Driving N Mexico in winter ...??

We would like to see New Mexico. We want to hire a car and drive
through the state, seeing some of the cities, parks and features.
We want to do this in early _Jan_ 2005.

I have googled for information and get a mixed view of the state in
the winter. There's talk of snow, some storms, skiing [ we do not ],
but also fine views and sunshine. One site showed temperature stats
for major towns / cities in NM, that implied there was no frost and
mid day temps in the 50 / 60 range. Very much like the winter weather
here in Spain.

So, is the idea practical and workable? Can we expect to drive thru
the state in the winter without encountering snow and frost? Are the
highways snow free? Will we find the parks and tourist attractions
open? Who can we contact to run these ideas up against for an opinion
and a guide?

Any email addresses at major state tourist offices, or tour agencies
would be appreciated.
John Hewitt Malaga Spain

I get a mixed view of the state in the winter

I believe the winter weather varies quite a bit there. The
areas in the higher altitudes get a lot colder and have more
snow than the lower altitudes. So you might have a city
where it's sunny and in the 40s or 50s, but an hour's drive
away up in the mountains its snowing.

James

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-

Forgot to mention the official tourism site:
http://www.newmexico.org/

Also you can Google to find the tourism sites for
individual cities and attractions. Many of these sites
list addresses where you can send specific questions.

James

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-

Forgot to mention the official tourism site:
http://www.newmexico.org/

Also you can Google to find the tourism sites for
individual cities and attractions. Many of these sites
list addresses where you can send specific questions.

James

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Remove "NOSPAM" from my address when sending me e-mail.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 15:39:37 +0200, John Hewitt
wrote:

We would like to see New Mexico. We want to hire a car and drive
through the state, seeing some of the cities, parks and features.
We want to do this in early _Jan_ 2005.

I have googled for information and get a mixed view of the state in
the winter. There's talk of snow, some storms, skiing [ we do not ],
but also fine views and sunshine. One site showed temperature stats
for major towns / cities in NM, that implied there was no frost and
mid day temps in the 50 / 60 range. Very much like the winter weather
here in Spain.

So, is the idea practical and workable? Can we expect to drive thru
the state in the winter without encountering snow and frost? Are the
highways snow free? Will we find the parks and tourist attractions
open? Who can we contact to run these ideas up against for an opinion
and a guide?

Any email addresses at major state tourist offices, or tour agencies
would be appreciated.
John Hewitt Malaga Spain

New Mexico has everything from desert type terrain (Tucumcari,
Alburquerque), to mountains (Cloudcroft, Taos). It would be very
difficult to get in and out of New Mexico without encountering at
least one mountain pass and some snow. Even keeping to the southern
portion of New Mexico, you can still encounter some snow.

Em

Be careful what you wish for....

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 15:39:37 +0200, John Hewitt
wrote:

We would like to see New Mexico. We want to hire a car and drive
through the state, seeing some of the cities, parks and features.
We want to do this in early _Jan_ 2005.

I have googled for information and get a mixed view of the state in
the winter. There's talk of snow, some storms, skiing [ we do not ],
but also fine views and sunshine. One site showed temperature stats
for major towns / cities in NM, that implied there was no frost and
mid day temps in the 50 / 60 range. Very much like the winter weather
here in Spain.

So, is the idea practical and workable? Can we expect to drive thru
the state in the winter without encountering snow and frost? Are the
highways snow free? Will we find the parks and tourist attractions
open? Who can we contact to run these ideas up against for an opinion
and a guide?

Any email addresses at major state tourist offices, or tour agencies
would be appreciated.
John Hewitt Malaga Spain

New Mexico has everything from desert type terrain (Tucumcari,
Alburquerque), to mountains (Cloudcroft, Taos). It would be very
difficult to get in and out of New Mexico without encountering at
least one mountain pass and some snow. Even keeping to the southern
portion of New Mexico, you can still encounter some snow.

Em

Be careful what you wish for....

I expected that, but we intended to rent a car in NM and drive within
the state - no entry passes.

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 00:28:30 -0500, Auntie Em
wrote:

On Sat, 25 Sep 2004 15:39:37 +0200, John Hewitt
wrote:

We would like to see New Mexico. We want to hire a car and drive
through the state, seeing some of the cities, parks and features.
We want to do this in early _Jan_ 2005.


New Mexico has everything from desert type terrain (Tucumcari,
Alburquerque), to mountains (Cloudcroft, Taos). It would be very
difficult to get in and out of New Mexico without encountering at
least one mountain pass and some snow. Even keeping to the southern
portion of New Mexico, you can still encounter some snow.

Em

Be careful what you wish for....

John Hewitt Malaga Spain

We would like to see New Mexico. We want to hire a car and drive through the state, seeing some of the cities, parks and features. We want to do this in early _Jan_ 2005.

New Mexico is beautiful in winter. On many days there is lots of sun
and even some warmth in the southern part of the state. However, the
entire state is over 1000 m (3280 ft), and there are high mountains
(up to ~4000 m or 13,000 ft), so winter does occur here, especially in
the northern half of the state. In fact, since you mention it, n. New
Mexico is about equivalent to Madrid, Spain in temperature, while the
climate of s. New Mexico is a bit like that in Andalucía, except the
latter gets more winter rainfall.

The practical, workable idea, if you're still up for it, then is to
plan to drive under winter conditions at least part of the time
because even if it's nice most of the time, it only have to be winter
on one day to throw a wrench into the plans of the unprepared driver.
Fortunately, it is possible in n. New Mexico for it to snow like crazy
all day for a day, but then for it to be sunny the next day with rapid
melting of snow on the roads (but don't count on it). Highways,
especially the main ones, are plowed. All parks, state and federal,
are open as are all museums, Indian pueblos, etc. (however, note that
any Indian pueblo can close at any time due to religious observances;
in general, non-Indians may attend Catholic services in Indian
pueblos, but not indigenous religious services; most Pueblo Indians
follow both Catholic and indigenous religions).

Also note that there's a huge difference in climate between even, say,
Santa Fe and Albuquerque, as the elevation difference between the two
is great even though they are only about 100 km apart. Likewise, one
can drive from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft in 20 minutes, passing from
the desert at about 1300 m to the spruce trees at 2800 m. Meanwhile,
I'll be in Murcia this winter, so I guess it's only right and balanced
that you come to New Mexico. My wife is Spanish and we always spend at
least three weeks in Spain each year. Feel free to email me, though I
prefer specific questions about options as opposed to making vast
generalizations, though I have to admit that I don't generally answer
certain types of specific questions (e.g., what's a good restaurant to
go to in Málaga) since when I travel I'm pretty spontaneous and like
to discover places on my own.

We would like to see New Mexico. We want to hire a car and drive through the state, seeing some of the cities, parks and features. We want to do this in early _Jan_ 2005.

New Mexico is beautiful in winter. On many days there is lots of sun
and even some warmth in the southern part of the state. However, the
entire state is over 1000 m (3280 ft), and there are high mountains
(up to ~4000 m or 13,000 ft), so winter does occur here, especially in
the northern half of the state. In fact, since you mention it, n. New
Mexico is about equivalent to Madrid, Spain in temperature, while the
climate of s. New Mexico is a bit like that in Andalucía, except the
latter gets more winter rainfall.

The practical, workable idea, if you're still up for it, then is to
plan to drive under winter conditions at least part of the time
because even if it's nice most of the time, it only have to be winter
on one day to throw a wrench into the plans of the unprepared driver.
Fortunately, it is possible in n. New Mexico for it to snow like crazy
all day for a day, but then for it to be sunny the next day with rapid
melting of snow on the roads (but don't count on it). Highways,
especially the main ones, are plowed. All parks, state and federal,
are open as are all museums, Indian pueblos, etc. (however, note that
any Indian pueblo can close at any time due to religious observances;
in general, non-Indians may attend Catholic services in Indian
pueblos, but not indigenous religious services; most Pueblo Indians
follow both Catholic and indigenous religions).

Also note that there's a huge difference in climate between even, say,
Santa Fe and Albuquerque, as the elevation difference between the two
is great even though they are only about 100 km apart. Likewise, one
can drive from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft in 20 minutes, passing from
the desert at about 1300 m to the spruce trees at 2800 m. Meanwhile,
I'll be in Murcia this winter, so I guess it's only right and balanced
that you come to New Mexico. My wife is Spanish and we always spend at
least three weeks in Spain each year. Feel free to email me, though I
prefer specific questions about options as opposed to making vast
generalizations, though I have to admit that I don't generally answer
certain types of specific questions (e.g., what's a good restaurant to
go to in Málaga) since when I travel I'm pretty spontaneous and like
to discover places on my own.