November 28: Moab, Utah, to Albuquerque, New Mexico

Today was the first day that weather really affected the trip, including what route to take.

From Moab to Monticello Utah on US 191 it was generally sunny.

But soon after turning east onto US 491 snow started to fall. This was high grassland and the wind drove the snow over the road. I was lucky to follow not far behind two cars over this remote stretch of highway. At times it was near white-out conditions but there was as yet little accumulation on the road. As I neared Cortez, Colorado, on 491, the snow stopped and the roads were clear again. Great. So I pushed on toward Durango, Colorado, on US Route 160. Tht road, however, goes over a high pass in the Rockies and it was snowing hard again up there. The last 15 miles into Durango were downhill and the road was icy. The grade was 6%. I put the Saturn in 1st gear to avoid using the brakes but some other drivers seemed not to understand how treacherous the conditions were. I watched two cars behind me spin out as the drivers lost control trying to brake. The car immediately in front of me was the Deputy Sheriff's car and I kept a good distance from him. An ambulance crew was already on the scene at one accident just before Durango.

Once in Durango the temperature was high enough that the snow was not sticking to the road. But 160 goes from there up over a couple more passes on its way to Pagosa Springs and then to Santa Fe, the route I had planned to take. I chickened out. Instead, I decided to take US Route 550 south along the Animas River valley toward Aztec, New Mexico. I didn't completely avoid snow that way either. But once I got out of the influence of the Rockies, the snow stopped and I had a mixture of sun and clouds all the way to Albuquerque.


US 550 runs about 130 miles through high grassland and four Indian reservations. Along the way there is really only one town worth being called a town. Also along the way the road passes over the Continental Divide. The streams and rivers to the west flow into the Colorado River and into the Pacific while the streams and rivers to the east flow into the Rio Grande and into the Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic.

I visited Barnes and Noble in Albuquerque first. With their free wifi, my laptop, and Tripadvisor.com I was able to research the motels in the area. I'm staying tonight at a classic old motel right on Historic Route 66 two blocks from the old Spanish downtown of Albuquerque. Tomorrow I'll head east on Route 66.