Date changed to May 7th due to weather.
On April 30th I'm gonna go to the Old La Bajada Rd which used to be the only way between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Quoted from http://newmexicohistory.org/places/la-bajada
La Bajada hill is located 11 miles southwest of Santa Fe. From 1598, when Spanish colonists trudged beside lumbering oxcarts, to the early 20th century, when American tourists drove Model A automobiles, the steep and abrupt escarpment of La Bajada Hill was a notorious landmark on the road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The old route up La Bajada Hill was barely 1.5 miles long, but it traversed tough volcanic rock; in the 20th century, it included 23 hairpin turns and was the scene of countless frustrations and mishaps, from overturned wagons to boiling radiators. Residents of the village of La Bajada (see entry) at the hill's base named a spot on the hill Florida because a truck carrying oranges overturned there. In 1932, a new route up the escarpment was laid out, followed today by I-25, and the original route, 5 mi N and W, fell into disuse, though a few drivers still attempt it to test their vehicles' toughness.
It's not a real tough route but it's pretty cool, A small lift and good tires are required. It used to be route 66 also before the interstate was built. The road was so steep that cars had to go up it in reverse because the engine wouldn't get any fuel. We'll go down the 1926 reroute and go back up the earlier route. We'll also go do some exploring west of Santa Fe.
History https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3834662.pdf
On April 30th I'm gonna go to the Old La Bajada Rd which used to be the only way between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Quoted from http://newmexicohistory.org/places/la-bajada
La Bajada hill is located 11 miles southwest of Santa Fe. From 1598, when Spanish colonists trudged beside lumbering oxcarts, to the early 20th century, when American tourists drove Model A automobiles, the steep and abrupt escarpment of La Bajada Hill was a notorious landmark on the road between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The old route up La Bajada Hill was barely 1.5 miles long, but it traversed tough volcanic rock; in the 20th century, it included 23 hairpin turns and was the scene of countless frustrations and mishaps, from overturned wagons to boiling radiators. Residents of the village of La Bajada (see entry) at the hill's base named a spot on the hill Florida because a truck carrying oranges overturned there. In 1932, a new route up the escarpment was laid out, followed today by I-25, and the original route, 5 mi N and W, fell into disuse, though a few drivers still attempt it to test their vehicles' toughness.
It's not a real tough route but it's pretty cool, A small lift and good tires are required. It used to be route 66 also before the interstate was built. The road was so steep that cars had to go up it in reverse because the engine wouldn't get any fuel. We'll go down the 1926 reroute and go back up the earlier route. We'll also go do some exploring west of Santa Fe.
History https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3834662.pdf
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