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View Full Version : Misc US 54 - Wichita to Tucumcari


OnTheWarpath15
04-25-2021, 07:36 PM
Anyone traveled this section of US 54?

Driving from PHX to STL later this week and looking to mix up the route. Tired of the I-40/I-44 route.

What's the speed limit? A lot of stop and go in small towns?

Spott
04-25-2021, 07:40 PM
I did that drive once like that many years ago and it seemed like it took forever to get through Kansas with all the stoplights.

OnTheWarpath15
04-25-2021, 07:43 PM
I did that drive once like that many years ago and it seemed like it took forever to get through Kansas with all the stoplights.

Dammit, that's what I was afraid of.

If anyone has done this recently, I'd appreciate some input. I'm hoping they've modernized things a bit.

If it's one lane each direction and constantly stopping in little towns, I'm out.

Spott
04-25-2021, 07:49 PM
Dammit, that's what I was afraid of.

If anyone has done this recently, I'd appreciate some input. I'm hoping they've modernized things a bit.

If it's one lane each direction and constantly stopping in little towns, I'm out.

It was 95 when I did that drive, so I have no idea if it’s still that way. But it was definitely a lot of one lane roads and driving through small towns back then.

DaneMcCloud
04-25-2021, 07:50 PM
Don't take the 54.

I've done the drive from KC to Los Angeles dozens and dozens of times and it's way easier and more relaxing to take I-35 South to the 40 West.

The 54 is a two lane road, which is awful after dark, and you're slowing down and speeding up constantly due to all of the small towns. And if you get stuck behind a tractor, forget it. You've just added an hour to your trip.

I drove back to KC for the 2019 holidays and I-40 to I-35 was a breeze. The speed limit was mostly 75 MPH which for me, was plenty fast enough. I set my cruise at 75 and just enjoyed the drive.

Travel safe and have fun!

Bearcat
04-25-2021, 07:55 PM
I like going that way. IIRC, the one slowdown is the small section of Oklahoma that's only 65, but the rest of it is 70+.

There's Liberal and some other small towns where it slows down, but it wasn't bad, IMO. I think hitting some of those small towns is mentally more pleasing than that stretch from Tucumcari to Amarillo to Oklahoma City, where there's just nothing forever. It actually seems like you're making progress, even if there's a few minutes of slowing down through town.

I was pleasantly surprised by some large sections of it with 2 lanes both ways, too, and it's a pretty quiet drive anyway.

I've also heard I-25 from Albuquerque is a nice drive, but haven't tried it myself.

Why Not?
04-25-2021, 08:04 PM
Can’t remember exactly the route I took last summer when I drove 2x from AZ to KC for our move but I know I stayed in Tucumcari the first time. Man, pass on that place. It was really kinda sad. Looked like a happening spot on Route 66 decades ago that was on it’s last legs.

scho63
04-25-2021, 08:19 PM
Anyone traveled this section of US 54?

Driving from PHX to STL later this week and looking to mix up the route. Tired of the I-40/I-44 route.

What's the speed limit? A lot of stop and go in small towns?

Did you promise to stop at Ground Control? :doh!:

Rain Man
04-25-2021, 08:22 PM
All I know is that in that part of NM and TX you're required to raise your index finger off the wheel as a greeting to every driver coming the other way. Just the one finger, or otherwise you're a n00b.

KS Smitty
04-25-2021, 08:53 PM
We took it 3 years ago from US 77 to Tucumcari. It's a nice drive but it's no interstate, there are some passing lanes that work well if the dumbass in front of you will speed up and pass instead of cruising beside the slower car. (We stopped in Greensburg and toured the Big Well and stopped in Meade and checked out the Dalton Hideout.) I did get pulled over by an OK state trooper who I drove up behind in a rapid fashion. He told me the speed limit was 55 in OK and it was only 34 miles. From Texas to Tucumcari is awful if you get behind some semis due to the hills and inability to pass due to sight limitations. Still a food route if you're not in a hurry.

eDave
04-25-2021, 09:01 PM
I have take this route countless times to KC. I only use it when stopping in Dodge City.

Jewish Rabbi
04-25-2021, 09:07 PM
I did that drive once like that many years ago and it seemed like it took forever to get through Kansas with all the stoplights.

Yeah but to be fair it feels like forever to get thru Kansas on the interstate too.

Frazod
04-25-2021, 09:12 PM
I understand the allure of it. After years of driving between Missouri and Illinois I finally decided to give US Highway 34 a shot. On the map it looks like the most direct route and my home is only a couple of miles from it. Well, that was a fucking mistake. Seemed like there were a hundred little bumblefuck towns along the way with stop signs, stop lights, low speed limits and slow traffic on a mostly two lane road. Added at least a very annoying hour to the trip. Thought perhaps there'd be some interesting scenery. There wasn't. One part of central Illinois is pretty much as bland and unremarkable as any other part of central Illinois. And Illinois is the Garden of Eden compared to most of Kansas.

My advice - take the interstate.

OnTheWarpath15
04-25-2021, 09:59 PM
https://thefancypantsreport.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/larry-david-instagram.gif

OnTheWarpath15
04-25-2021, 10:02 PM
Can’t remember exactly the route I took last summer when I drove 2x from AZ to KC for our move but I know I stayed in Tucumcari the first time. Man, pass on that place. It was really kinda sad. Looked like a happening spot on Route 66 decades ago that was on it’s last legs.

That's pretty much every NM town on I-40 besides ABQ, in my experience.

Grants, Santa Rosa, Tucumcari - all 1-2 hotels and a truck stop.

Bearcat
04-25-2021, 10:12 PM
https://thefancypantsreport.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/larry-david-instagram.gif

LMAO

Seems like I'm in the minority.... to/from KC, it saves 100 miles, which seems to save me about an hour.

So, as others have said, there's definitely a frustration factor and if you don't like passing people in an oncoming lane or the slowdowns through towns (despite still making it to KC faster), then it's probably not worth it.

But.... since it doesn't save you time or miles to St. Louis.... meh. IMO, the drive through northern Arizona and New Mexico is far more frustrating because semis try to pass each other on the hills and spend 5 minutes side by side, slowly inching by (it typically annoys me a lot more on the way back, when I've already been driving for hours).

So, by the time I get to the other side of NM, I just want to get away from people.... and the best route for that is BFE Kansas.

OnTheWarpath15
04-25-2021, 10:18 PM
LMAO

Seems like I'm in the minority.... to/from KC, it saves 100 miles, which seems to save me about an hour.

So, as others have said, there's definitely a frustration factor and if you don't like passing people in an oncoming lane or the slowdowns through towns (despite still making it to KC faster), then it's probably not worth it.

But.... since it doesn't save you time or miles to St. Louis.... meh. IMO, the drive through northern Arizona and New Mexico is far more frustrating because semis try to pass each other on the hills and spend 5 minutes side by side, slowly inching by (it typically annoys me a lot more on the way back, when I've already been driving for hours).

So, by the time I get to the other side of NM, I just want to get away from people.... and the best route for that is BFE Kansas.

It's certainly not the most direct route to STL...but gives me an opportunity to spend a night in KC, maybe hit Torn Label or Boulevard, quick 3.5 hour drive to STL from there.

The drive from ABQ-Amarillo-OKC is fucking exhausting. Done it too many times now, just looking for something different.

Hell, I've done the southern route before, STL-Little Rock-DFW-El Paso but that's even further out of the way and ELP to DFW is *holy fucking shit* brutal.

Frazod
04-25-2021, 10:30 PM
Another drive I tried and wish I hadn't was on a trip to the Black Hills. I-90 goes straight through from the Chicago area, but goes north through Wisconsin out of the way. Another route is to take I-80 to I-29 to I-90, which is generally what I do now that I no longer go to or through Wisconsin for any fucking reason whatsoever (cheesehead cops absolutely prey on Illinois drivers, and I'm tired of getting tickets). So I was heading west on I-80, and then decided to go through Omaha and take Nebraska Route 2 from Grand Island until it hit US 385 in Alliance. Another interminable mistake - God that seemed to take forever. I guess the best part is that there is pretty much nothing there - very few towns and almost no traffic. It was like driving through the void for hours.

Why Not?
04-26-2021, 03:27 AM
That's pretty much every NM town on I-40 besides ABQ, in my experience.

Grants, Santa Rosa, Tucumcari - all 1-2 hotels and a truck stop.

Yep. That makes sense. I went back and double checked and the 54 route was exactly the one I took. But I’m kind of an outlier because I love driving through small towns and taking my time from place to place. On road trips I generally do a maximum 8 hour day and stop for the night afterwards I’m much more of a tortoise than a hare on road trips. But I’m never spending the night in Tucumcari again, I can promise you that.

notorious
04-26-2021, 04:14 AM
The stretch from Guymon to Bucklin is semi-truck hell.

I lol’d at the part about losing an hour behind a tractor. It feels like it at times, but it might cost you a couple minutes in reality. It’s pretty rare to come up on them on the highway.

I put on around 45k miles a year in the area. Tons of police since it’s a major drug highway, so do 70, 71 mph max.

The highway is 75mph in Texas, though.

HemiEd
04-26-2021, 05:38 AM
LMAO

Seems like I'm in the minority.... to/from KC, it saves 100 miles, which seems to save me about an hour.

So, as others have said, there's definitely a frustration factor and if you don't like passing people in an oncoming lane or the slowdowns through towns (despite still making it to KC faster), then it's probably not worth it.

But.... since it doesn't save you time or miles to St. Louis.... meh. IMO, the drive through northern Arizona and New Mexico is far more frustrating because semis try to pass each other on the hills and spend 5 minutes side by side, slowly inching by (it typically annoys me a lot more on the way back, when I've already been driving for hours).

So, by the time I get to the other side of NM, I just want to get away from people.... and the best route for that is BFE Kansas.
Yeah, I used to take that route a lot going from Wichita to California on business, selling and demonstrating electronic manufacturing automation equipment. It has been since the mid 90s though the last time, so it may have changed.

I enjoyed checking things out and looking for old cars along the way. Left Wichita one time at -4 and it was in the mid 90s when I got to Phoenix.

There was a pretty interesting salvage yard in Gallup I stopped at a few times. The guy collected Snap On tool boxes and had a house entirely full of them.

shitgoose
04-26-2021, 06:17 AM
Too many semi trucks and not enough passing lanes

ClevelandBronco
04-26-2021, 12:05 PM
Multiple past experiences taught me that there's no reason for the speed limit to be a consideration at all for you once you hit New Mexico on 54.

On the other hand, if you want to see that part of New Mexico, you're going to miss it when you're concentrating on driving at 100 MPH.

Bearcat
04-26-2021, 12:18 PM
Multiple past experiences taught me that there's no reason for the speed limit to be a consideration at all for you once you hit New Mexico on 54.

On the other hand, if you want to see that part of New Mexico, you're going to miss it when you're concentrating on driving at 100 MPH.

Yeah, I've been pulled over with a warning in Central KS once across a few roundtrips, but generally drive at around 10-15 over with no problems.. and especially once you get into Kansas, you can see forever when you have to pass someone.

gblowfish
04-26-2021, 12:24 PM
US 54 is basically the route of the Santa Fe Trail. It's not the kind of road you want to take if you're trying to make time. If you're a sixty year old retiree pulling an Airstream and only need to make 100 miles a day.... go for it.

KS Smitty
04-26-2021, 04:17 PM
I didn't mean to discourage anyone from taking it, it is our preferred route to go SW. Just plan on having some slow stretches and don't be afraid to stop in some of those little towns along the way. Tucumcari has a cool hotel, the Roadrunner Lodge(?), that was pretty reasonably priced with 40's/50s decor.

eDave
04-26-2021, 04:25 PM
Gallup. What a turd.

Spott
04-26-2021, 05:18 PM
Too many semi trucks and not enough passing lanes

There’s a special spot in hell for the bastards that drive 45mph on single lane highways in the middle of nowhere(big trucks excluded).

OnTheWarpath15
04-26-2021, 05:43 PM
Gallup. What a turd.


And it's not getting any better, that town was decimated by COVID.

eDave
04-26-2021, 05:54 PM
You are in Phoenix now right? Let's hook up.

R Clark
04-26-2021, 06:01 PM
I’ve traveled it a lot for it’s not bad and it’s damn near all four lane from doodah to state line.I prefer it rather taking interstate to okc, I think it’s faster. different strokes and all that

notorious
04-26-2021, 06:12 PM
There’s a special spot in hell for the bastards that drive 45mph on single lane highways in the middle of nowhere(big trucks excluded).

It’s the fucks that have to rush and pull out in front of you and drive slow when there isn’t another car in sight.

Mother fuckers get a big-ass diesel blowing by them while the driver throws a huge middle finger out the window.