2011 Road Trip *NEW MEXICO

So we did in fact pass through the South West corner of NM on our way to AZ and while we did see the towns we didn't really stop. On our way home we stopped in Albuquerque for the night. We arrived in town about 7p on 03.05 and since it was our anniversary we decided to find a place to eat. Never mind that we'd camped the night before and were slightly less than presentable. In down town Albuq we found a nice place where we could both eat (we previewed a menu prior to being seated). After eating lots of rice and beans and camp food then hand washing dishes it was a real treat to sit down and be served. And to have a selection of food! Wow. It took us a while to decide. And we shared a Classic Creme Brulee (minus the cookie) for dessert. A very nice anniversary indeed. That night we crashed in a hotel room as it was about 9p before we wrapped up dinner and hit the road again.

The next morning we headed north to see Santa Fe. We had anticipated camping at the Santa Fe National Forest.... When we arrived we drove up the mountain. And up. And up. And when we got to the location where we had wanted to camp there was several feet of SNOW! =) Rather than set up camp we hiked and played in the snow then headed back down the mountain and south towards Santa Fe again. We found a place to camp some where South East of Santa Fe in Santa Rosa, and decided we were going to detour south to see Carlsbad Caverns.

So we enjoyed camping one night and then started the drive to Carlsbad, NM. We passed (and stopped at David's urging) Roswell, NM where, according to legend an UFO landed and bodies from that UFO were stored in a shed some place in Roswell. While we did investigate the museum I vetoed the $10/each fee to see it and David agreed it was ludicrous so we scoured the gift shop instead. Do these people really believe that stuff?? I don't know but the woman I paid for my post cards with sure sounded convinced.

We arrived at Carlsbad Caverns about 30 mins after they allowed the last visitor to hike down. We debated and hemmed and hawed and decided what the heck we'd stick around. It was WINDY and we don't enjoy camping in super high winds in desert like weather.... because of the sand and burrs and the places that they can end up.... So we splurged on a hotel room.

Up early and out to the Caverns. We were among the first to start the hike into the cavern. They did post warnings that made it out to be quite treacherous but the semi-lighted, paved & railed pathway made for a lot less drama than anticipated... There are months when the bats come up from Mexico to mate and procreate. During this time there's swarms of bats that exit the cavern at dusk. Unfortunately we missed this but it was incredible anyway. We thought it was cool that we were on top of the world at the Grand Canyon just a few days before going beneath the world at Carlsbad. God sure added some fun places for his Kids to explore. I bet it was fun to Create too.

We stayed in the cavern a few hours but didn't linger because we left the pups in the truck. They were fine but happy to see us! After a break and a tinkle (pups & humans) we headed towards home again.


For more pictures click here