Exploring New Mexico

Roswell, White Sands National Park, and Santa Fe

One of the most interesting things we’ve noticed so far is the variance in landscape as we drive north. Nearing New Mexico from Texas we began rising in elevation and even passed by the highest peak in the state – Guadalupe Peak.

Our first stop in New Mexico was Roswell. We got there in the late afternoon on Saturday so not much was open. We didn’t do any of the UFO tours or visit any alien landing sites. Instead, we walked around the small downtown area and ate at Big D’s Downtown Dive. The only thing that separates Roswell from being just another small, quaint town is the touristy shops and alien themes. The light poles have even been made into alien faces. It is a nice town, but seems very much a tourist destination.

We woke up early the next morning to get to White Sands National Monument, located in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. 275 square miles of white, gypsum dune fields sit within the Tularosa Basin, surrounded by mountains. It is the largest gypsum dune in the world and an amazing natural wonder. Though temperatures got up to 110° Fahrenheit the sand was easy to walk on with bare feet. We found the reason for this is because the sands are gypsum based (instead of quartz based) which does not convert the sun’s energy into heat. We walked over and around many dunes just taking in the amazing beauty of the park. This has been the highlight of our trip so far!

 The weather started to take a turn, yet again, and temperatures in the dunes were over 100° so we headed onwards to Santa Fe. We arrived in the late afternoon, checked into our hotel then went straight to Meow Wolf before they closed. Meow Wolf was recommended to us by a friend in Austin so we had to check it out! A group of artists turned a former bowling alley into an interactive art exhibit. It was an unreal experience and another highlight of our trip so far.

We worked up an appetite exploring the vast amount of rooms at Meow Wolf so we found a brewery restaurant close by for dinner. Rowley Farmhouse Ales recently opened in Santa Fe and was a great place to spend the rest of our evening. They had a long beer list that included their own beer as well as others, super hospitality, and good food. After dinner we retired to our hotel room to rest up for the next day.

We grabbed a bit of breakfast the next morning at our hotel, packed up the car and headed into downtown Santa Fe for a quick stroll. We had a decent drive ahead of us and didn’t get to spend as much time as we would have liked in the city (we’ll have to go back for an extended stay!). The architecture of the buildings in the area are all adobe style. This gives the city an extra boost of charm. Native American artists and jewelers set up around the New Mexico History Museum every day of the week. It’s a small, walkable downtown area filled with many shops, museums, and art to see. On the way out of Santa Fe we grabbed a tamale and headed north to Colorado.

The landscape change was really interesting to see. Nearly as soon as we crossed the Colorado border the tall, desert mesas turned into lush greenery. The weather turned from bright blue skies to dreary rain and we were ready for a late lunch so we stopped in Pagosa Springs.

There was a nice campsite in a national forest outside of town that we set up at. The rain didn’t let up after we got our tent up so we went back into town to stay dry. In town we got a snack and a beer at Mountain Pizza and Taproom until the rain died down. Once it was clear we headed back to the campsite to get some sleep before heading off to Mesa Verde National Park.

Fun Fact: Since White Sands Monument is completely surrounded by White Sands Missile Range, it was near here that the first atomic bomb was tested in 1945.