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Good afternoon all,
I'm planning the route for our move to Alamogordo from Abilene, TX and wanted to get a recommendation on the best route to take. Ill be towing a vehicle and know that I'll be driving through some mountains so I'm unsure if I should go the Roswell/Ruidoso or Artesia/Cloudcroft route.
I have a Ford F350 Super Duty and will be towing my car with a Uhaul auto transport hitch (towing about 4,000lbs).
Good afternoon all,
I'm planning the route for our move to Alamogordo from Abilene, TX and wanted to get a recommendation on the best route to take.
Either route will involve a LOT of 2-lane hiway driving and some very boring flatland countryside. The least mountainous route is through Roswell, but regardless, the mountains are confined to short stretches between Artesia/Alamogordo and Roswell/Tularosa, with the least altitude change being the latter route.
A word of warning about the Artesia routes - there is a LOT of heavy trucking traffic these days due to the fracking activity in the oil fields.
Either route will involve a LOT of 2-lane hiway driving and some very boring flatland countryside. The least mountainous route is through Roswell, but regardless, the mountains are confined to short stretches between Artesia/Alamogordo and Roswell/Tularosa, with the least altitude change being the latter route.
A word of warning about the Artesia routes - there is a LOT of heavy trucking traffic these days due to the fracking activity in the oil fields.
Joqua is right. IIRC Abilene to Alamogordo is just a tad over 400 miles but I imagine that would be the route going through Artesia. If a person wants to stretch out a trip by getting a room for the night I would go from 20 to I-10, get to El Paso and get a room there for the night because-----
The motels in Carlsbad are on steroids!! Motel 6--one night one bed is over $125. Days Inn is over $200-yes, that's for one night. It's certainly unfortunate for tourism as Carlsbad Caverns National Park is one of the crown jewels in the national park system. The tourists would definitely stay in Roswell or if you're going west then take 62/180 and go to El Paso. The rates have been really high over the last couple years there and it will be that way for a while, probably a long while.
Joqua is right. IIRC Abilene to Alamogordo is just a tad over 400 miles but I imagine that would be the route going through Artesia. If a person wants to stretch out a trip by getting a room for the night I would go from 20 to I-10, get to El Paso and get a room there for the night because-----
The motels in Carlsbad are on steroids!! Motel 6--one night one bed is over $125. Days Inn is over $200-yes, that's for one night. It's certainly unfortunate for tourism as Carlsbad Caverns National Park is one of the crown jewels in the national park system. The tourists would definitely stay in Roswell or if you're going west then take 62/180 and go to El Paso. The rates have been really high over the last couple years there and it will be that way for a while, probably a long while.
Once you get to El Paso you dont need a room, because you're almost to Alamogordo.
Either route will involve a LOT of 2-lane hiway driving and some very boring flatland countryside. The least mountainous route is through Roswell, but regardless, the mountains are confined to short stretches between Artesia/Alamogordo and Roswell/Tularosa, with the least altitude change being the latter route.
A word of warning about the Artesia routes - there is a LOT of heavy trucking traffic these days due to the fracking activity in the oil fields.
Thank you for the heads up on Artesia. I had no idea about the heavy traffic going through there.
You all have given me some great advice for the drive.
Joqua is right. IIRC Abilene to Alamogordo is just a tad over 400 miles but I imagine that would be the route going through Artesia. If a person wants to stretch out a trip by getting a room for the night I would go from 20 to I-10, get to El Paso and get a room there for the night because-----
The motels in Carlsbad are on steroids!! Motel 6--one night one bed is over $125. Days Inn is over $200-yes, that's for one night. It's certainly unfortunate for tourism as Carlsbad Caverns National Park is one of the crown jewels in the national park system. The tourists would definitely stay in Roswell or if you're going west then take 62/180 and go to El Paso. The rates have been really high over the last couple years there and it will be that way for a while, probably a long while.
Even though El Paso adds a few miles on the trip, I was wondering about that route as well. Thank you for the heads about the hotel prices in Carlsbad, and the heavy traffic in Artesia, I can now better plan my route with this advice.
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
Last edited by Catcat82; 05-19-2018 at 09:15 PM..
Reason: words
Thank you for the heads about the hotel prices in Carlsbad, and the heavy traffic in Artesia...
Carlsbad has seen an even greater impact on its economy due to the oil "fracking" boom. It's had a hard time keeping up with the demand for housing by oil industry workers who are then forced to stay in motels, thereby driving up demand for rooms. The highway between Carlsbad and Loving has now taken on the "most dangerous" category due to the number of deaths in recent years due to the heavy local trucking traffic in the oil fields.
PS: About my recommended route Abilene to Alamogordo. I favor Abilene-Sweetwater-Post-Roswell-Alamo for the simple reason that US-380 in Texas has frequent passing lanes of substantial length. Not so for New Mexico where the only passing lanes are on the infrequent uphill grades. And from Roswell to Alamo is all 4-lane good highway through the mountains as opposed to the winding 2-lane from Artesia to Alamo.
Last edited by joqua; 05-20-2018 at 07:31 AM..
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