NEW MEXICO

YEAR VISITED: 2018 and 2020.

FAVORITE CITIES AND EXPERIENCES: For what seemed like forever, New Mexico has been the one state west of the Mississippi River that we just couldn’t seem to visit. Reasons ranged from “it was just too far off the beaten path” to “is this really a destination state?” Finally in 2018, our 28 state roadtrip took us to New Mexico. We stayed in a WorldMark located in Taos for three nights. We used Taos as our home base where all our New Mexico excursions would begin. We drove through Santa Fe and spent an afternoon exploring Canyon Road, a quaint section of town filled with art galleries. Considering the fact neither Jill nor I have much experience with art, and the girls being in middle school, Canyon Road didn’t hold anyone’s attention for very long. We also drove through Albuquerque, wandered around the University of New Mexico, and then in 2020 we spent an afternoon browsing through Old Town. While it was July and the city was just re-opening due to the COVID pandemic, we greatly enjoyed our time. Favorite tourist type shops were Old Town Emporium, Southwestern Handcrafts & Gift, Old Town Candy & Sweets, and of course we had to experience the Rattlesnake Museum. Unfortunately the church San Felipe De Neri (oldest church in Albuquerque) wasn’t open and therefore we were unable to go in, but we greatly enjoyed the grounds. This church has served the community without interruption since 1706.

However, the town where we have spent a majority of our time was Las Alamos (the city that housed the scientists responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb in World War II).

We walked the city and explored the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, the Visitor’s Center (which had a number of artifacts from the Manhattan Project), and took pictures with the Dr. Oppenheimer and General Leslie statues.

The Visitor Center had replica’s of the uranium bomb (Little Boy), the plutonium bomb (Fat Man), as well as a number of interactive display’s.

While Jill and I have not discussed our opinions in depth on the dropping of the atomic bomb(s), and the girls were too young to fully understand the historical significance, all of us were in awe of the monumental scientific breakthroughs that took place here. As we explored the town I kept imagining what it would have looked like in the 1930’s and 40’s when Dr. Oppenheimer was working at the top secret military base. On the way out of town we stopped at the White Rock Overlook.

While taking in the natural beauty of this location I couldn’t help but contemplate man’s desire for weaponry and control and how this otherwise sleepy out of the way town forever changed the course of world history.

STADIUMS AND/OR SPORTING EVENTS: While there are multiple minor league baseball organizations located throughout the state of New Mexico, we haven’t been to any sports in the Land of Enchantment. However, In 2018 the timing worked out perfectly for us to attend an Imagine Dragons concert in Albuquerque. Grace VanderWaal, the winner of America’s Got Talent and one of the girls favorite artists, opened for the Dragons.

Isleta Amphitheater, which holds up to 15,000 people, is a beautiful venue and great place to take in the beautiful New Mexico sunsets.

ADVENTURE(S): Before we left on our multi state roadtrip in 2018, I reached out to a former high school student that went onto graduate from the University of New Mexico. I figured she would have solid recommendations regarding must do sites in New Mexico. #1 on her list was Tent Rocks National Monument and she was not wrong as we greatly enjoyed this experience.

The park is located off I-25, roughly half way in between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. When we arrived it was bright and sunny. Unfortunately within 45 minutes of parking, the clouds turned ominous, a storm rolled in, and we were forced to cut our visit short. However, we were able to look around, complete a portion of the hike, and take in the natural beauty of the park before the weather forced us to move on.

NOTABLE DESTINATIONS & STOPS: Another destination recommended to us by friends was the Blue Hole in Santa Rosa. Route 66 runs through the town and subsequently there are multiple route 66 themed restaurants and stores. While we didn’t have a ton of time to take in the town we did stop at the recommended swimming hole.

The Blue Hole is exactly what it sounds like, a 60 feet in diameter swimming hole that is over 80 feet deep. Because of the extreme depth it is a popular destination for scuba divers. While we didn’t do any diving we did enjoy jumping off the rocks and cooling off in the cold water. Interestingly enough, the water remains a tepid 62 degrees all year round.

The TV show Breaking Bad was one of the most popular shows of the 2000’s. It was filmed on a movie set in Hollywood but the setting of the show is Albuquerque. Therefore, we decided to drive through the nieghborhood and take a peak at the infamous fictional character Walter White’s home. Judging by the cones out front, we were not the only ones that decided to drive by the criminal mastermind’s fictional home.

Since I was in 5th grade and listened to a classmate talk glowingly of his summer travels to Carlsbad Caverns, I have always wanted to go. In July of 2020 I got my wish.

The four of us were able to get tickets, which were extremely limited due to the COVID pandemic and the need for social distancing. As we enjoyed the nearly hour long tour a tremendous sense of nostalgia overtook me as I couldn’t help but think back to my childhood and the longing for wanting to travel and experience wonderous places such as these massive caves.

While the tremendous stalactites and huge underground caverns did not disappoint, I was saddened that we were unable to witness the Bat Flight. I can only imagine how remarkable it would be to witness nearly half a million bats exit the caverns every night as they head out on the hunt for prey.

Roswell is a paradise for UFO enthusiast’s. The entire town seemed to me to be a monument to the 1947 alleged incident that some believe was the site of a UFO crash landing. Even the town’s welcome sign depicts the crash landing.