On a recent trip out West, we stopped as usual at the Fort Lancaster Scenic Overlook, where shaded picnic tables provide a perfect spot for lunch with a dramatic view of the Pecos River valley below. Historical markers document the importance of the Chihuahua Trail to native tribes, European settlers, the U.S. Army, and gold seekers bound for California; like us, they enjoyed stopping near here for water and a bite to eat.
Back on SH 290, the road crosses the Pecos at a narrow truss bridge and twists through scrub-covered hills toward Sheffield before eventually looping back to the interstate. But for 30 glorious minutes, with nary a car in sight and a seemingly endless line of puffy cumulus clouds overhead, the noise and traffic of I-10 feels worlds—and centuries—away. It’s the type of road trip detour that’s less about getting somewhere and more about enjoying the unexpected revelations of the road.
Emily Roberts Stone, Executive Editor
