Long Drive: What to do?

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 05/10/2018 at 15:02 • Filed to: None

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We’re planning our return trip from Hot Springs, SD to Austin. It will be over three days, with stops in Denver and Amarillo. Does anybody have any suggestions for quick things to do along the way? No more than an hour or so? Or even just a place to pull over for a view or a good meal?

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:12

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detour up Pike’s Peak whilst in Colorado Springs

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:16

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Amarillo has that steakhouse with the big steak . I can’t recall anyone having great things to say about it but its unique. Palo Duro is near enough to amarillo it might be worth a look. Lubbock has good bbq, but so do many places on yer route.

Garden of the gods is a great quick stop in Colorado springs if you don’t have time to go into the more fun Manitou.

Denver has miserable traffic most times of the day so be prepared for that.

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 05/10/2018 at 15:17

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Ooh, now there’s an idea!

For Sweden > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:17

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Check your wipers before the trip

ttyymmnn > HammerheadFistpunch 05/10/2018 at 15:20

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Basically hitting Amarillo as a point along the way to stop, and Cadillac Ranch. Driving home to Austin from Amarillo, which will be a long day.

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:21

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Fair enough. Cadillac ranch is pretty meh these days I hear. It wasn’t all that neat when I saw it 15 years ago.

Future next gen S2000 owner > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:25

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Red Rocks in Denver. Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Pikes Peak in your car. It can be done in about 90 minutes if you don’t spend too long at the top.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:26

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Only 8 hours of some of the most beautiful scenery. Ok, I couldn’t even type that without laughing.

LastFirstMI is my name > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:32

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1. Get gas in Raton, NM. It’s 90 miles til the next gas station. Watch for giant herds of pronghorn antelope between Raton and Clayton NM. They are beautiful but hard to see; they are not helpful if you run out of gas however. There’s also a dormant volcano near Capulin NM with a road up to the top and a short walking trail into the caldera.

2. Definitely drive up Pike’s Peak.

3. The Big Texan in Amarillo is a fun place to see tourists buying silly things that no actual Texan would buy or wear. It’s like the Austin airport that way.

4. If you want a little more exciting drive, Highway 1061 between Boys Ranch and Amarillo is a fun 2-lane road with lots of turns, hills and little traffic. Also very little uniformed supervision if you know what I mean.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:33

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You should definitely go out of your way to visit Bill, WY:

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:39

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All I know is I make plans but then just keep driving :)

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW 05/10/2018 at 15:58

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Looks like a pretty happ’nin place.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 15:59

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I’ve been there a couple of times- but it was a long time ago, before it got built up (no really, I’m not kidding)

ttyymmnn > LastFirstMI is my name 05/10/2018 at 16:00

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Good advice. When we were driving to San Diego, we bought gas every chance we got. My wife wonders if we’ll have time for Pike’s Peak. I figure we make the time. How long does it take to drive to the top? I mean, for a normal person in a minivan.

ttyymmnn > haveacarortwoorthree2 05/10/2018 at 16:02

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I’ve driven from Clovis, NM to Austin, via Lubbock. Yeah, not a lot to look at. I’ll go ahead and let my boys be glued to their phones.

ttyymmnn > HammerheadFistpunch 05/10/2018 at 16:05

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My boys might enjoy it. But yeah, it’s probably pretty well played out. We might hit Carhenge on the way north, though.

fhrblig > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 16:06

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This place is great in Colorado Springs:

BJ’s Velvet Freez at Union and Palmer Park. I recommend the chocolate ice cream soda. Also on the other side of it is Leon Gessi’s Pizza, and they are pretty darn good too.

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW 05/10/2018 at 16:08

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Looks like they’ve got a post office and a couple of hotels. It’s also at the interestion of Hwy 59 and Dull Center Rd. That may be the single most descriptive street name in the history of urban planning.

ttyymmnn > fhrblig 05/10/2018 at 16:10

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Awesome. These places are always better than chain restaurants. Thanks!

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW 05/10/2018 at 16:13

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Alas, Bill might be just a tad too far out of the way. If I didn’t have the kids in tow, I’d mail you a postcard from there.

But those little roads can be so much fun. I’d drive them in a heartbeat if I could.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 16:15

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Yeah, there was only 1 “hotel” and restaurant there when I visited - both owned and managed by the C&NW RR. It only exists because it’s a mandatory crew change/rest point for the railroad to the west of 59 - because that railroad actually *is* extremely busy.

I stayed in Douglas. To get where I was going, I was told that it was the first building on your left, after you get outside of Douglas on 59- which was true, but that ‘first building’ is 30 miles up the road.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 16:16

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Lol - unless you’re a huge rail fan (FRN), I would think you were nuts to go there.

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW 05/10/2018 at 16:33

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Eh, I like out of the way places. When we drove from San Diego to Williams, AZ, (the Grand Canyon, not Willams, SW), we went out past Twenty-Nine Palms and up Amboy Road. Google actually suggested that route. It wasn’t just the desert. It was the FUCKING desert. A bit exciting and scary at the same time. But it was the shortest route, and by far the most interesting.

Vlachen > Future next gen S2000 owner 05/10/2018 at 16:53

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Seconding Garden of the Gods.

Devil’s Backbone in the Loveland, CO area is pretty neat too.

LastFirstMI is my name > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 16:57

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I haven’t driven it in many many years, but on Tv they do it in like 10 minutes, right? Put helmets on the family, give your wife a stopwatch and see what the minivan can do!

Google estimates 53 minutes from the highway exit to the top.

ttyymmnn > LastFirstMI is my name 05/10/2018 at 16:58

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Somebody else said 90 minutes up and down, if you don’t spend too much time at the top. With three teenagers, we probably won’t.

fhrblig > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 18:59

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You’re welcome!

Man. Now I’m jonesing for their ice cream. I’m never down there, though.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn 05/10/2018 at 19:18

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I kinda like ‘em, myself, too — and working in the railroad industry took me to quite a few of them. Bill is one of those places that stands out even by rural RR standards.

I particularly love it when you can see forever - like your first picture, especially—

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 05/11/2018 at 11:16

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google maps says this would be a 4 minute detour (ok, 4 each way...) the B52 static display at the air force academy in colorado springs is literally right by I-25. Open to the public, but it is past the academy’s gate, so it seems to be up to their discretion at random.

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 05/11/2018 at 11:26

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There is a fantastic air park at Dyess AFB in Abilene, and I used to go regularly in the days before 9/11. But after a bunch of asshole terrorists had to ruin everything, they locked down the base and you can’t get to the planes any more without a military ID.

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 05/11/2018 at 12:03

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I’ve been to this particular b52 three times now. twice no problem, showed ID and went through. one time though, they stopped, looked at ID, asked why I was there, I replied “I’m here to see the b52" and she replied soemthing like “not today you arent, turn around”

no reason given.

ttyymmnn > MonkeePuzzle 05/11/2018 at 12:06

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And I’m sure you didn’t press it, either.

MonkeePuzzle > ttyymmnn 05/11/2018 at 12:12

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ahh yeah. I just said thanks, and made my u-turn.