Day 11 of 2026 Trip to the Rockies, Driving Back to Albuquerque

The eleventh and last day of my 2026 trip to the Rocky Mountains. I drove back to Albuquerque from South Fork, Colorado, in preparation for the flights back home the next morning.

At last, the final day of my Rocky Mountains trip arrived. After climbing San Luis Peak from South Fork the previous day, I faced an early morning flight from Albuquerque to Boston the next day, so today's itinerary consisted solely of the drive from South Fork to Albuquerque.

Nonstop, the drive was expected to take just over 4 hours, so I got off to a leisurely start, leaving the hotel in South Fork just before 10am.

The initial stretch from South Fork to Alamosa unfolded beneath a heavily hazy sky. A quick online search revealed that smoke from the Gold Mountain Fire outside Ouray, which had served as a constant backdrop throughout much of this Rocky Mountains trip, had now drifted over San Luis Peak. I felt simultaneously grateful that I'd summited the day before and struck by how much difference one day can make.

At Alamosa, I turned south onto US285. After crossing into New Mexico, I made a brief detour to visit the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, which offered a rest area on the gorge's western bank.

The bridge was built at a narrow spot along the Rio Grande Gorge, so the gorge felt steep and impressive. Against the relative flatness of the San Luis Valley, and backdropped by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (the ones outside Taos that I climbed earlier in the trip), the scene made for some dramatic photos.

And here's a video from my drone:

My next stop was Taos Junction, the confluence of Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Grande. The final 2.8km (1.8mi) of road approaching Taos Junction Bridge from the north was unpaved. To me, this place was noteworthy because it allowed easy road access to the bottom of Rio Grande Gorge. Here, the gorge was wider and its cliffs more laid back.

The locals I encountered demonstrated the ideal way to experience this stretch of the river: drifting down its mild currents in rafts, kayaks, or inflatable rings. Since it was Independence Day, I even witnessed groups hosting floating picnics on water mats. While these setups looked thoroughly enjoyable, they obviously required arranging transportation downstream, so I gave them a pass.

And here's a video of my drone flying over this canyon landscape. Unfortunately, it was running low on battery, so I couldn't fly too far out.

1 minute and 27 seconds, 2160p60, H265 only, compressed aggressively to 12Mbps for 143MB file size.

I left Taos Junction around 1:30pm. Since I had already taken the High Road to Taos from Santa Fe earlier in this trip, I took the low/river route back to Santa Fe this time, which was very unremarkable. Additionally, while there were some attractions between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, like Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, I chose to proceed directly to my hotel in Albuquerque, ensuring ample rest before my early morning flight.
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