Albuquerque to San Diego Route

[realjd]

I put this in general since it spanned the areas covered by multiple regional boards. Mods please feel free to move if necessary.

So I have the chance to make a drive from Albuquerque to San Diego in the near future. Looking at Google, it recommends taking I-40 to Flagstaff, I-17 to Phoenix, I-10 west AZ-85 to I-8.

Other routes that I picked our on the map include I-25 to I-10 to I-8 and I-40 to I-15. The I-25 to I-10 route looks a bit longer, so I would only considering taking that way if the scenery was more interesting. I-40 to I-15 doesn't look too bad, but then I'd have to deal with the traffic/hassle of driving through the Inland Empire. Of course San Bernadino and Riverside may be better than Phoenix, I'm not sure.

Google also recommends a routing that takes small roads through the Tonto National Forest (AZ-377, 277, 260, 87). I'm sure it's gorgeous, but I don't know if I want to mess with that on a 12 hour drive in an unfamiliar area.

Mainly, I'm looking for information from people more familiar with that part of the country. Which route is quickest? Is there any better scenery on one route vs another?

[NE2]

260-87 is four-lane divided from Show Low to the Phoenix area, so don't discount it because it's not a freeway.

[Sykotyk]

If you want to see the country, you have to stay away from the interstates to an extent. Going US60 to Phoenix is sparsely traveled, beautiful, and surprisingly fast. Also, going to Blythe, CA and cutting down to El Centro is a very beautiful stretch.

[agentsteel53]

you want to cut south as late as possible to avoid the border patrols.  I'd stay along the 10/60 corridor until interstate 15.

you will run into the border patrol at the agricultural inspection station at Blythe.  there's a reason why they keep that one open, and it ain't about no fruits or nuts.

[corco]

I-40 in eastern AZ (east of Flagstaff)/western NM is horribly boring, but from  what I understand that's supposed to be some of the prettiest country in the country (I've only been in the area once and had a trailer in tow so I stuck to the interstate),  so I think using I-40 through there is probably a waste.              

Edit: Yikes- I had east and west mixed up

[Jim]

I'll echo the comments about not being afraid to leave the interstates.  You'll still make good time on a lot of state and US routes in that part of the country.

That said, eastern AZ and western NM along I-40 is very nice, in my opinion.  The petrified forest, painted desert, and the touristy but neat Meteor Crater are along that route.  And plenty of neat old Route 66 towns.  I don't think you can go wrong with I-40 between ABQ and Flagstaff.

[NE2]

SR 87 looks like a rather nice drive:


More photos here: https://www.aaroads.com/guide.php?page=s0087az

[Alps]

My route from San Diego to Albuquerque is rougly old 395 to old 66. That sorta negates the traffic issues of going that way. Of course, you could follow old US 80 along the 8 corridor as well. If you have just a bit more time, I'd highly recommend driving the longer stretches of old road.

[realjd]

Thanks for the advice! I'm leaning toward just following the Google recommended 40-17-10-85-8 route. If we had more time or were making the drive in more than one day, I'd explore more.

So what's this about border patrol along the 8? I've been through the (fascist) checkpoint on the 5 at Camp Pendleton. Is it like that? Heading toward San Diego?

[J N Winkler]

So what's this about border patrol along the 8? I've been through the (fascist) checkpoint on the 5 at Camp Pendleton. Is it like that? Heading toward San Diego?

I dimly remember an Arizona DOT signing plan for a Border Patrol checkpoint at Telegraph Pass (I-8 just east of Yuma), but I don't remember ever actually having to stop at a Border Patrol station on I-8.  However, I have driven that route eastbound only (San Diego to Arizona SR 85, in 2002).

I can second the recommendation for the SR 377/SR 260/SR 87 cutoff, having actually used it myself.  It is scenic and pretty fast.  SR 377 is (IIRC) the only part of the route which is two-lane, and it is lightly traveled.  SR 260 has interesting Burma-Shave style elk warning signs, and SR 87--which is divided highway pretty much all the way from Phoenix to Payson--has an interesting double crossover with several miles of "wrong-way" carriageway orientation (similar to I-5 at the Grapevine, I-8 going over Telegraph Pass, etc.).  By the time you reach the SR 377 turnoff on I-40, you will have already passed Petrified Forest National Park (which frankly is not all that interesting as national parks go), so you won't miss anything interesting on I-40.  I-17 is said to be one of the most scenic Interstate drives in the country but the I-40/I-17 itinerary involves a fair amount of out-of-the-way miles compared to SR 377 etc.

[agentsteel53]

there are many checkpoints now, both eastbound and westbound, on I-8 along its entire length.  I believe there are three westbound in California (not counting the aggie station at the state line, there's one around Gordon's Well, one near El Centro, and one at Alpine) and two eastbound (one at In-Ko-Pah Summit and one near El Centro)... and there's several in Arizona but I don't remember exactly where, as I hardly ever drive that section.  it really sucks; they've taken one of the more scenic drives in the country and utterly shat on it.

[realjd]

That's a shame about the border patrol. I-8 has been high on my list of roads to drive so I'm not going to avoid it just because of them, but it still makes me mad.

Google claims that the I-40 to I-17 route adds 50 miles but is nearly identical drive time wise. Bing and MapQuest show the same.

Do I need to worry about services on the 377/260/87 route? Is there gas, food, restrooms, etc.? It looks like we'd be out in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization right around lunch time.

[J N Winkler]

I wouldn't worry about availability of services on the SR 377/260/87 itinerary.  SR 377 is pretty bare of them, but you would not be on that road very long.  Holbrook has plenty of roadside eateries and gas stations, as does Payson.  I think SR 87 might have a roadside rest somewhere between Payson and Phoenix, but I couldn't swear to it--I know for sure that it does have a brake check area (where I have stopped for a quick rest) accessible from the northbound direction at the very least.

On the whole I suspect availability of facilities is about the same compared to the I-40/I-17 route.

[hbelkins]

there are many checkpoints now, both eastbound and westbound, on I-8 along its entire length.  I believe there are three westbound in California (not counting the aggie station at the state line, there's one around Gordon's Well, one near El Centro, and one at Alpine) and two eastbound (one at In-Ko-Pah Summit and one near El Centro)... and there's several in Arizona but I don't remember exactly where, as I hardly ever drive that section.  it really sucks; they've taken one of the more scenic drives in the country and utterly shat on it.

Seems to me that if you're not an illegal alien or not carrying any contraband, there shouldn't be any problems.

[NE2]

Yeah, better not be smuggling ferrets.

[agentsteel53]

Seems to me that if you're not an illegal alien or not carrying any contraband, there shouldn't be any problems.

other than that whole fourth amendment thing...

[J N Winkler]

Seems to me that if you're not an illegal alien or not carrying any contraband, there shouldn't be any problems.

There are, simply because so many of these checkpoints are on controlled-access highways which carry significant traffic volumes:  you can spend a fair bit of time idling until it is your turn to be checked.  Plus going through the checkpoint "clean" and convincing the officers that you are "clean" are two separate things and the gap between them can be quite wide.  If you are a natural-born US citizen but look Mexican, you can expect friction.  If you are a legal resident alien (Jake's situation), you can expect all kinds of red tape just to avoid the possibility of prosecution under the false-statement statute.  If you are deaf and can't follow the officers' speech (my situation), you have to deal with their (false) presumption that you don't know English because you are an illegal immigrant.

I generally prefer to route through checkpoints on two-lane highways simply because more officers are provided per VPD, so there is less of a wait.  There is no way the Border Patrol can provide Interstates with officer coverage comparable to two-lane state highways unless they build more check lanes than there are lanes on the mainline Interstate.  That tends to imply a permanent inspection facility.  Local politicians don't like them (would you want a segment of this latter-day Berlin Wall in your patch?) and the Border Patrol is not enthusiastic about them because they are too easy for people-traffickers to game.

[citrus]

Seems to me that if you're not an illegal alien or not carrying any contraband, there shouldn't be any problems.

The real (practical, I'm setting aside ideological arguments at this point) problem for me going through the checkpoints is the delay. One Sunday afternoon I drove from Yuma to San Diego through the ag checkpoint and 2 border patrol checkpoints. The ag checkpoint and first border patrol checkpoint both had long waits to get through. (it wasn't as bad at the second checkpoint near Alpine.) My travel time was increased by at least 30 minutes of stop-and-go waiting.

I've also found that if you drive through late at night, there is of course less traffic, but also the checkpoints are sometimes closed. In addition, I've hit border patrol checkpoints on CA-94 and County Route S2, not to mention the checkpoint on I-5 in Camp Pendleton, although that's only been open once out of numerous times I've driven up that ways. Is the checkpoint on I-15 between Escondido and Temecula ever open?
Post Merge: April 06, 2011, 05:21:14 AM

If you are deaf and can't follow the officers' speech (my situation), you have to deal with their (false) presumption that you don't know English because you are an illegal immigrant.

Once at the Alpine checkpoint on I-8, the border patrol officer approached my vehicle from the passenger's side. I don't have power windows and didn't have a passenger, and the guy got realllllly nervous when I reached across to roll the window down. You are right about different treatment on whether or not you look Hispanic in any way. I'm a white guy with CA plates; I've always been waved through after I utter a word of English without an accent.

[agentsteel53]

Is the checkpoint on I-15 between Escondido and Temecula ever open?

once ran into it around 2am.  my experience has been that the checkpoints are more likely to be open at night on interstates, and open during the day on two-lane roads.  the first has to do with traffic volumes (I-5 would come to a screeching halt during busy times), and I do not know the reason for the second.  I do note, however, that if a checkpoint is active at night on a two-laner, the interrogations tend to be much harsher, with an undertone of "anyone who drives two-lane roads in the middle of the night is up to no good".

[realjd]

So I just got back from my ABQ and SAN trip. We ended up taking I-40 to I-17 to Loop 101 to I-10 to AZ-85 to I-8. I saw references online to small towns with speed cameras through the other route so I decided to just stay on the interstates. I'm very glad I did. I-17 is one of the most scenic interstates in the country. It was incredible. The whole trip took 12 hours, including a few brief stops.

Traffic was light the whole way, except for I-17. I-8 had the ag checkpoint and two border checkpoints. The ag check had no line and was quick ("Do you have any produce", "no", waved me on). The first border checkpoint caused about a 15 minute delay. The guy looked at me, leaned in to look at my wife, and then waved us on without a word. The second one in SD county only caused a few minutes delay. There was no traffic at that point and we were waved on without the guy even really looking at us.

Speaking of police checkpoints, we got into ABQ around midnight last week. We hadn't been on I-25 for 5 minutes before we got stuck in a sobriety checkpoint. On I-25. They blocked the road down to two lanes and made everyone have a nice conversation with a cop. My welcome to Albuquerque was a flashlight in the face and a quiz about alcohol, narcotics, and prescription medication. He also took the opportunity to shine his flashlight through my back window and take a look at my back seat. In all it took around half an hour to get through. It was miserable, especially on top of the jet lag that late.

I noticed that traffic on the freeways out there didn't speed. The speed limits were 75 pretty much the whole way and I didn't see very many people exceeding that. Traffic moves faster at home in Florida where the speed limits are lower. Once we crossed into California though everything sped up nicely.

[agentsteel53]

to think, that in all my travels - I have never once run into a sobriety checkpoint.

[realjd]

We have them in Florida on occasion, but they're on roads near the bars. Not on the middle of the highway. And they don't stop every single car. There were a number of angry looking truck drivers stuck in that sobriety checkpoint.

Police checkpoints leave a bad taste in my mouth. As much as I dislike the inland border checkpoints, the sobriety check was much more invasive.

[agentsteel53]

can they really prove "probable cause" just based on statistical numbers?  "well, in the past we've found that 30% of drivers on this stretch of road are smashed out of their mind, so we're pulling everyone over"?

[J N Winkler]

I don't like sobriety checkpoints either, but it has to be said that New Mexico has serious problems with DWI and alcoholism.  The bat signs aren't there just for show--they are linked to a state program which gives local police departments funding for periodic "blitz" enforcement of the DWI laws.  McKinley County has drive-through liquor shops and alcohol is a serious problem on the Indian reservations.

[realjd]

I don't like sobriety checkpoints either, but it has to be said that New Mexico has serious problems with DWI and alcoholism.  The bat signs aren't there just for show--they are linked to a state program which gives local police departments funding for periodic "blitz" enforcement of the DWI laws.  McKinley County has drive-through liquor shops and alcohol is a serious problem on the Indian reservations.

It's one thing to do a saturation patrol, DWI blitz, or any other such thing. It's quite another to stop every single motorist on a freeway.

can they really prove "probable cause" just based on statistical numbers?  "well, in the past we've found that 30% of drivers on this stretch of road are smashed out of their mind, so we're pulling everyone over"?

No probable cause needed. The US Supreme Court ruled that sobriety checkpoints are indeed an infringement on our constitutional 4th amendment rights, but that drunk driving is a big enough social problem that the government is OK infringing on that right for the good of the people. I wish I were joking, but it's true.