{"id":10479,"date":"2021-03-11T00:26:24","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T06:26:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insearchofsukoon.com\/?p=10479"},"modified":"2021-03-11T00:52:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T06:52:09","slug":"texas-to-utah-road-trip-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insearchofsukoon.com\/texas-to-utah-road-trip-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas to Utah Road Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

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Our last major road trip was in 2017 when our family moved to Texas<\/a>. Since then, we have taken many road trips<\/a> but either they were local or within sane driving distance. This was another major trip in our travel journal.<\/h4>\r\n

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It all started with a photograph of the towering sandstone buttes of Monument Valley Navajo Nation Tribal Park. Since both me and my husband have more travel fluid than blood in our veins, we started exploring this area in detail. We enjoyed Monument Valley a lot on our road trip to Texas and we both knew that we will visit this place again someday.<\/h4>\r\n
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Photo from our last trip to Monument Valley<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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Little did we know at that time that the tribal parks were closed due to Covid. We had mapped and pinned all the points only to find out a few days later, that none of it will be possible. But that did not stop us from making our road trip happen and finally after a week of online research…..scratching and making of new route options…..multiple phone calls, we finalized our Texas to Utah trip itinerary.<\/h4>\r\n

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OUR TX-NM-UT ROAD TRIP ITENARARY<\/h2>\r\n
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Map of TX-UT itinerary<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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10 DAY ITINERARY<\/h2>\r\n

Day 1: <\/strong>Left McKinney at 6:30pm………. 5.5 hour drive to Amarillo…… Night stay in Amarillo
Day 2:<\/strong> Left Amarillo at noon…………….. 5.5 hour drive to Taos…… Night stay in Taos
Day 3: <\/strong>Taos sight seeing, extra hour added due to time zone change……7 hour drive to Moab…..Night stay in Moab
Day 4:<\/strong> Moab till 6pm……. 3 hour drive to Monument Valley…… Night stay Monument Valley
Day 5-8<\/strong>: Monument Valley and nearby attractions…..Multiple night stay in Monument Valley
Day 9<\/strong>: Left Monument Valley at noon……6 hour drive to Santa Fe…..Night stay in Santa Fe
Day 10<\/strong>: Debated whether to stop in Amarillo or drive home. Ended up driving home…….10 hours.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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COVID ROAD TRIP TIPS<\/h2>\r\n

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-Road trips during Covid have their own unique challenges. The best tip is to make sure that you are well aware of the State regulations you plan to visit.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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-It does not matter what the people around you are doing, always practice social distancing, wear masks and have hand sanitizer handy.<\/h4>\r\n

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-When doing long trips, you cannot not stop to use the restroom. Due to Covid many public restrooms might be closed, so when one presents itself, use it.<\/h4>\r\n

-We stopped at multiple gas stations along the way and I must say almost of all of them were clean and hand sanitizer stations readily available. But just to be extra careful, we always had wipes with us.<\/h4>\r\n

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DAY-1: DALLAS,TX TO AMARILLO,TX<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
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Night-1: Dallas to Amarillo (365 miles)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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Initially we had planned to drive directly to Taos (10.5 hours) but last minute decided to divide the drive and after winding up work left for Amarillo around 6:30pm.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n
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Drive to Amarillo at night<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Stopped at Marcos Pizza in Wichita Falls, Texas and was surprised to see the drive through pickup option. Enjoyed dinner on the go. It was after midnight when we checked into our hotel. Worn out from the whole day and the drive, we went to sleep right away.<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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DAY-2: AMARILLO, TX to TAOS, NM<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
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Day-2: Amarillo, TX to Taos, NM (292 miles)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Started the day with a big breakfast to IHOP as it was closest to our hotel. The breakfast was delish but unfortunately we had to wait almost an hour for our turn as they were being really careful and practicing social distancing.<\/h4>\r\n

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Stopped at Cadillac Ranch, the iconic Texas stop. After enjoying the array of Cadillac’s, spray painting and taking the much needed pics we made our way to US 385-N towards Taos.<\/h4>\r\n
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Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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Almost 2 hours into our drive we crossed the Stateline and entered New Mexico. The first major city upon entering New Mexico via US-87 is Clayton.<\/h4>\r\n

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Initially the drive was flat and kind of barren but soon as we crossed Cimarron, NM we started gaining height and also the drive got\u00a0scenic with forest green trees and snow.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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Passing through many villages in the Colfax County, New Mexico, it was almost 6pm when we finally entered the snow covered city of Taos.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

New Mexico had tight Covid travel restrictions so we wanted to make sure to stay at a place which had good reviews and was following good cleaning protocols. We called a couple of places to make sure they were taking reservations and ended up booking and staying the night at a historic hotel.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

Where we stayed: THE HISTORIC TOAS INN<\/h3>\r\n

The location was perfect with gorgeous adobe architecture and ample parking space. It had snowed earlier in the day so everything looked angelic in white.<\/h4>\r\n
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The Historic Taos Inn, Taos, NM<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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The guest rooms were quaint, sweet and comfortable. The fireplace felt like a warm hug. There was no microwave or fridge which might have been a con had we been staying longer but for an overnight trip, we did not need it. Restaurant on the premises “Doc Martin” was closed as was indoor dining so we ended up ordering food from “El Conejos Concina” a Mexican restaurant. After dinner we drove around to enjoy the city but most of the places were closed and thanks to the snow visibility was not good either so came back to the hotel earlier than we had anticipated.<\/h4>\r\n

Decided to start the fire in the fireplace and little did I know there is a way to set up the logs. A few moments in, the room was engulfed in the smoke blanket and the fire alarm started beeping strong. Luckily the manager had not left for the day and everything was sorted out. Out of sheer embarrassment I asked him that this must have been his first time handling something like that to which he replied “Oh No…seen worse”.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

Unfortunately we had to open the windows and door to let the smoke out which made the room cold. Finally after about twenty minutes we closed the windows\/door cranked up the heat, and enjoyed the fireplace in peace while watching Wonder Woman.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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What a night! Adding to our list of travel memories<\/h4>\r\n

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DAY-3: TAOS, NM to MOAB, UT<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
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Day-3: Taos, NM to Moab, UT (357 miles)<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Since restaurants are closed for dine- in in New Mexico, by the time I woke up, my husband had already gotten breakfast from a local place.\u00a0 After breakfast we enjoyed the snow outside our room and then headed out.<\/h4>\r\n

SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS MISSION CHURCH<\/h3>\r\n

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After breakfast we drove around to see the famous San Francisco De Asis Mission Church, a National historic landmark. \u00a0It was named for Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, merchants and ecology. You actually see the back side of the church from the road and to see the front you have to take the side road. Famous artists like Georgia O\u2019Keeffe, Ansel Adams and Paul Strand, and many others made the sanctuary famous. It also houses Henri Ault\u2019s famous mystery painting which attracts a lot of tourists.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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TAOS PUEBLO<\/h3>\r\n
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Taos Pueblo, Taos NM USA @Wikipedia<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

After appreciating the architecture and the holy feel of the mission we headed towards the Taos Pueblo which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America. was designated a World Heritage Site and a National Historic Site in 1992. The adobe, multi-storied homes of Taos Pueblo helped inspire the Pueblo Revival style of architecture in contemporary New Mexico.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

Unfortunately it is closed under further notice so if you plan to visit it anytime soon, do check their website<\/a>.<\/h4>\r\n

RIO GRANDE GORGE BRIDGE<\/h3>\r\n

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Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is the tenth highest bridge on the U.S. Highway System. The bridge is a three-span steel continuous-deck-truss structure with a concrete-filled steel-grid deck.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

The gorge spans 10 miles and is 240 m deep and begins near the Colorado border.<\/h4>\r\n

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The gorge and almost 242.5K acres of the surrounding land was designated a National Monument on March 25, 2013 by President Barack Obama under the provisions of the\u00a0Antiquities Act<\/a>.\u00a0<\/sup><\/h4>\r\n

Fun Fact: It was called the \u201cbridge to nowhere\u201d while it was being built because the funding did not exist to continue the road on the other side.<\/h4>\r\n

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It has appeared in various movies like Terminator Salvation, Wild Hogs and The Signal to name a few.<\/h4>\r\n

Made a quick pit stop in Chama, NM for gas and snacks and within half an hour we entered Colorado.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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Almost 2 hours into the drive, we made a pit stop again in Durango, Colorado to get some snacks and stretch our legs.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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Another one and half hour into our drive we entered Utah via US 491. We knew by the time we would reach Moab it will be late so we decide to pick up food on our way. After some research on Yelp we ended up doing a Thai carryout from Singha in Moab.<\/h4>\r\n

Where we stayed:\u00a0<\/strong>RED CLIFFS LODGE<\/h4>\r\n

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A friend of ours had earlier sent us pictures of this hidden gem which is set on the banks of the Colorado River and backed by high cliffs. The lodge is almost 17 miles North-West from from the main entrance of Arches National Park.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

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Our cabin had a warm-homey feel and the view…I cannot express in words. It was if the stars had come down to make a conversation with the peaceful sound of the Colorado river snaking it’s way around the cliffs.<\/h4>\r\n

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Although it was really cold but the view was so stunning that we spent a long time gazing at the open skies with a melody of stars. I think it was past midnight when we finally called it a day.<\/h4>\r\n

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DAY-4: MOAB, UT to MONUMENT VALLEY, UT<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n
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Day-4: Moab, UT to Monument Valley, UT (152 miles)<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

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Woke up around 4:30am to catch the sunrise at the Mesa Arch, Utah.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

MESA ARCH:<\/h3>\r\n

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Mesa Arch is a part of the Canyon Lands National Park.\u00a0 It is the best place to catch the sunrise with a breathtaking view.<\/h4>\r\n

We parked the car at the base and a short hike (0.5m) from the main road led to the arch itself. I was thinking that we will be the only ones there but to my surprise, photographers had already set up their tripods to get a good click of the sunrise.\u00a0<\/h4>\r\n

Me and the kids perched ourselves on the mountain all covered to beat the cold while my husband joined the photographers lot to take pictures of the glorious sunrise.<\/h4>\r\n

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK:<\/h4>\r\n

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Canyonlands is the largest national park in Utah. It is said that you could spend a lifetime exploring this place and and still not reach all the way into the park\u2019s depths.<\/h4>\r\n

The park is easily accessible to everyone. You can enjoy it in the convenience of your car or with a short hike. and there are soo many vista points that you will be hitting the brakes more frequent than you thought.<\/h4>\r\n

The park in divided into 4 main sections\/districts:<\/h4>\r\n