There are multiple hairpin turns along this stretch of highway as it follows the surrounding terrain.

[1][3] State Road 78 heads eastward through the desert, passing through the community of Mule Creek, New Mexico.

The road continues eastward until terminating at U.S. Route 180 northwest of Cliff, New Mexico.

The other state highways in the area were paved by this time including the majority of the New Mexico section.

[8] By 1971, nearly the entire highway had been paved with the exception of a portion near the New Mexico-Arizona state line.