Over the next two days, I will be traveling from Denver to Dallas. Though plans can and do change due to unforeseen complications or opportunities, I currently expect to take the following route.
From Metro Denver, I will climb southward through the Plum Creek Valley (a tributary of the South Platte), cross the Palmer Divide and then descend through the Fountain Creek Valley (adjacent to the Rampart Range and the Pike's Peak massif) to its junction with the Arkansas River, in Pueblo. Another gradual climb along Interstate 25 (passing the Wet Mountains, Spanish Peaks and Culebra Range) will lead to Raton Pass, where I will enter New Mexico and the watershed of the Canadian River. At Raton, I intend to turn eastward, crossing the Tertiary volcanic landscape of northeast New Mexico, and will then angle southeastward to Dalhart, Dumas and Amarillo; just south of the Canadian River (north of Amarillo), the highway ascends the north escarpment of the Llano Estacado, a vast High Plains plateau of West Texas and eastern New Mexico. After dropping through the Caprock Escarpment of that plateau, I plan to parallel the Red River to Wichita Falls before angling southeastward to Dallas.
Though I have crossed most of this landscape a number of times, one never knows what sightings might occur along the way; such is the nature of road trips. Details of my adventure will be offered in coming posts.
