From Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico


ON THIS PAGE:
MAP  DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS

WEATHER AND TRAFFIC 

WEBSITES ALONG THE WAY


ELSEWHERE AT my80days.com:



Leg 04, from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico

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DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS
Expected Date of Travel: Date Saturday April 14, 2001

Departing from: Tucson, Arizona

Arriving at: Las Cruces, New Mexico

Expected Mileage: 322.6 miles or 519.5 kilometers traveled in 5 hours 55 minutes. Planned route of travel is 83% on Interstate Highway, 1% on non-Interstate highways, 16% on state highways or minor roads and 0% on city streets. (Travel time does not include gas stops, food stops or any sightseeing).

Average Rate of Travel: 54.5 miles per hour or 87.8 kilometers per hour

Route Overview:

Pop onto Interstate 10 headed east. Go for about 274 miles.

Drop off of Interstate into Las Cruces, New Mexico

Comments

This is one of the few all interstate riding days. I may yet rethink this approach but for now, I'm going to plan to do it this way. The alternatives make for another long day and I have a bunch of those coming up. Gotta pace yourself. Hopefully the scenery will be nice enough to keep me intrigued.

If I modify the route and head north out of Tucson, I could wander vast White Sands where the nuclear age dawned in a big way. Also, I would love to see the Very Large Array radio telescope.

Tombstone Arizona is about 50 miles off Interstate 10 at Benson. This could be fun. It would add about 100 miles and about two hours of riding. Might have to think about it.

Another alternative is to stay off I-10 and head north towards New Mexico. But this is a decision for Sunday morning, not tonight.

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WEATHER AND TRAFFIC

State of Arizona CalTrans Highway Information Page

New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department

Historical Weather Data
Record Low
Average Low
Mean
Average High
Record High
Precip

Tucson, AZ ()

33F
51F
67F
82F
99F
Low

Lordsburg, NM ()

22F
38F
58F
78F
93F
Low

Las Cruces, NM ()

27F
42F
60F
76F
91F
Low
Source:
www.weather.com look for the Records and Averages area of the site.

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SIGHTS AND SITES ALONG THE WAY

Dark Mountain Brewery / Winery might be worth a quick dash off the freeway. Could just be a tourist trap.

Some cool history about Wyatt Earp! I had no idea he died in 1929. I always thought of Wyatt Earp as an old time western figure, not someone who lived during my parent's lifetime. WOW!

I won't be stopping here this trip, but the idea of a B&B paired with an observatory is pretty cool. If astronomy is an interest, this may be just the thing, I wonder what the story is behind Vega-Bray Observatory Bed and Breakfast.

Near Lordsburg, NM the ghost town of Shakespeare, NM offers tours on Sunday at 10AM or 2PM. This might even work.

Las Cruces Convention and Visitors Information. I can't believe I miss the one of the two times that the Trinity Site is open by a week!

White Sands National Monument official National Park Services website.

White Sands Missile Range Museum

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(c) 2001 Thomas N. Engler Revision Date: 03/11/2001