Texas Travel Forum

Hello Fellow VT members:-)

I am very excited as I am going off to the states for holiday in two weeks. My first stop is in Alberquerque where I am spending a few days with friends, and then we are all driving to Austin. The drive is pretty long though, around 12 hours so we were thinking about breaking the trip up and stay somewhere on the way.

Can anyone recommend a small nice town somewhere between ABQ and Austin. Prefarrably a typoical texas small place:-)

Thanks in advance and have a great day!!

Jessica

Well, you are definitely going to see a whole lot of nothing ;-)

Do you know how you are planning to make the drive? I would guess (and www.viamichelin.com agrees with me) that you'll head south out of Alberquerque on I-25, then head east on I-10. This will take you to San Antonio, and Austin is just up I-35 from there.

Kind of sort of halfway is a town called Fort Davis. It is a genuine Texas town ('Texas' movies get made here and nearby), that grew up around a fort (duh) which is still there (well, partially restored). It's the highest town in the state of Texas (so they say) at 5,050 feet (as high as Denver), and the McDonald Obervatory is 17 miles away (this tells you how clear the sky is at night).

Anyway, take a look at http://www.fortdavis.com/areainfo.html and see if you find that interesting. It's about 30 or so miles off of I-10, so not too far out of your way...I liked it...

In fact, if you want to spend the night, look into staying at Indian Lodge, which is in the State Park nearby - see http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/indian_lodge/ . I spent the night there once a loooong time ago, and it was really a scenic place (but no television in the room in those days - you were supposed to be outside hiking!)...

Bill

If you're up for it, I'd strongly encourage you to avoid the interstates. From Albuquerque, take I-40 east to 285 south. It's not the most interesting drive, but it's a lot more fun than the interstates and it's still fairly high-speed. You'll have the chance at Carlsbad Caverns, but it would take a minimum of 3 hours to do with a group of healthy adults.
I-10 between El Paso and Boerne (west of San Antonio) is mind-numbingly dull. An alternative that I've used the last two times I've gone to Austin is US 190 to TX 29 to TX 71. You go through a couple of really cute, very Texas towns, Menard and Mason, the latter of which would be a good place to stay the night, but it's probably too far from Albuquerque. Menard has a couple of small motels as well, but not nearly as many restaurants and shops. If you're staying on the north side of Austin, like in the Arboretum area, you can stay on 29 east instead and go to 183 or I-35. It's fairly quick.
Another option is to stay north taking US 82 east from Artesia (another cute town), NM 18 to Hobbs, then 180 to 87 south and onto San Angelo. San Angelo is like a really large small town. Very Texas and has a very attractive Downtown area and park along its river (the Concho).
If you decide to stick to I-10 though, get off at US 290. It's not only a tad quicker in time, it's also better for mileage and much, much more interesting. The section between Fredericksburg (kitschy German town) and Johnson City is one of my favorite drives in the country. If you do at the right time of year, it's very, very gorgeous.
hth

"The section between Fredericksburg (kitschy German town)"

If you go through Fredericksburg, take the time to stop at the National Museum of the Pacific War ( http://www.nimitz-museum.com/index.htm ). This seems like a strange place to have such a museum, but Fredericksburg was the home of Admiral Chester Nimitz, the commander of the American forces in the Pacific throughout the war. We quite enjoyed the museum, and like all good museums, it held surprises...for example, one of the Japanese minisubs that assaulted Pearl harbor just before the air raids is here in this museum...

Bill

First, I agree Interstate 10 between El Paso and San Antonio is incredably dull. Fort Davis, while a nice place (especially Fort Davis National Historic Site, it adds about 100 miles to an already long trip.

My recommendation would be taking Interstate 40 east to US Highway 84. This route will take you through Lubbock, Sweetwater and Abilene. It is about 700 miles total to Austin. About halfway (maybe 360 miles from Albuquerque) is the small Texas town of Post. Post has an interesting history and a nice old section. If you have the time go to the OS Ranch Museum in Post. If possible stay at the Hotel Garza a nice bed and breakfast built in 1915. There are several other options if you cannot get into the Hotel Garza. Post is a very friendly little town of about 4000 people. You can get more information about Post at www.posttexas.com

You can stay on US Highway 84 (which combines with Interstate 20 from Sweetwater to Abilene) until Goldthwaite. At Goldthwaite it is a short distance down US Highway 183 to Austin. Most of US Highway 84 from the New Mexico border to Interstate 20 is 4 lane. The part south of the interstate, while 2 lane, is a pretty good road.

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for all your suggestions! I just love this forum:-)