close enought to drive to Carlsbad Caverns National Park from the campground as a day trip. One could also get to it from Van Horn, Texas off I-10.
Leasburg Dam State Park near Las Cruces, nice desert camping above the Rio Grande if needing a different place to stay in the area. Fort Selden State Monument is just next door as well. Fort Selden History.
If you are looking for things New Mexico, just to the west of Las Cruces is Historic Old Mesilla. If you will be looking for Indian jewelry or other crafts, Mesilla may have better buys than up north, mostly the same stuff. Old Mesilla
However, to by pass Las Cruces & I-10, do not turn at Artesia, go to Roswell & take US 380 follow it to Carrizozo, you will be passing Billy the Kid Country & Lincoln (off the route some but connected to the Lincoln County War Fort Stanton) & Smokey Bear in Capitan, & the neat Valley of Fire BLM Campground & on to I-25 & the Bosque del Apache, then to Socorro where you take US 60 towards Datil, Passing the VLA before you get to Datil & a very Nice BLM Campground & on to Springerville & then use US 60 to Show Low where you will find the Mogollon Rim near by. Sackett Brand by Louis L'Amour has his hero being in the Mogollon Rim area.
Another route is to get to Las Cruces, at Deming take US 180, a neat drive. A neat state park is off of it City of Rocks and at Glenwood there is the Catwalk as well as a short side trip to Mogollon or to Elfego Baca's Reserve and lots of things to see & do in or near Silver City which also has a Billy the Kid Connection.
When by Silver City a side trip into the Gila Nat'l Forest is a real plus; to Lake Roberts, Gila Hot Springs GeoHeat * HotSprings, and the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a beautiful and sensuous journey through towering pines, gentle forests, and wonderful glades. Gila Nat'l Forest
Geronimo Trail
Silver City Area -Videos
Lake Roberts, NM—CAMPGROUND FEES TO INCREASE DUE TO UPGRADES Beginning March 1, 2007, campground fees at the Upper End Campground and Mesa Campground at the Lake Roberts Recreation Area are being proposed to increase due to recent upgrades. The upgrades include new picnic tables, grills, and fire rings. In addition, 12 units received water and power hookups with two of those sites upgraded with improvements for people with disabilities which include a sidewalk from the site unit to the restrooms. The Upper End Campground also recently received upgrades to many site pads that will eliminate issues during heavy rain. Both campgrounds also have a full-time campground host on site. Fees at Upper End Campground are proposed to increase from $7 to $10 a site per night. Fees at Mesa Campground are proposed to increase from $7 to $10 a site per night for most sites and $15 per night for sites with both water and electric hookups. A $3 charge for each additional vehicle is also proposed for all sites. Both the Upper End and Mesa Campgrounds are open to camping year-round on a “first come first serve basis” with a self-pay fee station available at each campground. Wilderness Ranger District Office in Mimbres - (575) 536-2250
Gila Wilderness and Camping
There are some nice boondocking/dispersed sites by two of the forks of the Gila River (after desending down into the Gila canyon with a nice bridge over the River) a few miles before you get to Dr. Campbell's store at Gila Hot Springs. There is a road down to the river by the bridge to the East Fork of the Gila with trees and shaded sites. After crossing the bridge, there is a mesa-like area with another road down to the Middle/West Fork joined Gila River with dispersed sites by the river, large cottonwoods, etc. These were very nice places to camp (I have not been there in years). It is a fairly long drive back into this area from Lake Roberts. Some very steep roads to desend and climb out of, but paved. It is up into the Wilderness area, just off the road. There was camping near the Gila Cliff Dwellings, mainly just a parking lot & tables. To camp by the Gila River, one must desend from the paved road down steepish hills, but there is some dispersed sites on the upper "mesa" above the River. This is near the site of two forks of the Gila meeting/joining to form the Gila River. There are 3 forks, the MIDDLE FORK AND the WEST FORK join closer to the Cliff Dwellings, near the vistor center. It seems the stream becomes the Gila River when they join up. At the Bridge where the camping sites are near the EAST FORK joins up. There are hot springs up the Middle/East Fork Gila just off the river, but if you walk up to them, DO NOT get the water up the noise. There can be deadly amoebae in them (a killer water-borne amoeba known as naegleria fowleria). Video
Gila CliffDwellings
More Gila
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FAQs
Over by the Lake Roberts area, there is a forest road which skirts or borders both the Gila Wilderness and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness with many despersed sites along the road. Take North Star Road off NM 35 which will later turn into NM 61 with leads to Wall Lake and Beaverhead area and a paved hwy NM 59 which leads one to the Winston and Chloride Area with many more despersed sites. Or angle to the west and one can go to Snow Lake & Willow Creek area and over to Mogollon and to Glenwood.
Geronimo Trail Scenic Byway or NM Rte. 152 - Into Silver City is a neat drive, with a nice viewing area into an open pit copper mine. Road to Emory Pass with great vistias at the top. On the east side of Emory Pass there is Kingston; a neat ghost town, but one which still has people living in it and building new homes as well. Hillsboro is just down the mountain from Kingston as well. It is one of New Mexico's Ghost Towns with people still living there. But Lake Valley is not too far from and south of Hillsboro and it has almost no one living there anymore. On the western side of Emory Pass down at the "bottom" of the decent is a neat distinctive ridge with a very western descriptive metaphor of a name, the Devil's Backbone. A few campgrounds and areas to hike down in the "valley" along with a stream. Such as Lower Gallinas Campground, Upper Gallinas Campground, Wright's Cabin Campground and Iron Creek Campground which is in the middle of this recreational corridor spanning from the Mimbres Valley to Hillsboro, along NM Hwy 152 a great drive, very scenic.
The Quemado Ranger District is the northern most district on the Gila National Forest. It is actually a part of the Apache National Forest that is located in New Mexico and that is administered by the Gila NF. Elevations range from 6600 feet to 9700 feet in the 600,600 acres managed by the Quemado Ranger District. The area covered by the District includes grassland, piñon-juniper woodland, ponderosa pine, and mixed conifer with aspen and fir. There are also riparian areas with cottonwood, willow, and other riparian vegetation. Very nice camping areas by Quemado Lake such as Pinon, Juniper and the Quemado Lakeshore Trail -#144.
If you happen to go to Carlsbad to see the Caverns. Sitting Bull Falls is really neat with a small cave behind the falls with formations. Also the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park Zoo is neat. Beside the main tour of the Caverns, we liked the Slaughter Canyon Cave Tour. Ranger-guided tours of Slaughter Canyon Cave take you into an underground wilderness without electricity, paved walkways, or modern conveniences. In this wild cave, darkness is broken only by the flashlights and headlamps of rangers and tour members. I believe I would stay at Brantley State Park to base to see the area by Carlsbad.
* This post was
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">DesertHawk- Las Cruces, NM USA
*2015 Lance 1985~Casita de Campo~23' 4" Tongue to Bumper, Dinette Slide
160 watt Solar Panel/GoPower! Solar Controller
*2009 White Ford F-150 Reg. Cab
Long Bed with A.R.E. Molded Fiberglass Topper
*Previously~ 2005 16' Scamp
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Charlie D.
E. Texas-Orange
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Joined: 09/12/2006
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You gotta' eat at the Fiesta Mexicana restaurant in Show Low. Outstanding food. Try the burrito. It has shredded beef instead of the usual ground beef.
Very friendly people with excellent service.
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DesertHawk
Las Cruces, New Mexico
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For some excellent chile dishes: Here are some nice places to get Southern New Mexico Mexican Style Food in Las Cruces. Enchiladas are often flat New Mexico style, not rolled, but not always. I ask for whole beans, so much better if they have them than re-fried. Salsa can be really great, not so good...depending on the kick & the taste.
El Sombrero Patio Cafe El Sombrero
(575) 524-9911
363 S Espina St, Las Cruces, NM
very good maybe #1 for us
No problem with service
Good Salsa, great whole beans
not open on Sunday
Espina is just past a bowling alley both on the right. A long block past.
Nopalito Restaurant Nopalito
575-524-0003
310 S. Mesquite St.
Las Cruces, NM 88001
second to El Sombrero
Mesquite crosses Amador and Lohman
From the West: Turn Left off Lohman, From the East: Right off Amador, Mesquite is 4 or 5 Blocks past Espina &
El Sombrero.
Not open on Wednesdays.
Great Salsa, but no whole beans. Re-fires are good.
Nellie's Cafe Nellies
(575) 524-9982
1226 W Hadley Ave, Las Cruces, NM
many in town really like this one
it can be very hot as well
only breakfast & lunch
Si Senor Restaurant Si Senor
(575) 527-0817
1551 E Amador Ave, Las Cruces, NM
A chain but good food, mild to hot chile
It will be before you get to Solano a large intersection.
West: Left off Lohman just pass Solano
with the plates, you get sopias included
They now have a Si Senor Express at the corner of Lohman & Solano across from the Carl's Jr. as well.
Roberto's Mexican Food Roberto's **** Roberto's
(575) 523-1851
908 E Amador Ave, Las Cruces, NM
Can be very hot
Not open on Sunday
This is across the street and down a bit from El Sombrero Patio Cafe.
Roberto is the man who makes the largest enchalata in the world @ The Whole Enchilada Fiesta Whole.... Festival
All of these (Except Nellie's) are on or just off E Amador Ave and if you are getting off I-25 at (exit 3) Lohman Ave, Lohman Ave turns into E. Amador Ave as one travels west as it becomes a one way street. And traveling from the west, Amador will turn into Lohman once it becomes a one way street.
Oh, yes. One thing Texas came up with which is really good are Fajitas. None better than at Taco Cabana in El Paso (they have them in San Antonio, TX as well), we normally get them when we are down in El Paso. They have fajitas in most of the Las Cruces places as well, but we really like Taco Cabana Fajitas.
If you are looking for things from Mexico, plus things New Mexico, just to the west of Las Cruces is Historic Old Mesilla. If you are looking for Indian jewelry or other crafts, Mesilla may have better buys than up north, mostly the same stuff. Mesilla
Mesilla has a couple of restaurants, the Double Eagle ( Double-Eagle ) and La Posta ( La Posta ), both with more atmosphere than the ones I listed above. Not sure if the food is any better. Mesilla & Mesilla.com
Ghosts of Mesilla: Ghosts and Haunts
I had many high school students who working as bus-boys, etc claimed encounters with them there as well as a fellow teacher who told of working on sets at the Fountain Theater late at night. When the lights would all keep going off, a Hispanic member of the cast cursed the spirit out in Spanish and afterwards the lights did not turn off again. ![[emoticon]](http://www.rv.net/sharedcontent/cfb/images/scratchead.gif "scratchead")
More listings of eating places: Restaurants
I am sure you can get some really good New Mexico styled Mexican food in some of the other towns and villages as you cross the state as well.
Bon Appetit!
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Bonefish
Midland, TX
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Joined: 01/08/2008
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Take the route you have come up with using IH 10 is the fastest and shortest.
The Guadalupe-Carlsbad-Artesia-Cloudcroft is scenic but longest roundabout route. Going up through Guadalupe Pass would be a sure way to get blown off the road if it is windy day. Highest wind speeds in Texas are recorded on the suggested highway (62). The road Artesia to Cloudcroft is all up hill winding road. Way out of the way but lots to do and see if that is your objective.
Bonefish
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Rug
GREED COUNTY, Boerne Texas
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Joined: 12/27/2001
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Take I-10 to I-25 go up I-25 to Socorro. Take 60 west to Show-Low
with a stop over in Pie town for a piece of pie.
60 West is very senic and a very good road.
A couple of Mules
with a Covered Wagon
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AGBAT
Tierra Encantada
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Joined: 04/12/2004
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Going I-25 to US 60 is about 10 minutes more time, although it is 45 miles further. I think it is a better, if less scenic, drive.
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