In the previous issue, we covered traveling parts of Route 66 and the uniqueness of that leg of the trip.
On day three of our trip, we took the “High Road” to Taos, taking the scenic byway. We went north to US 258/84 and State Road 503, and continued along 503 to Nambe Pueblo. The 56 mile road is a scenic, winding road that goes through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. There is one thing I have noticed abouttraveling in New Mexico, and that is you can often find very good Mexican food at just about any Mexican restaurant you happen to stop at. New Mexico is known for its red and green chili, resulting in the oft asked question at restaurants, “Do you want red or green?” The savvy diner might want to ask “What is hotter?”
Our return trip from Taos took us through what is known as the “Low Road” or “River Road.” Starting atUS Route 285 at Espanola and running along State Road 68, the Low Road runs through the valleys along the Rio Grande. We passed the small towns of Ranchos de Taos, Embudo, Velarde, Alcalde, and San Juan Pueblo. It was a very interesting experience, and in my view, was both familiar and foreign at the same time, as we passed the many small Spanish Land Grant and Pueblo Indian villages.
The following day, we departed Santa Fe to Show Low, Arizona. We took Hwy 14 south, which is also called the Turquoise Trail, towards Albuquerque. We intercepted I-40 and went west through Albuquerque towards Grants, NM. We then took state road 117 to Quemado, NM and then US 60 to Show Low. Just like “T or C,” Show Low was named in an interesting manner. Legend has it that two men were engaged in a marathon poker game. At some point in the game, the men decided the town was not big enough for the both of them and one man said to the other, “if you can show low, you win.”The other man turned up a deuce of clubs and proclaimed “show low it is.” Accordingly, the main street is named Deuce of Clubs.
After a simple Continental breakfast, we departed Show Low on road 60 towards Globe. On the way, we stopped at the Salt River Canyon to look at the wonderful scenic view. At Globe, we took AZ 77 south down through Oracle, towards Tucson. We stopped at the small town of San Manuel and ate lunch at the La Casita Restaurant (again, an excellent example of the Mexican food at some of these small town restaurants). After lunch, we continued towards Oro Valley, and finally to I-10 to come back home to Vail. Interestingly enough, the most challenging part of the entire 1,200 mile trip was the last 40 miles down the freeway riding east to Vail, as the high crosswinds buffeted the motorcycles. The lesson learned here is, as retired baseball coach Yogi Berra might say, the trip “ain’t over till it’s over.”Fortunately, we weathered the high winds and are looking forward to our next excursion (to Sedona and the Grand Canyon, and I have a new motorcycle, a BMW K1600, for that trip)
