NW Indiana to Albuquerque to Las Cruces to Tucson

[RayandShawn]

We want to avoid the possible bad weather on our way to the Phoenix area so we are thinking of taking the southern NM/AZ route. We will be leaving home in NW Indiana the day after Christmas, hopefully weather permitting, and we want to avoid the mountains from Albuquerque to Flagstaff that time of year.

We have never been that way, or in NM as far as that goes and I have been trying to research that info online, and since the weather is different season to season, I would like to know if this would be a better route to take.

We will be in our Class B (Winnebago ERA 70C).

Thanks
Shawn

[TyroneandGladys]

Two places to stop along I10
Rusty's RV Ranch It is in dark sky country and incredible night skies very,very dark clear skies. No significant human population within 50 miles and a great park to boot.
And check out Tombstone AZ on your way.

[lane_hog]

Snowman's route is our preferred routing to/from Chicago in the winter months. I believe it's also a little flatter.

[Snowman9000]

You're welcome, I hope it helps. I will add some info about overnight CGs during the winter, on our main route.

There is a nice year round campground in Sikeston, called Hinton RV Park. South of that it is slim pickings until the Memphis area. There is not much in the rest of Arkansas until Texarkana. We have stayed a few times in one that is okay, Arkadelphia CG. It's very near to a Cracker Barrel. I read that it is under new management, which should be a good thing because the previous afternoon guy was very unpleasant.

In Texarkana, we have stayed at Sunrise RV Park. It is good. Nice clean restrooms, pleasant clerks, etc. There is a Pilot or Flying J, and a Denny's at that exit. There is also a KOA in the area.

[RayandShawn]

Wow, thanks everyone, you are all so very helpful and I am definitely writing notes and all the options of which way to go. Weather is the most important factor for us so we will be keeping a daily, if not hourly eye on it on all our travels.

Can't wait to hit the road!

[Snowman9000]

We use two basic winter routes from the south suburbs of Chicago to Phoenix. Neither one is the direct route, because of the likelihood of snow and cold.

First choice, and only if the weather is unseasonably good: St Louis-Tulsa-OKC-Amarillo-Las Cruces- Tucson-Phoenix. Once we took this route because the weather was too cold to camp anywhere, even way south, but the sun was shining. We stayed in hotels through Amarillo.

The Amarillo-Las Cruces segment can be one of two ways. Via Portales-Roswell-Alamogordo, or Tucumcari-Santa Rosa-Alamogordo. I prefer the Roswell route, although it's not much difference other than scenery. Ruidoso is a known speed trap.

Typical route: We are forced down south. I-57 to Sikeston-Texarkana-Dallas-& on west to Las Cruces etc. Usually we can avoid snow, and are able to camp, on this route. This is I-57 to 55 to 40 to 30 to 20 to 10. 🙂

Once we had to cut far south of Dallas, across Waco & Junction TX. There is a nice little dark sky state park just outside of Junction, and from there it's a good day's drive to Las Cruces.

If you take I-44 & 40 across MO and OK, have a backup plan and watch the weather ahead of you. Be prepared to drop south and get out of the weather before turning west again. Storms can come up fast and furious in the panhandle and mountains, and then you are stuck in the middle of nowhere.

[2gypsies1]

I'd recommend heading directly south from Indiana and taking I-10 into Phoenix. Albuquerque and Flagstaff can have bad snow/ice storms at that time of year. Even the end of April I-40 was completely closed down for us because of a blizzard. We spent the night parked right on the interstate!

[RayandShawn]

Thank you all for the replies, very helpful and will definitely keep an eye on the weather as we go. If we have to take an extra day to wait out any bad weather then we will, just wanted to avoid mountain areas as much as possible.

Thanks again,
Shawn

[Second_Chance]

JFNM wrote:
P.S. The green chiles in Hatch are the best on the planet!

Amen to that! (And I'm not prejudiced... even though I'm originally from the area...)

Rob

[JFNM]

Hi Shawn, the route you suggest (ABQ to Tucson via I-25 -> I-10) is a very easy trip and should be no weather issues unless something very odd/dramatic occurs. There can be issues to the east of ABQ, of course, but usually only during and on the heals of a storm.

You coast all the way down into ABQ and then stay in the middle-right lanes as you approach the "Big I" (where I-25 and I-40 cross) then head south. The shortcut thru Hatch from I-25 to I-10 via Highway 26 is a very good road (two-lane but smooth and wide) and saves a few miles if you don't need to go thru Los Cruces. There is not much between ABQ and Deming (using SR-26) though Truth or Consequences does have fuel and a Walmart. I guess there is fuel in Hatch as well, now that I think about it.

P.S. The green chiles in Hatch are the best on the planet!

[Mandalay_Parr]

Finding your way down to I-10 might be your best bet to avoid the higher elevations in NM and AZ if you are concerned about them.
However, at that time of the year any route could be bad.....or good.
I would check the weather as you go and adjust your route accordingly.
I travel frequently from AZ to Ohio and that is what I do.

The interstates are always kept pretty clean of snow. One time in Utah I got caught in a snow storm and just stayed in a truck stop an extra day.