Nice warm place within 250-300 mile road trip?

[sweater]

OK, here's the deal:

Come Monday, I have no where to show up to. No job (as of yet) and a fianc? who has been begging me to take a break from work for about, oh, 2 years.

So it's warming up a little and I've got a motorbike that'll easily put 250/300mi a day without making you sterile. I'm thinking: road trip next week.

Heading west is probably out of the question because of the snow, but south maybe? Somewhere I can camp? Was thinking about Sand Dunes, but it's at 8800' and would probably be a little cold (I'm a puss). Maybe just somewhere I can throw a tent up...

- mike

[ZappBranigan]

If you time it OK you can make it to the western slope in 5-6 hours. Once you're there, anywhere from Moab South is nice and warm.

I was in the Canyonlands 2 weeks ago and was using my AC almost constantly. It's definitely warm enough for a motorcycle. You just gotta get there!

Bundle up, leave late enough in the day that you'll hit Vail Pass around noon or 1pm. It's all downhill from there.

Alternative might be Albuquerque or Santa Fe area. :shrug: The areas West of Las Cruces and North of El Paso are also pretty nice this time of year, but that may be a little far.

[sweater]

You just gotta get there!

Vail Pass (from CDOT (http://www.cotrip.org/atis/web.ZoomboxMarshal?device=CCTV&Zoombox=13)):

http://imghost.planetbantz.com/img/files/1/co4x4/vailpass.jpg

Moab was my first thought...

- mike

[scottycards]

Can you check SW and Frontier fares to somewhere warm and sunny?

Santa Monica beach, or San Diego, perhaps?

$20/day rental car? Donkey show in TJ while you're there?

[sweater]

$20/day rental car? Donkey show in TJ while you're there?

Anna is understanding.

To a point.

The donkey show would be slightly past that point. :D

- mike

[Oscar]

Santa Fe 395 miles from Denver

[Trango]

Dude New Mexico. I've been there a few times in the past few months... it's a nice place to get warm and go blow out some wintertime cobwebs and burn the carbon off the valves.

[Mack]

Dude New Mexico. I've been there a few times in the past few months... it's a nice place to get warm and go blow out some wintertime cobwebs and burn the carbon off the valves.

x2- I can give you a killer itinerary of a trip I took a few years ago.

[Batgirl]

Santa Fe 395 miles from Denver

Another vote for NM. I'm jealous, that sounds GREAT right now.

C'mon spring!

[sweater]

Dude New Mexico. I've been there a few times in the past few months... it's a nice place to get warm and go blow out some wintertime cobwebs and burn the carbon off the valves.
What're some destinations? I'm kind of hoping for something like the BLM/FS land that's just east of Buena Vista - where you can turn off the main highway and get to a nice isolated spot fairly quickly, just warmer and at lower altitude.

I plan on making it a habit to take motorbike camping trips, so this'd sort of be a trial run of what works and what doesn't when everything's got to fit on the back of a 650cc Suzuki...

- mike

[Mack]

What're some destinations? I'm kind of hoping for something like the BLM/FS land that's just east of Buena Vista - where you can turn off the main highway and get to a nice isolated spot fairly quickly, just warmer and at lower altitude.

I plan on making it a habit to take motorbike camping trips, so this'd sort of be a trial run of what works and what doesn't when everything's got to fit on the back of a 650cc Suzuki...

- mike

To name a few:

-Roswell- a cool BLM land campground just east of it. Name escapes me right now.
-Carlsbad Caverns is a big one.
-Camp at Guadalupe National Park- it's just S. of NM (like 10 miles across the border into TX)- AMAZING place, and great campsites.
-White Sands Nat. Monument- No camping, but there's a great state park south of it about 20 miles off Hwy 82 that rocks.
-Mountain towns north of White Sands Nat. Monument- Mtn. park, Cloudcroft, Bent, are all cool little places. there's a couple of big observatories up there.
-Elephant Butte Lake, just north of T or C- you can camp right on the water's edge- reminds me of a smaller version of Powell. It's DEAD out there- nobody will bother you....
-Very Large Array, near Socorro, NM. Think "Contact".

[Swat]

Lower and warmer than Buena Vista would be the Arkansas river around Canon or Pueblo (Pebblo lake). Day cruising to altitude if it's warm towards the Sangre De Cristo/Westcliffe. You can make a loop by going west 50 for curves and plenty of spots to explore along the river then up to Westclife and a beautiful high valley. Or just go west on 50 a ways if it is not the warmest and stay at lower altitude. That river valley can warm-up quick on a good day and it's close.

[ZappBranigan]

Vail Pass (from CDOT (http://www.cotrip.org/atis/web.ZoomboxMarshal?device=CCTV&Zoombox=13)):

http://imghost.planetbantz.com/img/files/1/co4x4/vailpass.jpg

Moab was my first thought...

- mike

Didn't you say next week? That stuff could easily be gone by Friday.

When I went West on Easter Sunday it was bone dry from Englewood to Green River.

[zoriloco]

Didn't you say next week? That stuff could easily be gone by Friday.

When I went West on Easter Sunday it was bone dry from Englewood to Green River.

I saw on the news they might get 1-2 feet of snow more during the week.

[Yota]

Big Bend State (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/big_bend_ranch/campsites/)/National (http://www.nps.gov/bibe/photosmultimedia/riverviews%2Ehtm?eid=110363&root_aId=41#e_110363) Park in Texas. It's pretty much due south from here but maybe a bit farther than 300 mi.

That is one of the most remote and isolated places I've been. And it's about 5 inches below us on the map so it's pretty warm. :)

There's some great riding down there according to the National Park website.