Texas, New Mexico & Colorado Road Trip 2018
Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Cloudcroft, White Sands National Monument, Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Mesa Verde National Park, and Caprock Canyons State Park
In October 2018, this two-week road trip began at Palo Duro Canyon State Park located in the Pan Handle of Texas, 5 hours north of Dallas Fort Worth. The next leg, we traveled east into New Mexico to Cloudcroft NM to explore this quaint old town, and it was the base to visit White Sands National Monument. From Cloudcroft, we headed to the small town of Sorroco, NM which was our base for the day trips into Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge to see the annual migration of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. Our next stop, Durango, Colorado area to visit with friends and explore the many attractions is Southern Colorado. As Durango as our base, we explored Durango, drove up Hwy 550 through the San Juan National Forest, Silverton, Ironton and Ouray. We also ventured west to visit Mesa Verde National Park. Then it was homeward bound, eastbound through Pagosa Springs and into New Mexico on Hwy 84 via Albuquerque, then back into the Pan Handle of Texas to Caprock Canyons State Park before heading home. It was a beautiful trip!
Palo Duro Canyon located in the Texas Pan Handle
Cloudcroft and White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
Cloudcroft is a village in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, and is located within the Lincoln National Forest. The population was 750 at the 2020 census. Its high elevation of 8,676 feet (2,644 m) allows for a mild summer and forested surroundings that makes it a tourist attraction, and tourism remains the primary economy of the village. This was or base to access White Sands National Monument and several National Forest drives high up in the mountains.
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is an amazing place for birders, a truly a unique refuge located on the Rio Grand River in southern New Mexico in the small town of San Antonio that has been dedicated to providing wildlife and migratory birds a winter home with plenty to eat and a safe place to rest after dark. The Sand Hill Cranes were quite remarkable to witness, both at dawn and at dusk as they prepare for their daily feeding in the several fields available and their fields that are flooded with a few inches of water that isolate them from predators at night. The unique calls and sounds these birds make, as they move around are amazing at are their roosting locations for the night to protect themselves from predators. They congregate in large numbers out in the middle of shallow ponds for protection, then fly off in the mornings when there is sufficient light. It’s spectacular!
Durango, Silverton, Ouray and Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Pagosa Springs & New Mexico: Hwy 84
The return trip back to Texas from Durango was on Hwy 160 to Pagosa Springs where we stopped for a milk shake, then headed south on Hwy 84. This short stretch of HWY 84 in Colorado to the New Mexico State Line was stunning.
Our last stop of the trip was yet another pleasant surprise nestled in the Pan Handle of Texas, not far south of Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Caprock Canyon State Park is a great place to visit and a lot of history of how the Park became what it’s known for today, the Bison Herd.
