Scenic routes from Houston, Tx to denver, Co?? (Colorado Springs, Pueblo: motel, home)

[o5va1d0]

Hello everyone,

I am going to Denver for a weekend in august. Just wondering if there were any scenic routes to get there and also some good places to stop at. I used Google maps but that doesn't really tell me anything. Anything helps thanks

[rockyinyourradio]

There really isn't any "scenic" route to get from Houston to Denver, at least until you get well past Amarillo on Hwy 287/87/64. From Dalhart take Hwy 64 to I-25 in New Mexico, once your within an hours drive from the interstate, the scenery improves some and I-25 in NM into Colorado is quite nice in many areas. If you leave in the morning from Houston, you can make Amarillo in time for a nice dinner at the Big Texan Steakhouse. The steaks are very good and the atmosphere lively. Their link is below. I wouldn't recommend doing the drive in one day as its about a 16-18 hour drive. There is actually a very nice motel directly aside from the above mentioned restaurant. Also, The TX Panhandle is in the midst of a historic drought so it will look a little more bleak than usual. Hope this helps a little.

Big Texan: Home of the FREE 72 oz. Steak

[GuitarPlayr]

What Rocky said! NM is pretty and you should also see the Capulin Volcano using Rocky's directions. That was kind of interesting driving by. It just gets better when you get into Colorado. Texas was not very scenic. A bunch of old small towns and terrible heat right now. Maybe fly to NM and drive from there!

The Big Texan was kind of funny to see. I think they did an episode of Man vs Food there.

[Danbo1957]

If you were to make a road trip out of it:

Houston to Austin on Interstate 10 and US71. Stop in LaGrange at the Cottonwood Inn for lunch.

Austin to San Angelo on US71 and to Big Spring on US87. Stop in Brady for BBQ and spend the night in Big Spring.

Big Spring to Lamesa to Brownfield to Plains to Tatum, NM. This is the South Plains and it's flat, but it's a short drive to to Tatum.

Tatum to Portales on State 206. Stop in Portales and drive through it's neat downtown. Be sure to turn to KENW 89.9 on FM to listen to one of the best public radio stations in the US.

Portales to Clovis on US70. Eat lunch in Clovis, the best restaurants are on Prince Street.

Clovis to Broadview to Tucumcari on State 209 is a GREAT stretch of road! Going west, you will drop 1000 feet in elevation through the Caprock Escarpment (western movies are made here):

Caprock Escarpment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Tucumcari to Las Vegas, NM on State 104. These are the Grasslands, and on a clear day you can see 100 miles. Spend the night in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas to Cimarron on Interstate 25. Make the detour off IH25 onto State 58 and go the short distance to Cimarron, the end of the Santa Fe Trail Cutoff. This is a classic Old West town with a gunslinger main street feel to it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimarron,_NM

Cimarron to IH25 via The Santa Fe Trail to Raton, plenty of mountains to look at.

Raton to Colorado City on IH25. Shop for antiques in Old Town. Colorado City to Pueblo or Colorado Springs for a late lunch. You'll be in Denver by 4:30pm.