New Mexico Road Trip
Updated: Jan 10, 2023
Back in November I decided to take a last minute road trip! I had a long weekend off, and I originally wanted to go into the mountains and take my time along the million dollar highway out near Ouray, but then I remembered when Katelynn, my cousin, and I drove that way on a road trip and the thought of driving that small, winding road in the winter terrified me and I decided that I'll save that exploration for a summertime trip. So I last minute decided to compile a road trip into New Mexico!
My trip started with a drive down to Taos, NM. I went to Taos Mesa Brewing and had a beer flight and their house baked focaccia loaf with whipped butter. YUM. They had a delicious house-made chili oil, which typically is too spicy for me, but I couldn't get enough of the stuff. Unfortunately I didn't get a very pretty picture of the bread, I'll work on the foodie part of photography, I just couldn't wait to dig in! I started there to kind of come up with a plan for my one night there, and ask people around me where to grab dinner. After leaving the brewery, I went to explore Taos Pueblo area. It was a beautiful area, and I did the walking tour they offer (be sure to bring some cash for tip since the tour is free). I got to learn about the history and learn about the families that live there. Currently there aren't many full time residents, but our guide said that families get together for big celebrations and then the area is full of life! Definitely a cool area to explore, but you don't need more than about two hours in my opinion!
For dinner the restaurant Aceq was recommended to me in the Arroyo Seco area. It was a little bit on the pricey side, but the service was great and the food was delicious! After I had paid, I was finishing my glass of wine and since I was sitting at the bar I had a first row seat to the bartender making a drink and he made what looked like the perfect espresso martini..... which wasn't on the menu. I asked him if he could make one for me as well, and he said of course!! He made me a delicious espresso martini, and right before he handed it to me, he expressed an orange peel over the drink and WOWZA. I have had plenty of espresso martinis, and that orange peel expression brought the coffee flavors out so perfectly, I will now request that anytime I order one!
I stayed at a cute little airbnb that was a true bed and breakfast. I will post a video below. I really enjoyed my stay here, and would certainly recommend it! The breakfast the next morning was homemade and really impressive! They really knew what they were doing!
That morning I headed to White Sands National Park, about a 5 hour drive from Taos. I made it just in time to do the sunset tour led by a park ranger. It was a nice, short tour, and while you don't necessarily need it to navigate the dunes, it was nice to get some background on why the dunes are there, how the plants survive, and they actually showed us how much water was just below the low parts of the dunes, pretty cool to see! I then headed back to my hotel, which other than offering free breakfast to guests (cheap to those not staying at the hotel) and free sled and sled wax rentals, it wasn't the nicest place I've stayed. It was the Classic Desert Aire Hotel for those who want cheap, and decent accommodations. I didn't notice many airbnb options, but I also booked very last minute so maybe they were all taken.
The next day I had a full morning to be at the dunes. I drove around the options and decided on White Sands Backcountry Trail. It was just under 2 miles and was a nice easy trail! I took a while to complete it because I took a lot of pictures and kept trying for some fun shots by setting up my phone and videoing myself running up to the top of dunes, see below my results! Once I did the full loop, I went back to my car and got my beach couch, sandwich, chips, and alaninu drink and had a nice relaxing lunch in the dunes!
I've been to both the Great Sand Dunes, and the White Sand Dunes and I enjoyed them both! The Great Sand Dunes are more of a workout because all the sand is pretty loose, so you take one step up and slide down what feels like 3 steps back. However, I felt the Great Sand Dunes were prettier because it was truly just dune after dune after dune once you got to the top of high dune. For the White Sand Dunes, the sand was much more packed down so it was muuuuuch easier to walk on, so the hike was a little less exhausting. Although it was a cool day and I ended up in a tank top because the sun certainly heats you up out there. It wasn't quite as pretty because you had the vegetation breaking up the dunes, so it wasn't as flowing with views as the Great Sand Dunes, but it was beautiful nonetheless. My recommendation is to bring plenty of water, even if it's a short hike, and wear your sun protection because that white sand reflects everything. Another thing to note is that they sometimes have to close the park due to missile testing in the area, so check the nps.gov site before you go to make sure the park and the road to the park aren't closed for a few hours the day you are interested in!
After my morning in the dunes, I had to head towards Carlsbad area to hit the Carlsbad Caverns the next morning! I stopped in Roswell to see the International UFO Museum and Research Center. On the way there, I got the news that my older brother Brian proposed to his girlfriend earlier that day, YAY! Welcome to the fam, Katy =]
The Museum was pretty cool, definitely capitalizing on the tourists with that one, but it was $7 to get in, and I got there just before closing, so I had to kind of rush through. I enjoyed it, but if you can't find the time it also wouldn't be a huge deal to miss. Roswell loves their aliens, and they have pictures all over the place. I stopped at McDonalds for a Dr. Pepper I had been craving for a few days, and they even had them standing in the drive through line!
I stayed at another airbnb in Carlsbad area, and it was the Guest House right next to a family home which I don't mind, but others might. I mostly chose it because I wanted to use the hot tub. I picked up some wine, and had a little bit of hot tub time to end my day, it was perfection!
The following day I went to Carlsbad Caverns. I really had no clue what to expect, but man was it a cool spot. The time to go is between Memorial Day and Labor Day, as they have hundreds of thousands of bats fly out of the cave at sunset during those months, which is why I will come back during the summer sometime. There was a chance we would see one or two bats fly out if we stayed, so me and 4 other people chatted with the ranger that came out, but unfortunately no bats left the cave that night. I'm still glad I went, the cave is captivating. I highly recommend taking the natural entrance in if your knees can handle the fairly steep switchbacks. I don't have bad knees so it was not at all challenging for me, but I could see how it would put a strain on some already bad knees. After I said I would do the natural entrance upon entry to the park, I had a little panic moment on the way down thinking I would then have to walk back up it, that is not the case at all, you can take the elevator back up. You can either take the elevator up AND down, or walk in and elevator out, or if you are looking to punish yourself, you can walk in AND out. I won't be doing that upon my return, walking in and taking the elevator out was a perfect compromise for me. While in the caves, I did the King's Palace guided tour which I recommend if you have the time! You get a more in depth look at the history, how it was found, the journey to becoming a National Park, and more. It was an easy stroll with just a few steps at the end, so good for any fitness level as long as some stairs are doable. They still are not running all of the tours they offered pre-Covid as of November 2022, but they did previously have some more intense tours to offer that include crawling through some small spaces; not sure I'll be back for that. I will absolutely come back during peak bat season to see the bat flight. My reminder is to always check the nps.gov site to get the most current and accurate information. When I went reservations were necessary to get in, and I don't believe you could buy them on the spot, plus you run the risk of them running out. More and more parks are moving to the reservation system, so make sure checking that detail is part of your checklist when booking a trip!
After finishing up at Carslbad and not seeing any bats at sunset, I decided to just drive as far north as I could because I was hoping to go to the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa the next morning before making the drive back to Colorado Springs. I ended up making it to Santa Rosa that night, about 3.5 hours of driving. Honestly, I don't remember where I stayed, but I think it was just a decently cheap hotel in the area. The plan was to go to the Blue Hole to go scuba diving, and I had talked myself into it up until the moment I parked in the lot. It was 34 degrees outside and not a soul in sight, so I got nervous and decided against it. Obviously I didn't go in, but according to the internet searches I did the Blue Hole supposedly completely renews its water every 6 hours, and is constantly 62 degrees. In the summer it is a popular swimming hole with the option to scuba dive, but on this cold November day I couldn't fathom the idea of changing into a swimsuit and jumping into water. I decided it was ok because I plan to come back to Carlsbad in the summer, so I will return here to scuba dive at that time. I was just going to head back to Colorado Springs and get back earlier than expected, but on the way I saw signs for the Santa Rosa Lake State Park, so I stopped by there for a couple scenic shots and an opportunity to stretch my legs, then headed home from there.
This road trip was a lot of driving, at least 3 hours each day which isn't the most fun, but I had to do it in order to hit the spots I wanted while still making it back to the Springs in time to get ready for my next stretch at work. If you have any questions about any of the
locations or how I plan my trips please reach out, and if I have the knowledge I will gladly share it with you!
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