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Posts tagged ‘US route 60’

1-day drive in the US Southwest: Tucson to Santa Fe

Above/featured: Northeast on US-60/AZ-77, through the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, just outside of Show Low, AZ.

The following takes place entirely on the 15th and final day of our drive through the American Southwest. Departing Tucson, Arizona, we headed north and east on AZ-77, US-60, and I-25 into New Mexico for our destination in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We drove through a variety of landscapes in east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico for a mighty 856 kilometres (532 miles).

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US 60, Magdalena, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Magdalena

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

It’s a small town with at least one of everything: gas station (Steer Stop), school, bank, library, museum, cemetery. We’re passing through town, as we’re chasing daylight on our next scheduled stop in Albuquerque. Traffic is stopped for about 20 minutes with road construction, and while thinking about the terms and conditions for living in south-central New Mexico, I wonder what the day-to-day might be like. Quiet, with a rush on the 60?

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eE4.

Very Large Array, VLA, Plains of San Agustin, Socorro, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Plains of Agustin

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

We’re in west-central New Mexico, and we’ve descended after crossing the continental divide, the spine of North America. Leaving behind the Datil mountains and the town of Datil, the next “landmark” is Magdalena, and before us is the flat expanse that is the Plains of Agustin, once the bed of Lake San Agustin (up to 20-thousand years ago, Pleistocene epoch). Fact is we’re still up at over 2100 metres (7000+ feet) above sea level.

The sun pokes out from behind the clouds, and lights up the white dishes of the Very Large Array (VLA) radio observatory in the distance. Today, the VLA is in a compact “engineering” configuration which is useful to see all of the dishes together, but it would’ve been nice to see the dishes spread out miles apart in an observing configuration. Guess I’ll have to come back …

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-dXd.

US 60, Quemado, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Quemado

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

It’s too bad we’re not planning on making stops (except fuel) in small towns along the way. I can only imagine the practical delights to be seen in shops like the Country Store: grocery, hunting, fishing; everything one might need for supplies.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEd.

US 60, Arizona-New Mexico border, AZ-NM border, Arizona, New Mexico, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on NM US-60: Welcome to NM

On US-60 in New Mexico, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

It’s early-afternoon and we see a sign at mile 0: “Welcome to New Mexico: Land of Enchantment.” We are in fact enchanted. We’ve crossed the state border with “the road’s end” at Arizona (AZ mile “401.97”) and “the beginning” in New Mexico at mile 0. The latter milepost marker from NMDOT is at latitude 34.167 degrees north and longitude 109.047 degrees west at an elevation of over 2240 metres (7360 feet). After many hours of driving behind us, we’re closer to reaching a key destination: Pie Town.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eDv.

Little Colorado River, US 60, US 180, US 191, Springerville, Eager, Arizona, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on AZ US-60: Springerville

On US-60 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

We’ve passed through a field of cinder cones and we’re heading southeast and slightly downhill to Springerville: a town founded in 1870 with present-day population about 7000. At the location shown above, the road is shared by three highway designations: US 60, US 181, and US 190. It’s mid-October, and Escudilla Mountain in the distance has already been topped with snow. For us, snow is no worry, but the low fuel gauge is, and we’ve set aside time to stop in town to tank up.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/500-sec, f/16, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEN.

Deuce of Clubs Ave, Show Low, Arizona, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on AZ US-60: Show Low

On US-60/AZ-77 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

We’d already seen highway signs marking down the distance on our approach to the town of Show Low (founded 1870). As we drive through, we stop at a traffic light and discover we’re on “Deuce of Clubs Avenue.” That’s not exactly coincidence; sure enough, the name of the town and the name of the “main street” are all due to a high-stakes game of cards. In a game of the “lowest card”, the deuce of clubs is said to have won the game. We don’t have time to stop in town to explore the story some more; we’ll have to come back.

It’s also here in Show Low where shared highway AZ-77 and US-60 part ways. With AZ-77 continuing north to Holbrook, we’re on US-60 east to Springerville.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/500-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEL.

AZ 77, US 60, Salt River, Salt River Canyon Bridge, Salt River Canyon Rest Area, Arizona, USA, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday on AZ US-60: Salt River Canyon

On US-60/AZ-77 in Arizona, on our day-long drive from Tucson, AZ to Santa Fe, NM.

About halfway between Globe and Show Low is the very scenic Salt River Canyon Rest Area. It’s a great place to stretch the legs, descend to the river canyon below, or walk across the 1934 bridge which is now only for pedestrian use. The replacement New Salt River Canyon Bridge (Apache Bridge) opened in 1996. The river and rest area lie on the territorial lands of the San Carlos Apache and the White Mountain Apache peoples. The Salt River flows west and converges downstream with the Gila river in southwest Phoenix.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/10, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-eEz.

The Pi(e) in Pie Town, US-60

Above/featured: Welcome to Pie Town. The 2018 Pie Festival was held on 8 September.

The two words reach your eyes and enter your brain.

Pie Town.

The questions are immediate.

What? Who? Why? How do I get there? Is there really pie?

A sense of calm eventually prevails, and that’s when planning begins. Because there’s firm promise: “oh there will be pie.”

Fast forward to our drive through the American Southwest over three weeks in October 2018, and our adventure is drawing to a close.

With morning sun and excellent conditions, we’ve departed Tucson for a long drive for which there are three goals. One, we must arrive in Santa Fe by tonight to catch our flights out the next day. Two, we have to stop in Albuquerque for a return visit and chomp on a spicy stuffed sopapilla at Mary & Tito’s Cafe before they close at 8pm. Three, we’re desperate to visit Pie Town which by design is on the way to Santa Fe. We’re on the road for over 300 miles (480 kilometres) through Arizona, into New Mexico, and to Pie Town, and that’ll be followed by another 220 miles (350 kilometres) to Santa Fe.

The car continues to roll along the paved undivided two-lane highway on a stretch of lonesome landscape with short stubby hills and tall grassy fields for company. US-60 is nowhere as famous as its northerly US-66 counterpart; both are historic national highways. As some have noted, driving present-day US-60 comes very close to similar conditions on US-66 in the latter’s bygone heyday.

The miles add up, and the hours tick by. Isolation is punctuated by farms, ranches, and small towns. We’ve made notes about the towns, because there’s always a need for fuel: gas for the car, snacks and drinks for the occupants. Small towns may not look like much on first approach, but I know the welcome greeting and warm atmosphere are in store as soon as we step inside a shop or restaurant.

Our destination in New Mexico isn’t “nowhere.”

Because there, pie awaits.

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Continental divide, US-60, US route 60, Pie Town, New Mexico, fotoeins.com

Fotoeins Friday: East on US-60 at the continental divide

I begin 2019 with glimpses from the road over two weeks this past autumn in the American Southwest.

Driving east on US route 60, a sign appears two miles outside of Pie Town, NM. The sign reveals the highest elevation reached over the entire length of the highway. Here at an elevation of 7796 feet (2376 metres), we pass by the geographic feature known as the “continental divide” which separates rivers flowing east to the Atlantic from rivers flowing west to the Pacific. The coordinates of the highway-sign are 34.291 North, 108.101 West; this location is about 72 miles east from Springerville, AZ, and 81 miles west from Socorro, NM.

This picture complements one taken at the town of Continental Divide, NM as we drove west on I-40 from Albuquerque to Flagstaff.

I made the picture above on 19 October 2018 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime and the settings: 1/1000-sec, f/11, ISO1000, and 18.5mm focal length (28mm full-frame equivalent). Thanks to AB for making this memorable trip possible. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-cBH.

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