I'm driving from Houston to Denver/Boulder area for school in 2 weeks. It's the first time I have taken my car up there, and I was wondering what was the best way to go.
The more northerly route through Texas, as opposed to the one that takes you through Roswell. Though both are total beatings. Good luck with your psyche and all that.
Driving through Texas is the longest ride ever. I actually stopped in Amarillo and spent the night. After Texas the scenery gets a little better. Good luck, take a lot of music and hopefully a good friend. Once in Colorado its an easy drive.
Driving through West Texas is easy. You set the cruise control at 95 and it only takes about 10 hours.
My wife and I drove up to Denver from Round Rock in the fall of '08. We stayed one night in Lubbock (she is a Tech grad) and then drove through Amarillo then west into New Mexico. In New Mexico, we went due north to Denver. The drive from northern New Mexico to Denver was awesome, especially southern Colorado. Completely awe-inspiring. But yes, it was quite a long drive, and from Houston would tack on a couple more hours.
Definitely hit I-40 through Amarillo and Northern New Mexico. I-10 is 1100 miles of ****hole until you get to Tucson.
If you happen to drive through Wichita Falls, Texas you must stop at Ronnies. One of the best Hamburgers you will ever eat. http://ronniesburgers.com/index.html
I-10 to Columbus 71 to Austin 183 to Brownwood 84 to Abilene I-20 to Sweetwater 84 to Santa Rosa 84 to I-25 I-25 to Denver
Take Hwy 287 from Dallas-FW through Amarillo all the way to Raton, New Mexico where it hits I-25 North to Denver. Straight and easy. No problem. Stop at Capulin volcano in NM if you want. Very pretty scenery once you cross into New Mexico and Southern Colorado.
first day try and make it to dalhart, crap town but you will just want to sleep by the time you make it there. Long drive but it will set you up for a nicer drive the next day. Next day cut across N. Mexico like the above poster said and stop at the volcano on the way
Google Maps? Nowadays, you can just "grab" and drag points of the route on the map and see how much of a difference it makes with time and distance, then print out the one that you like best. If you want to sight-see, go through major cities. Try to stay on the Interstate as much as possible and as much of a "diagonal" route as possible (looks like Dubious wins), and avoid major cities through smaller roads when possible. I second the "don't drive west on I-10" crowd. If you want to stay awake, pick your midpoint destination and take a break if you're the only one driving. I've driven only on interstates to major cities across the country, though. In comparison, I've had Mrs. SwoLy help me out every now and then through the trips... like... 30 minutes each time. That's just my opinion.
The area around Junction may as well be a speed trap. Fair warning, from what I remember of it, Dalhart is essentially one big cattle yard. I haven't been there in over a decade though.
Done it twice. Take I45 to Dallas, then I35 into Kansas where it intersects I70. Then I70 west all the way to Denver. If you want the shortest distance wise (and a little more scenic once you are in colorado), take 287 from Dallas to Amarillo and into New Mexico, then I25 all the way to the North. Its also summer, otherwise you'd have to watch out for possible road closures on this route. Maybe its just me, but I found the drive through the texas panhandle drive depressing... maybe I was just tired.
I have made the drive 5 or 6 times and have tried both routes and they seem to take about the same amount of time. I think the drive through Kansas is less fatiguing since it is interstate all the way.
I drove from Austin to Denver en route to Portland a couple of summers back. 290W through Fredericksburg 87W through San Angelo, Big Spring, and up to Lubbock I-27 through Amarillo (follow 287N) Left at 87 in Dumas, through Dalhart and into New Mexico I-25N at Ratan, NM
Take Highway 6 up to Waco and then get on I-35. When it splits take I-35W up to Ft. Worth. Just north of Ft. Worth get on US287. That road goes all the way to Denver through the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and eastern Colorado. A little warning when you get to Lamar, Colorado. That area is cattle country, so be prepared for the smell.
Mapquest likes the Ft. Worth/287 route and says 16 hours for 1021 miles.But it doesn't cut over to I-25 from Amarillo and I would certainly do that. ( we used TX 385. West of Amarillo but it's not much of a short cut really). Eastern Colorado is no better than West Texas. The route I showed was the way we always used to go skiing , I haven't driven it in years but I remember it as 20 -21 hours. We used to drive the West Texas part at night and arrive in Raton for breakfast. To do that you need to pull out about 7AM and drive the 13 hours straight though. (of course back then we had chemical aids but you could do the old No-doz trick) There is no way to avoid West Texas, it's mind numbing sucitude. Just download all the the free music you have been waiting to pay for and crank it up.
