Texas to Ridgway CO late November

4runnerguy wrote:

patperry2766 wrote:
Possibly I might be crazy, but thinking of Ridgway CO during Thanksgiving week.

Weather wise, is it a big gamble this time of year? Need a campground that has electricity cause we'd be going in a pop-up and need to be able to run a couple of space heaters.

We've camped at Dead Horse Point in Moab during Thanksgiving and even with two space heaters going in our PUP, it got a little uncomfortable when the temps got into the mid 20's at night. The average low in Ridgway is around 15 degrees that time of year. If you decide to go, I'd take electric blankets. And if you're follicly challenged like me (thinning hair), wear a stocking cap to bed.

For your route, if the weather and/or roads look iffy on Monarch Pass, head west on I-40 to Albuquerque, north on US 550 to Durango, west on US 160 to Cortez, north on US 491 to CO 141 to CO 145 then east back to Ridgway. This route will avoid some of the higher passes, although you should still keep an eye out for snow storms. They do get the roads cleared reasonably quickly but you might have to wait a day if a big storm rolls through.

YES, I'm follicly challenged.

The pop-up does have a heater, but I don't want to have to burn thru something like 7K lbs of propane to keep the family warm. That's why I was thinking space heaters as well. I actually think the mattresses have a built in heating pad in them.

I know everything is kinda a gamble and weather dependent during the winter. Drove up to Jackson Hole this past January for a job interview. Had to keep a close eye on the conditions and we had to hole up in the motel for an extra day because the winds were so bad on I-80 in WY that they were blowing semi's over and shutting down the highway. Got the job offer, but couldn't afford the town.