Carlsbad Caverns and Santa Fe were two original spots we had decided to visit but once we drove into the state we decided we had to go to the white sands and our friend Travis recommended that we check our the Valley of Fires so we’re doing it all.
New Mexico so far has been drastically different than anywhere I’ve been. The roads are completely flat with nothing for miles and miles. We occasionally see some cows and some mountains in the distance. We’ve seen a few little animals scurrying off the road. They look like squirrels but kinda small. I have no idea what they are. But we’re often alone on the road for miles at a time, which is a bit scary in the middle of the torrential rain that just poured.
The cavern was unbelievably huge, very humid and somewhat smelly. It was a long hike to get to the bottom but it was worth it.
On the way west, we drove through Cloudcroft where the air suddenly went from 100s to 60s. We started seeing trees and mountains. The town is around 8000ft. and seems to be a ski area.
The contrast between the sands and the lava and between the barren desert and the lush Rio Grande area, the flat and the mountains makes this state fascinating to me. The cutest part of today was Jake seeing a prairie dog on the side of the road and our seeing a couple on a bike and dog with its very own tiny helmet.
In Santa Fe we emailed our teacher, Prof. Miller, from CMU who works at the Santa Fe Institute. We hadn’t seen him in 6 years. He was there and we had a nice chat and tour and got back on the way. We’re now driving to the scenic route through the Carson National Forest up to Colorado.
Lodging: The Four Winds Motel, Carrizozo, NM@$44
Miles on the car: 10715
Gas: $20.72@1.49 and $10.12@1.45
Roads taken: 180 to Carlsbad, 285 to Artesia, 82 to Cloudcroft, 82 to White Sands, 54 to Carrizozo and 25 to Santa Fe
Sites: Carlsbad Caverns, Lincoln National Forest, White Sands National Monument, Valley of Fires, Santa Fe
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