Heading to Raton, NM From Texas then Wyoming

[ng2951]

Howdy,

We are going to the Whittington Center in Raton, NM from Fredericksburg, TX. Are there any interesting places to stop along the way to Raton?

After Raton we are considering heading to the Cody Museum in Wyoming and maybe back to Louisiana through the Badlands.

Is there a decent, interesting route avoiding Colorado?

[f5moab]

Totally avoiding CO, or just I25?
For a beautiful driving trip, I25 north to 160, then east to Cortez, then north on 491 to Monticello.

Then north on 191 through Moab, and there you can stop for a day or two and see Arches, Canyonlands (Needles district just north of Monticello and the Island in the Sky District just northwest of Moab).

Then continue on 191 to I-70, I70 west to Hwy 6. North on 6 to Price, get back onto 191 and stay on 191 until you hit 26, in central WY, and head north through the Grand Tetons, then through Yellowstone.

Exit Yellowstone via the eastern exit, hwy 14, and drive into Cody.

Takes some time, but you will come across some of the most beautiful country in the USA.
From the high mountains of central CO, to the deserts of UT, back to the Rockies in WY.

And when will you be in Cody? I'll be outside of Cody, Wapiti Campground, Hwy 14, July 4,5,6.

Just north of Monticello UT


And once in a while, you can have one of these guys pose for a photo (just outside Arches main entrance, right off 191)


The Tetons from Jenny Lake


Or, go through Yellowstone, and exit the Northwest exit onto the Beartooth Parkway, drive into Red Lodge and from there, south to Cody.
Beartooth Mesa

[MC9]

I do that area often (BIL in Wimberely, DD in Denver, we winter in Tucson) There is no end of interesting stuff. Just a few...Palo Dura canyon s. of Amarillo, Cimmaron, NM, Taos, NM, Stay on 25 til Wyoming. Don't get me started.

[turnerpa]

Are you going to Cody threw Yellowstone?? Me and my family will be in the koa in Montana just outside of Yellowstone on the sixth seventh and eighth!

[Noneyerbusiness]

I'm taking a lot of that trip myself, starting from Wisconsin Dells Aug 8th, then through the Badlands, see Mt Rushmore then down across Wy down the Flaming Gorge to Green River, Ut to see the badlands and the San Rafael swell, then on down to Monument Valley and back across Rt 50 and 160 in Colorado.

(I'll be able to fill in a lot more of my map below!)

[whj77372]

No smoking pot in CO!

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by whj77372

No smoking pot in CO!

And if you do, remember it is NOT legal on Federal lands....

[Blackrock]

I have stayed at Whittington Center on two different trips and had a good stay both times. North thru the Pueblo/Denver corridor is a @@#%^ so I have jogged over and run one of the north-south secondary hiways out on the eastern plains. Hardly any traffic at all. Seems a bit out of the way but it's more scenic and less stressful and reconnect with I-80 and hit the Cabelas at Sidney Nebraska.

Now as for taking the western side of Colorado/Utah there is a lot to see over there. What ol' f5 ain't sayin is that hwy 191 out of Price,Ut to Vernal has a good climb out of Price and another big pull up out of Vernal to Flaming Gorge and a good climb from there in to Rock Springs Wy. I can highly recommend the KOA in Vernal Ut though. From Vernal to Jackson Wy is a good days run. Avoid the Jackson KOA, crowded dusty and overpriced.

[f5moab]

I keep forgetting that climb. Just past Willow Creek up into Ashley Nat Forest it goes from about 7000 to 9000.

[dcheatwood]

Originally Posted by f5moab

Totally avoiding CO, or just I25?
For a beautiful driving trip, I25 north to 160, then east to Cortez, then north on 491 to Monticello.

Then north on 191 through Moab, and there you can stop for a day or two and see Arches, Canyonlands (Needles district just north of Monticello and the Island in the Sky District just northwest of Moab).

Then continue on 191 to I-70, I70 west to Hwy 6. North on 6 to Price, get back onto 191 and stay on 191 until you hit 26, in central WY, and head north through the Grand Tetons, then through Yellowstone.

Exit Yellowstone via the eastern exit, hwy 14, and drive into Cody.

Takes some time, but you will come across some of the most beautiful country in the USA.
From the high mountains of central CO, to the deserts of UT, back to the Rockies in WY.

And when will you be in Cody? I'll be outside of Cody, Wapiti Campground, Hwy 14, July 4,5,6.

Just north of Monticello UT


And once in a while, you can have one of these guys pose for a photo (just outside Arches main entrance, right off 191)


The Tetons from Jenny Lake


Or, go through Yellowstone, and exit the Northwest exit onto the Beartooth Parkway, drive into Red Lodge and from there, south to Cody.
Beartooth Mesa

I highly recommended the Beartooth highway out of Yellowstone. One of the best drives I've ever made. Last September pulling a 5er with a tundra.

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