Day 9: Gallup NM to Bluff UT
Postcard from Bluff, Utah
Took a little detour from the Route 66, heading 170 miles north, to southern Utah, via Colorado.
If yesterday was a Breaking Bad kinda landscape, today I drove straight into a western movie set: New Mexico and Colorado boasted the usual long, empty, easy to drive highways, entering Utah the roads got twisted, the rocks closer, the heat higher.
Things I would have never expected to do in my life and I’ve accomplished today:
- doing a laundry in an empty, ghostly automatic laundromat in the southern Utah desert
- Celebrating July 4th in a town in Utah with a total population (90) smaller than the population of my building
- Being in Utah
Also: happy birthday mom.
Driving from Gallup to Bluff Cheat Sheet
Accommodation in Bluff, UT
- Mokee Motel, US-191 & 5th W, Bluff, UT 84512. One of my favorite motels of all times. Charming little roadside owner-operated motel, reasonably priced and perfect to visit the Monument Valley.
Where to eat and what to see between Gallup, NM and Bluff, UT
- Twin Rocks Trading Post, 913 Navajo Twins Dr, Bluff, UT 84512 a gallery / gif shop with tons of Navajo art pieces. There is a cafe in case you need some refreshment after a long drive.
- Bluff Fort, 550 Black Locust Ave, Bluff, UT 84512 an Historic Site with free admission and the chance to learn something about the Mormon pioneers that came to this region in the late 1800s
Driving from Gallup to Bluff FAQ
There are about 170 miles from Gallup to Bluff.
It takes about 3 hours. It took me longer, about 5-6 hours due to a few stops for pictures and gas.
You drive through the desert. It feels like you are in a western movie set.
The desert itself. Once entering Utah it gets even more iconic.
You can drive any car, the road are fully paved but, depending on the season, the weather might be a factor to consider. When I was there the temperature was pretty high.
Route 66 pictures: photos taken from Gallup to Bluff
My itinerary on the Route 66
- Route 66 the ultimate American road trip
- Day 1: Chicago to Springfield
- Day 2: Springfield to Cuba
- Day 3: Cuba to Carthage
- Day 4: Carthage to Oklahoma City
- Day 5: Oklahoma City to Amarillo
- Day 6: Amarillo to Tucumcari
- Day 7: Tucumcari to Santa Fe
- Day 8: Santa Fe to Gallup
- Day 9: Gallup to Bluff
- Day 10: Bluff to Chambers
- Day 11: Chambers to Sedona
- Day 12: Sedona to Kingman
- Day 13: Kingman to Barstow
- Day 14: Barstow to Santa Monica
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