There is no off-season. Taos is 24/7/365 tourism. As is Santa Fe. Don't for a minute think it has ever been otherwise.
There are two ways to get to the parts of Colorado that actually matter. The obvious one is I-25 - the Shotgun - which is heavily policed by some of the shittiest cops in creation. The lesser choice is 285, which is almost untraveled by anyone. You want the 285.
It starts with a 1-lane bridge out of Espanola. Back before Google one had to have a carefully-annotated map. Nowadays, it's no sweat. That will give you a back-of-beyond view of rural New Mexico that you won't get anywhere else this side of the 64. You will notice a stretch of road out of Monte Vista that stretches straight and unbending for more than 40 miles. If you see a cop in Center, you can rest assured you will not see one again - he's the only one in 100 miles.