258 Mile Detour

ROAD TRIP DAY 5

STATS
Hours on Road: 8am to 6:45pm Mountain time
Miles Driven: 433
States In: Colorado and New Mexico

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My father took one look at what we were driving and towing and strongly encouraged a major detour in our route. He said that we would have a tough time going through the mountains. It would be tough on the transmission, the brakes and on whichever one of us would be driving.

Even though the detour adds 258 miles, he assured us that since thr route is mostly flat, that it would take either the same amount of time or perhaps even less.

So, this morning, we headed out on I-25 South toward New Mexico instead of returning to I-70 to head through the Rocky Mountains toward Utah. At the beginning of the day, we were excited about no steep grades and we had no idea what we would face in the afternoon.

Here are some pictures of the calm before the storm:





I have never seen this sign before. I'm guessing it's for elk crossing the road?


At about 3:30pm, the sky suddenly became very dark and within 10 minutes the rain was coming down so hard and fast that we pulled over. We stayed pulled over for massive winds that rocked the SUV and while hail fell. Thankfully, we only had to stay on the shoulder for about 30 minutes.

Here are some post-storm photos. Keep in mind...this is New Mexico and all that white on the ground is hail!




The three inches of hail on the road went on for about a mile and a half.

The rest of the drive was uneventful though and tonight we're in a nice La Quinta Inn and Suites. For the third night since we've been on the road, we ordered in Mexican food. I just love guacamole!